Most people who heard about Eric’s new name expressed bewilderment: You changed your name?
On a snowy November day in 2007, my husband and I walked into the office of our local Manitoba Public Insurance representative and spread our birth certificates, marriage certificate, and SIN cards across her desk. We were determined to disrupt the cycle of male domination and hoped to gain the government’s support. Eric and I had spent four years as de Waals before realizing that identifying ourselves with his birth name didn’t reflect either our convictions or our relationship. So we decided to become Penner de Waals.
