Michael John Kantaras (born March 26, 1959) is an American

trans man A trans man or transgender man is a man who was assigned female at birth. Trans men have a male gender identity, and many trans men undergo medical and social transition to alter their appearance in a way that aligns with their gender identi ...

who was involved in a high-profile child custody case with his ex-wife.Canedy, Dana (February 18, 2002)
Sex Change Complicates Battle Over Child Custody.
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' The case had implications for the legal status of transsexual marriages and the legal definitions of "man" and "woman."Robson, Ruthann (2007). A Mere Switch or a Fundamental Change? Theorizing Transgender Marriage. ''Hypatia'', Volume 22, Number 1, Winter 2007, pp. 58-70

Background

Kantaras was born in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

. In the late 1980s, Kantaras underwent hormone treatments and two surgeries at the Rosenberg Clinic in Texas to remove breasts, ovaries, and the uterus, but retained external female genitalia.Minai, Leanora (October 26, 2001 )
Custody case tricky: He used to be she.
''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute f ...

'' Kantaras married Linda Forsythe in a civil ceremony on July 18, 1989, in

Holiday, Florida Holiday is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pasco County, Florida, Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 24,939 as of the 2020 cens ...

. Kantaras adopted Forsythe's child from a prior relationship, and Forsythe gave birth to a second child through artificial insemination in 1992. Kantaras met another woman and filed for divorce in 1998, requesting primary custody of the children. The divorce was finalized in 1999. Kantaras won his custody case in 2003, following a three-week hearing that featured medical experts who testified that Kantaras should be considered a man. Kantaras was represented by Collin Vause, an attorney for the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Florida Circuit Court Judge Gerard O'Brien ruled that Kantaras was legally male and had a valid marriage. However, the decision was reversed on appeal in 2004 by the

Florida Second District Court of Appeal The Florida Second District Court of Appeal is headquartered in Tampa, Florida on the campus of Stetson University College of Law. It will move to St. Petersburg when the new Pinellas courthouse is complete. There are nine counties in the Second ...

which upheld Forsythe's claim that the marriage was null and void because her ex-husband was still a woman and

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

s were illegal in Florida.''Michael J Kantaras v Linda Kantaras''

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: * 003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) * 1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway * ''O03 (O2)'' and other related blood type alleles in the AB ...

Case No. 98-5375CA. 511998DR005375xxxWS, 6th Circuit Review was denied by the

Florida Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Florida is the state supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven justices—one of whom serves as Chief Justice. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geog ...

.Kantaras v. Kantaras, 898 So. 2d 80 (Fla. 2005) The couple settled the case with joint custody of their teenage children in 2005.Emanuella Grinberg (June 16, 2005)
Settlement reached in transsexual custody case.

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

References

External links

Transsexual Custody Battle
via Court TV 1959 births Living people Transgender law in the United States American transgender men LGBTQ people from Ohio People from Youngstown, Ohio Transgender marriage {{LGBT-bio-stub