In fall 2018, Dutch media personality and self-proclaimed “positivity trainer” Emile Ratelband garnered worldwide attention after petitioning a Dutch court to change his age by 20 years. Ratelband was born in 1949 and wanted to change his year of birth to 1969. Why not?
Ratelband claimed that his health was more similar to that of a 49-year-old. He claimed he even looks closer to 49 than 69. Furthermore, he claimed he got more attention on dating apps as a 49-year-old than as a 69-year-old. Ratelband further claimed that at 69, he was subject to age discrimination. He claimed that an age change is akin to a sex change, reasoning that people are allowed to determine and change gender, so why not age?
