Workplace Issues

Image from Gabrielle Henderson 
on UnSplash.

Sadly, many transgender women and trans men still get discriminated against when they seek out employment.  Or worse yet are terminated from a job they already had. 

In the past, I have mentioned a local acquaintance I know who was terminated from her job because she was transgender. What made matters worse, she has a family she supports. All her former company cared about was she was a distraction and needed to go. To make ends meet as she looked for her first job as her authentic feminine self, she needed to finally take on various delivery jobs. 

Sadly, she decided she did not want to or could not go down the often bewildering legal route it would take her to fight for her job. Often, the path a trans or LGBTQ person needs to take is more difficult than just walking away from the the job altogether.

Recently, I was approached by Hailey from a law firm which specializes in handling LGBTQ cases. She also passed along a web site which gives guidelines in what to do if you are being discriminated against at your job. The website is very detailed and I had to read about three quarters of the way through it to arrive at what I was looking for. Very relevant information can be found in the section "How to respond to LGBTQ Discrimination in the workplace." Plus a section on how to report workplace discrimination is very good also.. I know each state has different rules and regulations regarding discrimination and I thought this resource could be a benefit to those who need it. 

Here is your link: https://employeejustice.com/lgbtq-discrimination-in-the-workplace/

Thanks Hailey and I have good news to report from my friend who was fired. She finally found an entry level job and has been promoted twice! Good transgender help is sometimes easy to find. 

Monumental Women

 Of course I am biased but I feel the journey we transgender women go through to live as our authentic selves is epic. Just take a moment and consider the struggles we go through. Such as discrimination in employment, medical care and education just to name a few. 

On this Transgender Day of Visibility I have chosen a wonderful friend I had the pleasure of meeting when she first stepped out of the closet into the world. 

After I share a couple of her life's peaks and valleys since then , I hope you understand why I have given her the title of "Monumental Woman.: It wasn't so long ago I wrote about her and her wife visiting a less than liberal restaurant and essentially getting stared at and gossiped about. 

Her name is "Venessa" who you can see to the left and it is important to note the title really has nothing to do with size. 

Similar to so many of us, Venessa struggles with being a large person which she has had to overcome when it comes to going out with her wife and/or kids, What makes the situation worse is she lives in a less than liberal county just east of Cincinnati.

I also need to mention she transitioned on the job in a very male dominated profession of truck driving. So as you can tell Venessa has gone through a lot to claim her very honorary title of "Monumental Woman." 

As with most of us too, I am sure Venessa would say she still has a way to go with her transition. Or better yet, the world does. Until her wife and her can go out and enjoy a fun, peaceful brunch without being stared at.

I hope all of you can follow her lead and become "Monumental Women" in your own right. And thanks to Connie for initially giving me the term.

As far as I am concerned, I am helping to publicize the transgender - cross dresser support group at the TDOV event in downtown Cincinnati. Maybe some day in my own way I can earn a "Monumental Woman" award.

Standing Up to be Counted

 Recently, the United States Senate heard discussions based on passing the "Equality Act."  Amazingly, the only transgender person there to argue for the passage was 16 year old Stella Keating. (below)

Keating comes from near where Connie lives in Washington state (Tacoma). A state where she is legally protected from discrimination but as she pointed out, what if she decided to go to college in a state where she wasn't protected. Adding, "How is that even American?" 

My only question is why was Sheila the only transgender person there? What happened to all those national organizations which are always asking for my support or money???

On the other hand, we need all the bright, brave and young trans voices we can get to further the transgender cause.

Do You Pass?

 Recently, "passing" seemed to be a term which may be finding it's way out of our main vocabulary as transgender folk or cross dressers. Then again, maybe not. These days, if you can afford it, or your health allows it, you now have several different avenues to achieve passing privilege. There is surgery including facial feminization, breast augmentation all the way to genital realignment available for those who can afford it or have access to good insurance. Plus, let's not forget electrolysis to get rid of those pesky facial beards. It seems to me, after you go through all of that, you damn well better "pass". 

Personally, I feel hormone replacement therapy has helped me to present favorably in a feminine world. But that is just me.

Sadly, though, just passing doesn't bring happiness to many. A transgender friend of mine years ago once told me I passed on sheer willpower. Which I took to mean if someone had a problem with me, they could go to hell. While that was true in many instances, I still suffered the same paranoia other novice cross dressers or trans women felt as they began their journey into the feminine world. I could fill several blog posts alone with my adventures waiting for a stall in women's bathrooms. 

During my endless searches for quality posts to share with you, I found this one about a transgender woman in the UK who ran into problems just trying to try clothes on in a store. It;s called "Joni's Story" and you can find it here. Joni is below.  A brief synopsis of the lengthy post looks into how Joni was rejected from a women's fitting room and how the episode led her to an unwanted public life and a search to fit in with the butch lesbian culture. 

The end result of passing of course is how you feel about yourself. Sadly, no matter how much work some people have done on themselves, they still have difficulty finding a gender piece within.