Hey Buddy! Can "Ya" Spare a Girl a Job?

It's difficult enough to find a job for anyone these days, let alone a transgender candidate.  In an interesting exchange I heard not long ago (between a lesbian and trans woman) about jobs, the trans woman told the lesbian "she had a choice to wear gay."  Meaning of course, she could "femme" it up to get hired and or stay hired.  We can discuss all the possible scenarios of that exchange forever but in the mean time, trans folks remained unemployed at an estimated twice the national rate.  Fortunately, there is help beginning to emerge.

US News and World Report recently ran a useful article called "How to Manage a Job Search as a Transgender Candidate."

One of the initial problem/solutions which caught my eye was :

Deciding how to handle disclosure of your identity. Choosing whether and how to reveal that your gender identity is different from the gender you were assigned at birth is personal, but some application materials will inquire about your legal name. Some transgender job seekers have not changed their legal names, but those who have might run into trouble and confusion if an employer requests ​they submit to a background check that requires paperwork​. “An application is a legal document, and if what you report doesn’t match with what an employer finds, they could let you go," Farley** says. She recommends job seekers write the first initial and surname of their legal name on applications. ​“That allows a job seeker to include the information that’s required by law, but not to have to qualify birth gender.”

Other ideas were job fairs.  If you are fortunate enough to live close to major metropolitan areas, a few even have transgender job fairs.  Of course, I am not one of those but at the Trans Ohio Symposium last spring, two major financial institutions had hiring presentations. As a former employer and a retired one now, one of my biggest hiring points was how a person looked and acted.  It's easy for me to say but I think getting dressed in my best business professional attire and going to any job fair, could be beneficial.  At the least, the company would see immediately if they may have interest in me.  Anymore, with all the on line resume shuffle going on, the most we can ask for is a human face to sell ourselves to

Of course, networking was mentioned as well as sites such as LinkedIn.  Finally, simple basics such as word of mouth and studying a companies CEI Index. Which is the: Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index, an annual report that scores major businesses according to their practices and policies pertinent to LGBT employees. The top CEI score an employer could receive is 100 percent – this year, Apple Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. were two of the companies to earn top marks.

So there you go, a few ideas on getting a job.  I know it's a tough world out there!





**Clair Farley, is the ​associate director of economic development for the San Francisco LGBT Center, which runs the nation’s first Transgender Employment Program​.

Living Trans in Rural America

Not long ago I wrote a post here in Cyrsti's Condo which included a link to a topic called "Transphobia in Rural America."

Shelle, who lives in rural Indiana responded:

Some thoughts from the rural location I live in,my area consists of Lafayette,and West Lafayette,In. two small cities separated by the Wabash river,and a very intellectual divide as well.I grew up on the Lafayette side of the river a mostly redneck farming community,on the other side of the river lies Purdue University,while there are very minimal resources for girls on my side of the river,there are pretty good resources available on Campus at Purdue 

I have managed to become friends with the guy who runs the office of Diversity and Inclusion so have something but I find the people there look at themselves as better than the rest of us.One Of the persons there has also taken over the Transgender part of our local pride office,I have tried to understand how to deal with this person but am failing miserably she/he claims to be Transgender but gender fluid Identifying as what ever from day to day,I can't even wrap my head around what pronouns to use around her/him.

She/he recently posted on the pride site that Transgender,now includes these people. Transmasculine,Genderqueer,MT3,Third gender,Gender Questioning,Gender Binary,Neutrois,Gender fluid,FtX,FtL,Transfeminine,Two Spirit,Pangender,MtX,Bigender,Ft3,Androgynous,FtM,Trans* man,MtF,Omnigender,Agender,Trans*woman,Gender non-binary,Abigender,MtI,Fourth Gender,Transgender. Hell I used to think I sort of understood my condition,But now now not having a clue what some of these things even are I'm more confused than ever?

Thanks Shelle, I think there is always the person who tries to "overdo" it and in some cases is trying to justify their "diversity" job. I did bring it up at the Trans Ohio meeting that simply discussing genders in a class room setting is only that.  Unless the system is trying to bring real life individuals in from the community along with the occasional transgender student on campus who has come out, then the overall benefit is diminished.

I use the amazing concentration of resources in Stana's part of the world as an example of what could be. But those of us who don't live on the right or left coasts know how limited our resources are.  Not to say things aren't improving, but there still is a long way to go.

It's just me Shelle, but I think the "50" genders similar to the new Facebook classifications are merely the beginning of the younger gen beginning to figure this mess out. They are doing a great job already but just don't know it yet!

We Got Mail!

I have bunches of responses from many of you to get to!  Thanks!

First of all, a touch of politics from our Gender Proud post from Pat:

I wonder if Geena's group 'Gender Proud' will be confused with GOProud (www.goproud.org) which is a group that I follow. GOProud was formed after the 2008 election. I also follow the much older and established Log Cabin Republicans (www.logcabin.org). 

While these groups support many causes and do what they can to push their political positions forward their primary goal is to promote the LG causes from a position of conservative libertarian inclusiveness. While most of the participation is from LG Republicans and I would like to see more participation from T folks I believe that both groups would be more than accepting of T people. You should check them out to see who are the active movers in these groups and who have worked with them.

An interesting point.  Any more Pat, I think it's a shame too many people dismiss one or the other of the major political parties out of hand-without looking a little deeper.

Jennifer commented on our "In the Company of Women" post and my "ring selfie":

Thank you for sharing. I love the rings. I myself follow nature in my spiritual journey. It feels right to me. I am glad your exploring this. Be blessed and keep the positive thoughts flowing.

Thanks Jennifer!  As I have pointed out, I have such a long way to go with yet another journey but indeed this one feels right. In my part of the world too, I'm trying to experience more how the native American people related to the earth. Allow me to send some positive thoughts back your way!

Speaking of relating to the earth, I know Paula is a serious gardener and sent along the hint that raking is a good way to tighten the tummy muscles...and riding a motorcycle on a cold wet day isn't the top way to travel. From what I gathered about the UK weather recently, you have had your share of rain and other folks share too.  Finally, thanks Paula for your compliment on the new blog design!

Terrance, a transgender Navy man of color,  commented how much he loved our transgender military service member quote:  I Fought for your right to Hate Me!"  Terrance, as much as I dislike using the "hate" word, I'm thinking of getting the slogan put on a T-Shirt for a few of the pride events this summer. Thanks for checking in!

There is one more comment to get to and I am going to save it back for a future post.

Cyrsti's Condo "Cover Girl" of the Day

Our feature cover today is China's transsexual model Liu Shihan

Ooops!

I went over the last post about emails and Gender Proud and it occurred to me I wrote a phrase which came out different than I wanted.  While I know, that isn't too rare for me, this one bothered me.

When I was writing about how many emails I receive, it seemed to me as it sounded as if I was flooded with personal emails and questions-which just isn't true.

What I was talking about was the number of different emails I get which direct me to transgender and transsexual news.  Sort of like a Cyrsti's Condo news desk.

I just wanted to clear all of that up and at the same time encourage any of you who may have a comment or question, to please send it to me.

Thanks!

Gender Proud

I get tons of emails and most aren't spam, so every once in a while I get a little backed up on what I'm reading and being able to pass along to you here in Cyrsti's Condo.

Here is another I was extremely impressed with for a number of reasons.  The first of course was the name Gender Proud and activist, model Geena Rocero - the Founder of Gender Proud, a movement that aims to change the global perception of and conversation about transgender individuals. She is another literate, well spoken, beautiful transgender woman who is taking the time and effort to stand up and speak out. I am going to pass along her video, as well as this link for you to take a look.

TransMilitary Documentary Coming

To mark International Transgender Day of Visibility on Monday, the producers of TransMilitary, a documentary centered around the lives of transgender service members in the U.S. and U.K., released a new trailer. TransMilitary is being led by former OutServe/SLDN executives Allyson Robinson and Zeke Stokes in an effort to shed light on the transgender military experience, and to apply pressure on the U.S. government to end the ban on transgender military personnel. Check out the trailer here on the Cyrsti's Condo big screen: It's strong!!!!!!!!!!

Cyrsti's Condo "Cover Girl" of the Day

Our feature cover for Wednesday in Nanis Alejandre

Seasonal Maintenance

Years ago,  one of my women customers at a venue I ran provided me a quote I never forgot. One day she said to another girl at the bar,  "Women are the high maintenance gender."   As I'm pulling out my wardrobe from last spring and summer, I'm learning yet again what high maintenance really means and yes it's time for that four letter word I never had to pay attention to- diet. 

As far as size goes, the best quote I can come up with comes from the transgender character in the movie Better than Chocolate.  In one scene she (the trans woman) tells a friend, she is not big-she is enormous.  I know the definition of enormous is tough because women are getting bigger and in fact I have one friend who is every bit as big as me.  None of that matters though, since I feel this way.  What does matter is what I plan on doing about it.

First of all, I had to take a serious look at where I'm gaining the weight.  The good news is the gain is not excessive and is where I wanted it- around my hips. The bad news is I'm still carrying too much weight in my belly area.  My problem is too, I have never been a fan of body shapers, preferring the feel of the fabrics on my skin. (Except panty hose in the summer.)

Another bit of good news is my lower back is feeling better along with her cousin Art (arthritis), so lots of outside yard work will be a positive for my belly.

So you see kids, I have all sorts of maintenance issues coming up and what I have told you so far doesn't cover them all. I have a very fair HRT effected skin which burns very easily, so I have to be very careful with what lotions I wear.  I found that out the hard and painful way last summer. Plus I have to watch what I wear to make sure I don't develop unsightly tan lines but I DON'T think I will be out in the back yard mowing the grass in a bikini any time soon!

Well, it's lunch time and I'm staring at a salad that even the dog doesn't want.   Who needs that stinkin ol burger and fries?