For those of you who didn’t see it (and who didn’t send it to me), there was an article in the Style section of The NY Times about on-the-job transitions called “Smoother Transitions.” One insight that I had never thought about:
There are also easier routes for employees. At first glance, Ms. Fox said, it might seem easier to apply for a new job in a new gender rather than changing identities in place. But the latter turns out to be simpler.
“If you make the change with people who already know you, then the fact that you are transgender is just one part of you,†she said. In contrast, Ms. Fox said, starting from scratch with a new employer, particularly for a transgender person who does not completely look male or female, means an employer can be “distracted to the point that your gender identity is all they see.â€
There’s also a few good quotes in here my Jillian Todd Weiss, who blogs about transgender issues in the workplace. My only wish is that they’d have interviewed Hawk Stone, since he’s been helping people transition on the job for a very long time.
Transitioning on the job was a positive experience for me, counter to the general consensus at the time, which was to cut all ties and move away.
Am sooo happy for BREANNA! I too had hoped to fully transition on my job of 25 years but unfortunately other circumstances totally unrelated (ie: marriage issues, work cutbacks, conditions etc . . !) forced a voluntary decision to “retire early”. I sincerely miss many of my co-workers who always had the wisdom to simply accept me for “who I am” despite “changes & appearances” and the whole idea of “fleeing” seems to be quickly becoming all so wrong, wrong, wrong!