Thursday, April 12, 2012

Monday, Monday....


Originally composed 8 May 2006, 8:00 AM PDT

Today's the day. In 5 hours I'll be standing in front of 40 people announcing that I'm a TG woman in transition. Kind of a scary thought, My heart rate is increasing just writing this.
I'll be dressed en femme requesting that that everyone call me Joanna and in the future I'll be using the ladies room. The restroom thing is the scariest part!
I'll post on how it all goes this evening.


Originally composed 8 May 2006, 6:00 PM PDTWell girls, it's done! I'm now a woman named Joanna at my place of employment.
First, what did I wear?
A lavender cami with a half way buttoned white shirt (when I leaned forward I showed a little bosom) and black slacks. My nails are a pale lavender, hair freshly trimmed and dyed Dark Auburn. Black boots and a red blazer finished the ensemble. My make up was exquisite and tasteful.
I arrived just before the meeting started and I was one of the last people to sit. I could feel all eyes upon me as I grabbed a chair. I walked toward the back and my co-workers Steve and Bobbie called out 'Hi Joanna!'. I sat next to them. Just before I went in, Bobbie had given me a big hug and said 'I wondered when you'd do this!'.
Melissa called the meeting to order and began with Jonathan has an announcement to make. I stood up and thanked everyone for their time and went on to say that 'I am a male to female transgender. I began the process of transition about 8 months ago.' I went on to say that I had other issues to deal with when I started this job which is why I didn't come out earlier or before I started. 'With those things behind, I'm ready to take the next step and transition here at work'. I said "my name is Joanna Warner and I'd like you to call me Joanna and think of me as a woman in the future. To be consistent with my gender identity I'll be using the women's room from now on.'
I did a bit of flattery saying how the Centre had a long history of support for the TG community. And that if I couldn't come out here, where could I?
I asked if anyone had any questions. There were comments about 'don't be upset if I get your name wrong in the beginning' but mostly expressions of support One clinician commented how brave I was to stand up in a room full of people and make such a personal announcement.
When Q&A ended, I said 'Thank you for your time. I need to get your files for tomorrow ready.' and left the room. Lots of people came up to me afterwords and expressed their support. I was hugged a few times and the director of the TG Program came up and told me that when she first met me and I was introduced as Jonathan, she thought 'That's strange, but If that's what she wants to be called'
All and all it went very well! I hardly did any work because everyone wanted to talk to me! I feel a sense of empowerment for having done it! The only problem is, what shall I do for an encore?

No comments:

Post a Comment