And so it begins.. .27 April 2006

Originally composed 27 April 2006

I came out to my boss today! I bought some nice new outfits over the weekend and really wanted to wear them to the office. So I approached her about my choice of clothing (my gender presentation is currently ambiguous). I said I'm TG and would like to dress in a more feminine manner. She was a little surprised, but said she'd need to talk to her boss and she brought up a few issues I hadn't considered. Like if I wanted to present myself as female I need to be consistent in other things. Like restroom facilities and did I want to continue being called Jonathan? So I picked the ladies room and Joanna!
Peggy said she'd run it by Melissa, the director, and announce it at the Monday staff meeting. She asked me to hold off on any changes until then.
She then told me about 2 other t-girls she had worked with that came out at work, and she'd become close friends with one of them. I showed her a picture of me dressed and she told me how pretty I was! Then she thanked me for trusting her enough to tell her about it.
So, for the first time, Joanna will appear in the workplace!

It's true that I didn't think things through completely. I did know that there was little risk in approaching my supervisor. I work for the City of San Francisco in a mental health clinic. Among our units is a transition program, TS people seeking SRS. It began 30 years ago. What I didn't consider was the impact of my coming out on other staff members and how to deal with it. It's a done deal. We need to work out some details, but I'll be a working girl next week!