Transitioning at Work

Transitioning at work can be one of the scariest things that an individual can face.  One faces the possibility of being ridiculed to no end.  The loss of employment is also an issue that one might have to deal with if he or she comes out as transgender.  I was lucky enough to actually have an employer that was somewhat sensitive to needs of transgender employees. 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I came out to my supervisor via text message because I was too afraid to tell her the details in person.  This was a very cowardly decision on my behalf.  I was told by the human resources department that I would have to get my name legally changed in order to present as my true gender at work.  I then jumped through all the hoops necessary to change all of my identification documents.  After this was completed, the human resources department said that they would hold miniature meetings to let everyone in the call center know about the change that I was going through.  I was present for every one of these meetings.  I found it a bit annoying how the representative from the human resources department kept trying to explain how transgender individuals feel through the use of a Power Point presentation.  Feelings cannot be summed up by statistics from the Internet.  I should have been the one to explain the issues transgender people face regarding coming out to others.  These meetings only lasted about an hour.  Everyone then went back to work as if nothing had ever happened. 

I was now entitled to use the women’s bathroom on a regular basis.  No one ever complained about me using the bathroom whatsoever.  One person actually gave me a hug and was inspired by my courage to transition.  She told me that she had a sibling that went through the same thing.  I was quite shocked to see that most people were supportive of what I had done.  Life seemed to get a lot easier from this point forward. 

No one ever knows how a situation will turn out until it arises.  Most of the fears that people experience are just images that are built up in their minds.  Reality is never as scary as the perceived horror.  It has been said that people need to face the consequences of their actions, but what I have learned is that consequences are already put in place once an individual gives energy to an idea.  People do not pay the price for their actions.  They pay the price for their thoughts.    

Legally Female

(Please read "The Power in a Name" before reading this post.)

After getting my name changed in July of 2015, I thought it was time to get my other legal documents changed as well so that there would not be any confusion down the road.  Changing one’s name was a pretty simple process.  I hoped that altering documents such as my social security card and my birth certificate would not be too difficult. 

I got my social security card changed in the middle of August 2015.  Social Security only required the paper showing my legal name change and some basic information from my doctor in order to issue a new card.  The card came in the mail less than a week later.  I expected a longer wait time due to the fact that any federal organization takes forever to notify anyone about anything. 

The next big hurdle I faced regarding legal documentation happened in October 2015.  I went down to the Department of Vital Records to get the information on my birth certificate changed.  The department branch in Baltimore County is located inside of a shopping mall of all places.  My case was pretty cut and dry.  I forgot to get a letter from primary doctor stating that I had been on hormones for a year and a half.  I almost left the department without getting my gender marker changed.  I was lucky that I the representative who took my case went out on a limb and decided to call my doctor to confirm that I had been on hormone therapy for a year and a half.  I ended up paying fifty dollars for two copies of my birth certificate.

I was quite shocked at how easy it was to change all of my legal documents.  I have heard about horror stories in other states, but nothing seemed to be too terrible in the state of Maryland.  All I needed was paperwork showing that my name had been changed by the court, and that was it.  There were a lot of minor bureaucratic errors trying to reach the person in charge of changing the information on my documents, but those are going to exist no matter what the issue at hand may be.  All anyone can do is keep pushing forward regardless of what kind of obstacles get in the way.  Once one accepts the challenges that come with going through a gender transition, then everything else will eventually fall into place.  Winning is guaranteed as long as an individual’s outlook remains positive. 

The Power in a Name

(Please read "Changes for the Better" before reading this post.)

During the summer of 2015, I decided that it was time to get my name changed.  I started to get some funny looks in the men’s bathroom, and people kept asking me if I belonged there.  I came out to my supervisor via text message because I was too much of a coward to tell her how I felt in person.  My supervisor called me into her office the next day and told me to tell her in person what I had told her over the phone.  I was extremely nervous when I told her that I was transgender.  She then sent an e-mail the human resources department asking if there was any policy regarding transgender individuals.  It turns out that I had to get my name legally changed in order for me present myself as my true gender at work.  This requirement seemed logical at first, but I began to lament due to all the bathroom issues I was having. 

The name change process in the state of Maryland was not too much of an obstacle to overcome.  I was not able file my paperwork with the court until the middle of June.  There were only three different forms to fill out in order to change my name.  I filled out the main petition for a name change.  An individual needs to explain why he or she would like to change his or her name.  The notice for a name change is used for advertising your new name in the press.  If anyone objected to my name change petition, then then he or she would have had fifteen days to file a claim explaining why my name should not be altered.  The order for a name change had to be signed by a judge.  The name change process no longer required an individual to go before a judge in person for the name change petition to be granted.  The processing fees ended up being seventy dollars for the completion of all the paperwork. 

I received a letter regarding the status of my name change in the mail a month after I filed the petition.  The petition ended up being denied due to bad hand writing.  I was extremely angry when this event transpired.  The press seemed to be able to read my hand writing, so why was the court being so rigid in regards to my petition.  I went back up to the court at the start of the next week to find out what had happened.  I told one of the civil clerks that my handwriting looks a little funky due to having Cerebral Palsy.  I was advised to go to the free legal center on the first floor, and that the people there might be able to assist me further. 

I went down to the free legal center and spoke to a woman regarding the problem I was having, and she helped me out with how to get passed this bureaucratic issue.  She was not allowed to write for me because that would have been against the rules.  The handwriting issue was finally resolved, and I submitted my amended petition to change my name.  I got a letter in the mail a week later stating that my name change had been granted.

The whole name change process was not anywhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be.  The hiccup regarding bad handwriting was just stupid, but there were no major issues in this whole process.  Everything was straightforward and simple.  All I had to do was fill out a couple of forms, and that was it.  I was very happy to be finished with this part of my transition.  I could now move on to my next big adventure. 

Changes for the Better

(Please read "The Beginning of My Physical Transformation" before reading this post.)

During February 2015, I thought it was time to start dressing as female as well as look into starting hair removal.  I had been on hormones for about eleven months or so, and now it was time to take the next major step in my transition.  I was extremely nervous about how I was going to look in women’s clothes, but I decided to step up to the plate anyway. 

I did not purchase anything that was noticeably feminine for quite a while.  I bought a few pairs of jeans as well as slack pants.  The blouses I bought were very plain, and did not have any designs on them whatsoever.  I actually wore these clothes to work, and so one said a word to me.  I never went bought anything at a physical store location.  Everything I purchased was online through Amazon, Target, or Walmart.  Walmart always had things cheap items for sale in its clearance section.  I picked up the slack pants for about eight dollars apiece.

My mustache and beard have always been made up of light and dark hairs.  The best way for me to approach hair removal was to start with laser and then transfer to electrolysis at a later time.  The closest place to me was only about five minutes away from where I lived.  The prices seemed to be a little more expensive than the other companies I had checked out, but I would have had to waste a lot more money in gas if I would have gone with any of them.  I paid almost three hundred dollars for the full face in each session.  I never actually saw any hair fall out after each session was finished.  I had always heard that some hairs would fall out a few days after a hair removal session.  That experience never happened to me.  I did laser for about five months before I switched to electrolysis.  I still had some sections on my face with dark hair, but it was nowhere near as bad as when I first started.  Laser was getting quite expensive, and I just could not afford it anymore.  Electrolysis was cheaper even if it covered a smaller area of my face. 

I finally had taken two huge steps regarding my transition, and I reached these plateaus unscathed.  The fear I had envisioned was something I made up in my head.  I created problems out of things that did not exist.  Once I finally decided to see the reality of the situation, I was no longer afraid to go for what I wanted.  I lived in fear of transition for almost a decade.  I finally set my emotions free from their invisible cages.    

The Beginning of My Physical Transformation

The year 2013 was not a very big year for anything transition related.  I was still unemployed for the first half of the year due to the poor job market.  I finally scored a position as a call center representative at my local utility company. 

 Shortly after I became employed, I bought an epilator online in order to remove unwanted hair on my body.  This experience was not that great.  I did not realize the huge downside to removing hair using this device.  An epilator is just a bunch of tweezers on a motor that spins around in circles.  Bleeding happened quite often after an epilation session.  I actually let my beard grow so that the tweezers could grab onto the hairs on my face and pull them out.  This plan was not intelligent by any means.  It is one thing to pull hairs from one’s arms or legs, and it is another to pull hair off one one’s face.  The pain felt in both areas was night and day.  The rest of the year came and went in a flash.

In February 2014, I finally decided that it was time to start hormones.  I saw my primary doctor, and he told me that he did not know a whole lot about hormone replacement therapy.  I could either go down to a few doctors in Baltimore City, or I could go to a place in the county known as Chase Brexton.  I opted to go to Chases Brexton because it was not too far from where I worked.  I saw the doctor responsible for trans care, and she told me that I would have to make Chase Brexton my primary care provider so that I could be put on hormones when the time came.  I had to get some bloodwork done before a full dose of hormones could be prescribed.  My health insurance provider did not accept anything from the company Labcorp.  Chase Brexton did not have a relationship with Quest Diagnostics at the time, so I had to get all the medical codes for each test translated so that the company would perform the tests.  This bureaucratic issue with bloodwork made quite angry.  I went home crying the first time I was told that the nurses at quest could not perform the blood tests my primary doctor needed.  I thought I would never be able to start hormones, and that I would remain masculine forever. 

Starting the physical transformation process of transition will always be a trying time for anyone that desires to go through the process.  As long as the individual keeps pushing forward, then he or she will be successful.  The best things in life are the things that take of lot of effort.  All of the things obtained easily will not last very long by any means.  It is not always necessarily the end result that is the most important.  The road one travels is where all the character building takes place. 

Standing up for my Beliefs

(Please read the entry title "Does a Phoenix Have a Gender" before proceeding to this entry.)

I felt extremely nervous about my first session with a gender therapist.  What if she told me that she thought I was not “trans enough” to transition?  I do not know how I would have handled that kind of rejection, but kept the appointment anyway. 

I saw my gender therapist for the first time in June of 2011.  The first session was your typical session that happens at any first visit.  I was asked when my gender confusion began.  I told her that my issues began around the middle of my teenage years.  My feelings came out of the blue for no reason whatsoever.  I told my therapist that I had no clue how these feelings developed or why they came out in my teenage years.  The therapist responded by telling me that my story was not as uncommon as I thought it was.  I felt a lot better about myself after the first session was over.  My father told me that he wanted me to “stay as male.” 

I did not see my therapist too often during this time period due to a lack of money.  I probably only saw her about a total of seven times in four years.  I figured out the majority of my issues on my own anyway.  If I would have seen a therapist earlier in my life, then I might have needed more sessions, but that was not the case. 

One of my major concerns was trying to please my father and still do what I wanted at the same time.  I actually flipped out on my birthday in the year 2012.  My father kept asking me why I always sounded so angry with him.  I finally let him have it.  I told him the reason that I was angry was because he would not accept me as Lauren.  My father then told me that my gender issues were a farce.  He also accused me of always going against the norm.  My father told me that he did not have to accept my disability whatsoever.  He could have just walked out on me, and that was that.  I was also to blame for the reason that my nephew never came down to visit us.  That theory was obviously complete garbage.      

I was not going to hide my feelings about I was from my father any longer.  If he did not like the decision that I had made, then that was a problem that only he would have to do with.  I knew who I wanted to be, and no could stop me regardless of how hard he or she would be willing to try.