Being Trans and Visible – Reflections on a year at work

The 31^st March is Trans Day of Visibility, ‘TDoV’ for those of us in the community, and you may wonder, what is this day all about? – To which the answer is ‘exactly what it says’ – it is about Transgender people being visible, living their lives.  It started as a response to the fact that during a year of observances, trans people recognised (and still do) those trans people lost to violent death and suicide every year (November 20^th) but we did not have a day celebrating our humanity and the contributions we make to society.

 For me personally, TDoV is a particularly special day, as it marks the anniversary of when I ‘socially transitioned’ – which is to say, that I stopped presenting myself to the world in the gender I was incorrectly assigned at birth, and made some practical steps to make the change.  Interestingly, as a Project Professional I had a Gantt Chart (that’s a graphical depiction of a plan for the uninitiated) – which had a much longer timeline envisaged – there is a lot to do when you transition; medical support, emotional support, finding your ‘style’ – and I had all of these on my ‘critical path’ – things I felt I absolutely MUST have done before being comfortable to be myself publicly every day, and not just temporarily for an evening or day out.

Then something happened.   On the 23^rd March 2020 I found myself being the last person in the office in Corby – everyone else already having started to work from home for a ‘short period’.  It was surreal,  the business knew I was trans by this time of course, and in my ‘coming out’ message I had referenced that I had a ‘lot to do’ before people would see the real me every day; but in honesty, the 5 months of living a double life was getting really tough and when on the 24^th March I came home knowing that the office was now closed I started to think about what survival and visibility really meant now.

To continue reading Emily’s story, please click the link here.