I want to thank everyone for sharing their thoughts on this subject. I appreciate everyone who was thinking of my safety and job security. I have seen comments both for and against and I took both into account. My first thought was about what I meant in a previous comment I made by being an advocate for change. Was I thinking about doing this just for myself? Well, of course I was. But was I also thinking of societal acceptance, making things better for our community, at least better in my opinion. If my goal was to go in the office dressed and then hide then it would only be for my own personal enjoyment. Not that it would be a bad thing, but somewhat selfish. I also took into account the job safety aspect. I have been with the company for a long time so I think I have a good grasp on what would be acceptable or not. There is always a chance of a bad outcome but that could be said of going out dressed up in the general public too. I do feel safe in this work environment and honestly would I want to work somewhere I don't feel safe. I have also found that as I get older I am becoming more revolutionary. I have gone out in public fully en femme. I spent an entire week long vacation including flying en femme I didn't even pack anything male to bring with me. I have no thoughts of transitioning, I don't think I pass. I also will present non-binary sometimes, wearing a skirt with my male top and no makeup. Basically I just want to wear what I want to on any given day.
That being said, I decided to go into the office yesterday in a non binary style. No makeup, a polo shirt, no bra or forms and I matched that to a business appropriate skirt. I carried in my heels because it was 34 degrees walking in, but I changed into them at my desk. I also decided that I shouldn't hide, just own it. I felt that if I encountered anyone I should just be like it was the most normal thing in the world. Which is probably good advice in any situation. Because there is nothing wrong about how you present. I saw two guards at the security desk, they said nothing and may not have even noticed. From 9a to 5p I only saw two other people and they paid me no mind, again maybe they didn't even notice me. I sat at my desk, did my job, I made my lunch in the break room, I made short excursion to the printer or to throw out some confidential papers in the shredding bin. No issues at all. One could argue that if I'm so confident about this, why not do it at a building that actually has a normal population of employees. Its a valid argument, but baby steps. This was just another small step forward.
I took a couple of pictures. I hope this inspires some people, but only if they want to go out dressed. It is everyones choice to do what they are comfortable with doing.
work 1.jpg
work 2.jpg
work 3.jpg
work 4.jpg