Hi all,
Well today marks my very first day at work presenting as a woman. It was handover day, meaning death by presentations as to what the section members who work for me do. The whole section has already met Marcelle (Isha) a few weeks back in a social setting but today was the first time they interacted with me in a work environment, not the mention the rest of the building. The education piece provided to the building helped immensely and while there were a few odd looks from some (mainly quizzical), people were respectful, polite and professional. My subordinates used the proper gender titles (Ma’am vice Sir) without so much as missing a beat. I met with the Director General of the section and she welcomed me and affirmed that I would be treated professionally and with respect irrespective of what gender I choose to present.
I have to admit, I have been out in public for over a year now and rarely do I feel nervous or hesitate when I enter a venue of choice. However, this time I actually had to pause and collect myself at the entrance to the building as I felt as nervous as my first trip out into the Vanilla world but, I survived and am now back home emotionally exhausted. Fortunately, the person I was a replacing (a good friend) was there to provide support and a bit of a pep talk to get me back in the game. For the most part, boring briefings, shop talk and paperwork . . . sorry no cocktails or dancing, just boring old work. However, I do have one humorous tale from today . . . As I do not have a building pass yet, I had to hand in my identification in exchange for a visitor's pass. When I was leaving the guard on duty pulled my ID from the slot to exchange it back for the building pass. He looked at me, then the card, back to me then back to the card and said “Marcel G*****” to which I replied “Trust me it is me”. He looked at the card again “But it says male?” to which I responded “Yes that is me” and then the lights went on and he handed over the card with a polite “Have a nice weekend Ma’am”.
I have attached a few photos of what I wore that day. I decided to keep it neutral and not too flashy as there was no sense in scaring everyone with a bright patterned dress. Now, I know there are skeptics out there who might read my posts and think “She said she went to work but anyone can say they went to work”. So for the skeptics, I have provided two photos. One outside the building where I will be working and the other is me in the briefing room after four hours of briefings. I don’t normally take pictures in public as it seems like a bit of a combat indicator . . . look at me the TG person over here not to mention these are horrible pics as it is just point and click, not posing, no lighting fixes . . . super ugly gal on display if you know what I mean
. However, in this instance, I was thinking some may want proof of life.
. . . so voila.
Cheers
Isha
Perfection Is a Road Not a Destination
