sistawendy | all the way out at work

I had my scheduled mystery meeting with the lady from HR present. I pretty much stuck to the script - timetable, respect, name, pronouns, funny story about getting Bigpuppy's name right, resources, same person, same job, yadda yadda. One guy showed up late, which was hilarious. Leave room after ten minutes, let HR lady take questions, then send the Big Mail.

Subject: gender transition

Have you ever looked in the mirror and seen something that you know no one else can see? This happens to me every time I look in a mirror, and it’s been happening for most of my life. Making it stop is central to why I’m changing sex.

The timetable is this:
• I’ll be taking vacation starting Monday, December 13th through the end of the year.
• I’ll be changing my badge, my alias, Microsoft’s record of my name, etc. during the rest of December.
• I’ll return to work on January 4th as a woman.

What I need from you is, first and foremost, for you to treat me with the same respect you’d give to any other employee. Please use the correct name (Maura, pronounced MOH-rah) and correct pronouns (she, her, and hers). I realize that it may take time for everyone to get into the habit of using the right words; in the meantime I will remind you gently.

I will answer any questions that you have about this, as long as it doesn’t take time away from our work, by mail, IM, or in person. When I say “any” I mean it.

For further assistance or information, here are some resources:
• [HR lady] in HR, [email alias], has been handling my case. If you have questions for HR pertaining to my transition, she’s the one to talk to.
• HR’s page of information for and about transgender employees: [internal URL]
• I’m following in the footsteps of Megan Wallent, who also transitioned on the job here at Microsoft and still works here. Her blog is http://meganwallent.com/.
• She’s Not There by Jennifer Boylan is a beautifully written memoir from somebody who didn’t work at Microsoft, but made the same transition in circumstances otherwise similar to mine. It’s an entire book, but it’s the best account I’ve ever encountered of what it’s like to be someone like me.

As extraordinary as a transition is, I’ll still be the same person doing the same job.

Thanks,
[old name], soon to be Maura

The only notifications I have left are old school chums, former co-workers, and extended family whom I haven't seen in years.

You will note that this entry is public. I'd like to make most of the back entries on my trans tag public as well. If you would like me to screen or delete your comments, please let me know via mail (I have this username at gmail), private message, or smoke signal.