Hi,
I've been following the ftm transsexual talk forum for a while. I haven't posted much, mainly due to time and a perceived lack of experience. A quick bio on me. I'm ftm who came out in March 2011. Since then I have started T, legally changed my name and sex marker on my DL and have an appointment set up to discuss surgery in late Sept. I'm also the Educational Chair for my campus' LGBTQA organization.
A friend of mine was contracted by a department on campus to design a program that would make our campus a safer environment by training people on how to make their offices places that were free from bias. While he was working on it he frequently asked me for help with editing, particularly in the scenarios that related to trans issues. This was important since past programs our university used that had similar goals failed to look at some of these challenges.
His program is nearing completion and has already been presented once. He told me last night if he can continue to borrow me he'd like my help designing a 30 min workshop on challenges faced by the Transgender/Transsexual community. One reason this program is next on out "To Do" list is that we've had to approach the health center on campus about using female pronouns to refer to me and they said they don't have time for a full 2 hr training until January, but would be able to find time for a shorter workshop.
I'm more than happy to consult with him on this workshop, but I feel there is a lot of information I'm missing. The scenarios in the main program come entirely from the challenges I've experienced in the past few months, but I know there is a lot left out. I'm just one T-guy who's only known who is was for less than a year. I have no experience with mtf transitions or the process for those who are older/younger than me.
To that end I'd like to ask you all what types of things you believe this training should cover. What are the things that people do that trigger dysphoria/problems? What would you like the cisgender community to understand about being trans to make it easier for you to approach them? What could an office do to make it clear that you would be welcome?
Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to reading your responses. If you have any other suggestions/questions you believe I should look at, please feel free to post them.
-Andrew
