Here is a message I sent to a genetic female I work with, and her response:
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Hi Jxxxxx:
I am sending this to you (with a copy to Bxxxxx) in the hope that you will be able to accept a part of me that you have not known before.
The essence of this message is that I spend as much time as possible (not nearly enough:)) "presenting" as a female I call Anne.
I have spent a lot of time (actually a number of months) trying to decide if I should even send this message to you, but at this time, I feel it is the right thing to do.
Revealing this part of me is very frightening to do since I realize that you will most likely share this information with Rxxxxxx (her husband, and my boss). I would be devastated if I lost xxxxxxxx as a client because I am a different person than you and Rxxxxxxx have known over the years.
I know that you are both very liberal and accepting and I truly hope there is not a limit to your acceptance of alternative gender identification. I am doing this out of a sense of wanting to be honest with the people I work with and honest with myself. I view myself as primarily female, in spite of my physical male "parts" and day to day presentation. By revealing this part of me, I am in no way trying to suggest that I would ever appear in the office as a female.
If you are comfortable with this information, please call me when you receive this (xxx-xxx-xxxx) so we can talk about this part of me and possibly set up a time for you to meet Anne so you can find out more about me. If you are uncomfortable with this, I'd really appreciate it if you could just ignore the fact that I sent you this message and hopefully we can continue as we have for the past several years.
Tuesday is the day I spend as Anne. Lxxxxxxxx (my wife of 25 years, who knows all about Anne) teaches students (adolescent girls) at home everyday except Tuesday, and that is why my time as Anne primarily takes place on Tuesday's.
Thank you for your understanding and I sncerely hope that revealing this part of me will not harm or jeopardize my working relationship with you and Rxxxxxx.
Anne W
Here is the response:
Note from a friend:
Dear Anne, Rxxzxxx and I have been out of town and this is the first time I have checked my email.
I think that it took a lot of courage for you to send this email.
I have spoken with Rxxxxxxx and we both feel that you are and always will be the same kind, caring, and loving person that you always have been (whether it is as Rixxxxxx or Anne). We could not and would not ever judge anyone based on their race, religion, or sexual gender (wish we could say we would not judge someone based on their politics~but that is really a stretch).
Rxxxxxx and I would love to met Anne and talk about how you plan to proceed and move into the future.
It goes without saying that your working relationship with xxxxxxx would have nothing to do with your personal life choice.
xxxxsxxx is gearing up for trial (next Monday). As soon as things calm down here, we would like to get together.
Take care, Jxxxxx
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These are the things that make me think that people are truly better than we think a lot of the time.
Anne
