Good convesation at work

[mowdan6]

As I have mentioned before, I transitioned on the same job I still work at today.  Where I work nights the only people I am around are the security guards.  It did take some time for them to get used to the change. Anyway, last night I was talking to one of the guards.  At one point he asked if he could ask me a question.  He asked,"Did you always know you needed to make the changes you made?  I told him I knew from my first thoughts.  He then asked, "Why did you not make the change sooner?"  I told him until the year 2000,being from small town New England, I didn't know it was possible. We had a great talk.  He asked very respectful questions and was very interested in being educated about it.

Something I have found very interesting is that there was one guard that would have nothing to do with me.   It wasn't until I grew a beard that he felt comfortable around me.  Now we are best buds.  He even went to my supervisor and told him what a great job I do,

Yea sometimes it takes patience and staying strong.  I now have a very supportive workplace.  And believe me, I never thought that would happen.

[beaver]

That sounds amazing! I'm happy for you to be in that environment, sometimes the workplace is one of the most unnerving places to be out in.

[Kreuzfidel]

That's good to hear.  Just goes to show that it's sometimes worth giving people the chance to support you.

[Gene]

Dude, that is some seriously good news! I'm so happy for you that your co-worker asked respectful questions to educate themselves, and that the one guy who was distant is now a good friend of yours. It warms my heart to see that slowly but surely, we are being accepted more and more by the general population. Happy trails, dude.

[Cindy]

Great post!

I think it is very important that when people ask us questions respectfully we answer them and let them know what being transgender is like. Every cisperson who learns to accept and understand that we are just normal men and women tells their family and friends and the snowball builds.

[King Malachite]

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Mowdan6 as this gives me hope.

[GnomeKid]

Thats awesome!

I've always found its better to take peoples questions and answer them honestly (but without harping on the difficulties of trans-life).  When I transitioned at school I'd get a lot of questions... No one was hating on me they were just honestly curious.  I think for some people it explained some personal quirks, and people felt more comfortable with me afterwards because I was more comfortable with myself. 

[AdamMLP]

I've answered a lot of questions from my friend, everything from how they do top and bottom surgery, what binders are like, what underwear I prefer, how T is given and the referral process. They're questions I wouldn't answer to some people depending on how they asked, but seeing as she's always respectful and genuinely interested I have no problem answering. She even asked to read a document that I found very dull just because she found it interesting to know about, and finds it ridiculous the hoops we have to jump through.