Ladies' Bathroom visit.

[Project_Denise]

Hi. I'd like to hear from you any advice you can give regarding my situation. I'm already planning to have SRS soon. I'm on my psychological evaluation/recommendation letter part. I'm taking hormones for a year now and I can say I already look like a girl. Having said this, can I say that I'm on my RLE? I guess yes.

I'm currently working in a call center in the Philippines, I'm new to this company tho, just 7 months, well nothing seems to be wrong when I go to the ladies' bathroom, because 1. this is where I go on my previous company, 2. I crossdress and I am never comfortable going to the males' bathroom. The people in my company treat me as a lady, from the security guards, to the maintenance and orderly team, to some agents, and to managers. Everything's going well until my supervisor talked to me and told me that I need to go to the Employee Services Dept. so that I can request for approval that I can/am able to go to the ladies' bathroom. This is because a couple of biological ladies gave my supervisor a feedback that I'm "not supposed" to be in the ladies' bathroom cause I'm still a male. This conversation gave a bit of pain but I said that I will request for this letter.

Now... I wanna ask you girls if I really need this letter? isn't it already a form of discrimination? am I supposed to forward letters that I'm undertaking HRT, that I'm eligible to undergo SRS, that my name is on process of being changed...? Thinking of this makes me sad, but oh well, we trans are the most courageous people I know... I guess I'll need to face this. Any advice is greatly appreciated. *cries*

-Denise

[Ms Grace]

Depends where you live. It's not really needed here in Australia, at least that's what my gender counsellor told me. A lot of it will come down to what your local anti-discrimination laws are like.

[Princess Rachel]

as Ms Grace says it's based on local laws, my advice is to join a union, most large offices recognise one union as having recognised bargaining rights, and talk to your office rep, they should have a copy of the legislation as well as copies of your company policy documents, they can help you make a case that as you living as a woman it's necessary for you to use the appropriate loo, if there's a lot of doubt and uncertainty then invoke the principle of least shock, ie a woman using the woman's loo is much less of a shock than a woman using the men's loo, tell them that they'll soon have a helluva lot of blokes coming to them with complaints if they make you use the wrong loo,

[JulieBlair]

It is indeed based on where you are and how your gender is officially listed.  I work for the US federal government, and until I had a transition plan in place with letters from my doctor, and from the court (name change) was required to use the men's room.  Interestingly I am no prohibited from that space.  lol

j