I had a really great experience tonight. Functioning totally as my authentic self in a role that I previously have only ever performed as a male and one which happens to be a male dominated space.
For years I have worked in audio engineering doing both live sound reinforcement for mid-sized concert venues (3,000-7,500 seats), houses of worship, and small theaters as well as working in a recording studio. I don't know how many of you have ever paid attention when you've gone to a concert, but the Front-of-House engineer and in fact the whole live audio space is heavily dominated by men (probably 90% or better if I had to guess).
The people at my church know of my background and this week they reached out to me because they were in a bind and needed someone to handle audio for a concert coming up this weekend. I agreed and tonight was the rehearsal. So I went in to church, met with the person who could answer questions about their rig and got to work. It was really amazing. First of all, as happens in my church so often, every new person I met tonight was super friendly and accepting. More importantly however, they all interacted with me totally naturally. No odd looks, no stumbling over pronouns, nothing.
However, what was really amazing was how it felt to be doing a job I've done countless times in the years past, but to be doing it as my true self. I can't even describe the feeling other than to say I felt like I had reached a new accomplishment. Even better still, I didn't have any issues with them accepting or trusting in my expertise. Despite this typically being a job filled by males, no one seemed to have any problem with a woman not only doing the job but leading the way and providing direction. It was truly spectacular.
