Most people have already covered this, but I thought I'd comment as well.
Quote from: justconfused on January 01, 2014, 11:46:14 PM
Ok so to start this off, I am not transgendered. I have nothing against the LBGT community and really am here just trying to find out from you all some answers.
First of, this is a good step to have taken and shows you want to understand. Just remember that although the vast majority of people on this site are trans, we've all got different experiences, so some stuff might be different for the guy you know.
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A few weeks ago the place I work at got a new employee, a transgendered employee. No big deal, like I said, nobody deserves to be discriminated against, and I would stand up for them if I saw it happening. But here's the deal. This person is a girl. Nobody would doubt that. But she demands we all call her "him" or "he" and anytime anyone slips up, she will instantly correct them "hey I'm a guy". Ok so a little strange but no big deal.
Your colleague may
appear to be a girl, but that's where they end being female. We've all got to start somewhere, and some of us are more fortunate than others in our looks. If you tried to look like the opposite sex right now would you manage it? That's the same problem for them, only they'll be more bothered about looking like a girl than you will be.
You don't say where in the world you are, but in a lot of places such as here in the UK we have to spend 3 months holding employment and living all the time in our "target gender" before we'll be given hormone treatment to change our appearance. Correcting you is not only something they will be wanting to do because it feels like a knife in the back whenever the wrong pronouns are used, but it may also be something which they need to do to be able to access treatment. It might seem like they're being harsh when they keep correcting you, but they've spent their whole lives up until recently having to hide their feelings, and are probably eager to hear the right pronouns, and a little frustrated that it isn't going as easily as they hoped. If you want to be supportive try and use the right pronouns all the time, or at least use gender neutral they/their/them.
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She also will sometimes bring up gender and transgender topics which instantly make me a little uncomfortable. Not because it bothers me, but because I do not want to say anything that could offend them and lose my job over some sexual harassment case.
This isn't something that I would personally ever consider doing in the workplace, simply because I would just like to be thought of as just another guy, but some people are more "out and proud" about themselves, particularly at the beginning of their transition, just like there are some gay men and women who talk about it openly, and others who don't. Maybe mention to them that you'd rather not talk about it as you just want to see them as any other person and by bringing it up all the time it's more difficult?
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The thing that has really begun to bother me and the other male employees recently though is her using the mens restrooms. I have had them walk on me many times and it is awkward to say the least.
This is something that they're probably just as uncomfortable with it as you are, probably scared of being shouted at or beaten up on top of it. As long as they're aware of male bathroom etiquette (don't look, don't make eye contact, don't use the urinal next to someone etc) does it really matter? They're not going in there to spy on you or your privates, they just want to empty their bladder and get it over and done with.
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So basically why I joined this forum was to find out from this community is if this is right, if I should have a talk with them or just drop it. I just think that if you were gonna have other people start calling you by a different name and as the opposite sex, that you should at least be passable as the other sex?
I would just drop it, unless they're doing something etiquettely "wrong" in the bathroom, in which case I would gently bring it up. It would be easier for both you and us if we could instantly be passable, but sometimes that isn't the case, and there's nothing either of us can do about it. Although it might be weird, does it really hurt you to refer to them as male and by their name? Because it probably hurts them if you don't. Even if you don't think they can hear you, because you never know when someone's just around the corner, or who else might be walking past who may be offended by hearing you using the wrong pronouns for someone.
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The other thing is she doesn't act manly at all, they are very feminine in how they present themselves. The person also has a boyfriend which when I heard that, I quit trying to figure them out anymore or put this person into any "normal" box, which is probably how the person feels anyways..(Is there such thing as a transgendered gay??)
I'm not sure I understand what you mean about being feminine in their presentation? If it's referring to their clothes then maybe they don't know what to wear to suit their body, or have the money to update their wardrobe. If it's their mannerisms, then some people struggle to get out of old habits which have been ingrained into them since childhood. Some men are just more feminine than others anyway.
As for being gay, yup, gay trans people exist, just like gay cis (non-trans) people exist too. Gender and sexuality are completely different things, and whilst it might seem to you like it would be easier/more socially acceptable to be a straight female than a gay male, it's really not a choice for trans people. The need to transition often comes from a deep hatred of their appearance and everything female about it, even down to the way their fat sits on their body, and can be a matter of mental stability.