On my work computer I have queued up a letter to send to my fellow employees about my transition.  My name has already been changed in every location that is visible by my team as well as the entire company. 

Just a little background, I do chat support for a very large company, so no one sees me at all except for a supervisor that we occasionally do on camera meetings.

This is the letter that I am about to send, but before I do, I would like a little input. 

Please note that a lot of this letter was acquired by other example letters and I just thought they fit well.

Please let me know what you think:

Hello Team,

At first glance, this email may look a little long, but it's very important to me and I promise I did my best to be as concise as possible. It would truly mean a lot if you could take a few minutes to read the entire thing.

I am writing to tell you about a matter that is essentially personal but will result in some changes at work and it is now time to explain what is going on.

I am transgender. I have been transgender my entire life. Though I've mostly kept this hidden, I don't see it as anything for me to be ashamed of. Last year, I finally came to the understanding that I can no longer continue living the lie I have lived for the last 44 years. I wasn't being honest with myself and I wasn't being honest with those around me and in my life. I wasn't happy. I made the decision, or rather, accepted the decision, to transition and stop pretending to be something and someone I'm not. I wanted to begin living my life the way I should be living it, as the real me.

The simple way to explain what my being transgender means is to say I identify as a woman, but it's so much more than that. I don't just identify as a woman, I am a woman. I have felt this way every day of my life, all the way back to some of my earliest childhood memories. This is not simply about clothing or a name, but it is an innate sense of self and who I am. However, I am not "trapped" in the wrong body, instead, like many trans people, it is less about anything physical, but more mental, emotional, and social.

My transition process includes psychotherapy, hormonal treatments as well as a recent surgery as well as possible surgeries to come. Accordingly, I have been working with my therapist and doctors, following the Standards of Care that set out treatment guidelines for transgender individuals (WPATH - World Professional Association for Transgender Health).

Your first reaction may be to see being trans and transitioning in a negative light, be it tragic or painful...maybe even just as confusion. Being trans is none of these things to me. The reality is the last year and a half of transitioning has been an extremely positive and amazing experience. This is a change in my life that I want to do. It excites me and gives me hope. I have found who I really am.

This change will not affect my ability to do my job. In fact, I may be less distracted when I no longer have two personas to juggle. Also, as I enjoy being myself more, you may find me more enjoyable to be around in chat.

Some of you may not understand the life changes I'm undertaking. I would be happy to answer your questions or direct you to additional information. Some of you may not approve of what I'm doing; that is your right. However, I expect that everyone will treat me with basic human respect.

Starting immediately, I am asking everyone to begin referring to me only by my real name, Josilyn, and only using female pronouns (she/her/hers). I also ask for you refrain from any casual use of words like "man," "dude," "bro," or "guy" in reference to me. During the last week my name has been officially changed within the **** Directory and you will see this reflected in chat, Our logging software as well as in emails and other means of communication that we use. While I realize this may take some getting used to and I expect the occasional slip-up, I ask for your understanding in the importance of using my correct name and pronouns. I will kindly and politely correct you when you make a mistake, but I will not take offense unless it feels deliberate.

Thank you for taking the time to read all of this and thank you even more for your support going forward. This is truly an exciting and positive change in my life and I am happy to be experiencing it here and around all of you.

Respectfully,
Josilyn
Formerly *******

You certainly give a lot of info. Not sure I would go into detail, but it would be new for me too. I wonder if there's a resource for this kind of thing? I found out that they don't have transition policies where I work, which is the largest public university in the country. Go figure.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just an update...  I went ahead and modified and shortened the letter.  After waiting for a few days with resignation to sending it, my wife came over to my computer and sent it off.  So far I have had nothing but positive responses.  Once again, the fear is more built up in your head than what is really in the world beyond.

Yays!  The water's not so bad, huh?

Hugs, Devlyn

Initial draft contained too much information and justification - we shouldn't have to justify our existence and right to transition to anybody.  I haven't yet come out to my office but I think my approach will be light hearted - (in summary) hey this is happening but it was a badly kept secret anyway, my name is XXXX, nothing really changes, I am happy to transition at a great company which recognises and protects gender identity and with enlightened and supportive colleagues, any questions (directly or anonymously), call to my office or send me an email.  Thanks for your understanding and support.

When I came out to some family and friends, I made the mistake of over-sharing information, trying to justify my existence and get their approval to transition.  That was too much and kind of put pressure on them too. 

Good luck with your coming out and changeover at work.

Quote from: tarabel on April 17, 2017, 04:54:38 AM
Initial draft contained too much information and justification - we shouldn't have to justify our existence and right to transition to anybody.

I agree with this.

But I'm glad things are working out for you Josilyn