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i worked at that job for a month. in that month, she misgendered me specifically when she got angry at me, lumped me in with a group of “ladies,” and told me that i needed to have “a little patience and understanding” when i corrected her.
this is what it’s like to work, or try to find work, as a trans person. there are a million calculations: when do you out yourself? what if you don’t out yourself at all? how will your employer react if or when you do, or when they find out?
does your employer have trans-inclusive coverage? will they let you take time off on a weekday for regular doctor’s appointments during business hours? will they penalize you for doing so?
are they willing to stick up for you to colleagues? what about clients? do they expect you to be their unpaid sensitivity training exercise? are they going to impose specific expectations on your presentation? will their respect be contingent on whether or not you pass?
if you haven’t changed your name legally, will they recognize and use your correct name? what systems will deadname you no matter what? how many of your coworkers will be able to see them?
do they have inclusive facilities? what about inclusive events? are they willing to take feedback and criticism on any policies they currently have in place? or will you get fired just for existing in your workplace?
and that’s on top of the usual calculus about pay and hours and benefits and accessibility and location and, last of all, whether or not you even want to work there. when you’re trans, you can’t afford to be picky about jobs.
you take what you can get, and you put up with whatever kind of inevitably shitty treatment you receive as a result, because you are not guaranteed any kind of legal protection. there are no federal laws protecting trans employees.
without legal recourse, this is not going to change. trans unemployment rates are already much higher than average. trans people already spend all day, every day, advocating for ourselves. now we need the ability to hold transphobic employers accountable for bad behavior.
the supreme court is going to hear a case this week about whether it is legal for an employer to fire a trans person solely for being trans: https://www.out.com/commentary/2019/10/03/my-boss-fired-me-being-trans-i-took-it-supreme-court … i am terrified of what will happen next.
and this isn’t just about trans employees. the supreme court is also going to hear two cases on the subject of whether or not you can be fired for being gay. and all of these cases rest on the claim that your employer should be able to dictate who you are allowed to be at work:
whether you can be out as gay or trans, what clothes you have to wear according to cisnormative, regressive gendered standards, or whether you have to pretend to be somebody you’re not — just for the privilege of increasing your employer’s profits.
that isn’t fair, and it shouldn’t be legal, and understanding something is the first step towards changing it. this is what it’s like right now to be a trans person in the job market. it shouldn’t be like this.
these are the things you can push to change at your workplace. these are the ways you can help, no matter what happens next, and this is how you can make the world a slightly kinder, better place, with more room for everyone.
and whatever happens next, that’s what we’ll need: people who are dedicated to change and willing to push for it.
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