TransitioningAtWork | LetterToWork

Draft 2 Of My Letter To Work

Dear Friends And Colleagues,

I am writing this to bring you up to date and to make clear what my immediate future holds. I have been doing a lot of personal work with some wonderful people. I now feel quite healthy and whole.

Which brings me to the very difficult news that I must share with you all.

The difficulty in this news is that it deals with a topic that is beyond most people's experience, and what little most people know has been colored by media and religion. What I speak of is medically called Gender Identity Disorder, but is commonly referred to as transsexualism. What for most people is such a bedrock, core given of their identity, is for me not so. Most of you have probably heard of people who feel "they are a woman trapped in a man's body". While this is not quite true for me, it is close enough that it will suffice for the moment.

I write this letter to announce that I will be starting a significant stage of the transition from male to female: the "Real-Life Test". This is a period of time when I live full-time in the assumed gender role and begin to be comfortable with the changes and adjustments that involves. My intention is to begin living full-time as a woman on June 1st of this yearat which point I will be coming to work in my new identity, NEW FULL NAME. I will appreciate all efforts you can make to accommodate me, including using my new name, and referring to me as a woman, as we graciously accept the expected slips and adjustments.

I am not pursuing this on a whim, but after much careful consideration with two therapists and the counsel of other people who have made this same type of transition. Gender Identity Disorder is a life-long condition, some refer to it as a congenital birth defect. The pain of living as I was, a born male, but with the identity of self as a woman, and the consequent incongruities that brings about, are too great. The alternatives to pursuing this are clear to me: depression, leading to actual or virtual suicide. Once I woke up to myself, I could not go back to sleep. My transition might be difficult for a few of you, while, for others, it might just be a cakewalk. I wish to assure you all that I do respect your true feelings, as you respect and honor mine, and that we will work through this.

The specifics of this transition, as planned so far, are to:

• have a period for discussion
• a break, and then
• my return to work.

I wish to assure you that you will be provided time to ask questions, think about what this means for you, etc., in a way that will be safe for both you and me. I encourage each of you to talk this over with your SUPERVISORS, and to read some of the material I have furnished on my web site and in the SWI library.

The best thing people can do is to become educated. There are a wealth of on-line resources if you wish to delve more into this area. During the interim period of this announcement to my starting full-time living, I will be around to answer questions, and certainly welcome your words of support. I am quite open to talking about certain aspects of the transition, the condition of GID, gender dysphoria, and so on.

I will be taking a two-week vacation just prior to June 1st after which time I will come to work as NEW NAME.

As I have struggled with this, I have come to appreciate more fully the sort of environment we have created in DEPARTMENT that gives the space and encouragement for this help and support to work well. I hold you all quite dear in my heart, and I know that we will be able to work together in the future at least as well as we have in the past.

My very best regards,

OLD NAME

Categories: Transition, Work