Waste!

Waste is defined as rubbish, trash, garbage, refuse, junk or other discarded materials by society. Waste is a subjective concept because items that some people discard may have value to others. Human waste is defined as most people as feces which is a nice term for shit. Waste in my scheme of things is the failure of society, through its organizations and entities, to hire or retain transgendered individuals who are out and transitioning or have transitioned merely because of misconceptions and biases which plagued our society. Far too many of my brothers and sisters in the transgendered community, myself included, are treated accordingly by society resulting in one of the highest rates of unemployment or underemployment anywhere in this country. The economy is already in the crapper and unemployment is rampant and when combined with the pervasive and insidious discrimination and prejudices against the transgendered community leaves so many of my brothers and sisters out of work and holding on by threads which get thinner by the day sometimes.

Now I do not mean to contend that my sisters and brothers in the L, G or B communities do not face discrimination in the workplace because they do. However, I think it is also true that many times the L, G or B can be concealed from current or perspective employers who care less and less about what you do after work and who you sleep with each night than they do about things which affect their workplace directly such as a transition of a transgendered person or how hiring transgendered person could be in their mind disruptive to their workforce and that is a major concern of organizations. Let’s face it you can come out as gay or lesbian and not really have to tell your coworkers if you don’t want to and keep the matter private which is your right. Try keeping the fact you are transgendered and transitioning a secret from your employer or its employees. When one is gay or lesbian their physical anatomy and appearance do not change much if at all. However, when one comes out on the workforce as transgendered and goes from being Kathy to being Karl or from being Tom to being Tina it is just a wee bit hard to hide that folks! The employer knows it is looking at time off for surgeries and treatment and headache of questions from other employees – not the least of these is the dreaded “where is so and so going to go to bathroom?”

Additionally, just because one is fully transitioned with all the surgeries and legalities does not make it easier when one is looking for work. I am searching for a new career and have been going to job fairs, applying for positions, sending out resumes and cover letters and filling out job profiles and applications on line. Two of the applications and online profiles ask “whether I have ever gone by another name or had a name change” Hmmmm…let's see….think they may notice that the old name was a male one and vastly different from my true name Melissa? Gees…a six year old can pick that one out- much less a HR person. I am not even to the interview process and here I am outing myself. It’s not the fact I am ashamed of who I am as a person but I know there are many out there who think I should be and I have already laid in their lap a reason not to hire me from the mere profile alone. That my friend is also a bunch of feces!

I meet so many talented transgendered people in my interactions with others through conferences and lobbying efforts or group meetings and the stories I hear are the same. Most of the people I meet are either working part time jobs that do not come near their qualifications. Others work as self- employed individuals struggling to keep their small businesses afloat and many are simply unemployed. It is estimated that unemployment in the “out” transgendered community is running somewhere around 50-60% and even higher. I have met so many out of work but talented computer techs, chefs, teachers, designers, and other professionals I cannot even count them! Many transgendered people I know lost their jobs when they came out and told people who they really were as people. My friend Teri was told that if she transitioned she would be terminated. Another person I know was offered a raise and new position until he came out and transitioned and in six months he went from being highly regarded for promotion as woman but when he transitioned to a man he ended up fired. My friend Debbie was terminated from her franchise dealership for selling log homes when she transitioned because the company felt I guess a transgendered woman could not sell them. Again since transgendered people when they come out and transition cannot hide the fact they are transgendered the ramifications in employment losses and difficulty in finding new work become an all too common scenario. This is such a waste of such talented people all for the reason that society cannot deal with the changing of outward genders even if it is to match the inner one that has been there all the life.

I have heard that the younger members of the transgendered community are a bit tired of all the “drama” of the older transgendered people. Well if I had come out as a teenager and my parents got me on hormones before I left for college and I had studied and earned my degrees in my true gender I would not be as worried about finding work. Transitioning before your mid twenties pretty much ensures you have not built much of a life as the person in the wrong gender. Your college and employment records would only reflect the true identity. Older transgendered people do not have that luxury. We built a life in the wrong gender. Our employment history is riddled with the old life. When potential employers start researching my background they will find another entity besides Melissa Alexander. I know my old law firm will do so because the person who is in charge of such information is a very macho, man’s man ex- military type guy. The number of “he’s” coming forth could not be counted on two hands. God knows what the transcripts from college will look like even though I have notified them and received new degrees from them with my proper name on them. I cannot escape that old life! Again I am not ashamed of w\ho I am- it’s just I am tired of having thrown up against me as I now live the life I was suppose to live all my life. My life is now and in the future but unfortunately it is my past that stands in the way. If one does not have much past because they are very young then they have little which can be used against them in the future.

What bothers me the most in all this is so much wasting of talent that many of my brothers and sisters can offer society if those in the transgendered community are given a chance without the jagged past thrown up in their faces. If employers will look beyond that history and consider that talent when it comes time to hire, promote and not terminate that employment because of the disclosure of the truth as to one’s identity, then the waste of human resources can begin to end and more healing can take place in the transgendered community and maybe a little less drama in this community as well. So many of us have already paid the price when it comes to loss of friends and family and resources which has hurt us emotionally we should be able to keep some dignity in maintaining work, finding new work for our talents and more enjoyment of the new life in the right gender. I know that the passage of the ENDA legislation and enactment of HB 176 in Ohio would go a long way in making this happen. Furthermore, repeal of the intrusive federal acts that violate everyone’s civil liberties and out our past lives would also help in this regard. Some day we may not talk about this absurdly high unemployment rate in our community and we can maybe even talk about the great things transgendered people are doing in society when the waste of talent has ended. Until then, the loss of such talent in society by members our community can only be simply classified as a waste and the pervasive discrimination faced in the same as “human waste!”