What brings you to this site?

[Jillian T. Weiss]

What brings you to this site? Let's share!

[Dana Lleuwelllyn]

I have a Ph.D. in Psychology, participate in APA Division 44 and am working on a book on the Biopsychology of Transgenderism and Transexualism. I would like to translate my knowledge into becoming an expert witness and trainer.
Dana

[Pamela Raintree]

Glad to hear that someone is doing this. I think having the facts will become vital to our search for equality.

[Jane Hamel]

Hi Jillian, Nice to meet you. I was brought here searching for a mutual friend, Donna Festa. She was a very important person in my not-too-distant past and I was trying to re-connect. I am about to go on a mission to petition the new administration to add Gender Re-assignment Surgery to the Medicare "covered procedures" list. Specifically, mine. Wish me luck!

[Jamie Roberts]

I'll be looking for support when I start getting back into the work force (right now I'm on government assistance), or if self-employment as an artist takes off.

[Pamela Raintree]

I was invited to join. I accepted the invitation because I hope to re-enter the workforce after completing my degree. Until 1998, I had been a modestly successful artist/sign painter. Technology displaced me from the sign industry and a laundry list of other factors prevented me from finding a new career. The list included my age, lack of education, some medical problems and, of course, gender identity disorder. That was the year I began my transition and was approved for a non-service-connected disability pension from the Veteran's Administration. I've been out of the job market since that time and want to return. I have four years of school left to complete a Master's degree. That will leave me with a 15 year gap on the resume and a male designation on all the important paperwork boxes, since I have been unable to complete the transition process.

My current goal is to complete a degree in art, having already spent two years in that major, and then shoot for a Master's that will allow me to teach creative writing at the college level. I will probably teach in an alternative setting though, preferably in an underprivileged community, eg; inner-city non-profit organization, Indian reservation, etcetera.

[Sofia Belatrix Lenard]

I was looking up transfriendly job search engines & this site came up so I was currious about it & I liked what I saw. I am currently looking for a job but I am also a small business owner, the Business is called Twists & Turns here is the link to the site http://www.geocities.com/draco_desmoi_draconis/twistsandturns.html please look around as long as you wish & E-mail me if you have any questions.

[Donna Tara Lee]

This year on march 24 we won a huge victory in Gainesville, Fl. Those opposed to trans rights lost in the local city election. Their amendment to the city charter would have banned civil rights for all GLBT citizens in Gainesville. GLB citizens had these rights since 1998.When trans persons were added the Thomas Moore institute from Michigan cajoled a group here to put a amendment on the ballot taking away all GLBT rights. They used trans folks as a scare tactic, saying men could use womyn's bathrooms. This tactic did not work.
A broad coalition of over 40 local groups banded together. My group was Equality is Gainesville's business and I was a charter member of it and did 1 TV interview, gave some speeches and wrote a few articles, did some fundraising, phonebanking, took voters to the polls and also did some canvassing. We raised over $100,000.00 for our campaign, knocked on 5,000 doors and made over 25,000 phone calls. We took 58.33% of the vote to our opponents 41.67%. We gave them a solid thrashing.
This November the same amendment is on the ballot in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I hope to bring the skills I honed here in Gainesville in fighting the amendment here to Kalamazoo and help them win. We ned to fight back and beat the forces of ignorance, bigotry and hatred wherever it raises it's ugly head. I am proud of being part of such a historic battle in Gainesville and am still savoring our great win. If any other communities face this please contact me as I'll gladly join the fight and help as much as I can.

Donna Lee

[Sara Pleger]

Hi everybody. I have been invited and I am positively surprised about this Network. I will immediately forward the reference to our company internal LGBT Network, of which I am the only open transwoman. I transitionned officially by mid 2007 and had my surgery done on July 30th 2008 in Germany. I am fully accepted as a woman at my job by now. During my transition period, my employer offered me all help needed to have a smooth transition, and to allow me to prepare for the GREAT DAY. Very few employers do that over here. You are mostly at risk of getting fired. Transpeople are a tabou ! Greetings from the dark ages :-)

[AJ]

Hi everyone, I'm AJ. I luckily stumbled upon this site while searching for resources regarding discrimination and harassment in the workplace. After months of completely impeccable reviews, on paper, I was fired over a rule broken via oversight. No warnings, just fired. I had been dealing with harassment from coworkers for 6 months, informing immediate supervisors, and it also just so happened that I was let go right after upper management caught word that I was requesting assistance with the harassment. I've even been denied unemployment insurance, which I'm trying to appeal, but even the legal advocate I have (who is a part of a trans-focused legal project) feels that my ex-employer has a strong case and is not optimistic. The representative from unemployment didn't even ask what type of harassment I encountered when I mentioned it. I am also having trouble finding a new position, and I have no doubt that my termination as well as attitudes regarding my gender identity are a factor, despite the current economy. I'm nervous and furious and depressed and I've even considered postponing the remainder of my transition, but so much has already changed that it would probably be a futile effort.

Thanks for reading - I truly send my deepest empathy to anyone who is, or has, dealt with this or anything similar.