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When they learned she was transgender IBM fired her.
Lynn had managed to put together some fragile bits of support and help from her family and friends. However, when IBM fired her everyone lost confidence in what she was doing and her support system collapsed. Lynn went abroad for her surgery, all alone. She had lost not only her career and professional reputation, but also her family, relatives, friends and colleagues. She faced a frighteningly uncertain future without a soul in the world to help her other than her doctors.
When Lynn returned, she made her social transition and took on her new name. She started her career all over again as a lowly contract programmer without a past. A gritty survivor, her adjustment in her new role went completely against the dire predictions of the IBM executives and all the family and the friends who had deserted her. All alone she went out into the world, made new friends and worked hard to succeed in her new life.
https://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/LynnsStory.html
IBM along with other large corporations realized they had made a grave mistake. Unique stealth departments were set up to find and hire transgender hoping to find more like her. Problem was, even among those like her, she was special. We are all individuals, no two alike although those outside looking in think transgender all come from the same mold.
Reading the Doom and Gloom on this channel as many run through the airplane claiming "we are all going to die", makes me doubt the intelligence of my class of people. Maybe Erin and the ladies should shut down and scrub BCTS so everyone here is erased from history? My problem is I'm so out there and with the Way Back Machine I'll always be out there until eternity.
Please excuse me if I don't join the Pity Party as I have attitudes and minds to enlighten. I'm still busy writing to anyone with a TV camera, or a blog, or anyone in politics and begging for a chance to discuss the truth about transgendered. And if you wish to help, give emotional support to all those like us crying out for help. Surprisingly I found what they, and it seems most here, truly need is to know someone cares about them.
Jill wrote a very powerful story "Station's Late Night Princess". In the story the actress said and I paraphrase,"if you want it work for it, don't beg." Might apply that to what each one wants out of life.
Hugs People
Barbie Jean Lee
Life is a one time gift to use anyway we choose.
Comments
Pity party
I disagree, 'it is not all about you' (in terms of it is not all about LGBTIQ) is more the sentiment here.
There is no pity party, it is more like outright anger at this point.
The jerk wants to play dictator with all of his 'executive orders' even if a lot of it will be illegal but that will have to go through the courts and slow down any effective response to his intentional abuses.
For some of us he is stripping all protections that allow us to keep our jobs as employers can now be open season in terms of deciding anybody who is LGBTIQ be arbitrarily fired.
He is instituting a regime of turning back literally decades of civil rights that has supported the Public Good, possibly leaving employers with more arbitrary rights to hire and fire.
You (Barbie Lee) may even literally get your documentation change to female be reverted to male if he has his way as your current documentation change was via an executive order so he can reverse it.
Me, I can potentially lose my security clearance. I am no rocket surgeon so will not be able to work classified jobs which would potentially lead to loss of work.
The potential to lose the ability to have gainful employment is not a 'pity party' situation.
Thing is, he can play this game only so far until somebody will get fed up and do something about it.
Luckily I am of retirement age, being above 62, but not of full retirement age, so can limp into retirement if necessary even now.
I cannot emphasize how important it is to have solid retirement savings for everyone right now.
Of greater importance is what this will have for ALL our countrymen under this madman.
the worst part is he probably
the worst part is he probably doesn't care about any of it, most of his EOs are only meant to distract however in this case anger is good, it means more people are likely to get fed up with him, and because he has a trifecta for the next couple years, it will be really fucking easy to counter bothsiderism.
Hey Guys
It's a greeting a group of women may receive when someone walks up to them. Used more often than hey ladies. Am I offended if someone addresses me as sir? Am I offended if someone addresses me as miss? Like most women, I want the person or people I am meeting to be able to speak freely without misdirected pronouns getting in the way of the conversation. My feelings aren't hurt nor do my emotions take a hickey because someone misgendered me as it's not an insult. I've been insulted and pronouns don't even come close. When Dr. Shadid told my parents, "it's a boy" and put M on my birth certificate I wasn't insulted. I'm a female, we are able to handle the misgender comments. Girls are treated as such all our lives.
If by some circumstance all my ID's are revoked, not a biggie as I'm still the same person. I wish I could convince everyone living inside the gender-blender to accept themselves for who they truly are. They aren't an initial on a documentation, nor are they a slave to be controlled by others. Until they accept they ARE, it will always be an emotional and mental fight for them to live their lives. Don't let someone outside looking in define who one is. All those Federal and State IDs and government documents don't define me. I'm more than some piece of paper.
Illuminati / You've come to take control / You can take my heartbeat / But you can't break my soul
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W25RxcWgFaY&t=27s
“I only regret, that I have but one life to lose for my country.” Nathan Hale.
Hugs People
Barb
Remember and live the Serenity Prayer, and if the going gets really heavy remember
John-15-18
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own.
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
Regarding your comment about being misgendered……
“Am I offended if someone addresses me as sir? Am I offended if someone addresses me as miss? Like most women, I want the person or people I am meeting to be able to speak freely without misdirected pronouns getting in the way of the conversation. My feelings aren't hurt nor do my emotions take a hickey because someone misgendered me as it's not an insult. I've been insulted and pronouns don't even come close.”
OK, am I offended when someone misgenders me? Well, in a word, sometimes. You see, it depends on the circumstances. If it happens on the phone, and the person who does it has never met me, has no clue who I am - for instance, a cold sales call from a prospective vendor trying to get my business - no, I am not offended. I know what I sound like on the phone. However, I am much more impressed if a sales person has taken the time to do a little research and find out that I am female, irregardless of the fact that my voice is deeper than the average woman. Admittedly, that sales person has a leg up on getting my business - simply because they took the time to do a little research prior to calling me. The same is true for a sales person who can’t be bothered to find out that my office, along with the entire logistics group, is based out of our primary distribution center - not the corporate office which is located some two miles distant from us. If you are in the logistics industry and you can’t take the time to note that the address on all my contact info, my business cards, even my e-mail signature is not the corporate office, but rather the address for the DC, then you should be in another line of work.
Having said that, if a person misgenders me the first time they meet me……… well, then I use some discretion as to whether or not I get upset. If it appears to be a simple mistake, especially if they correct themselves or apologize, then I graciously accept their apology and don’t let it bother me. If they do it more than once, or if it appears to be on purpose, then I do correct them once, and only once. The second time, I have them escorted out of the building if at work, or I calmly let them know they have insulted me and break off speaking with them if outside of the office.
If they make it obvious that it is done on purpose, then I will take whatever action I feel warranted. For instance, if the person is in a service industry, I lodge a complaint with their supervisor or manager. Insulting a customer is poor business practice - and just down right wrong in more than one way.
I may be taller than the average woman at 5’10”, and yes, my shoulders are a little larger than average, and my hands as well - but beyond that I am definitely passable. And I always dress nicely and appropriately, and without a doubt as a woman. Even when wearing trousers they are obviously women’s and feminine. My presentation is always female, even if simply working in the yard or washing my car, there is no doubt that I am a woman.
My point here is that there is never any question as to how I am presenting. Therefore, anyone who misgenders me on purpose, or repeatedly, is doing so out of ignorance or prejudice - and I will absolutely call them on it. Anyone who insults me deserves the response they get.
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
I have worked for everything I have……
And am proud of that fact.
Yes, when I transitioned it did in fact cause me issues at work, and in my career. It was definitely a setback career wise as it resulted in my being moved to a different position by my employer, side tracked as the saying goes. I had been in charge of over 50% of the business we handled, including our single largest customer - a customer which I had in fact been instrumental in landing, and in developing from one small operation to 16 separate operations over roughly 2/3 of the US.
The excuse for the change was that I was being “promoted” to head up the company’s new Canadian division - a promotion which did not include a raise, required that I move to the Toronto area, and took me away from any relationship with our largest customer. The real story here was twofold - first, the company was concerned that my transition would impact the relationship they had with that customer, and second, being a male centric industry this was their way of burying me off in a hidden little corner.
Bottom line, it was the beginning of the end for my tenure at that company. They continued to do things to make my life miserable, until I finally walked away. I moved to a good position with a new employer, but yes, it cost me financially. I lost roughly $50,000 in annual salary - but I did get a stock option out of the move, which ultimately made up for the loss in salary, and the bottom line is that although not happy with the loss, no one at my house went hungry or suffered because of it.
However, my transition did result in issues with several people at my new employer - including my boss and the HR person I was dealing with. Seeing the handwriting on the wall, and looking to regain some of my lost salary, I had kept looking even while working there. I landed a position with a company based out of Charlotte, NC (and yes, I was concerned about that fact), a company which knew I was transgender up front and accepted me as such. Supposedly, I was not their first transgender employee, and being in the fashion business they stated that they had no issues with LGBT groups. I soon found that the “other” transgender person was a lowly clerk in one of their stores, whereas I was senior management. I also found out that the other LGBT groups they were discussing were primarily gay men, and apparently several of them were not happy with my presence. I also soon found out that my primary contact in HR was a very religious woman who refused to use the correct pronouns with me, continually misgendering me and referring to me as “Mister”, even thought the company was fully aware that all of my legal documents had been corrected to read female and had been prior to my being hired. I was legally female, and listed as such everywhere.
I filed a complaint about her actions, and I was told they could do nothing about it as she objected on religious grounds to my being transgender. I was then written up for filing my complaint and causing problems for her, and then told that I needed to deal with it. Apparently her religious rights trumped my human rights.
So I left there and went to work for an independently held retail chain based out of PA. That company has always treated me well - except for the jerk I report to. But as he is an equal opportunity asshole I know that he isn’t singling me out. He treats everyone just as poorly; he is just a miserable human being and a piss poor manager. But at least he isn’t a bigot, lol.
So, it took me a while to get my career back on track, and yes, I originally took a significant cut in pay, but as a woman I expected to make less than I did as a man. That’s pretty much a given - it’s not right, but it is pretty much the way things are. I will say that my career is going well and I have gotten back what I lost salary wise. I have been approached by multiple companies looking to hire me into a C-level position, and am close to making a move that way - but at my age there are other things I am considering than moving up the corporate ladder.
Bottom line - has being transgender impacted my life? YES. Has being transgender negatively impacted my career? YES. Would I go back and do things differently? Probably - but only in that I should have transitioned earlier in life.
I would never go back to being the caricature of a person I was. I would never go back to pretending to be a man. I am finally my true self, and I will never go back.
I have always, and will always stand up for myself - and for all those like me. And no one is going to force me to do otherwise.
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus