I make no secret of the fact that my vagina is the product of some very expensive surgery to correct a birth defect. I'm female in every way, except that I wasn't born properly formed and had to have a sex change to correct all the messiness. Now I'm normal and happy ... except ... I'm fighting vicious depression as my boss at my university is trying to have me fired. Apparently, if a transwoman is not accepted by students - the student's tuition dollars come first and the transwoman (me) has to go. So, I'm stuck in a losing battle for my job, fighting racist, chauvinistic, transphobic people, trying to get psychological help, depressed, and trying not to fall victim to suicidal thoughts. No matter what I do, I'm "in the wrong" (yes, it seems that trying to support a multicultural classroom is wrong when racists complain - because their tuition is important and my efforts are not). I worked for over a decade to get my degrees and qualifications, and those are irrelevant when a closed-minded, money-focused and privileged white male boss decides that the student hostility towards a transwoman is best handled by getting rid of the transwoman. I am in the gym 4+ times a week trying to improve my body and self confidence, I have students who feel safe in my office and use it as their safe space whenever they are struggling, I have thank-you cards on my wall from students who loved my courses and efforts to make them better people .. I see beyond grades .. I see people I have to mentor, guide, teach, develop, and help. I see young people I have to serve and assist, to take them where they need to be to survive in a very tough career (particularly for women), and I do all I can to prepare them for the rigours of the workplace - and my reward is simple, it is to be fired because (OMG) transphobes and racists don't like me. I have a lot of really cool ink on my body, I am proud of how I look and I hope I can model for SG as a hopeful, even if I never turn pink. I am someone of value and I'm not afraid of who I am, even if those I work with are.
Just my 2 cents, .02 euros, 2 pence, or any other currency you want to select.
Hugs, Tami
