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Sisters, I will admit I’m getting angry with trans/homo phobics, especially when they spew it in my workplace.
Bear with me…. at my place of work there are a couple of lesbians, and one solitary trans 😁, and we get along great. Sadly the girls dept. head is sooo ignorant, telling one girl she “shouldn’t be like that” and that “hopefully you get out of this phase soon”. She was sad over it… I already know he thinks trans’ are mentally sick, so this put me over the edge. I should say I feel very protective about the girls, at 18 they don’t need to hear that crap.
I am lucky to work at the location where head office is located ( we’re essentially a European type delicatessen chain in S. Ontario )- and all the big brass are right upstairs.
Que Stevie walking up the stairs into the Human Resources office and telling her – quite bluntly – that it’s not right for people to be saying derogatory things against the LGBTQ etc. .community. No different than being racist, hating Jews, misogynistic and so on.
Ya shoulda seen her face drop! No sooner had I returned to my work when they called in everyone, department by department, into the conference room for the entire managerial staff to give them a wake up call to keep any “ignorant or stupid ” comments to yourselves and that we are 100% inclusive of everyone, and that anything less would not be tolerated. Most know it was me who caused this, and most really respect me for it. There are a couple of people who realize that they probably caused these meetings and aren’t too impressed with me – so that makes us even, since I’m not impressed with them either. ( and management loves me, so screw ’em, lol )
I think my point, if I have one, is to never hesitate to speak up, there is more support for us ‘out there’ than you may think! You do not have to put up with ignorant abuse.
I thank you if you made it through my rambling, gals!!😄
Stevie
Thank you Stevie for saying this. Every. Single. Word. I needed to hear it. Transphobes are a tiny but vocal minority….and two of them work for me. I’ve been walking on eggshells for over a year. It’s about time I stop.
/EA
That’s great what you’ve done hun. Our work place has an ally- ship program where people display a stick on their office door or work station lets people know who to turn to or just a safe work environment for the LGBTQ. I have one on my door. My boss knew I would be onboard as I came out to her over a year ago now. She has asked me a few times if I may be trans and if I ever wanted to come to work dressed femme she would have my back.
Great job Stevie! You did the right thing! We are a small community but we have to support one another as much as possible how ever and where ever we can. With political attitudes as they are today support is so very important. Thank you dear.
Good onya for stepping up and speaking out. I assume you are older then the 18 year olds you spoke up for. With age comes a larger intolerance for intolerance. It is hard for younger people to speak up, so it is up to us to help.
I ran my office as an open inclusive operation, and unknowingly hired a wide variety of people simply because I hired good people and never asked about their personal situation. Often times I didn’t know of any “alternate” lifestyles for months after they had been working for me…which is as it should be.
Stevie- you have just won a diamond and sapphire studded garter belt with 12 pairs of ‘ real, genuine SILK ‘stockings with RHT and back seam. It’s on me honey 🍯
Read an article the other day. Hose sales are down seventy percent. Yep, that means the trans community probably represent most of the thirty percent. I’m stocked up and good for another five years at least. A discount store near my home had a stockpile of fine hose on clearance, a one time thingy. They must have boughten a failed businesses inventory because they were the only store in the chain to have them. Anyway, I bought about eighty pair, at, are you sitting down?… fifty cents a pair! I was over the top with glee! Lol Many are back seam with reinforced heel and toe. Mostly black but some red. Still can’t believe my luck that day. The cashier never said a word. Lol
hugs, Jill
Wonderful ramblings Stevie, thank you. If we all had your bravery, the world would be better educated and more accepting.
Thank you Jill, but I have to admit it was not so much bravery as it was just being angry over it. 🙂
Thank you, Stevie.
It’s like i tell my daughter: doing the right thing isn’t always the easiest thing to do but is always the right thing to do.
I am fortunate that where i work the people are not just tolerant but supportive and understanding. If only i could say that of the world writ large.
Keep fighting the good fight.
And thanks for sharing.
-joanneWay to go Stevie, and it appears your stand got results!
Thank you for this inspiring story. I too often speak out when men in my office behave badly. I work in the executive branche of the ministry of transport and we have about 80 to 85% men on the work floor, a lot of engineers, IT guys but also crews on patroll vessels, traffic managers, surveyors etc.. Luckily the other 15-20% are ladies and almost all of them in management. I often meet people from all layers in our office (9.000 co-workers), and people usually don’t realize that although I’m not part of management, I do hold a high rank as a special advisor to the highest echelon of the ministry. And I am also a member of the integrity team and help co-workers with all sorts of problems, including discrimination.
When men are ‘amongst each other’ it is shocking how awful they talk about women and also about the LGBT community at work. I find it particularly hurtful that in the Dutch languague “gay” has become a swear word and too often I hear “oh thay gay”, or “he is so gay”. I often openly warn them that a) I may not look like it, but I am gay, and b) I hold a special position as a member of the ‘integrity team’ and that they are not allowed to use “gay” as a swear word. You can inagine this often shocks them and they look at me as the “Moral Police”, but I don’t care and I’m convinced that speaking out against discimination is the only way to go. I also speak out against bad jokes and remarks about women.
I’ve actually reported one of the external trainers we hire for first aid training. In an all male training group He was making awful jokes about women and gay men, so I called our training supervisor – yess, a Lady! – and asked her to talk to his boss about his behavior. He was banned from ever working for the entire Dutch governemnt ever again!
I’ll always keep speaking out against discimination… I will never tollerate it!Way to go Stevie!!!!! Trans phobic people are getting the karma they deserve. I live in a very liberal town, right next to a very conservative county here in Georgia, USA. It’s getting almost rediculous that these conservative politicians are trying to make it harder for trans folk and other members of the LGBTQ community to live as we want. You set the record straight with your work place that this will not be tolerated! There need to be many more of us that act when others in the community are being treated with disrespect and outright hatred. Keep doing what you do, setting a great example for all of us to follow.
Well girls, let me share something that happened to me where I work.
I announced I was transgender and transitioned to living as a woman 18 months ago, I am also viewed as a woman where I work. I was so accepted, affirmed and encouraged by the staff, 80% of them women, that it was quite overwhelming.
But a few months ago, one of the staff, an older lady who is nearing retirement, came up to me and said, “Do you know how ridiculous it is what your doing, and how stupid you look?” She said other things as well but I’ll leave it at that. We are a government ministry and inclusiveness is expected of all staff.
So I reported her to her supervisor, who told me she could lose her job if I chose to make my complaint official. I said I wouldn’t do that but asked her supervisor to speak with her.She did have words with her and told me about it.
So now this person totally ignores me when she passes by the security desk where I work, if I say “good morning” she just stares ahead and walks by.
It’s her problem not mine, so I ignore her as well, works just fine for me. Pretty soon she’ll be gone.Hugs girls,
Ms. Lauren M
This is how we do it: One step at a time. You have set a very fine example. But, the message to all of us is that we must be relentless; ALL of us.
A couple of things to remember:
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil if for good men to do nothing”
”The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.”
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