A Connection

Whenever I encounter a transition story, I read it to see if there are any similarities between the subject transwoman and me.

Sure, our basic stories are usually similar ― she started out as a male with strong female inclinations, was bullied as a child, was confused, considered manning-up, yadda yadda yadda. But as they say, "there is no typical experience for people making the transition." Our stories are so different that I cannot make connection, that is, I cannot find anyone with an experience like mine so I can see how they navigated through the rough seas.

On Monday, Diana posted a link on her blog to a story about a transitioning CEO in Vermont named Christine Hallquist. The story starts off with Christine showing up at the office one day presenting as a male and then showing up the next day at a professional conference presenting as a woman, where she is fully accepted by her peers.

(Sound familiar? Reminds me of my trips to Hamvention, where I came out and was accepted by my fellow hams.)

And there's more.

Christine Conferencing

Before Christine came out at work, she had a photo of herself presenting as a woman in plain sight on her desk. "I thought, 'I'll use this as the vehicle to come out,'" she said. "But nobody ever asked who it was."

(Similarly, for over three years, I have had a framed photo of Stana on my desk at work in plain sight and nobody has ever mentioned it.)

There are other similarities, as well as differences between Christine and me. Nevertheless, I felt more of a connection with her than most transwomen I know.

Wearing Boston Proper.

Barney Rubble and Fred Flintstone, prehistoric femulators