A belated TDoV post
Transgender day of Visibility 2020 (TDoV) was not as visible as it might have been due to the ongoing sagas of Social Distancing and Covid-19.
I didn't make a post on here because I'd been struggling with a personal health issue (not directly related to either Covid-19 or being trans) however my employer did have a (reduced due to the information overload on internal communication channels due to covid-19) some stuff planned to mark TDoV this year, a first for the company.
Rather than anything massive, with interviews, videos and the like the somewhat muted but still really well received ( currently looking like one in 8 of the group wide colleagues have seen it as a 'Workplace' post ( a corporate walled garden version of Facebook) ...
This post originally included four profile / vignettes from trans colleagues within the Group I work for ( two colleagues from retail - one well established in their transition another still in the early stages, myself from supply chain and a colleague from Corporate) - the fifth profile was added later - another retail colleague ...
here's the text of my 'profile'
#WeWinTogether
I’m Nicola, and I’m based in Online Directs at Newark. I joined the business as an Agency colleague at the end of August 2016 in the run up to the IPhone 7 launch and came on board as a Substantive Colleague in February 2017. Those who are in Newark may also have seen me in other places around the Newark campus as I’m cross trained in a few other areas. The most important date in relation to why I’m writing this piece was at the End of January 2018 when people got to meet the real me, as that was when I stopped hiding behind the mask of presenting as male at work.
I started my blog in January 2019, almost a year after my social transition and also nearly a year after I had started treatment. This might seem like an odd time to do that, but it was also a time I starting to get both more comfortable with talking about the topics and also a little fatigued from going over the same ‘trans 101’ stuff with people. I also wanted a bit of a record of my thoughts at landmark moments in my journey (even though I’d socially transitioned, got a diagnosis and started hormones by then).
I don’t talk a great deal about work in my blog, although the manic periods around Launches and Black Friday do get a mention because of the physical toll they can take on people. What there is a lot of is; my story, some reflections and some pieces that explain systems and process around being trans and getting the medical assistance and care needed to
address Dysphoric feelings. All written in a way that is hopefully more accessible to people who don’t have years of experience in navigating the twists and turns of the NHS and it’s particular jargon (I used to work for the NHS).
One thing most of my colleagues are used to is what I do when I’m not at work… I take ballet and contemporary dance class regularly and have performed in front of paying audiences. Ballet was always something I wanted to do and I started to take class at a similar sort of time that I started working for <my employer> , the ballet studio is my happy place and despite the reputation of ballet as a conservative and highly gendered activity it’s been a great source of support and friendship, I do some activism in relation to this but it’s as much about Adult non-professional dancers as it is about trans people who dance.
What does Transgender Day of Visibility (TDoV) mean for me?
It’s about taking pride in being your authentic self and living your best life… the toll that meeting the expectations of others either before coming to a realisation you are trans or when still wearing the mask of the gender assigned to you at birth.
So, how does TDoV and being aware and supportive of trans people whether they are colleagues, customers or just random people in the communities we live in fit in with the Business Values?
We Put Our Customers First - That is, or should be, obvious - treat people with respect, think about how you use gendered terms in everyday life - the singular they is perfectly acceptable and might even be the default way to talk about someone without using their name.
We Win Together - If we create an environment that supports all our colleagues regardless of any characteristic that might set them apart, we create workplaces where people want to come to work and do the right thing by each other
We Own It - Take responsibility for your own actions and try and be a role model for others - this can be a heavy weight for openly trans members of the team especially as trans 101 comes around again and again
I didn't make a post on here because I'd been struggling with a personal health issue (not directly related to either Covid-19 or being trans) however my employer did have a (reduced due to the information overload on internal communication channels due to covid-19) some stuff planned to mark TDoV this year, a first for the company.
Rather than anything massive, with interviews, videos and the like the somewhat muted but still really well received ( currently looking like one in 8 of the group wide colleagues have seen it as a 'Workplace' post ( a corporate walled garden version of Facebook) ...
This post originally included four profile / vignettes from trans colleagues within the Group I work for ( two colleagues from retail - one well established in their transition another still in the early stages, myself from supply chain and a colleague from Corporate) - the fifth profile was added later - another retail colleague ...
here's the text of my 'profile'
#WeWinTogether
I’m Nicola, and I’m based in Online Directs at Newark. I joined the business as an Agency colleague at the end of August 2016 in the run up to the IPhone 7 launch and came on board as a Substantive Colleague in February 2017. Those who are in Newark may also have seen me in other places around the Newark campus as I’m cross trained in a few other areas. The most important date in relation to why I’m writing this piece was at the End of January 2018 when people got to meet the real me, as that was when I stopped hiding behind the mask of presenting as male at work.
I started my blog in January 2019, almost a year after my social transition and also nearly a year after I had started treatment. This might seem like an odd time to do that, but it was also a time I starting to get both more comfortable with talking about the topics and also a little fatigued from going over the same ‘trans 101’ stuff with people. I also wanted a bit of a record of my thoughts at landmark moments in my journey (even though I’d socially transitioned, got a diagnosis and started hormones by then).
I don’t talk a great deal about work in my blog, although the manic periods around Launches and Black Friday do get a mention because of the physical toll they can take on people. What there is a lot of is; my story, some reflections and some pieces that explain systems and process around being trans and getting the medical assistance and care needed to
address Dysphoric feelings. All written in a way that is hopefully more accessible to people who don’t have years of experience in navigating the twists and turns of the NHS and it’s particular jargon (I used to work for the NHS).
One thing most of my colleagues are used to is what I do when I’m not at work… I take ballet and contemporary dance class regularly and have performed in front of paying audiences. Ballet was always something I wanted to do and I started to take class at a similar sort of time that I started working for <my employer> , the ballet studio is my happy place and despite the reputation of ballet as a conservative and highly gendered activity it’s been a great source of support and friendship, I do some activism in relation to this but it’s as much about Adult non-professional dancers as it is about trans people who dance.
What does Transgender Day of Visibility (TDoV) mean for me?
It’s about taking pride in being your authentic self and living your best life… the toll that meeting the expectations of others either before coming to a realisation you are trans or when still wearing the mask of the gender assigned to you at birth.
So, how does TDoV and being aware and supportive of trans people whether they are colleagues, customers or just random people in the communities we live in fit in with the Business Values?
We Put Our Customers First - That is, or should be, obvious - treat people with respect, think about how you use gendered terms in everyday life - the singular they is perfectly acceptable and might even be the default way to talk about someone without using their name.
We Win Together - If we create an environment that supports all our colleagues regardless of any characteristic that might set them apart, we create workplaces where people want to come to work and do the right thing by each other
We Own It - Take responsibility for your own actions and try and be a role model for others - this can be a heavy weight for openly trans members of the team especially as trans 101 comes around again and again
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