Comments on: The Shape of the Problem

By: What’s Happening « One Witchy Feminist

What’s Happening « One Witchy Feminist — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:35:43 +0000

[...] It’s getting hard for all of us to find a job, but what about the trans folks? [...]

By: Trans unemployment project « Questioning Transphobia

Trans unemployment project « Questioning Transphobia — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 21:50:41 +0000

[...] a comment » I recently posted a pretty 101ish post about trans unemployment on Feministe, where I got a comment from André Pérez at Genderqueer Chicago. André’s working on an [...]

By: Andre Perez

Andre Perez — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:13:22 +0000

hello, I recently wrote virtually the same article for the Genderqueer Chicago blog . As I mention in the article, I plan to follow it up by making an audio documentary about employment issues in the trans community. I'm interviewing other trans folks about their experiences with (un)employment and I also hope to interview some "professionals" who work with the community. If you'd be interested in talking about the issue or the doc (on or off the record), then let me know. It's one of the most compelling issues I see in my community, and I want to raise some hell about it.

By: What’s Happening « A Riot of Wildflowers

What’s Happening « A Riot of Wildflowers — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:35:55 +0000

[...] It’s getting hard for all of us to find a job, but what about the trans folks? [...]

By: Cheshire

Cheshire — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 07:26:05 +0000

Some more data points a trans man(as far as medical transtion goes) freind of mine has been having a lot of trouble finding work being out as queer and gender variant, because zie doesn’t want to transtion further zie is feared because zie isn’t consistantly read as either male or female.

A couple of years before I started at my second highschool a trans women teacher was fired after she started hormones, and started persenting as female, on the basis that it would be confusing to the children.

Work is the one place where I am not yet out.

By: Amanda in the South Bay

Amanda in the South Bay — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:21:49 +0000

Anti-discrimination laws tend to do a much better job at protecting people who are already employed and transitioning/out as trans rather than job seekers. At least that is if you are fortunate enough to live in one of the small number of states where gender id is protected under the law.

By: Tired

Tired — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:06:16 +0000

Indeed. If you’re trans, and if people know you are trans, you will be the “he-she” and good luck with finding a job.

Been there, done that.

By: Marlene

Marlene — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:08:16 +0000

I too am MtF TS and have had a horrible time trying to find jobs in my area my entire life.

I get assholes who say I should move, but how can I move wh I have absolutely NO savings, because most of the jobs I’ve had were in the retail/service sector, meaning low pay, low wages, no union, ad infinitum.

I too am sick of the rampant shift to the right, and the protections of the corporations over the people. I agree with Suzan that the direct war on the unions by the Reagan Administration began the death knell for the middle class.

I’ve been trying for years to get on SSDI disability because of the depression I’ve suffered thanks to our LGBT-phobic society, and failed because I guess I’m not to the point I’m suicidal every day, or have numerous scars up and down my arms from cutting.

I do try and keep sane by being a guest lecturer for some of the local colleges and universities, and that’s a great help educating the new generations.

By: herong

herong — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 02:30:11 +0000

A total compliment. I love you both so much.

By: Suzan

Suzan — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 01:17:52 +0000

I sometimes put more faith in the work people are doing with getting policies within the individual corporations than I do with something like ENDA.
Mayor Newsom found the money to keep the SF program going.

Did you realize that the National Transsexual Counseling Unit that grew out of the Compton’s Cafeteria riots of 1966 was tackling this same issue. We had War on Poverty funding that more or less ended by 1971. At which point the jobs training programs disappeared and Jan and I started helping people get welfare and City College classes.

The issues aren’t new. Women were getting into the trades back then and we were often excluded from those programs because we were trans.