Cross Dressing and the Workplace

I had not intended to occupy Petra’s scattered mind too much this beautiful Monday. There is a living to be made after all dear friends. A trap was laid though and I fell in while checking up on my Google Reader page. There I came across another page of interest, the wonderful Jillian Page. She is a journalist and blogger who is documenting her complex, complete and often happy M2F transition here at Patent Pending. She is bravely, and necessarily “out” to her employer and co-workers, and has been, on the whole, well supported in her journey.

I encourage you to follow her.

I found Jillian’s post today (linked here and excised below…) really thought provoking. Perhaps you will too. …

...So, what about trans people who don't view themselves as transsexuals but just want the freedom of gender clothing expression? Would they experience the same level of acceptance in Quebec and Canada as I am experiencing? Is our society ready yet for a genetic male who shows up at work one day in femme garb, the next day in male garb, and the day after in a combination of the two? ...

Well, didn’t that little musical question knock me off my billable tasks? Quickly retrieved thoughts from just under my wig cap are organized here for your consideration and commentary.

M2F cross dressing is already visible in many office settings, but sadly in my experience, limited to Halloween. 2 sub-species of the rarely seen male cross dresser are commonly spotted in Autumn’s riotous annual flowering:

• Homo DragQueenulous – the well adjusted and well accepted gay male in the office who takes full Halloween license to punctuate and celebrate their liberty with a well crafted and usually fashion-forward and office-appropriate outfit. Homo DragQueenulous will certainly not have to buy lunch that day, and will in many cases be tipsy and amplified that afternoon. Often, Homo DragQueenulous will delight in playfully coming on to straight males in the office who they suspect harbor latent homosexual tendencies and are known to have a pronounced blush reaction. In short, Homo DragQueenulous will hit on every guy in the joint. Homo DragQueenulous will, against all odds and logic, maintain their legendary ability to get things done, and will, in a serious wig, heels and skirt bitch out and shame shirkers and slackers without any self doubt or sense of irony.
• Homo Draghumorous – the senior manager secure in family and corporate position who leverages the day to display fabled ability to poke fun at himself in false display of sensitivity to the female of the species. Homo Draghumorous will cultivate a full weekend of sandpaper quality facial stubble to ensure that audience knows that the effort is solely and wholly “for the teams morale”. Homo Draghumorous is often at the very apex of the organization and possesses enough power to give it (power) up for moments at a time without suffering any damage. Homo Draghumorous will not be able to see his own feet all day long as a result of comically oversized breast prosthesis, likely fashioned with help of wife and water balloons.

The rest of us suspect that both Homo DragQueenulous and Homo Draghumorous will have much more interesting nights out (and in) than everyone else, with the possible exception of the young, normally shy one in accounts payable in the suprising cat costume (or was it the cute devil outfit?). Who knew she had such great legs?

And everyone resets to the normal and expected and accepted surface appearances and behaviors on 1 November for another year. Cross dressers wistfully on the sidelines the whole while for the most part.

As much fun as these hi-jinks are, they are arguably a set back to the possibility of broad acceptance of, or general indifference to cross dressing in professional settings. Cross dressing becomes a gag line. Serious, heartfelt “Femulation” remains beyond classification. Seditious and dangerous, and yet not to be treated seriously. Just beyond the pale and not invited back in.

Typically, I am a pretty upbeat cynic. But not on this issue. If there is a day that I am able to cross dress around co-workers and clients without limiting my career prospects, it is likely the same day in some inhospitable, apocalyptic future where everyone dresses the same. Picture those synthetic, Star Trek One-sies and that’s the very best you could hope for. I would not welcome that day. Vive la difference, even at the expense of choice and fulfillment for this cross dresser. This genuinely motivated, sincere in imitation and always aiming to flatter the feminine in all of us, cross dresser.

Some other day I will put some thoughts together on actively limiting career prospects with the express purpose of being a freer, fuller, better cross dresser. But I have a paying gig to manage just now.

How about you? Throw a few pennies of thought in the comment box would you darling?

Cheers - Petra