She Wants To Be The Woman
Answering the questions they always ask
As a visible working trans woman, whether I am the stylist that just got hired or a new stylist is hired, inevitably I am asked questions. It is still common that the new stylist coming in or the team of stylists I am joining has either never met or worked with a trans person.
Since I am most often the first trans woman they have met or are getting to know up close and personal, they assume I will answer their questions.They usually start slow; they ask for permission to ask questions. Some are not shy about asking. Others, I have to make comfortable by asking them questions about their lives. One of the first questions they ask is “when did you know?” or “how did you know?”
As the days and weeks pass, more questions pop up. Eventually, they get to what they always wanted to know: they ask questions about sex and surgeries. I know from experience that questions about my sex life and surgeries will ultimately come up.
Since I am trans I am the knowledge bank of all transgender information. As the bank, I should, in their minds, be able to answer all questions trans. I try to convey to them I am just one trans person and every trans person has a different experience. Since I am usually the first, I want to be as open as I can and give them good, honest…
