I Have Become Invisible
An unintended result of transitioning
It’s coming up to 11 pm as I drive up to my regular parking space. It was a very wet and cool Summer, but this October evening feels like Fall is coming in late this year. It appears from all the cars that we will have a full crew tonight. I work the third shift at this automotive lighting manufacturing facility in this small town in New Hampshire, where I have been living for the past seven years. This facility has been here for over forty years, and some employees have worked here for over thirty years. I completed my ninety days at the end of September. This is the first job I have had where no one knows I am trans. I had to go through a pre-employment background check. HR might be aware of my status, but they have never misgendered me.
I exit my car and start my walk up to the assigned entrance; I hear numerous doors opening and closing as my co-workers, who have been waiting in their vehicles taking the last drags of their cigarettes, decide it’s time. I wait my turn to clock in, and the smell of stale smoke gags me. As I walk to the breakroom to leave my lunch bag, friendly faces and smiles greet me as we all return this Sunday evening from our always short weekend.
In my short time here, I have befriended three lovely ladies; we all are in our sixties, and I am the youngest at…
