So I just "had" to out myself infront of a lot of strangers!!!

Ah, welp, there was this time I was mid-transition and submitted an internship application and was confronted immediately about my hair in front of like 1/3rd of everyone in the organization, and I basically had to out myself right there to explain. Before I'd even interviewed, people from there had called others in the different org I was with at the time (and still am) to out me as trans, despite me asking them not to. Thankfully those people who got told didn't spread it all over and gave me the heads-up. Needing experience, I wasn't scared off by that though.

Not long after that, I got interrogated 3v1 by my immediate supervisors, to the point of tears, about the state of my genitals. It happened out of the blue after a meeting, and was opened with them saying they'd talked with their lawyer to determine how little they were obligated to give me. I'd never even planned to make a fuss about bathroom stuff, but they assumed the worst instantly and came out swinging before even talking with me.

That put a bad taste in my mouth and I left eventually, with concerns about the org's professionalism due to a number of other reasons. After that, an application elsewhere for something non-conflicting was in the final stages. That place had asked my what happened, and I was honest. The funky place then wanted me to re-apply (they "saw leadership potential" ?), but freaked out when they heard I'd told the other org of what'd happened. Both new apps went sideways, and the problem org wanted me to apply a 3rd time later in the year after GRS. I did, and instead of a panel interview, it was two low level people who were skeptical and apparently knew none of the backstory, and I had to explain trans and what'd happened to them, and it just got weird and fell through.

I beat myself up for a long time for the lost opportunities of not getting into that org, and kept doubting myself and being doubted. Years later it's turned out I was right to be sketched out, a number of illegal things were going on at the time, so far resulting in felony convictions and super-unprofessional videos being found in an investigation wherein the 3 supervisors who'd interrogated me were right in the thick of the sketchiness. I don't feel vindicated really, it still screwed me to a degree and is something in my record I'll have to explain once looking for a career. Fortunately the place I was in before this nonsense and have stayed at has been super chill about the trans stuff (and everything) and I've moved up there.

...Went on a little tangent, but yeah, TL;DR trans-related reactions were the starting point of two normally valuable internship opportunities going to shit.

/r/asktransgender Thread