Dear Tranny Answers Your Every Question

Gentle Reader,

This is the first installment of our new column "Dear Tranny (Answers Your Every Question)" . We, (and we use the editorial, the royal “we” frequently and with great relish), have been gnashing our mandibles at the bit to do this column for a long while and this seemed as good a time as any.

Why, you might ask, in the age of social media and Googlisms, with such a surfeit of options to get our questions answered, would we need yet another advice column? You could post your questions to the "Ask a FAQ Question" box or start a Forum thread and let your friends take a whack at it. Why come to Dear Tranny with your troubling quandry?

In a word, "Wisdom". Ageless Wisdom to be specific. These days, anybody with a web browser and too much time on their hands can pose as an expert, a blogger, a critic. However the art of finely crafted and exquistely balanced prose and fathomless pools of time tested knowledge and judgement is still a rare and fine luxury that can be appreciated by those with discernment.

That, my friends is why we are here for you. So bring 'em on!

Editorial note: This question was posted at our new Ask a FAQ Question section but Dear Tranny grabbed it out of the inbox before the FAQ Experts could get their hands on it. Keep on posting those Q snippets to FAQ questions here and send your “Dear Tranny” inquiries to “askdeartranny@ingersollcenter.org” or use our convenient contact page.

[ Dear Tranny, ]

It seems as though a person would have to relocate to start things over when attempting to live as the opposite gender. Can you name some places in Washington that can be more accepting/accommodating for people whose ID says one gender but who are attempting to live as another. Most especially in the healthcare (RN) field.

Dear RN to-go:

I’m taking the liberty of taking this question on as it seems a bit over the heads of the very capable but somewhat stolid folks in the FAQ department. I think we are really looking at three separate questions in one there and I’ll try my best to tease apart the separate issues.

Moving to Transition

The first question is: “It seem as though a person would have to relocate to start things over when attempting to live as the opposite gender. “

We would assert that in this day and age, in the right places, it is in fact not necessary and frequently not desirable to relocate in order to “transition” from one’s current legal gender and gender presentation to some other. It’s really a matter of taste, tolerance and practical considerations.

Transitioning in-situ is very common, whether on the same job, in the same industry, retaining as many relationships as you can or just in the same neighborhood. Many Transfolk known to us have found the irritations and pushback that sometimes results from educating and bringing along the people in our lives, outweighed by a sense of personal integration and normalcy from maintaining life continuity.

On the other hand, many people have found that a fresh start at a new job or in a new location a blessed relief from the sense of being in a “gender fishbowl”.

Some people enjoy or pragmatically embrace the challenge of breaking down assumptions. Some are devastated if they have their gender assumed incorrectly. Some folks present easily as a natal member of their chosen gender and some have bodies that fall outside socially assumed norms and deal with gender presentation issues and social situations regardless of a cross-country move.

Relocation is not necessarily a guarantee of a friction-free transition and it places you in a new setting where you must frequently rebuild your social and economic network.

All that said, if you have little to lose from moving and you don’t expect to leave all of your problems behind by doing so, a move to the right place can do wonders for opening up opportunities and refreshing your outlook.

ID Gender Marker Changes

We will touch lightly on the second aspect of the question, gender markers on ID.

All of the hullabloo from the REAL ID Act notwithstanding, it is typically straight-forward to get gender markers changed on Drivers License or State issued Personal ID cards while in gender transition. Though things have slipped backwards in Washington State (from where we write), the process is very doable as long as you can get a doctors letter, and in Western Washington that’s a walkover. So, you can have an appropriately updated ID to facilitate the everyday interactions that require us to officially identify ourselves and protect our privacy. For details on the latest ID Gender Marker change info see the FAQ, which will have a pointer to the latest information.

Editors note: Please be patient as we port legacy content on to the new website. Some factoids are still missing from site.

Best Places to Live and Work (while Trans) in Washington

The final aspect of the question, edited to our purpose is, “Where are some places in Washington that are more accepting/accommodating for Transfolk especially in the healthcare field?”

Any urban area in Western Washington with a population above 50,000 with a public University is going to be a very good place for you to live and work. There are very few places in Western Washington that a Transperson, whether or not they “present” perfectly, will have any real problems. In fact the majority of Transfolk in Washington live in suburban and rural areas, not in urban centers.

Here are some best bets:

► Anywhere in the Greater Seattle area or urban or suburban King County is going to be great.

The Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle is the long-standing center of gravity of the LGBT community in the area but be warned that due to gentrification it is expensive and through diversification and concentration it has the highest incidence of “incidences” of harassment and outright assault. It’s very safe by national standards but definitely on the radar locally.

►Olympia, the state capitol is a Trans and gender variant hotspot though mostly a younger crowd due to the pernicious influence of the hippified Evergreen State College.

►Bellingham to the north is a smaller University town with a very progressive culture and a good Trans-inclusive Queer support network.

Trans and Gender Variant folk flock to Washington from all over the country and world because of the area’s well-deserved reputation for progressive attitudes and the vibrant Trans community here. Wherever you live in Washington, you have legal protection against discrimination in employment, accommodations, housing and insurance on the basis of your gender identity and expression. While education and enforcement is a challenge that is ongoing and it all comes down to 1-on-1 interactions this is definitely a good place to be.

Send your puzzling, cofounding and bemusing inquiries to “Dear Tranny” at askdeartranny@ingersollcenter.org, where Dear Tranny answers your every question.

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