I wasn't quite sure how to take her any more than were my coworkers and customers. So while I would politely respond if she initiated any interaction with me, I never went out of my way to reciprocate either. Still, my sheltered, naive, fifteen-year-old self somehow managed to possess enough grace and insight to be appalled at the rudeness of those customers – Tamara was a human being who deserved to be treated with respect and dignity. .
I was originally asked to write this piece as something of a "how-to" guide for appropriate ways in which to interact with one's trans coworkers, but I felt very strongly that it was important for me to recount Tamara's story first because I believe that that simple recognition, at the end of the day, is really the only "how-to" that really needs to be kept in mind in any interaction, business or otherwise: Treat every person you encounter with respect and basic human dignity. Everything else is secondary, and with that primary idea in mind, any new situations one might encounter that may not yet have been explicitly laid out anywhere in black and white terms of political correctness can still be easily navigated through a little compassion and common sense. .
Of course, it's true that in the face of new and unfamiliar situations, most people would probably like some more concrete rules to go by. What may seem like a very simplistic instruction to "Play nicely, and don't be a jerk" might not be enough (maybe you don't know what a "jerk" looks like in this scenario). So this is the part where I'll get into some of those basic guidelines. .
For starters, it may be helpful to break down some general language and definitions:.
1. Transgender: a person whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. .
Transgender is NOT sexual orientation. In addition, one is transgender in the present tense, not transgendered just as someone is not gayed, lesbianed, or straighted.
