I came across this in a local paper. It has not been doctored up. This is exactly how it appears in the full page ad. It clearly illustrates the evolution of man is, in fact, crossdressing… or so it is in the automotive business. Hey – it’s a start, right?
As crossdressing grows in popularity in the automotive business, it will also soon spread to other industries. The business world can be pretty cut throat, with a growing emphasis on the word “pretty”. It’s about time crossdressing entered the mix.
Suit-up, folks… er, make that, skirt-up if you want to climb that corporate ladder. The old school businessman in a suit and tie is going the way of the dinosaur. As they die-off and fall out of power, they’re quickly being replaced by smarter, more innovative people with much better taste in clothes. Make way for a new era of smart, sexy, stylish and powerful corporate leaders known as the businesstrans.
Of course, the ad in the paper refers not to crossdressing, but rather the rise of women in positions of power. Perhaps in time, the ‘businesstrans” will replace the businessman though. Many crossdressers already own their own business. I’ve been in touch with several personally. Of the ones I know, it is the man-side that takes care of the business end of things. Personal appearance still holds a lot of weight in the business world, and today, the prettier side of things is still less attractive in the eyes of many would-be clients. That will change in time though.
For those of you who fall under the category of “businesstrans”, do you take care of (face-to-face) business in guy-mode, or en femme? Where do you see the “evolution of man” going in the business world? I know where I’d my own (business) evolution to go. Whether or not I’m smart enough to pull it off has yet to be determined. What’s in your business future when it comes to gender expression or just feminine fashion?
OH MY GOD!!!
I wish for this to come true. I so want to be…well… Pythos, in androg or fem mode, even when giving flight lessons.
There is really no logical or rational reason this cannot be the case.
When I presently do “business dealings” I am quite drab, very rarely even in leggings, which as I get older becomes more of a “why the hell am I in friggin jeans again?”
Silly as it may seem. But that’s me.
I hope many, many people missinterpret this add and decided to go for it, and don a skirt and heels opposed to slacks and oxfords.
I would be a very happy man. :)
I wish I could be Gabrielle at work, too, Pythos. At least in a world where it was treated no differently than showing up to work in any other office attire. That world is a ways off, but I’m still pondering ways in which to achieve this. At a company that is more supportive of personal/gender expression, or in starting my own small business, which is something I’ve been pondering for years now, sooner or later, I will indeed do business en femme. :)
I’ve actually already worked as Gabrielle with my currently employer. It’s not uncommon to work from home from time to time, depending on the project’s needs and deadline and sometimes weather conditions that prevent safe travel. This does not include face-to-face dealings, but I still took care of business en femme, and most efficiently, I might add. :)
I got a kick out of the ad when I first saw it. My mind immediately came up with the title of this post as I looked at it and read the heading text in the paper.
Having walked through gender transition, this particular thread intrigues me.
When I transitioned at work, there was a significant period of time (on the order of 4 or 5 months) where my peers at work were all struggling to adapt their interactions with me to the new presentation they were experiencing.
Ultimately, they were struggling with two fundamental questions: “Are you still the same person I’ve always known?” (the answer is yes, but it takes time for people to understand that) and “how do I adapt my patterns of interaction to reflect your new appearance?”
That said, just as I needed consistency in my world (I found the duality of pre-full time life extremely hard to handle), and my peers at work need the same thing. It’s quite surprising how much perceived and presented gender colours our interactions with each other.
So … for the crossdresser, the idea of conducting business ‘en-femme’ naturally raises an interesting question: Is there a presentation of yourself that you are willing to carry from the part time side of life into a substantially full-time existence? … and what does that presentation look like as you imagine it today?
(Note: I ask these questions not to ‘poke’, but because I honestly have no idea what the answers might be)
Thanks for sharing a bit of your transition experience, Michelle. :) I was hoping to get a transsexual perspective.
I didn’t feel that you were “poking”, saying anything negative or disparaging in your question. It’s a very honest and interesting question, and I’m glad you asked. :)
I can only offer my own personal take on things, or how I see it happening in my own life. **SNIP** I just attempted to spell out exactly how gender expression works in my life. It got rather lengthy, and I wasn’t even close to getting to a point in which the “short version” (as long as it was) was sufficient to explain the parts of me that “carry from the part time side of life into a substantially full-time existence”.
Without getting in to how it all works for me, it is my desire to work en femme, period. I’m not sure that I’d like to do this at my current employer, but rather make a clean start somewhere, preferably in a new company of my own founding, or something that I started up with a small group of others. I would like people to meet, see, and know me as Gabrielle. For those who knew me, or still know me as Gabe, if I were to work with them as Gabrielle, it might actually be strange for me, more so than for them, as I might find myself tempted to display some of my “man act” that I do as Gabe… although it isn’t all act, all the time. I guess the short answer is I’d like to work as Gabrielle… and I’m not sure I’m even answering the question as it was intended. My mind is all over the place as I’m typing… and I’m a bit distracted by it. Sorry about that.
I think the question is more complex than I can get into right now… but what a fascinating array of possibilities it is generating in my mind as I ponder various ways of going about thrusting Gabrielle into my professional life.
I’m Sorry, Michelle. I’m either turning your question into something more complex than was intended, or I simply do not currently have a good answer within my grasp. There is no easy answer, nor do I believe I could offer a definitive answer until having accomplished this one personally. I will end my rather rambling comment in saying that my latest therapy session revolved around how to incorporate “Gabrielle” (me) into my professional life. It had nothing to do with my current employment situation, and everything to do with allowing this aspect of my life to take control and build something that is satisfying to my need to exist as Gabrielle (if only part-time), and can evolve into a full-time career. Whether or not I’m smart enough to accomplish this remains to be seen.
Hi Gabrielle –
I think you got the gist of my question just perfectly. It’s not an easy thing to take the concept of ‘wanting to grow’ and envisioning how that might all fit together.
Each of us has our unique context in which we live, and that will do a lot to shape how we plan such changes in our lives. (As an aside, once I had decided that I needed to transition at work, it took a further 2 years of my life to plan that transition out, and close to four months working with my company’s management to carry things out in a way that didn’t disrupt everyone’s life (too much!)
Isn’t it interesting, Michelle, how one must plan how to live one’s own life, so that it does not upset the lives of those around them? Although this is an obvious necessity in many ways, mainly in areas that might be disruptive to the lives of others – for instance, building a noisy dance club right next door to a library (where people expect silence/quiet atmosphere). In such seeming subtle ways as to change one’s gender expression, or gender, period, there is so much planning and hard work that has to take place prior to moving ahead with things on a public front (at the work place). By “subtle”, I refer to the impact it should have on others, not on the one making the change. I am of the mindset that questions why it should be a big deal if someone presents a different appearance, or whole different gender. Of course, we live in a society that makes such things a big deal – from all of the potential legal liabilities to social taboos and acceptance tolerances.
I rather enjoyed the point you made though, Michelle. It was illustrated beautifully in my own trouble to zero in on a definitive answer. The fact that there is no simple answer (at least not in most cases), speaks volumes. I really do enjoy thought provoking questions like that. If/when time allows, I’d like to dig a little deeper into this topic. It is very intriguing.
Gabrielle,
One of the biggest lessons of my own transition was that not only was I making changes in my life, but I was ultimately asking those around me to make their own transitions as a result.
Yes, that influenced my approach considerably – there are people around me whose companionship I value very highly. If making space for them to ‘come along with me’ helps them, then I’m more than willing to do so.
Love it, love it Gabrielle. Nice find. I think her bag is just a little butch, and the heels are low for me, but I like how we seem to be evolving!
Many thanks – Petra
Thank you, Petra. Glad you enjoyed. :) Yes, it is all about the evolution. It’s a (heeled) step in the right direction and I can’t wait to see what the next stage looks like. We’ll all play a stylish part in shaping the next stage together. :D