The Working Transsexual Woman

These factors apply to all women, not just transsexuals, studies have shown that "beautiful" women earn more and marry better than their less attractive sister's.  Numerous books and internet websites provide advice for job seekers that is specifically tailored to women.

Career Stereotyping
Many transsexual women, particularly younger women, are very socially stereotyped in the type of job that they want to apply for, these often being traditionally female job such as: secretary, actress, hairdresser, ...   For example one rather old report documents the occupation of 51 transsexual women as:

And a slightly more recent report lists the occupations of 32 transsexual women as:

"Office ..." presumably includes Secretary, and "Store Proprietor" or "Salesperson" includes includes "Shop Assistant" in UK parlance.  "Show Business (Actress)" probably includes the jobs of Dancer and Show-Girl.  To the list of jobs in the tables, even the briefest survey of the internet reveals that we should also add other jobs such as Promotions Girl, Hostess, Female Model, Female Companion and Female Singer. 

Air France allowed steward Bruno Colliaux (inset) to became 35 year old air hostess Andréa Colliaux after 2 years of hormones and SRS.  She was the first transgender in France to get her new identity without a vaginal examination, but still had to undergo a test to determine that she would be perceived as a woman by passengers.

We should also not forget the kudos still associated with the often less than glamorous job of Air Hostess (aka Cabin Crew and other politically correct titles these days).  For example, to mark her 'graduation' after SRS, one British 20-something transsexual applied  in 1994 with unexpected success for a position as female cabin crew with a Middle Eastern airline.   Intended just as a bit of fun, after passing her wings course she was always about to resign but eventually stayed 3 years, doing everything from cleaning sick in the toilets to lap dancing an Emir on his private yacht. 

In the late 1990's the Dutch airline KLM admitted that it certainly employs transsexual women as female Flight Attendants, but said that it couldn't give the exact number as it doesn't identify the condition in its staff records.  However KLM is no longer unusual, in 2001 Air France had a well publicised case of one of its stewards becoming a stewardess, while in recent years British Airways has made it quite clear that it won't discriminate against suitable and qualified job applicants because of their current or former sex or sexuality, and it also has an agreed policy that transsexuals may remain in their job during their transition and surgery - indeed any discrimination may be illegal in the UK. 

Hilda transitioned at age 20.  Now 24 she works six days a week at a Hair Salon, but has to save for her breast augmentation by 'dating' paying men.

The first part of this article seems to show that transwomen are very likely to choose feminine image jobs, indeed statistically it's perhaps more likely than for genetic women.  Unsurprisingly secretarial and other office jobs top the list in the two surveys, being the occupation of about 19% of the participants, but the number of hairdressers and beauticians is an astonishing 13%.  However my personal impression is that this last percentage may well be correct, a truly remarkable number of young transsexual women seem to start their working career as a woman in these two areas.  I also have the impression that the surveys underestimate the size of the category "Housewife", and that worryingly the sex trade industry and prostitution may not be honestly represented.

"Nurse" comes surprisingly low in the ranking (at most 4% of participants), but there are big obstacles to this career for transsexual women unless it was already begun as a man.  In the UK at least, State Registered Nurses undertake long and expensive professional training, and in practice state (i.e. NHS) supported hospitals and universities prefer trainee nurses to start at  age 17-18 - i.e. straight from school or college.  In theory there is no upper age limit, but in practice 29 seems to the absolute limit - which is less than the typical age (30 something) of a British transsexual women at the time of her transition. 

The rather old but still interesting book "Man & Woman - Boy & Girl" by John Money & Anke A. Ehrhardt (1972), shows a similar employment picture for transsexual women to that given above.  For reasons of her own, Janice Raymond in her notorious book the "The Transsexual Empire" also points out, and indeed emphasises, the fact that many transsexual women want to work in what can only be considered stereotypical female jobs.

It thus seems that many transwomen are working in - and many many more are actively seeking - jobs that largely rely on youth and physical beauty for initial success: model, show-girl, actress, ... even prostitute.  For every transsexual woman that manages to make a viable living as say a photographic model, far more will be disappointed.  The reality is that most transsexual women are at a disadvantage when competing for these jobs with often younger and prettier and just as determined to succeed genetic "girl-girls". 

However it easy to over-emphasise the situation in the manner of Ms Raymond.  It is perhaps essential to point out that many transwomen are undoubtedly very realistic about their career and work prospects, and also that many of the youngest and most passable 'transgirls' have no interest (like many 'XX' girls) in becoming a model, actress or a mini-skirted "personal assistant".

Vocational Qualifications
If you do intend to apply for a job as a secretary, hairdresser, beautician, etc, the odds are that you have no relevant experience or qualifications.  The last at least can be remedied, and this will improve your chances of getting the job, and perhaps even allow you to negotiate a higher salary/wage.  In the UK many Colleges of Further Education, Adult Education Centres, and commercially run education institutes offer part-time (including night-school), full-time or intensive "fast-track" courses in a huge variety of subjects which lead to recognised exams and qualifications at often nominal cost - other than in your time.  Indeed an equivalent to at least the Level 1 NVQ in "Beauty Therapy" or "Hairdressing" is now demanded by many salons for even a trainee or junior position, but this could eventually become your passport to work on cruise liners, the entertainment industry, or in health spa's or clubs throughout the world when you later pass level 2 or 3!  Similarly, when applying for a secretary position, RSA Stage 1 qualification(s) are important, although if acquiring these is too demanding, being able to a  just show a "Using Microsoft Word" certificate obtained after one-month of night school may well be a deciding factor on whether or not you get the job.  In an ideal world, try to start obtaining these qualifications as a woman before you transition, if you are worried about being "outed" - well keep telling yourself that it's good experience that will pay dividends when you do transition full-time! (P.S. - this is all a case of do so as I say, not do as I did!)

The Sex Trade
In confidential circumstances an extraordinary number of transsexual women admit to having sex with a man in order to gain something in return - prostitute, escort, companion, mistress, casting couch, a favour paid for 'in kind', etc.  Claims that one third of all TS girls are, or have been, prostitutes are difficult to refute.  On the other hand, the percentage of 'girlgirls' who have similarly sold themselves is unclear, and may not be much less on a like-for-like basis. 

The motive is usually financial, many pre-operative woman advertising themselves in the small ads or on the streets becomes a reluctant but very lucrative option at a time when their normal day-time career is faltering and outgoings are soaring, and it thus allows savings to be quickly accumulated towards their surgery.  Because of the financial attractions of the trade, and the potential loss of earnings after SRS, surgery is often deferred.  Indeed it is uncertain how many of the numerous "shemales" with often simple low-cost low-quality breast implants and occasional hormone injections that ply this trade (e.g. thousands from Africa and South America in Europe) can really be regarded as transsexual, many probably revert to leading a "gay" but clearly male life-style as age catches up them.

There's much heated debate about the topic, but it's really impossible to deny that there are many instances of non-transsexual gay men living as a pre-SRS 'shemale', often working in the sex trade.  Some such men eventually decide to go all-the-way and have SRS (often but not always regretted), while others stop taking female hormones when they reach a certain age, get any breast implants removed and transition back to living as a man.

In 1998-2000 the BBC real-life documentary Paddington Green featured post-SRS transsexual Jackie McAuliffe (left) who was working the streets as a female prostitute.  The final series closed with her trying to move on into a career as a musician.

37-year old transsexual Mianne Bagger gained her card for the Ladies European Golf Tour in November 2004. 24-year old model Chen Lili was accepted for the Miss Universe China contest as an "unmarried healthy female between 18 to 27 years old".  However the next day it was dubiously 'clarified' that female meant "natural female", and Chen was not eligible being transsexual.

Sports and Pageants
Interestingly one avenue of employment that until now been effectively closed to transsexual women is professional sports.  Transsexual women are certainly not competitive in men's events, but until recently have been bared from women's sports due to sex tests.  However in May 2004 the International Olympic Committee decided to allow transsexuals to compete in their re-assigned sex, and governing sports bodies around the world have since been busy changing their rules to conform to this.  There is no doubt that some Olympic events (e.g. running, javelin, pole vault, marshal arts, etc.) and many professional or semi-professional women's sports such as tennis, golf, football (soccer), basketball, bowling, running et al now face a gradual influx of top ranking women who are transsexual, although their transsexuality may not be public.  The potential for an amateur sportsman who has a sex change operation while still in her 20's (or later), to then make a good living as a top ranked professional sportswoman has been proven by the examples of Renee Richards and, more recently, Mianne Bagger.

There are also potential developments in terms of the beauty pageant circuit, which can briefly offer a young girl a living and form the platform for her later move in to acting, promotion work, PR, and other [female orientated] careers where glamour is required and a title such as "Miss Delux Soap 2003" on the CV can help considerably.  Currently most beauty pageants and contests bar transsexual women by vaguely (perhaps deliberately vaguely) requiring that their entrants are "natural born women", or something similar, and the entrants signature on the entry form confirms that they are such.  However the ever increasing recognition of transsexual women as legally women, combined with the fact that few major competitions still disbar contestants from having cosmetic surgery as enforcement had proved to be impossible, makes a high profile challenge inevitable if transsexual women continue to effectively be excluded by the organisers from the likes of Miss Universe and Miss World.  Rumours that Miss France 2001, Elodie Gossuin, was a transsexual were totally unfounded, but the odds that one day soon the tall and leggy winner of a major beauty pageant will be a transsexual woman are very high - if it hasn't already quietly happened.

My Experiences
My own experience is probably a fairly typical example.  I was working as well qualified and (in retrospect at least) well paid I.T. professional when in late 2000 I finally made a firm decision to transition.  I sent my CV with my name changed to "Annie" to several job agencies, and just a few days later I was contacted and arranged to meet a representative of a London based bank in connection with a short term contract.  The interview was awful - I was terribly nervous and having to tell him that I was a transsexual woman nearly had me in tears with stress and worry, but I got the job!   Immediately after New Year 2001 I thus began work as a woman for the first time.  It was a start, but my contract was for only three months and unexpectedly it was not renewed.  In early April I took a substantial pay cut and joined a computer company in Ireland as an Account Administrator, but unfortunately business was badly hit by the tragic events of 11th September and in November I was made redundant.  At both these organisations my CV, qualifications and references had clearly revealed my background and despite promises that "aspects" would remain confidential, perhaps inevitably it soon became widely known that I was a transsexual.  This caused a few problems, particularly in the early days at the bank when I was still far from confident as Annie, but it also ensured that I was well known!

In mid-December 2001 my boyfriend suggested that I move in with him, and I agreed even though it meant moving to another town.  I there had a short and disastrous period as a Teacher's Assistant at a small Nursery School.  It seemed a good idea at the time as I felt that I wanted to work with children, but the timing was poor - I was having laser hair removal treatment and was about to have breast augmentation.  I never really fitted in and the situation became impossible when the other teachers realised that I was a transsexual and reacted rather badly to that, upsetting me a lot.  In February I left after just 6 weeks.

A strangely unflattering picture of the young Korean  transwomen in the girl band Lady.

Unemployed yet again, I now completely revamped my CV, cutting it down and removing from it details and references that would bring out my former male past, and instead emphasising employment by several companies which handily no longer existed, and post-transition references that I knew to be safe.  Unfortunately this also reduced my "value" on the job market and it took several months of job hunting before I was finally offered a reasonably paying (although less than a third of what I had been earning only a year before) administrative position at a local college, which prompted me to quickly have my orchidectomy after many months of differing.  Starting work in May 2002, I thankfully had no problems integrating in to the nearly all female office environment - my ability to "pass" had vastly improved compared with when I first transitioned.  But unfortunately my boyfriend was told by his company that he would be relocated in early 2003, and in December I resigned from my new job and moved yet again.  After a couple of months just sorting out the house, I began a part-time job as a Shop Assistant to earn some "pocket money" - a type of work currently easy to get in Ireland with few questions asked.  There is no doubt that without the financial support of my boyfriend, my standard of living would have declined enormously since my transition.