Working with a Transsexual: A Guide for Coworkers [Paperback]

Janis Walworth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 1999

Working with a Transsexual is a short, easy-to-read source of information for people who have a transsexual in their workplace. It conveys a basic understanding of transsexualism and transition and answers questions that coworkers typically ask. The book includes photographs of transsexuals who work in a variety of professions, and it has a resource list for readers who seek further information on this issue.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This book is a companion to the author's first book, Transsexual Workers: An Employer's Guide. The present volume is specifically for a transsexual's coworkers and is shorter and less expensive, allowing an employer to purchase multiple copies to distribute to employees. This book contains much of the same information as the employer's guide regarding transsexualism and the process of transition, but here this information is imbedded in the story of a transsexual woman who decides to transition on her job. Female-to-male issues are addressed by a transsexual man who speaks to her coworkers. There are two chapters of questions frequently asked by coworkers and answers to them. Also included are photographs of transsexual professionals to show readers that transsexuals in the workplace look pretty much like anyone else. Resources are offered for readers who want to access more in-depth information on this subject. The book contains a foreword by Marie Keller, Founder and Director of the Los Angeles Gender Center.

From the Author

I am pleased to offer the coworkers' guide to employers who need an adjunct to transgender training in their workplaces or a resource for their employees to access. It was my aim to produce a book that was easy for people of many educational backgrounds to read and short enough that they actually would. The questions I included in the question and answer section pertain to a wide variety of workplace situations. Transsexuals may find this book helpful for friends and family as well.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 60 pages
• Publisher: Center for Gender Sanity (October 6, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966548817
• ISBN-13: 978-0966548815
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,643,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Guidance for Successful Transition, December 2, 1999

By 

chris haiss (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Working with a Transsexual: A Guide for Coworkers (Paperback)

The second book of Janis Walworth is a complement to her firstbook "Transsexual Workers - An Employer's Guide" regardingtranssexuals in the workplace. To better understand transsexuals, it tells the story of Brian's early childhood, his struggle of being a boy but feeling and identifying as a girl, conflicts with his parents, and socially being pressed into a life which was not his at all. His desperate prayers, his secret life as a "woman", his depressions, his wedding plans that ended in a suicide attempt, his seeking counseling that guided him safely through his transitioning from Brian to Brenda and helped him/her to become a valuable employee.

The book has sample letters addressed to friends and coworkers from Brian/Brenda and his/her manager of the Human Resources Department.

Chapter 2 "About Transsexualism" covers a Human Resource Department organized meeting with Brian/Brenda's coworkers, a psychologist, and a female-to-male transsexual to inform about the complex subject of transsexualism.

Chapter 3 and 4 are question and answer sections that give honest answers to questions that might be asked when dealing with a transitioning coworker (e.g., Do all transsexuals have sex change surgery? What is the difference between transsexuals and transvestites? Do the hormones interfere with a transsexual's ability to do their job? Why doesn't the company just replace Brian?).

Chapter 5 describes the first day of Brian, now as Brenda, at work, her anxiety and courage to finally be who she always was deep inside. Chapter 6 shows a picture gallery of transsexuals, male-to-female and female-to-male. This is an excellent closing to show that transsexuals are "real people" with "real jobs" that deserve to be fully integrated into society.

Thank you, Janis Walworth, for addressing such a complex subject in an easy-to-read language and the resource list that offers help and support on this matter!

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars C'mon, we're better than this., May 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Working with a Transsexual: A Guide for Coworkers (Paperback)

Walworth's books (now two of them) have the sad tendency to reduce the trans experience to a path of struggle and pain. For lots of us, that's not how it works when we approach the world as active contributors. If a worker is a good worker, well-liked by his/her coworkers, they won't have a problem with the transition. If the worker is so self-indulgent as to demand special consideration (meetings, sensitivity training, books) how can the organization respond positively?