Finally, two weeks later than planned, after great internal collaboration (which included some friendly haggling over pronouns) and an unexpected technical problem with our email distribution system, the following letter was sent out this afternoon to everyone on the company’s email list:
Dear friend of [the company]:
As some of you are aware, last year we learned our creative director suffered from Gender Identity Disorder (GID), the formal diagnosis used by psychologists and physicians to describe persons who experience significant discontent with the gender they were assigned at birth.
Individuals born with GID find themselves compelled to deal with it at different times of their lives. Our creative director, through a therapeutic process of self-discovery and acceptance, has embarked on a path of bringing the physical body and social presentation into congruence with her true gender. Accordingly, please join us in welcoming Annika Kappenstein!
Away from work, Annika has been living full-time as a woman for a while now, but we acknowledge that this will take a little getting used to in a business environment. After considering the matter, we at [the company] have concluded that this is a non-issue for us. Our team will carry on as we have for 15 years, delivering the best consulting, creative thinking and strategic execution in our power.
We have started addressing Annika by her new name and referring to her with female pronouns, whether she is present or not. We slip up pretty often, but we and Annika understand that this is a normal process and to be expected. The next time you will meet Annika face-to face, she will be presenting as as a woman, wearing women’s clothes and possibly a little make-up.
In case her transition might cause you any discomfort, please don’t hesitate to let any of us know. For our part, we are very glad that Annika has found a way forward that has renewed her energy and reinvigorated her spirit, and we intend to support her fully through her remaining transition. We also anticipate that her creativity and world-class brand consulting skills will be enhanced, not diminished — a result that benefits both us and you.
For those interested, Annika has provided a personal letter providing more details. Should you have any questions or thoughts on the matter, please don't hesitate to let us know.
Warmest Regards,
[The company] team
For the most part I’m very happy with the wording. Without patting myself on the back here, I really think it shows that communication is our expertise. I just feel slightly uncomfortable with the term GID, because I don’t see being trans* as a disorder. I have to admit, though, that this definition does an adequate job of explaining it to a cis-gendered person who might be confused by the term transsexual, and we make it a point to emphasize that it’s not a mental condition.
Some facts and figures, like the prevalence of transsexualism that I had inserted in the original draft, were cut because we couldn’t find reliable and consistent sources to back them up. After all, research in this field is still spotty, and unfortunately many of the so-called statistics turn out to be not much more than opinions.
The following personal message is more or less the original letter that I had written. It was meant to be send alongside a note from the president, but we later had the idea that the letter should come from all employees, to emphasize the support from everyone. It is now accessible via a link from the above email.
A personal message to all friends, clients and business partners of [the company]:
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to address the issue of my condition and subsequent dealings with it in an open and personal way. What should be a rather private affair, not unlike the state of one’s sexual orientation, is unfortunately a condition that is unfolding in the open, for everyone else to see. Privacy, for the most part, is not an option.
Most of you who have known me during the course of the last year or so might have noticed the changes in my appearance… most notably that I started growing out my hair and that I lost a lot of weight. I have also gotten quite a few comments that I just look much happier. The explanation I have usually given was that it comes from taking better care of myself through exercise and a healthy, mindful diet. Which is actually true, but now you know that there is more to it.
I am a male-to-female transsexual person. To me it feels like that I am a woman that has been born with a male body. According to the latest clinical studies this happens to roughly one in 500 people and is caused by a hormonal imbalance of the mother during pregnancy.
Due to its nature I have had this condition for all my life, although for the most part I did not exactly know what it was. I can best describe it as a profound feeling of “being different” on a very deep, fundamental level. Unfortunately this has caused me to regard myself as defective and inadequate for most of my adult life, because I have never been able to perform what society expected from me in my male role. It has caused me and loved ones some grave unhappiness and pain.
About three years ago, with the help of therapists, I began a slow, gradual process of discovery, realization, and finally self-acceptance. In Spring of 2010 I started the actual transition, the necessary process of bringing my physical body and social presentation in congruence with my true gender. The goal of my transition is to come as close to a genetic woman as possible, because only then will I be able to live the happy and “normal” life I have been longing for since puberty.
Although I was very relieved when I finally accepted my condition, I soon realized that the process of transitioning is not only a risky path, but also very demanding — not only for me, but also for everybody close to me. Transitioning “on the job” is considered especially difficult. I am very grateful for the acceptance and support I have received from everyone here at [the company]. The team have been exceptionally helpful and understanding, and so far my transition at work has turned out to be — more than I could ever have hoped for — a non-issue.
So, what does this all mean for you?
Regardless of whether we work closely together or you just know me by (my old) name, I want to assure you that my dedication and passion for the work I am doing — for you and with you — have not and will not change. Most likely my performance on the job will actually improve, because I won’t have to try being what I am not or hiding what I truly am. I’ll be able to concentrate on what really matters: solving your problems and delivering excellent visual communication.
On the practical side, the next time we’ll see each other you will meet me as a woman. Naturally I’ll be wearing women’s clothes and possibly a little make-up, nothing out of the ordinary. Please don’t be afraid, I’ll be probably as insecure as you are! Although I have been living full-time as a woman off work for quite some time now, this will be as big of a change for me as it will be for you.
I would like to ask you to start calling me by my new name Annika and use female pronouns when referring to me. I know this might not be easy at first, and I promise you won’t hurt my feelings if you slip a he, him or Holger every now and then.
Also, please change my name to Annika in your address book, and don’t forget to ask me for a new business card the next time we see each other!
If you have any questions or concerns in regard to my transition, or about the topic in general, please do not hesitate to ask. I am more than happy to share my knowledge, and as you might expect I have researched this topic extensively. Of course I understand that not everyone will feel comfortable talking to me about this. In this case, please feel free to contact [B.] or any other member of the executive team. Everybody here is willing to help.
Finally, let me close with a couple of reassuring words, taken from Jennifer Boylan’s excellent Book “She’s not there”: I am still me. The person you have known remains, and will remain, relatively unchanged.
I look forward to continuing our fruitful relationship, as a professional and as a friend.
All the best,
Annika
Later in the afternoon we all got together in the conference room, and B. read aloud a couple of the responses that had been coming in. By that time, just an hour after it went out, we had already received more than 30. Most of them were very positive, a few even unexpectedly candid and personal. It was a very joyful, highly emotional moment for me, and I was reminded once again what an awesome bunch of people I work with.
Well, this is it. Full-time Annika. Liberating is just not strong enough a word for this.
Thursday, March 1, 2012 at 21:42 
So far, however, I have only scratched the surface. I feel the urge to go deeper into my practice, and at the same time, I have the strong desire to give something back. I have enrolled in Kashi Atlanta’s 200 hour Classical Yoga Teacher Training program. Yes, that’s right — just a year after taking the very first yoga class of my life, at the age of 42, I am training to become a yoga teacher. What better way to find bliss than to share the gift of yoga, that has pretty much saved my life, with other (trans?) people who can possibly experience the same?