ppl might recall that i don”t buy into the whole ‘closet” narrative in part because it is an imperialist construct

but when i got the first part of my tattoo. the one signifying my coming of age as a woman

i quietly unfurled my cape in my ‘public,” ‘professional” life. mostly by changing my name on my social media sites. which was (way too optimistically) supposed to be followed by my legal name change.¹

(it strangely means i”m kinda living in a bit of a limbo at my actual place of work. since i was mostly going to use the need to change my paperwork as my marker of change. but. now the colleagues that follow me on social media are like… “what do name do i use at the meeting?” and i”m like “um… my old one until i get the legal change” even though I don”t actually want to do it this way.)

it has been interesting doing it this way, with no ‘formal” announcement. no coming out. just….

one day i was living as something i wasn”t

the next i was me.

and having ppl slowly sort of realize that 1) the name is different and 2) that it isn”t a joke or anything

then getting questions about which pronouns and whatever.

but also me just clearly positioning myself as me

it has been interesting.

i”m doing it this way. because i have zero desire (at all) to explain myself or my gender to anybody.

and i”m seriously just not going to.