Lisa Lees - Short Note

This is the email I sent to everyone I knew to announce that I was 'changing sex'. Some of the responses to this email are listed here as well, as is a longer handout I made available.
Friends, country-mice, city-mice, colleagues:

This is something I have already told a few people around
here. Now it is time to spread the word. On Thursday, April
27 I appeared in Ingham County Probate Court and changed my
name to Lisa Josephine Lees, something I have been wanting to
do for about forty years. I had a 'gender identity problem'.
I am a transsexual, and I am doing the 'sex change' thing.

Ho, hum. I know, you saw this already on some talk show. Stay
tuned, please. I'll keep it short, though 'changing sex'is a
complex process that means different things to different
people. In my case it is acknowledging the way I have always
felt about myself and have always wanted to be perceived. I
have been coming to terms with this for forty years, so I
don't expect this to be easy for other people to understand.
It's okay to give me funny looks while you get used to the
idea.

I'm not even certain it is possible for a 'normal' person to
understand what I am doing. I was not a 'normal man'. I will
never be a 'normal woman'. I am now and always have been a
transsexual woman. Until sometime last year I always tried to
hide this fundamental fact about myself. I'm not hiding it
anymore. That is the real change in me.

The changes in my appearance have been and will be gradual.
If you've seen me in the past month or so, well, that's me!
If you think I am going to dress up to crawl around on the
floors in the Engineering Building, then you're the one who's
crazy around here. It's hard enough to get through a week
without destroying my fingernails.

I am happier than I ever have been. My personal life is just
fine; my family remains the focus of my life and they are
understanding and supportive. And I'm still one of the best
full time system administrators in the Department of Computer
Science. [At this time I was the only one. :-]

So the executive summary is: (1) I don't expect most people
to understand what I am doing, (2) I'm asking people to accept
what I am, but that doesn't mean they have to approve of it
or pretend they think it is a good idea, and (3) I don't
expect anything different of anyone except that they call me
by my legal name. (I know you'll forget a few times. No big
deal.)

Continue to send mail to cps.msu.edu!lees, and just call me
Lisa when you talk to me. Everything else will sort itself
out in time. I will gladly discuss this face-to-face and
answer any questions you have. I'm not uptight about it at
all. Please visit my WWW home page (accessible from 'Staff'
on the CPS Department home page); it has a lot more
information on this.

I am on my summer schedule now (May through August). Usually
I will be in the Engineering Building only Monday, Tuesday,
and Wednesday, taking time off or working from home the other
four days. But I and Gloria -------- will be available in the
Dean's Conference Room (EB 303) between 2:00 and 3:00 on
Friday the 12th of May to answer any questions you may have.
You may also contact Gloria at any time with your concerns.

 -- Lisa Lees
You are here: lisalees.com/trans/out
----- all the colors of the rainbow! -----