New, I suppose
Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 5:24 am
Just a quick introduction. In college (early 2000's) I started wearing skirts to work (a graphic design studio, so wasn't too strange for them) and was a bit involved on some of the forums on the net. I didn't have the gumption to tell my family, and eventually stopped wearing them to work. Not being very social, I didn't wear them in public, especially since I didn't really go out except for necessities.
Anyhow, fast forward a few years, moved within the University to a different department, composed of mostly engineers, me being a ME grad, and a web developer - my "uniform" of choice are jeans and a graphic t-shirt, sometimes a nice sweater - I don't hate the setup. A few years ago the university president - and subsequently college dean - decided to do a huge investment in diversity equity and inclusion. This involved money, talks, compensated talk attendance, and at every staff meeting our unit gets to hear from our DEI representative. It can be a bit annoying at times (I accept them, but will they accept me?), but this whole DEI push has been gnawing at me like it never has before.
Part of this has to do with some skirts I've recently acquired* - partly because it seems the trans movement is pushing boundaries for us - and partly because they keep telling us that diversity is very important. And almost at every large meetup there is some sort of non-binary person in the crowd or giving a presentation, and no one seems to mind. At least, I don't hear any snide remarks or whatnot.
So I'm at a crossroads. Every day last week I changed into skirt/tights at the end of the day once everyone left, navigated from my office to an elevator to a downstairs work room, worked till the evening, and walked to my car - parking each day further from the office. Fortunately/unfortunately I did not come across many people at all while going from place to place, yet I'm still quite nervous about the whole experiment. I've attached photos of two of my skirts, to give a sense of my style. Please forgive the lack of ironing, and awkward stance.
I'm not sure where to go from here. I really want to do this, but I fear repercussions, coming out to my family, and people I know at the university who will likely never talk with me (I'm catholic, they are catholic, and I'm pretty sure our form of conservatism doesn't have any leeway for this sort of thing, and that is all I'm going to say about that).
So yeah, massive dump of information but posting online seems to help me cope!
*Ah, well, so here's the deal. I've bought some cool (pre-owned) skirts with neat details - on the cheap - of high end fashion labels (well, from what I can tell from my limited perspective anyhow). While my collection is a mostly a mix of cheap skirts, inexpensive brands, I've added a few higher-end pieces. There is something different about, say, how a Tory Burch skirt is constructed, cut, and more over some of the neat details that the designer might incorporate. That isn't to say a designer label is superior - but it feels so and that is oddly empowering. Oh, and knowing I paid say, $25 when it originally "sold" for $300 is comforting too.
Anyhow, fast forward a few years, moved within the University to a different department, composed of mostly engineers, me being a ME grad, and a web developer - my "uniform" of choice are jeans and a graphic t-shirt, sometimes a nice sweater - I don't hate the setup. A few years ago the university president - and subsequently college dean - decided to do a huge investment in diversity equity and inclusion. This involved money, talks, compensated talk attendance, and at every staff meeting our unit gets to hear from our DEI representative. It can be a bit annoying at times (I accept them, but will they accept me?), but this whole DEI push has been gnawing at me like it never has before.
Part of this has to do with some skirts I've recently acquired* - partly because it seems the trans movement is pushing boundaries for us - and partly because they keep telling us that diversity is very important. And almost at every large meetup there is some sort of non-binary person in the crowd or giving a presentation, and no one seems to mind. At least, I don't hear any snide remarks or whatnot.
So I'm at a crossroads. Every day last week I changed into skirt/tights at the end of the day once everyone left, navigated from my office to an elevator to a downstairs work room, worked till the evening, and walked to my car - parking each day further from the office. Fortunately/unfortunately I did not come across many people at all while going from place to place, yet I'm still quite nervous about the whole experiment. I've attached photos of two of my skirts, to give a sense of my style. Please forgive the lack of ironing, and awkward stance.
I'm not sure where to go from here. I really want to do this, but I fear repercussions, coming out to my family, and people I know at the university who will likely never talk with me (I'm catholic, they are catholic, and I'm pretty sure our form of conservatism doesn't have any leeway for this sort of thing, and that is all I'm going to say about that).
So yeah, massive dump of information but posting online seems to help me cope!
*Ah, well, so here's the deal. I've bought some cool (pre-owned) skirts with neat details - on the cheap - of high end fashion labels (well, from what I can tell from my limited perspective anyhow). While my collection is a mostly a mix of cheap skirts, inexpensive brands, I've added a few higher-end pieces. There is something different about, say, how a Tory Burch skirt is constructed, cut, and more over some of the neat details that the designer might incorporate. That isn't to say a designer label is superior - but it feels so and that is oddly empowering. Oh, and knowing I paid say, $25 when it originally "sold" for $300 is comforting too.