Transgender Inclusion

Chapter 11What If My Question Wasn't Answered?

I hope you have learned a great deal in reading this book, and not just about the transgender community from a demographic standpoint or the types of transition members of the transgender community may choose to engage in. I hope you've also learned ways to support and affirm transgender people, particularly those in the workplace. While this book has a great deal of information, it is not all‐encompassing. I've tried to answer the most common questions I am presented with, and I've tried to provide foundational understanding. I'm sure there are still many questions that remain unanswered. So what do you do if you still have a question that has not been answered by the material presented in this book? That's actually a question in and of itself, and I'd like to answer it.

Curiosity

Generally speaking, it's great to be curious. Many work environments encourage curiosity, and depending on your field of work it might even be an essential part of your daily life. It is a characteristic often present in high performers. But unfettered curiosity can be problematic. Some things are simply none of your business. Thus we cannot utilize curiosity as the meterstick by which we determine if we should ask someone a question. If you find yourself curious about aspects of your transgender colleague's life, pause before asking a question and ascertain whether it's actually an appropriate question. To determine this, ask yourself the following ...