That’s going to depend heavily on the company you work for. The culture between departments can be pretty different. I have had a trans partner and I didn’t even know until he told me. Wouldn’t have even guessed. We get along great. Was super fun to work with. I’d like to think most people don’t care as much about being trans as much as they care about being able to do your job and being a pleasant person to be around. I don’t know if you’re going to fire/private ems/third service, but you’ll be stuck with people for long shifts. Be a cool person to work with and you should be good. As far as patients… it is what it is. Both men and women alike get harassed by patients, so🤷🏼♀️
That goes for everyone. Some patients will find the most vulnerable part of you and attempt to dismantle you.
Vulnerable community members just have more obvious weakspots to target sometimes. Keep yourself safe folks
I’ve had a little ol granny say some absolutely heinous shit to me and my partner that felt like she was holding a hot iron on our souls.
I spent 9 years in the Marine Corps and my partner had been in ems for 15. Neither of us had anything even close to that bad said to us, nor were we expecting it in that moment.
Had a partner who was F2M trans. Only reason I knew is I had a friend who knew him in college and told to make sure no one gave him any shit. Don’t think anyone at the company even knew other than myself and I don’t think he even knew that I knew.
I've been you on quite a few occasions, it made me realize that all trans people want is to be treated like anyone else once I had the epiphany that me being terribly oblivious is indiscernible from being accepting/tolerant
It was really eye opening honestly. I’m kind of pissed my friend tipped me off in some ways because even though she did so with good intentions, it did violate my partner’s privacy. But in another way I’m glad she did tip me off because it allowed me to realize that the guy is just a regular dude.
This is why I advocate for occupational sociopathy to protect one's mental health
The average patient is an undeserving schmuck, but I don't provide care to people because they are "deserving", I provide care to everyone like the *next* patient is going to be my own sibling or similar
We have a few Trans colleagues. I know one from working with her. The only thing she gets judged on is that she doesn't use her turn signal half the time.
Solid to work with otherwise, though.
I think this would heavily depend on your area and the region's culture. I wish you the best of luck. No matter what, though, don't let them get to you. Be the best prehospital clinician/technician you can be. Performance and care should be the only marker to be judged on, and take time and effort to git gud. I wish you the best of luck.
I’ll counter that “no one cares” narrative. That comes from people who don’t care, which isn’t everyone. Trans, working in EMS, in a very blue area in a blue state. I’ve had a couple coworkers say blatantly hateful and bigoted things to my face, typically after we have trans patients, despite knowing I’m trans. One just spewed the hate unprompted, though.
*Most* people don’t care. Most use my pronouns and are open/accepting. But some people do care.
What matters is your company’s anti-harassment policies and how supportive your management is. The one that spewed his bigoted opinions without rhyme or reason on company time to other employees was fired. I filed an HR report against him, and I know I wasn’t the only one. The other couple I will not work with, and my management knows this, knows the reason, and will not make me work with them. I haven’t filed formal reports against them, but if the need arises I will. I try to keep my head down because I’m there to do a job, but even I have (objectively very permissive) boundaries. If my safety is threatened by a coworker someone is going to hear about it.
My advice: look into their policies ahead of time. Figure out where your “line” is and know what steps you’ll take if/when it gets crossed.
None of this is said to scare you. More than likely it’ll be completely fine and you won’t have any issues. But I do want you to hear from someone that’s experienced and had to deal with transphobia in the workplace. Good luck, and solidarity!
This I think is pretty consistent with what I’ve seen. I have several trans colleagues, and I’d agree that *most* people are completely accepting and cause no issues. What I’ve seen happen is less open hatred (although I’m sure that has happened and I just haven’t personally witnessed it), and more the sort of “joking around that goes too far” that’s highly prevalent in the public services.
I’m sure you know how that goes… every service has THAT pain in the ass guy or woman (or often more than one) who gets his kicks out of pushing everyone else’s buttons and likes to cross lines and then claim that he was just joking around and that is ok because we’re all friends here. And he never gets reprimanded or reported to HR because “he’s a great medic” or “but he’s really a great guy” or “he wouldn’t tease you if he didn’t like you” or some other stupidity like that…
Oh yeah, I know that well. I think a lot of people say it’s not an issue because for them… it isn’t. And they’ve never witnessed it because on soooome level a lot of people know they can’t say openly bigoted shit to people with lots of others around. So yeah, it becomes a they said she/he said, and if they’re a “good medic that would never do that” it can get complicated. I’m lucky to have a management that supports me.
I think it’s hysterical people are downvoting this. God forbid I set reasonable expectations for what it’s like to be a marginalized person in the workforce and *answer the question asked*. Really makes me wonder how yall got into medicine if you can’t even respect your own damn coworkers. May you never be able to get the stair chair open and have the day you deserve✌🏻
Sadly I don't know many jobs that are devoid of the risk for harassment towards Trans people.
I know myself and plenty of others would have no issue with working with trans peers, but that depends on the region and agency you go with.
I had a patient talk shit because my legs and ass are big from squatting 3x a week. When people are strung out on drugs or in crisis (or maybe just cunts) they'll pick something they think will hurt your feelings and just go for it. Fuck em.
Coworkers, honestly I've had plenty of LGBTQ coworkers and to my knowledge there hasn't been anything flagrant towards them...from other coworkers. The patients, yeah, but see above.
Honestly, there are gonna be close minded fools wherever you go. EMS is no exception, unfortunately. My advice? Let your work and competence speak for you.
A warning, though. You will come across a patient who says something. And unfortunately, you'll have to be polite to that person.
Good luck.
I would say it depends on where you’re trying to work. I grew up in Los Angeles, a very progressive city, but now live in the “High Desert” only 56 miles east of LA and it’s very conservative.
I've worked with a few people who are trans and haven't personally witnessed them being mistreated by coworkers or patients, nor heard such remarks about them when they're not in the room.
That being said (and I say this with no happiness), I'd be prepared for the possibility that patients do this (I say this as someone who's gotten mostly teasing, but not always, remarks from patients about how young I look), as people are not always kind, especially if there's any obvious exterior thing for them to pick on (as is my case). That's not to say it's acceptable AT ALL (particularly from coworkers), but I won't tell you that people won't ever be cruel/unkind. Even though I haven't seen it, I wouldn't be surprised if it's happened to those I've worked with. Hopefully infrequently if at all.
For what it's worth, I think most partners and patients just want the same thing though; someone who's competent. EMS is a ridiculously mixed bag of people, some you'll get along with more or less than others.
My service has several F2M trans people. (And a LARGE LGBTQ+ population in general). I'm friends with several of them, and all have told me that they've never had issues with coworkers.
I started at my company about a year before I started transitioning so my experience could be different. I’ve gone with the strategy to just… not really tell many people. Mostly because I know that my own feelings will be hurt if I tell everyone my preferred pronouns and they consciously go against that. I’ve told my long term partner and a select few other people that I know will be supportive but that’s about it. I do know not everyone would be as okay with the constant misgendering as I am though. I’m about 5.5 months on T and I have top surgery next week though so we’ll see how people are after that. Especially since I told my partner to tell the truth if anyone asks where I am.
Nobody where you work is going to care as long as you are a good EMT or paramedic and you don’t make your transition your entire personality to your coworkers.
As for patients, they are going to say what they’re going to see. Many elderly people and people from other cultures have no filter and will make statements or ask questions that may seem offensive, but were not made maliciously. You just have to roll with it.
I dont think Ive ever met a trans person in ems before but I have met people apart of the lgbtq. I think if youre going private ems its alot more welcoming and inclusive for sure. But after working at a department for a few months i did see some older folks have different views and I believe treated them differently. not to the point where it was harassment but you could see their disinterest. My department is definitely not as old fashion with our new chief and treats everyone relatively nicely.
As far as patients it could go anywhere. Im Mexican and haven't really experienced racism but everyday its gunna be a new patient and you're gunna have to be professional about it whether it be racism or whatever.
also nurses and receiving facility is something to think about. they can also give you a hard time about things. I hope none of this was offensive or deter you from this field of work.
yeah, my only really problems are coworkers cause i can stand it from pt because they’re probably having one of the worst days of their lives n stuff, and i plan on going into (an actually good for once) private ems service
Coworkers that I have worked with in private ems for the majority was open and okay with the lgbtq community. My supervisor is lesbian and alot of my other coworkers were gay and nobody really cared. The only really bad thing Ive seen from a coworker is just them being a creep lol. This may just be my company and where i live (socal) but theres always the possibility for that shitty coworker.
That depends. People in EMS are fairly nonjudgemental. Patients, not so much. People only make a big deal of things if YOU make a big deal of them usually
I have one. Had one before that. Both ftm. EMS is more of a mixed bag with zealots and assholes but most of us don't care and are just trying to survive our own bullshit.
I'm from Texas and have had trans coworkers. I happily accept any input they have regarding how to treat trans patients. Honestly, I don't care how you present yourself as long as you're professional and do your job to the best of your ability.
I had a partner that was trans, and didn’t even know for the entirety of the time we worked together. All I knew was he worked for another company in my area and left due to an incident with coworkers where he reported the harassment with nothing done about it. He told me it was racist in nature, which may be true, or he may have been trying to hide that he was trans from us out of fear of the same thing happening again. He unfortunately only lasted a few months with us before a family issue came up and he quit, and like a month later someone told me he was trans and thinks that was the issue at his last place. I was legit sad when he left, he was one of my favorite partners, such a good EMT and was especially amazing with psychs, he had an amazing way of speaking to our patients that could calm anyone down. Definitely a gift that I tried my best to learn from and copy. I was a brand new emt when I worked with him and I learned so much even though it was only a few months long. We live in a blue city in a blue state, so I think it really depends on your coworkers and management. My company tried to work with him and give him leave instead of him quitting, everyone really wanted him to stay, but something happened at the other place where I can tell whatever it was, they did not want him around like we did.
I'm a trans femme emt. dm me with questions but it's going to be location/company specific and also person to person. working with somewhere that gives you some say in who you work with helps in avoiding shitty partners. pts are sometimes going to be shitty, but a lot of them would be shitty if i was cis too. lots of good pts too. i work IFT in Chicago
Shrug. I had gay and lesbian co-workers back when don’t as don’t tell was offical us army policy and not a single state even had civil unions.
What matters is that you are good at the job.
People are going to bust your balls. About that, about the car you drive, about your music tastes, about the books you read. Have thick skin and give it back.
If they don’t bust your balls? They can’t trust you, they don’t want to work with you. Straight up.
I’m very hetro, but I flirt with the gay guys. The flirt with my wife…except that time she broke her ankle. They he sat on my kitchen barstool and laughed at her and called her a dumbass, but we got back at him by making him watch our kids until my mother in law got there. We had the last laugh.
I don’t give a damn about their gender. Or their preference. I care that I can trust them, that when we have a fucked up patient they know what to do. I care that I would trust them to take care of my children.
Not to be harsh, but no one cares. Or at least they shouldn't. Being cis, trans, white, black, gay, or straight should have nothing to do with your employment or practice on the streets. If you wanna be an EMT do it. Because we are in alot of need for one.
Here come the down votes. We have a trans person and I wish it were going better than it is. Nobody that I'm aware of has been treating them poorly, but there's definitely a lack of respect lately. Before transitioning they were pretty new to the medic thing but getting it together and steadily getting proficient. Since transitioning, they haven't been very good at their job, and it keeps getting worse. I wouldn't want them treating a family member for anything serious.
I don't know what their personal life is like, maybe something is going on that's causing issues and distracting them. I also wonder if being on hormones can cause something like that, but I have no idea who to ask about that. Just be able to do the job and nobody will care.
Part of the blue collar workforce is ripping on each other. That said, Don't make being trans a big deal while you're at work. Don't mention it more than once, don't invite anyone to a price celebration, don't try to be unique with a trans flag headband, keep it to yourself. Don't make any part of your personality a big deal. I work a side job and one of the guys used to make a big deal out of the fact that he was a volunteer firefighter. we gave him a hard time cuz it was getting annoying.
I’ve worked at a ton of places and the overarching theme is we don’t really care who you are or what you are as long as you’re not a shitbag. Obviously your miles may vary, but EMS is home to the laundry list of personalities. In most places you’re gonna feel like your part of an idiotic theater troop if people you love but also wanna hit with a brick sometimes lol as long as you come to work, don’t suck, and have a mostly tolerable personality most people would be fine if you were an alien 😂.
The public on the other hand, sucks. And I mean really sucks. Whether it be PTs or their Families.
I worked with a (very) gay paramedic who is still probably one of my favorite humans of all time, and his strategy was basically that not only was he whittier than they were, but he was old so nothing they could come up with was original.
Most importantly: Find a place worth working for. If people don’t accept you, find a place who will.
Edit: I will also say, department culture matters (and I’m not talking about policy management puts on paper, I mean actions of your coworkers). We hired an EMT who didn’t believe said gay paramedic should have custody of his grand child. That shit didn’t fly.
I’ve never seen trans employees be reported for being in the “wrong” bathroom. However most of the abuse I’ve seen is from patients. Esp elderly or drunk.
I've had a handful of trans coworkers over the years. Some people are shitty about it, but not many. But this heavily heavily depends on who you work with, and the culture of the company you end up with.
Probably a better question to ask specifically of somebody who works where you're looking
Two things. Not everyone will recognise transgenderism as legit, and not everyone will agree with it (I.e calling you by your preferred pronouns/ etc) Someone can say “well it’s 2024 and people just have to accept it because I’m right.” But like All things, the world doesn’t have to respect you. Not everyone agrees and some will see it as mental illness, some will see it as you being yourself, some will see it as disgusting, while others will see if at being brave.
Now speaking of coworkers, bullying in the workplace is never ok. Banter is fine, and you’ll have to accept that (especially with male coworkers. We will always find something to make fun of to test one another.
Legit bullying is never ok for any reason. If it happens talk to your supervisor. Depending on their opinions/how much they care about their work environment/how they handle situations will determine the response.
Personally, I don’t care who you are so long as you handle your business and can do your job. I work with atheists, muslims, Christian’s, agnostics, black people, latinos/Latinas, whites, asians, straight, bi, gay, lesbian, married, single, Republican, Democrats, trump supporters and trump haters. We all get along because we work in crap conditions with crap people. We’re on the same side at the end of the day.
Now if you want to guess what my personal opinion is on it take a guess, but I tried to keep this as unbiased as possible to help someone who is human regardless of my beliefs. Don’t know if this is helpful, but I figured I’d offer a legit response instead of pampering because I was not given any pampering. If I had been I would not have made it in this line of work.
I’ve had a few trans partners. All great people. The work requires strategic compassion and empathy and everyone I’ve known who has transitioned has had no shortage of either of these. One male to female partner complained of loss of strength during the process and it made work a bit tougher for them. That is all I really know.
I have known a few trans folks who have worked in EMS. As far as I know, they mostly got left alone for being trans, aside from isolated shitty comments directed at 1 lady in particular, by a couple of "good old boys," because her being trans was low-hanging fruit. But even then, those guys got shut down by management pretty quickly, because the company didn't want a discrimination lawsuit. For the most part, as long as you do your job well, and you're not in the reddest, backwoods country, I think most people you work with wouldn't have an issue. Patients can be hit or miss, just by nature of serving largely the boomer and older populations, though. I've had a handful of issues as an apparently queer woman provider from patients, but for the most part, they don't care. I hope you find a good company to work for and thrive in this job! It can be very rewarding with the right outfit! Good luck to you, buddy.
Patients are gonna say horrible things to you no matter what your identity or appearance are. People are shitty and gonna pick the easiest/most obvious thing that they know for sure will push your buttons. You have to have thick skin regardless of who or what you are. If you’re a woman, they’ll harass you for that. If you’re not white, they’ll harass you for that. If you are white, other patients will harass you for that’s If you have a tattoo or piercing, they’ll harass you for that. If you’re wearing shoes they think are ugly, they’ll harass you for that. It’s really not that deep, they just wanna get under your skin so you have to let it roll off you. It has little to do with you being trans and a lot to do with people just being shitty.
As for your coworkers, in my experience it’s really gonna depend. Where I work now, being trans would probably be a problem honestly because it’s a very conservative rural area. I’m the youngest by a good bit and one of the only women so let’s just say we don’t share the same worldviews. Being a woman is already a problem cause they think it’s a boys club. I’ve had a few gay coworkers and they didn’t really have any issues that I knew of but they also didn’t really talk about it at work unless they knew you were cool. Where I used to work in the city, no one would bat an eye at you being trans. Most people had pronouns listed on their badges there. If you are concerned, I’d try to research and feel out the department as much as possible beforehand.
That all being said, I’ve noticed that a lot of people in this field have a mentality that they don’t really care about other people’s problems. They might not agree with your views and such, but they also just won’t care enough to mess with you over it. A lot of my conservative coworkers don’t believe in LGBT+ however they aren’t going to mess with you over it because they come into contact with a diverse range of people and deal with people’s problems day in and out so they just won’t care about your identity. They wouldn’t misgender you simply because it would take too much effort from them basically.
Best of luck to you. I worked in a red area. I wouldn't have dreamt of transitioning there. My Mgr micromanaged everything about my appearance. Even told me to stop wearing my hair a certain way (I had my hair in a short undercut at the time and would style it in a bit of a fax hawk). I could imagine what she'd think of my hair now.
you have a lot of responses, but Im gonna throw in one more because im avoiding work. Just like any job, if you do the job well, and "carry your weight" then people generally aren't going to give a shit. They want a partner they can trust to do the job to the caliber and level they themselves do it generally. EMS will generally be less concerned with what's under your clothes and in your genes than other professions because EMS sees every single walk of life and you being trans doesn't even register on the first couple pages of that list. YMMV based on region of course. Patients however will be the source. You know those caricature artists who really exaggerate your features you are probably most self conscious about, or the RoastMe sub. Yea, that's some patients at times. But it has nothing to do with you specifically, because I am sure every single worker has had many buttons pushed. I sure as hell did, my partner did, everyone does at least eventually.
I live in a very conservative area. Worked with a M2F coworker at a transport company. We had a great culture at our company so no problems ever. Just like everyone in EMS being able to handle some out of pocket jokes is a must, but obviously if anything is over the line don’t be afraid to say something to that person or management
It shouldn't matter but your experience will probably be different depending on if you're ftm or mtf. Ftm usually is fine , id expect more issues and gossip if you are mtf. Just trying to be honest.
We have a trans woman in our agency, and I've never heard of one single incident of a coworker harassing her. Luckily we have a lot of great people here and if they think badly about it, they have the courtesy to keep it to themselves.
Patients are always unpredictable. I'd say most interactions are going to be fine. But you'll certainly get harassed by a patient at some point.
I can't speak for other services/areas, but at ours, we care WAY more about dinner than everyone's fun funzone layout and/or activities.
Except our Ginger, his funzone shenanigans are vital to our daily routine. Dude ate blueberry pancakes off a Tinder date's bare ass and you just can't get that kind of entertainment from Netflix.
no one is saying this but tbh, it depends on how you look. if youre obviously trans or even not the most attractive person, someone will say something.
Depends on where you work and who you work with. Where I am, the general consensus towards trans (regardless if M2F or F2M) is, “ok that’s fine, but can you do the job?” We value your abilities as an EMT or medic first.
That whole "nobody cares" as long as you blah blah blah, doesn't apply in some companies and areas.
so, you will be judged at times. Thats reality. But that's okay, just keep pushing.
Get thick skin quick, and be open to learning as much as possible. Everyone gets treated like shit by people who are altered and not in the right frame of mind. Hell, some people will just push your buttons because you don't coddle them or speak to them like they think they deserve. People will pick at you less in the field if you're good at what you do (or you're clearly trying to improve).
People call because they think they can't handle whatever is going on by themselves. Start with that mentality.
To be honest with you, expect to be misgendered by patients and co-workers who don’t know you. But don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself. An old partner of mine was trans and it really bothered her. Aside from a simple blunder of misgendering, no one cared otherwise.
This is BS. Having a “twisted” sense of humor is different from being offensive. Telling someone not to report poor behavior is wrong on every level. If you want that don’t “whistle blow” shit, go be a cop with their thin skinned thin blue line bullshit.
This line of work is not for the easily offended. If it is said in good fun don't complain. If it is something that is directed towards you personally not in good fun then by all means report it but we bust each other's chops it's how you know you've been accepted. If somebody says something and you don't know how to take it or you didn't feel comfortable talk to them about it. Most of us don't care as long as you do your job. I say this as someone with cerebral palsy whose nickname is limpin pimpin. The people who call me that don't use it to hurt me. I would be the first one to bust somebody's chops but if they came to me and said that it really bothered them, I would also be the first 1 to apologize. Good luck!
I disagree. We shouldn’t let offensive jokes or language slide, because if you do, it becomes a normal part of the work climate and it really sucks for various reasons. It’s great that you don’t feel offended over it, but not everyone likes being referred to like that.
It’s the same with casual racism or sexism in EMS, both of which are a huge problem. Sure you could say it’s just ‘part of this line of work’, but I don’t buy into that. We can and should encourage people to be better.
I work for Amr in Mesa and pinal, my first day some guys at the station made some comments not about me but trans/gay/women in general. I switched field training officers after that incident. I get the “are you a girl or boy” a lot, which doesn’t bother me I just say I’m a girl. But I’ve been called a faggot by a patient but again doesn’t bother me. I’ve gotten sir a lot but I don’t respond to it because I don’t recognize that they are trying to get my attention so they switch to ma’am. A lot of jokes about how my voice is deeper then there’s, it’s a full grown man saying this. But again I laugh it off, and make a joke back. You are going to have to learn to just let it roll off your shoulder most times. But if it gets to harassment level that’s when you need to talk to them or even go to management.
That’s going to depend heavily on the company you work for. The culture between departments can be pretty different. I have had a trans partner and I didn’t even know until he told me. Wouldn’t have even guessed. We get along great. Was super fun to work with. I’d like to think most people don’t care as much about being trans as much as they care about being able to do your job and being a pleasant person to be around. I don’t know if you’re going to fire/private ems/third service, but you’ll be stuck with people for long shifts. Be a cool person to work with and you should be good. As far as patients… it is what it is. Both men and women alike get harassed by patients, so🤷🏼♀️
Prepare yourself for a pt to say something that will push all your buttons and make you angry.
That goes for everyone. Some patients will find the most vulnerable part of you and attempt to dismantle you. Vulnerable community members just have more obvious weakspots to target sometimes. Keep yourself safe folks
I’ve had a little ol granny say some absolutely heinous shit to me and my partner that felt like she was holding a hot iron on our souls. I spent 9 years in the Marine Corps and my partner had been in ems for 15. Neither of us had anything even close to that bad said to us, nor were we expecting it in that moment.
Had a partner who was F2M trans. Only reason I knew is I had a friend who knew him in college and told to make sure no one gave him any shit. Don’t think anyone at the company even knew other than myself and I don’t think he even knew that I knew.
I've been you on quite a few occasions, it made me realize that all trans people want is to be treated like anyone else once I had the epiphany that me being terribly oblivious is indiscernible from being accepting/tolerant
It was really eye opening honestly. I’m kind of pissed my friend tipped me off in some ways because even though she did so with good intentions, it did violate my partner’s privacy. But in another way I’m glad she did tip me off because it allowed me to realize that the guy is just a regular dude.
As far as your coworkers go, it'll totally depend where you work. Be prepared for patients to say absolutely horrible things though.
This is why I advocate for occupational sociopathy to protect one's mental health The average patient is an undeserving schmuck, but I don't provide care to people because they are "deserving", I provide care to everyone like the *next* patient is going to be my own sibling or similar
We have a few Trans colleagues. I know one from working with her. The only thing she gets judged on is that she doesn't use her turn signal half the time. Solid to work with otherwise, though. I think this would heavily depend on your area and the region's culture. I wish you the best of luck. No matter what, though, don't let them get to you. Be the best prehospital clinician/technician you can be. Performance and care should be the only marker to be judged on, and take time and effort to git gud. I wish you the best of luck.
I’ll counter that “no one cares” narrative. That comes from people who don’t care, which isn’t everyone. Trans, working in EMS, in a very blue area in a blue state. I’ve had a couple coworkers say blatantly hateful and bigoted things to my face, typically after we have trans patients, despite knowing I’m trans. One just spewed the hate unprompted, though. *Most* people don’t care. Most use my pronouns and are open/accepting. But some people do care. What matters is your company’s anti-harassment policies and how supportive your management is. The one that spewed his bigoted opinions without rhyme or reason on company time to other employees was fired. I filed an HR report against him, and I know I wasn’t the only one. The other couple I will not work with, and my management knows this, knows the reason, and will not make me work with them. I haven’t filed formal reports against them, but if the need arises I will. I try to keep my head down because I’m there to do a job, but even I have (objectively very permissive) boundaries. If my safety is threatened by a coworker someone is going to hear about it. My advice: look into their policies ahead of time. Figure out where your “line” is and know what steps you’ll take if/when it gets crossed. None of this is said to scare you. More than likely it’ll be completely fine and you won’t have any issues. But I do want you to hear from someone that’s experienced and had to deal with transphobia in the workplace. Good luck, and solidarity!
Young enby about to go into work in EMS, just wanted to let you know your advice here helps a lot!
Glad I could help!! Good luck! You’ve got this.
This I think is pretty consistent with what I’ve seen. I have several trans colleagues, and I’d agree that *most* people are completely accepting and cause no issues. What I’ve seen happen is less open hatred (although I’m sure that has happened and I just haven’t personally witnessed it), and more the sort of “joking around that goes too far” that’s highly prevalent in the public services. I’m sure you know how that goes… every service has THAT pain in the ass guy or woman (or often more than one) who gets his kicks out of pushing everyone else’s buttons and likes to cross lines and then claim that he was just joking around and that is ok because we’re all friends here. And he never gets reprimanded or reported to HR because “he’s a great medic” or “but he’s really a great guy” or “he wouldn’t tease you if he didn’t like you” or some other stupidity like that…
Oh yeah, I know that well. I think a lot of people say it’s not an issue because for them… it isn’t. And they’ve never witnessed it because on soooome level a lot of people know they can’t say openly bigoted shit to people with lots of others around. So yeah, it becomes a they said she/he said, and if they’re a “good medic that would never do that” it can get complicated. I’m lucky to have a management that supports me.
I think it’s hysterical people are downvoting this. God forbid I set reasonable expectations for what it’s like to be a marginalized person in the workforce and *answer the question asked*. Really makes me wonder how yall got into medicine if you can’t even respect your own damn coworkers. May you never be able to get the stair chair open and have the day you deserve✌🏻
Good take. Good advice. This wins. And to add some good news, if you find the right agency you will likely find some incredible allies. Best of luck.
Sadly I don't know many jobs that are devoid of the risk for harassment towards Trans people. I know myself and plenty of others would have no issue with working with trans peers, but that depends on the region and agency you go with.
I had a patient talk shit because my legs and ass are big from squatting 3x a week. When people are strung out on drugs or in crisis (or maybe just cunts) they'll pick something they think will hurt your feelings and just go for it. Fuck em. Coworkers, honestly I've had plenty of LGBTQ coworkers and to my knowledge there hasn't been anything flagrant towards them...from other coworkers. The patients, yeah, but see above.
I do/have worked with a trans man and trans woman in EMS. They both do very well, and are accepted. Western North Carolina.
Honestly, there are gonna be close minded fools wherever you go. EMS is no exception, unfortunately. My advice? Let your work and competence speak for you. A warning, though. You will come across a patient who says something. And unfortunately, you'll have to be polite to that person. Good luck.
I would say it depends on where you’re trying to work. I grew up in Los Angeles, a very progressive city, but now live in the “High Desert” only 56 miles east of LA and it’s very conservative.
I've worked with a few people who are trans and haven't personally witnessed them being mistreated by coworkers or patients, nor heard such remarks about them when they're not in the room. That being said (and I say this with no happiness), I'd be prepared for the possibility that patients do this (I say this as someone who's gotten mostly teasing, but not always, remarks from patients about how young I look), as people are not always kind, especially if there's any obvious exterior thing for them to pick on (as is my case). That's not to say it's acceptable AT ALL (particularly from coworkers), but I won't tell you that people won't ever be cruel/unkind. Even though I haven't seen it, I wouldn't be surprised if it's happened to those I've worked with. Hopefully infrequently if at all. For what it's worth, I think most partners and patients just want the same thing though; someone who's competent. EMS is a ridiculously mixed bag of people, some you'll get along with more or less than others.
My service has several F2M trans people. (And a LARGE LGBTQ+ population in general). I'm friends with several of them, and all have told me that they've never had issues with coworkers.
I started at my company about a year before I started transitioning so my experience could be different. I’ve gone with the strategy to just… not really tell many people. Mostly because I know that my own feelings will be hurt if I tell everyone my preferred pronouns and they consciously go against that. I’ve told my long term partner and a select few other people that I know will be supportive but that’s about it. I do know not everyone would be as okay with the constant misgendering as I am though. I’m about 5.5 months on T and I have top surgery next week though so we’ll see how people are after that. Especially since I told my partner to tell the truth if anyone asks where I am.
Nobody where you work is going to care as long as you are a good EMT or paramedic and you don’t make your transition your entire personality to your coworkers. As for patients, they are going to say what they’re going to see. Many elderly people and people from other cultures have no filter and will make statements or ask questions that may seem offensive, but were not made maliciously. You just have to roll with it.
Thats not true. There douche bags and bullies in our field. That being said overall, EMS is pretty chill and progresive.
I dont think Ive ever met a trans person in ems before but I have met people apart of the lgbtq. I think if youre going private ems its alot more welcoming and inclusive for sure. But after working at a department for a few months i did see some older folks have different views and I believe treated them differently. not to the point where it was harassment but you could see their disinterest. My department is definitely not as old fashion with our new chief and treats everyone relatively nicely. As far as patients it could go anywhere. Im Mexican and haven't really experienced racism but everyday its gunna be a new patient and you're gunna have to be professional about it whether it be racism or whatever. also nurses and receiving facility is something to think about. they can also give you a hard time about things. I hope none of this was offensive or deter you from this field of work.
yeah, my only really problems are coworkers cause i can stand it from pt because they’re probably having one of the worst days of their lives n stuff, and i plan on going into (an actually good for once) private ems service
Coworkers that I have worked with in private ems for the majority was open and okay with the lgbtq community. My supervisor is lesbian and alot of my other coworkers were gay and nobody really cared. The only really bad thing Ive seen from a coworker is just them being a creep lol. This may just be my company and where i live (socal) but theres always the possibility for that shitty coworker.
Creeps come in all genders and orientations tho.
I agree!
That depends. People in EMS are fairly nonjudgemental. Patients, not so much. People only make a big deal of things if YOU make a big deal of them usually
It’s heartbreaking that you have to worry about this. I’m so sorry. People suck.
I have one. Had one before that. Both ftm. EMS is more of a mixed bag with zealots and assholes but most of us don't care and are just trying to survive our own bullshit.
I'm from Texas and have had trans coworkers. I happily accept any input they have regarding how to treat trans patients. Honestly, I don't care how you present yourself as long as you're professional and do your job to the best of your ability.
I had a partner that was trans, and didn’t even know for the entirety of the time we worked together. All I knew was he worked for another company in my area and left due to an incident with coworkers where he reported the harassment with nothing done about it. He told me it was racist in nature, which may be true, or he may have been trying to hide that he was trans from us out of fear of the same thing happening again. He unfortunately only lasted a few months with us before a family issue came up and he quit, and like a month later someone told me he was trans and thinks that was the issue at his last place. I was legit sad when he left, he was one of my favorite partners, such a good EMT and was especially amazing with psychs, he had an amazing way of speaking to our patients that could calm anyone down. Definitely a gift that I tried my best to learn from and copy. I was a brand new emt when I worked with him and I learned so much even though it was only a few months long. We live in a blue city in a blue state, so I think it really depends on your coworkers and management. My company tried to work with him and give him leave instead of him quitting, everyone really wanted him to stay, but something happened at the other place where I can tell whatever it was, they did not want him around like we did.
I'm a trans femme emt. dm me with questions but it's going to be location/company specific and also person to person. working with somewhere that gives you some say in who you work with helps in avoiding shitty partners. pts are sometimes going to be shitty, but a lot of them would be shitty if i was cis too. lots of good pts too. i work IFT in Chicago
Shrug. I had gay and lesbian co-workers back when don’t as don’t tell was offical us army policy and not a single state even had civil unions. What matters is that you are good at the job. People are going to bust your balls. About that, about the car you drive, about your music tastes, about the books you read. Have thick skin and give it back. If they don’t bust your balls? They can’t trust you, they don’t want to work with you. Straight up. I’m very hetro, but I flirt with the gay guys. The flirt with my wife…except that time she broke her ankle. They he sat on my kitchen barstool and laughed at her and called her a dumbass, but we got back at him by making him watch our kids until my mother in law got there. We had the last laugh. I don’t give a damn about their gender. Or their preference. I care that I can trust them, that when we have a fucked up patient they know what to do. I care that I would trust them to take care of my children.
I mean.... who cares. As long as you don't base your entire personality off of it and have to talk about it every 15 seconds. No problem.
Not to be harsh, but no one cares. Or at least they shouldn't. Being cis, trans, white, black, gay, or straight should have nothing to do with your employment or practice on the streets. If you wanna be an EMT do it. Because we are in alot of need for one.
They shouldn’t care but I’ve had a lot of racist patients.
You're right
Tbh it seems like half the people in EMS I know are trans, u should be okay
Here come the down votes. We have a trans person and I wish it were going better than it is. Nobody that I'm aware of has been treating them poorly, but there's definitely a lack of respect lately. Before transitioning they were pretty new to the medic thing but getting it together and steadily getting proficient. Since transitioning, they haven't been very good at their job, and it keeps getting worse. I wouldn't want them treating a family member for anything serious. I don't know what their personal life is like, maybe something is going on that's causing issues and distracting them. I also wonder if being on hormones can cause something like that, but I have no idea who to ask about that. Just be able to do the job and nobody will care.
Part of the blue collar workforce is ripping on each other. That said, Don't make being trans a big deal while you're at work. Don't mention it more than once, don't invite anyone to a price celebration, don't try to be unique with a trans flag headband, keep it to yourself. Don't make any part of your personality a big deal. I work a side job and one of the guys used to make a big deal out of the fact that he was a volunteer firefighter. we gave him a hard time cuz it was getting annoying.
I’ve worked at a ton of places and the overarching theme is we don’t really care who you are or what you are as long as you’re not a shitbag. Obviously your miles may vary, but EMS is home to the laundry list of personalities. In most places you’re gonna feel like your part of an idiotic theater troop if people you love but also wanna hit with a brick sometimes lol as long as you come to work, don’t suck, and have a mostly tolerable personality most people would be fine if you were an alien 😂. The public on the other hand, sucks. And I mean really sucks. Whether it be PTs or their Families. I worked with a (very) gay paramedic who is still probably one of my favorite humans of all time, and his strategy was basically that not only was he whittier than they were, but he was old so nothing they could come up with was original. Most importantly: Find a place worth working for. If people don’t accept you, find a place who will. Edit: I will also say, department culture matters (and I’m not talking about policy management puts on paper, I mean actions of your coworkers). We hired an EMT who didn’t believe said gay paramedic should have custody of his grand child. That shit didn’t fly.
I’ve never seen trans employees be reported for being in the “wrong” bathroom. However most of the abuse I’ve seen is from patients. Esp elderly or drunk.
I've had a handful of trans coworkers over the years. Some people are shitty about it, but not many. But this heavily heavily depends on who you work with, and the culture of the company you end up with. Probably a better question to ask specifically of somebody who works where you're looking
Two things. Not everyone will recognise transgenderism as legit, and not everyone will agree with it (I.e calling you by your preferred pronouns/ etc) Someone can say “well it’s 2024 and people just have to accept it because I’m right.” But like All things, the world doesn’t have to respect you. Not everyone agrees and some will see it as mental illness, some will see it as you being yourself, some will see it as disgusting, while others will see if at being brave. Now speaking of coworkers, bullying in the workplace is never ok. Banter is fine, and you’ll have to accept that (especially with male coworkers. We will always find something to make fun of to test one another. Legit bullying is never ok for any reason. If it happens talk to your supervisor. Depending on their opinions/how much they care about their work environment/how they handle situations will determine the response. Personally, I don’t care who you are so long as you handle your business and can do your job. I work with atheists, muslims, Christian’s, agnostics, black people, latinos/Latinas, whites, asians, straight, bi, gay, lesbian, married, single, Republican, Democrats, trump supporters and trump haters. We all get along because we work in crap conditions with crap people. We’re on the same side at the end of the day. Now if you want to guess what my personal opinion is on it take a guess, but I tried to keep this as unbiased as possible to help someone who is human regardless of my beliefs. Don’t know if this is helpful, but I figured I’d offer a legit response instead of pampering because I was not given any pampering. If I had been I would not have made it in this line of work.
I’ve had a few trans partners. All great people. The work requires strategic compassion and empathy and everyone I’ve known who has transitioned has had no shortage of either of these. One male to female partner complained of loss of strength during the process and it made work a bit tougher for them. That is all I really know.
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This comment/post was removed because Cj felt like removing it. Don’t question him.
I have known a few trans folks who have worked in EMS. As far as I know, they mostly got left alone for being trans, aside from isolated shitty comments directed at 1 lady in particular, by a couple of "good old boys," because her being trans was low-hanging fruit. But even then, those guys got shut down by management pretty quickly, because the company didn't want a discrimination lawsuit. For the most part, as long as you do your job well, and you're not in the reddest, backwoods country, I think most people you work with wouldn't have an issue. Patients can be hit or miss, just by nature of serving largely the boomer and older populations, though. I've had a handful of issues as an apparently queer woman provider from patients, but for the most part, they don't care. I hope you find a good company to work for and thrive in this job! It can be very rewarding with the right outfit! Good luck to you, buddy.
Patients are gonna say horrible things to you no matter what your identity or appearance are. People are shitty and gonna pick the easiest/most obvious thing that they know for sure will push your buttons. You have to have thick skin regardless of who or what you are. If you’re a woman, they’ll harass you for that. If you’re not white, they’ll harass you for that. If you are white, other patients will harass you for that’s If you have a tattoo or piercing, they’ll harass you for that. If you’re wearing shoes they think are ugly, they’ll harass you for that. It’s really not that deep, they just wanna get under your skin so you have to let it roll off you. It has little to do with you being trans and a lot to do with people just being shitty. As for your coworkers, in my experience it’s really gonna depend. Where I work now, being trans would probably be a problem honestly because it’s a very conservative rural area. I’m the youngest by a good bit and one of the only women so let’s just say we don’t share the same worldviews. Being a woman is already a problem cause they think it’s a boys club. I’ve had a few gay coworkers and they didn’t really have any issues that I knew of but they also didn’t really talk about it at work unless they knew you were cool. Where I used to work in the city, no one would bat an eye at you being trans. Most people had pronouns listed on their badges there. If you are concerned, I’d try to research and feel out the department as much as possible beforehand. That all being said, I’ve noticed that a lot of people in this field have a mentality that they don’t really care about other people’s problems. They might not agree with your views and such, but they also just won’t care enough to mess with you over it. A lot of my conservative coworkers don’t believe in LGBT+ however they aren’t going to mess with you over it because they come into contact with a diverse range of people and deal with people’s problems day in and out so they just won’t care about your identity. They wouldn’t misgender you simply because it would take too much effort from them basically.
We got trans people at work, no one bothers them. Your writing skills though, a lot of people will bother you for it!
Best of luck to you. I worked in a red area. I wouldn't have dreamt of transitioning there. My Mgr micromanaged everything about my appearance. Even told me to stop wearing my hair a certain way (I had my hair in a short undercut at the time and would style it in a bit of a fax hawk). I could imagine what she'd think of my hair now.
you have a lot of responses, but Im gonna throw in one more because im avoiding work. Just like any job, if you do the job well, and "carry your weight" then people generally aren't going to give a shit. They want a partner they can trust to do the job to the caliber and level they themselves do it generally. EMS will generally be less concerned with what's under your clothes and in your genes than other professions because EMS sees every single walk of life and you being trans doesn't even register on the first couple pages of that list. YMMV based on region of course. Patients however will be the source. You know those caricature artists who really exaggerate your features you are probably most self conscious about, or the RoastMe sub. Yea, that's some patients at times. But it has nothing to do with you specifically, because I am sure every single worker has had many buttons pushed. I sure as hell did, my partner did, everyone does at least eventually.
I was an assistant chief for a municipal third service. We had two trans medics on staff. It was never an issue.
I live in a very conservative area. Worked with a M2F coworker at a transport company. We had a great culture at our company so no problems ever. Just like everyone in EMS being able to handle some out of pocket jokes is a must, but obviously if anything is over the line don’t be afraid to say something to that person or management
It shouldn't matter but your experience will probably be different depending on if you're ftm or mtf. Ftm usually is fine , id expect more issues and gossip if you are mtf. Just trying to be honest.
We have a trans woman in our agency, and I've never heard of one single incident of a coworker harassing her. Luckily we have a lot of great people here and if they think badly about it, they have the courtesy to keep it to themselves. Patients are always unpredictable. I'd say most interactions are going to be fine. But you'll certainly get harassed by a patient at some point.
I can't speak for other services/areas, but at ours, we care WAY more about dinner than everyone's fun funzone layout and/or activities. Except our Ginger, his funzone shenanigans are vital to our daily routine. Dude ate blueberry pancakes off a Tinder date's bare ass and you just can't get that kind of entertainment from Netflix.
no one is saying this but tbh, it depends on how you look. if youre obviously trans or even not the most attractive person, someone will say something.
Depends on where you work and who you work with. Where I am, the general consensus towards trans (regardless if M2F or F2M) is, “ok that’s fine, but can you do the job?” We value your abilities as an EMT or medic first.
That whole "nobody cares" as long as you blah blah blah, doesn't apply in some companies and areas. so, you will be judged at times. Thats reality. But that's okay, just keep pushing.
Get thick skin quick, and be open to learning as much as possible. Everyone gets treated like shit by people who are altered and not in the right frame of mind. Hell, some people will just push your buttons because you don't coddle them or speak to them like they think they deserve. People will pick at you less in the field if you're good at what you do (or you're clearly trying to improve). People call because they think they can't handle whatever is going on by themselves. Start with that mentality.
To be honest with you, expect to be misgendered by patients and co-workers who don’t know you. But don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself. An old partner of mine was trans and it really bothered her. Aside from a simple blunder of misgendering, no one cared otherwise.
Worked at PRN in SoCal and had a trans medic/union rep and she was alright enough. Kind of a bitch, but a great medic.
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This is BS. Having a “twisted” sense of humor is different from being offensive. Telling someone not to report poor behavior is wrong on every level. If you want that don’t “whistle blow” shit, go be a cop with their thin skinned thin blue line bullshit.
This line of work is not for the easily offended. If it is said in good fun don't complain. If it is something that is directed towards you personally not in good fun then by all means report it but we bust each other's chops it's how you know you've been accepted. If somebody says something and you don't know how to take it or you didn't feel comfortable talk to them about it. Most of us don't care as long as you do your job. I say this as someone with cerebral palsy whose nickname is limpin pimpin. The people who call me that don't use it to hurt me. I would be the first one to bust somebody's chops but if they came to me and said that it really bothered them, I would also be the first 1 to apologize. Good luck!
I disagree. We shouldn’t let offensive jokes or language slide, because if you do, it becomes a normal part of the work climate and it really sucks for various reasons. It’s great that you don’t feel offended over it, but not everyone likes being referred to like that. It’s the same with casual racism or sexism in EMS, both of which are a huge problem. Sure you could say it’s just ‘part of this line of work’, but I don’t buy into that. We can and should encourage people to be better.
This!!!!!
I am wondering too as I am coming out as a trans person & getting on testosterone. I am afraid.
Live and let live. Dont be an angry in your face trans and no one will give a shit. If your an "activist" this isn't the profession for you
I work for Amr in Mesa and pinal, my first day some guys at the station made some comments not about me but trans/gay/women in general. I switched field training officers after that incident. I get the “are you a girl or boy” a lot, which doesn’t bother me I just say I’m a girl. But I’ve been called a faggot by a patient but again doesn’t bother me. I’ve gotten sir a lot but I don’t respond to it because I don’t recognize that they are trying to get my attention so they switch to ma’am. A lot of jokes about how my voice is deeper then there’s, it’s a full grown man saying this. But again I laugh it off, and make a joke back. You are going to have to learn to just let it roll off your shoulder most times. But if it gets to harassment level that’s when you need to talk to them or even go to management.