I Am Visible

Today is the Transgender Day of Visibility, and, for the first time, I am visible.

Hi, I’m Zoe 👋. I use she/her pronouns, and I’m a trans woman.

I’m also a software developer and big computer nerd. If you don’t know me, I build JavaScript tools for work, have made a few neat websites on the side, dabbled with some iOS apps here and there, and listen to a bunch of technology podcasts. And I don’t expect any of that to be changing any time soon.

It’s taken me a long time to get to this point, and there’s still plenty that I have yet to do, but I’m so glad that I feel ready to be public about this important part of myself. I’m not gonna get all philosophical with this coming out post^[1], because frankly I don’t really have much more to say beyond “hey I’m a girl!”. But it really is freeing to not have to to hide a part of me away anymore.

This is, unfortunately, not a particularly great time to be trans in the United States^[2]. Our government is pushing order after order to strip us of our rights and treat us as second class beings, and we cannot let this stand. We must be visible and stand against this bigotry. If you’re cis, please be loud in support of trans folks, we really need it.

Next time I post here^[3] I’m sure I’ll be writing about computers again, but thanks for reading this very personal note. And an extra special thanks to my friends and family who have been so supportive of me throughout my transition. Y’all are the best.

P.S. If you’re trans or questioning your gender, feel free to send me a message if you wanna chat. I’m always happy to talk with other trans folks. (I know this can be especially scary in the early stages—I’ve been there—but I promise I don’t bite). We have to support each other!