Well, my first serious April Fools joke in many years made its way to the internet, and wow, several people fell for it! At 2 am this morning, before going to bed for the night, i tweeted and facebooked updates that i had finally secured a job at the senior analyst level, and that it was a Government of Saskatchewan job in Saskatoon. To make the story believable, i changed my facebook profile pic to a Sask flag, and amended by current location to Saskatoon. I also send out special posts to my outgoing co-workers in Newfoundland and thanked them for being so great and accepting to me. I also posted a link to the Saskatchewan Marathon and hinted that i was looking forward to running on some flat roads. I even publicly facebooked Mikayla, the best-known trans advocate in SK and stated that i was really looking forward to working with her on provincial trans issues.
Well, while some of my friends knew this was likely a joke (i have hinted at a SK move for quite some time), others totally fell for it. The few people that i do know in SK seemed really excited. I even started getting new friend requests from SK residents! Likewise, there was a series of public and private e-mails from Newfoundlanders wishing me well, and expressing sadness that i was leaving.
At noon, i changed the SK flag to an NL one, and posted and tweeted the following:
I can only hope the day will come when the idea of me regaining employment, as a transsexual, at the senior analyst level, is not a foolish one! (meanwhile, HAPPY APRIL FOOLS!!!!!)
Even after posting this, i was still receiving e-mails of congrats, as well as a phone call from a concerned friend who obviously was shaken up by the news.
Anyway, i hope this little prank brings attention to what is a very serious issue. Transsexuals are chronically underemployed all over the world. In fact, 90% of us live below the poverty line. There is no good reason for this either. Phobia and myths have made our lives much tougher than they need to be.
Anyway, happy April Fools!
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