Journals of a Hotel Manager

In the great state of California where plastic surgeons have offices right next to lawyers, anything is possible. Fernando was a 6-ft tall steward who worked quietly in the dishwashing area. He had a mane of thick black hair cropped short and general masculine good looks. Fernando was married and had two little girls and a small boy. During employee parties, he would introduce his family to us. Fernando was just a regular Hispanic guy.

No one paid much attention when Fernando began to grow his hair and shave his stubble several times a day. He had always been a gentle guy but his voice started to become softer. One day he announced to the HR director that Fernando was in the process of becoming a Fernanda.

California labor law is perhaps one of the strictest I have ever seen. Any discrimination in terms of racial, sexual, age, or disability will undoubtedly result in a lawsuit. There was no guideline against sex change in our company or in the state. We gave Fernando our blessings as long as the sex change did not affect his work performance. After all, Fernando’s job was in the back of the house so the guests would not be affected, no new uniform needed to be issued and life should go on as it was except that Fernando would become a woman.

Most of the staff accepted Fernando’s decision with a shrug. It was California with an ex-Terminator as a governor, nothing was too weird. Things went well for several months as Fernando began to wear feminine clothing after work in conjunction with the massive hormone therapy. As his breasts started to develop, however, staff became uncomfortable.

Male staff did not want a man with breasts in their locker room. Female staff certainly did not want a woman with a penis in their lock room. We decided to build a special locker room for Fernando so he could enjoy the benefits of any staff members such as taking a shower and changing into uniform at the hotel. It was an easy task comparing to the unknown repercussion should we choose to terminate a staff based on sex change process.

Fernando continued his work and life at our hotel. At employee parties, he still brought three children, only that he wore make-up and high heels and his wife no longer came.  The last I heard was that he was saving money to have the final operation to make him finally Fernanda. I wish him well.