ValleyWag.com
Michael Wallent, a general manager at Microsoft, will return to work in January as Megan Wallent. He came out to colleagues as transgender last month, first in person and then by email. Wallent says he encountered nothing but support — mixed, of course, with some awkward curiosity. That’s unremarkable. Microsoft is located in the progressive Pacific Northwest, where one’s less likely to raise an eyebrow at Wallent’s self-discovery and more likely to worry about the politically correct term to describe it. (For the record, “sex change” is considered derogatory by many; the preferred word is “transitioning.”) He’s unlikely to encounter blatant transphobia on the job. He should worry instead about plain old-fashioned sexism. How will Wallent’s developers react when they come to work on January 2 and it hits them: They’re working for a girl?