Yeah it sucked. I had a couple of friends in some of the places that I applied to and they told me that the on the floor / worksite reaction to me applying was straight up that they’d never let someone like me in because they wanted to “protect their crews”. I couldn’t even get regular construction labor because me existing in their spaces was a threat.

I ended up finding an amazing boss who was running a smaller crew doing contractor work and I worked two years doing concrete forming, framing and siding until basically he got injured and took the opportunity to retire. Went back on the job hunt and even with a sparkling referrence to the exact same shit.

I ended up in film which is a bit more egalitarian but I know that being hard working and knowing your shit only gets you the fourth spot on a crew if you are lucky. There’s some crews out there in the world who kick any trans or female hall calls back and never have one as permenant crew. The reality of the world is that to some I am a second class citizen. All I can do on my end is kick ass, do more than my share, not complain and hope for that fourth spot and that things get better.