Rachel Coy Blunk is an American transgender activist and a former sheriff’s deputy in Pasco County, Florida, whose journey to becoming the woman she was meant to be was marked by courage, perseverance, and considerable personal sacrifice. A disabled Army veteran, former law enforcement officer, and certified Microsoft technician, Rachel spent years trying to conform to society’s expectations of masculinity. She served in the Army for four years, attended the Police Academy, and built a career in law enforcement before deciding, at the age of thirty-seven, to bring her outer appearance into alignment with her inner self. Rachel began her transition while working as a deputy, a decision that brought serious professional challenges. Although her superiors initially appeared supportive, she soon experienced discrimination, isolation, and hostility from colleagues. She describes a particularly frightening incident in which a fellow deputy failed to provide backup during a dangerous domestic call. Disagreements over uniform regulations and the cancellation of her female bulletproof vest ultimately contributed to her decision to retire early. The consequences extended far beyond her career: she lost her income, struggled financially, and became estranged from members of her family.
Yet Rachel’s story is also one of love and rebuilding. After meeting Floyd, a retired Army major, online, she found a partner who supported her transition and her dreams. They married, and over time Rachel was able to reconnect with her family. Having experienced both rejection and acceptance, she understands how important love, encouragement, and a supportive community can be in a transgender woman’s life. Rachel is also outspoken about the need to protect transgender people from violence and workplace discrimination. She believes that greater public education and more accurate media representations are essential to challenging stereotypes and helping society understand transgender women. Although health problems have limited her political involvement and her ability to pursue some of her interests, she has not lost her desire to encourage others. Her advice to trans women struggling with gender dysphoria is to embrace who they are, seek professional guidance and a strong support network, remain patient, and never give up on their dreams.
Monika: Rachel, welcome! It’s a real pleasure to have you here today.
Rachel: Hello Monika!
Monika: People must tell you that you look like Geena Davis. Are you secretly her twin sister?
Rachel: LOL, I wish I was, but I do get a lot of people who ask me that all the time.
Monika: Tell our readers a little about yourself.
Rachel: Well, I graduated from Goshen High School in Goshen, Ohio. I went into the Army after graduation and served for 4 years before I was medically discharged under honorable conditions. I’m a disabled veteran. I attended PHCC community college and graduated from the Police Academy, and now I’m retired from law enforcement. I then went back to school, graduated, and became a certified Microsoft technician.
Monika: Policing is a famously macho world. How did you cope there as a woman?
Rachel: It was the most terrifying, but most rewarding experience I had in my life. I started out working as a male officer, but I then transitioned on the job. It was very hard to do. I lost everything at first, but in the end, I have gained everything back.
Monika: You served in the Army too. Did you enjoy your time there?
Rachel: The service was okay, but in hindsight, I should have gone to college first and stayed in for 20 years. During this time I was always eager to play dress-up, but I couldn’t because I lived on the Base.
Monika: Tell me about your own transition. How old were you when it began, was the process difficult, and did your family and friends support you?
Rachel: At the age of five I knew I was different, and it wasn’t until I was twelve years old that I started dressing up. My Foster Sister dressed me up for a Halloween Party at our Baptist Church. I won first place “Most Beautiful,” and when I got home my mom told me to take off the makeup and nail polish, but I ended up keeping it on and sleeping in it. It made me feel beautiful!
Monika: What a lovely memory. Did you try to put those feelings aside as you grew older?
Rachel: I tried to conform to male standards (racing motorcycles, going into the Army, dating and marrying three women, even fathering four children [two girls and two boys]), but nothing worked. I continued to dress up and no one knew!
Monika: So what finally made you decide that the time had come?
Rachel: At the age of thirty-seven and after my third divorce, I said it was time, I was going to change my outer appearance to match my inner self, so I started off by self-medicating with hormones (I don’t condone it) because I was working at the Sheriff’s Office. I then told everyone in my “Chain of Command” of my intentions of changing into the woman I was meant to be.
Monika: Once you came out at work, did any problems follow?
Rachel: There was confusion (understandable) between my Major and the Director of Human Resources about my transition. At first and on the surface they appeared to be supportive, but once I returned as “Rachel,” everything changed. It was like I was an “Alien” from outer space, and it seemed like co-workers I’d worked with for so many years started alienating me.
Monika: Was there a moment when you feared for your safety?
Rachel: I felt like my life was in danger after an incident with a deputy (we’ll call him “Rick”) who was supposed to back me up on a domestic. Rick responded as “back-up,” saw that it was my cruiser in the suspect’s driveway, and didn’t help me when I called on the radio for help. Rick drove off and left me there. I really didn’t know until after I finished fighting for my life to get my suspect arrested and put in the back of my police cruiser. My Lieutenant ended up calling me into his office after the incident to warn me about it and apologized to Rick.
Monika: Quite a story! How did things develop at the Sheriff’s Office after that?
Rachel: After that, at every “Read-Off” (before the shift), my Lieutenant stood in front of me and my Co-workers and said, “I don’t want to hear of anyone not backing up ‘Rachel’ or saying anything derogatory to ‘Rachel,’ because I’m retiring soon, and I don’t want to be sued!” I felt really small and soon everyone avoided me like the “Plague” and stopped talking to me altogether.
Monika: Did the tension go beyond the way your colleagues treated you?
Rachel: The Director of Human Resources and the Major told me I wasn’t allowed to conform to “women’s uniform standards” and had to conform to “male uniform standards” because I still had an “M” on my driver’s license. I was so aggravated I replied, “Fine, you want to treat me like a male, then I think I’ll go home, mow my grass, and I’m sure I’ll get pretty hot, so I’ll remove my shirt with my ‘C’ size breasts to finish mowing, and you know what? Your 911 system will be so inundated with mothers and little old ladies calling in saying you have a half-naked woman out here mowing her grass! And you know what? When the Deputies pull up to arrest me, I’m going to flip out my driver’s license saying you can’t arrest me, it’s NOT against the law for a MAN to expose his CHEST!”
Monika: Did you ever carry out that plan?
Rachel: Of course, I didn’t do that, and it would have set back everything that transgendered women have worked and fought for up until 2002. I ended up retiring from the Sheriff’s Office early after the Sheriff’s Office canceled my female bulletproof vest and I worked the street for 6 months without a proper vest.
Monika: Transitions often come with a price. Did you lose anything along the way?
Rachel: I lost everything when I transitioned: my career, my income, my relationships with my family and friends. I almost lost my home, and I also had to file bankruptcy, but then I met my husband Floyd on the Internet.
Monika: How did your life change after you met Floyd?
Rachel: We corresponded for a while and he said he wanted to help me fulfill my dream and become the woman I was meant to be. Then everything started to turn around; eventually, I was back in my family’s life. I ended up marrying Floyd and we’ve been married now for 10 years.
Monika: When you began your transition, were there any transgender role models you looked up to?
Rachel: I’m sorry, I didn’t have any role models, but when I lived in Italy, I saw a lot of transgender women, and I met some great transgender people at the meetings I attended for a short time.
Monika: Looking back, what was the hardest part of coming out?
Rachel: Telling my mother I was transgendered and wanted to become a female. She broke down and wept, asking me, “Why can’t you just be gay?” Then after I started the transition, my family quit talking to me. I even went back to Ohio, where my mom lives, with Christmas gifts and she wouldn’t even answer the door.
Monika: How would you describe the present situation of transgender women in American society?
Rachel: I believe that we’ve come a long way, but more needs to be done to protect us from violence and from discrimination in the workplace. Also, I believe more needs to be done to educate people because we need to break the cycle and the stereotypical views of uneducated people.
Monika: Some say transgenderism could be the new frontier for human rights. Do you agree?
Rachel: Absolutely!
Monika: A few weeks ago Jared Leto received his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for playing the transgender character Rayon in “Dallas Buyers Club.” What do you think of the way transgender stories and characters have been featured in films, newspapers, and books so far?
Rachel: I believe Jared did a wonderful job portraying a transgender woman, but I believe more needs to be done on educating people because most of what is shown on television is just guys putting on dresses as a prank, which reflects negatively or is just making fun, but kids and adults associate this with real transgender women.
Monika: The transgender cause is usually presented together with the other LGBT communities, and T is the last letter in the abbreviation. Is the transgender community able to promote its own cause within the group?
Rachel: I believe we can if we have a strong voice within the community.
Monika: Turning to politics, are you active in it, and do you take part in any lobbying campaigns? Can transgender women make a difference there?
Rachel: Yes, I was in the past, but since my back surgeries, I haven’t been involved in politics. I believe that it’s still an uphill battle for us to get into politics even though we’ve got a lot of intelligent women who’ve come from all sorts of backgrounds, and who have been educated in the finest schools.
Monika: What role does love play in your life?
Rachel: Love is important in everyone’s life. It’s the glue that helps you succeed in life. The fact that you have a loved one pushing and supporting you in life helps a person to achieve their goals.
Monika: Your husband, a retired military man, paid for your gender reassignment surgery. It sounds like a fairytale!
Rachel: Yes, and I think I’ll wake up someday too, but I met my husband online and he really wanted to help me out. The only reason he did help was that I had already started the process. When he met me, I had already paid for breast implants, rhinoplasty (small bump on my nose), two eyebrow lifts, and I had my whole body lasered to remove the hair.
Monika: Tell me more about Floyd and how his family has taken to your marriage.
Rachel: Floyd is a retired major from the Army, and when he retired he owned five H&R Block Stores. Now his children own them. All of his children know of my background and everyone is okay with our marriage. We’ve been married now for 10 years as of today.
Monika: Is fashion something you enjoy? What do you usually wear, and are there any designs, colors, or trends you favor?
Rachel: I was into all types of outfits and I even performed on stage before, but since my back surgeries it’s limited me in my outfits. I have permanent makeup, so that helps a lot, but since I’m not going out because of my back, I’m usually dressed casual, though I can dress up nice. I’m just comfortable in the clothes I’m wearing now because they’re easier to put on.
Monika: Many transgender women choose to write their memoirs. Have you ever considered a book of your own?
Rachel: Absolutely, but I want to wait and find someone to help me get a publisher.
Monika: Is anything new in the works for you right now?
Rachel: No new projects at this time.
Monika: What advice would you give to transgender girls who are struggling with gender dysphoria?
Rachel: First, be comfortable with who you are on the inside, and know you can change your outer appearance to match your inner self. Always seek out a professional to help you with your journey and have a great support group.
Monika: Is there anything else they should keep in mind along the way?
Rachel: Be patient, set your mind to what you want to accomplish, stay on the path, and don’t waver from it. One day, it will happen, and don’t give up.
Keep a positive attitude and don’t worry about what other people say about you. And when you’ve reached your goal, remember that if somebody slips up, try not to take it too personally.
Monika: Rachel, thank you so much for this interview!
All the photos: courtesy of Rachel Coy Blunk.
© 2014 - Monika Kowalska
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