More complications of changing Sarah's age

I keep thinking...

If I change Sarah's age so that she finishes high school in 1995, instead of 1998, it will make for a much more confusing teenhood for Sarah. With the World Wide Web still in its infancy (I still remember Netscape Navigator 1.0N, with its blue N, from that year), it would be exceedingly difficult for Sarah to find resources, and to shop for girl clothes.

I know what it was like to come out in 1997-1998, with the Web in place. Not 1995. I may have to ask another transgender woman, who transitioned in that era, for any ideas, but looking for other transgender people is the last thing I want to do right now.

If I go ahead with this change, the best thing I could hope for would be for Sarah's father to borrow some clinical books from the San Francisco Public Library. Of course, since San Francisco had started protecting its transgenders in 1994, there would be some knowledge floating out there. Maybe one of Sarah's father's coworkers may have transitioned, right inside Bank of America.

Even style references will need to change. I will need to throw out anything Ally McBeal-related, since that won't be around until 1997. However, I could use Friends-related stuff, including Jennifer Aniston's hairstyle. I also remember that plaid wrap skirts were extremely popular in 1995, and that wrap skirts in general remained popular for the rest of the decade. Both Jennifer Aniston and wrap skirts were my favorites, and I want them to be Sarah's favorites too.

As for what Sarah would do, I am thinking of a brief stint as an office assistant at Bank of America, where Sarah could meet her father's transgender coworker and start learning the basics of the "community." Afterwards, Sarah could go to a community college. A good combination of education and job experience will give her an edge as she applies to become a flight attendant in 1999.

These are fleeting ideas for now. I'll have to flesh them out from now on.