Overturning the cracks.
Morley wrote…
I work outdoors, in a man’s world, wearing heavy cargo pants and a hard hat. On the way to the job site I stop for coffee and hear a “thank you, sir.” At the end of a long day, I shower and shave and get ready for a corset fitting. Dual gender roles make me proud and confident. My name has always caused confusion – lately I’ve particularly enjoyed overturning the cracks in others’ initial assumptions.
How do you navigate a “dual gender role?”
Posted by julian on April 5th, 2009 at 08:00 am
Category: your voice One comment »
April 6th, 2009 at 10:38 am |
I use the short form of my name because it draws a male image even though I identify and project as female. I publish political articles fairly regularly online using the short form and I find that it tends to garner interesting discussions that I don't usually have when talking to people in real life. It's interesting to see the reaction when I attend conferences and hear people talking about my work and then meeting me and discovering that I'm not the suit-and-tie male that they're expecting. I don't use the short form as a shield, it's more because I enjoy opening people's eyes to their own assumptions, regardless of whether they're good or bad.
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