Which may account for what Prof. Barres calls the main difference he has noticed since changing sex. "People who do not know I am transgendered treat me with much more respect," he says. "I can even complete a whole sentence without being interrupted by a man."
Read the whole thing: He, Once a She, Offers Own View On Science Spat
H/T: Ophelia Benson, at Butterflies and Wheels
4 comments:
Wow, what a wonderfully unique position in which to observe interactions from both sides of the fence.
Such interesting comments about the comparison between the same person (the only difference being gender).
And how important to remember that we feed our childrens futures by nurturing belief in themselves.
This stands for both male and female children AND adults.
As someone who was "bad at maths and science" and beleived my strengths lay in languages and arts Ive come a long way along a science path to become a medical educator.
Very nice article - but oh how that [original] headline squicks me.
The Professor's experiences are also referred to in Cordelia Fine's recent book Delusions of Gender, which is a great expose of neurosexism.
In Afghanistan, some girls are raised as boys when there are no boys in the family: partly to increase the family's social standing and partly for economic reasons (boys can earn money and girls can't). There's a fascinating article in the New York Times about the experiences of these girls transitioning into lives as adult women. For example, one 15 year old who is resisting changing back says: “Nothing in me feels like a girl.” Turns out she doesn't mean that she doesn't like gossiping with her friends and playing with Barbie dolls. She goes on to explain: “People use bad words for girls... They scream at them on the streets. When I see that, I don’t want to be a girl. When I am a boy, they don’t speak to me like that.”
Another group of people, like these transgendered people, who've seen life from both sides and have helpful insights for the rest of us.
HT World Vision Report
Post a Comment