Schilt: Just One of the
Guys?
We all know there are
many remaining remnants of workplace equality. But imagine having been born a
woman, and feeling out of touch with your sex. On top of this your role at work
is not regarded as preferable. So you undergo sex transition and then something
unexpected happens. Even at the same job, a FTM transsexual/intersexed person
discovers that they gain more authority and respect as men. This unique
experience was dubbed “outsider-within” by the author. It is baffling to me
that these gender disparities still exist for FTM intersexed people. The
patriarchal agenda and advantage of men is not surprising to me, but the fact
that society in all its cruelty still prefers a FTM intersexed person over a
woman is sickening. Not that I have anything against intersexed people, but how
can a know gender operation be more acceptable than an entire gender
population. As bigoted and biased as society is, this makes no sense to me at
all. I can hardly believe it.
The upside, however, is
that these “outsiders-within” have a unique ability to shed light on this gross
injustice to women. As Schilt calls it, the patriarchal dividend needs to stop,
and we are definitely moving in the right direction. One of the major disparities
between men and women left in the workplace is contract offers and
negotiations. I recall from Industrial Psych class that women almost never
negotiate contracts to boost their offer, while something like ⅔ or half of men
do. This is an area where women need to step up, unfortunately if men get
higher offers because of perceived authority and or superiority then the system
is broken. So more awareness and legal reminders are necessary.
Q: Why do you think
society prefers the FTM person over standard females in the workplace? How can
this reasoning and behavior make any sense? Is society truly that patriarchal
yet open to diversity and change, it appears no, but how does this happen?
Connell: Two Cans of
Paint
This article is about
the life and struggle of a male to female intersexed person. Robyn wants
society to understand “that transsexuals are just normal people”. She wants
people to understand the everyday struggles of intersexed people. Transition is
extremely hard and complicated. Even some intersexed people breakdown during or
after the process. Despite completely identifying with the decision, some of
them do not make it out in one piece. On top of that society has its
reservations about intersexed people. Not only are they seen as strange and broken
or even abominations, but there are striking differences between FTM and MTF
transitions. I was shocked to find out that as cruel as our society is, they
still prefer a FTM transition because the end result is a man. Most MTF
transitions experience the exact opposite. Being scrutinized for their
feelings, desires for transition, operation and then being cast in a world that
tramples on women and intersexed people, causing them great amounts of
alienation, even from other women. That is a tough life to live.
Why is there such
dislike or weirdness associated with intersexed people? What bothers people
about the process of wanting to transition into a body that matches their
gender identity?
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