Kristen Schilt’s Just One of the Guys illustrates the idea of gender inequality in the workplace, utilizing trans men who lived as women before their transition and encountered sexism. The main argument of this book is that women encounter more irrational sexism than men, which many of these trans men’s stories prove. Schilt’s reason for choosing trans men to prove their theory is that living as a woman is generally more nuanced and engrained in children, therefore more difficult to learn. Trans men know the pressures of being female and can compare their experiences as a woman to how a man feels in the workplace. Many of these men working “stealth,” or working in a place that doesn’t know they’re trans, reported a drastic difference between
…show more content…
Another trans man, Trevor, noticed that there were a lot more negative terms for how he acted when he was a woman, yet these terms became positive after his transition; instead of assertive, he’s take-charge. Trevor was penalized for showing a typically masculine trait (leadership) when he identified as a woman but praised when he was a man. These views put too much emphasis on all men and women being the same, relying on stereotypes for gendered evaluations. With this mindset, men and women will always remain different in society’s eyes, and there will never be true gender equality. On the other hand, there were other main factors in how well accepted these men were, race and class. Men who were the ideal type of masculinity (tall, white, passable) said they had more positive changes while the men who did not possess these traits (short, racial minority, not gender-ambiguous) reported more negative experiences. For example, Anton’s race and gender allowed him to get a raise within 3 months of starting, while there were some Latino women who were older than the men that were stuck in that job for 10
Another trans man, Trevor, noticed that there were a lot more negative terms for how he acted when he was a woman, yet these terms became positive after his transition; instead of assertive, he’s take-charge. Trevor was penalized for showing a typically masculine trait (leadership) when he identified as a woman but praised when he was a man. These views put too much emphasis on all men and women being the same, relying on stereotypes for gendered evaluations. With this mindset, men and women will always remain different in society’s eyes, and there will never be true gender equality. On the other hand, there were other main factors in how well accepted these men were, race and class. Men who were the ideal type of masculinity (tall, white, passable) said they had more positive changes while the men who did not possess these traits (short, racial minority, not gender-ambiguous) reported more negative experiences. For example, Anton’s race and gender allowed him to get a raise within 3 months of starting, while there were some Latino women who were older than the men that were stuck in that job for 10