The Differences in Privilege Between Men and Women from Someone Who Has Lived as Both
Being transgender has opened my eyes to a lot of different experiences about how the world works, particularly when it comes to gender inequality and norms.
By Noah Gariepy
This piece has been a long time coming. Literally, like two years coming. It’s been a topic that has been on my mind for so long, but I have yet to find a way to vocalize my experiences.
Being transgender has opened my eyes to a lot of different experiences about how the world works, particularly when it comes to gender inequality and norms; but what I want to talk about is just how truly different it is to live both as a woman and a man and the drastic differences I have personally experienced when it comes to gaining privilege.
A little back-story. I was assigned female at birth, something that was unexpected to my family; my mother even asked my doctor if they were sure I was a girl. I lived and was socialized as a female from birth until age 21. At that point, I was a very butch-dressing female and found that I was most comfortable when I was perceived as androgynous. In a quest to discover myself, I came out as genderqueer to my close friends, and…
