Views From The Other Half

Reading Summary:

This podcast highlighted a group of transgender men and the difficulty that they faced upon making the gender switch. The vast differences in how men and women go about dating and pursuing dates makes it very difficult for both trans men and trans women. As a result, transgender individuals often have trouble with their love life and being open about their trans identity to partners. Amongst the variety of different stories that are told in the podcast, one thing always remained the same: Society’s behavior towards these individuals changed dramatically as these individuals shifted their gender.

Outside Example:

This podcast reminded me of James Charles, a famous American youtuber and makeup artist. Charles is the first ambassador for cover girl that is male. Charles is openly gay and has been through a lot of controversies in the past over his sexuality and the accusations that he manipulated his sexuality in order to gain fame.

Reading Connection:

The story of James Charles details a different struggle that relates to the struggle that transgender individuals deal with when switching genders. Charles dealt with a lot of misconceptions over what his gender identity is. He says that many people thought that he is transgender. However, Charles says that he is comfortable being a boy and says that many see him as transgender because they are not used to men wearing makeup. Similar to transgender people having a tough time explaining their gender identity to their family and friends, Charles says that it took awhile for him to explain his sexuality to his family as well. However, in the end, Charles says that his family was very supportive in response. At the same time, Charles has dealt with the same differences in how he is treated by society nowadays compared to when he was younger.