Behind the Mask
Being pretty was never part of the deal. I’m not furniture.
By J. Julian
The thing which frustrates and angers me the most about being perceived as a woman is the way I am treated and condescended to in my line of work. It seems to matter very little about me getting my professional mindset and my game face on, the mere fact that I might be female or womanish is enough to make what should be a simple and efficient task a crawl uphill wearing a ball and chain. Since I was a child I wanted to be a record producer and recording engineer, and with the wide-eyed wonder I had back then, I saw no obstacles to me achieving this goal.
Only once I’d gone to university were my eyes opened to the reality of what is expected from those ‘assigned female at birth’, and how it doesn’t matter what you do it will always be colored by these perceptions and misconceptions. I suppose I feel this frustration worse as I am trans, but have been living as a cis-female, because who I feel I am inside doesn’t match up with the way I get treated by customers.
I recently picked up a new client, who wanted to record his songs, make music videos and become a ‘social media star’. The contract was good for more money per day than I usually make in a week. I would have been high-level stupid not to take it.
