Gender Ambiguity in the Workplace: Transgender and Gender-Diverse Discrimination

209 Pages·2018·2.57 MB·English

by  Alison Ash Fogarty and Lily Zheng

Gender Ambiguity in
the Workplace

Gender Ambiguity in
the Workplace
Transgender and Gender-Diverse
Discrimination
Alison Ash Fogarty, PhD, and Lily Zheng
Copyright©2018byAlisonAshFogarty,PhD,andLilyZheng
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedin
aretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,
mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,exceptfortheinclusion
ofbriefquotationsinareview,withoutpriorpermissioninwritingfromthe
publisher.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Names:Fogarty,AlisonAsh,author. | Zheng,Lily,author.
Title:Genderambiguityintheworkplace:transgenderandgender-diverse
discrimination/AlisonAshFogarty,PhD,andLilyZheng.
Description:SantaBarbara,California:Praeger,[2018] | Includes
bibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2017054541(print) | LCCN2017058129(ebook) |
ISBN9781440863233(ebook) | ISBN9781440863226(hardcopy:alk.paper)
Subjects:LCSH:Transgenderpeople—Employment. | Gender
nonconformity. | Discriminationinemployment. | Sexdiscrimination.
Classification:LCCHD6285(ebook) | LCCHD6285.F642018(print) |
DDC331.5—dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2017054541
ISBN:978–1–4408–6322–6(print)
978–1–4408–6323–3(ebook)
22 21 20 19 18 1 2 3 4 5
ThisbookisalsoavailableasaneBook.
Praeger
AnImprintofABC-CLIO,LLC
ABC-CLIO,LLC
130CremonaDrive,P.O.Box1911
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www.abc-clio.com
Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepaper
ManufacturedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Author’sNote ix
Introduction xi
ChapterOne: Transgender,Trans*,Trans 1
TheHistoryofModernTerminologyandConcepts 2
Gender:APrimer 7
ThePeopleYou’llMeetinThisBook 16
ChapterTwo: NarrativesofTransDiscrimination 19
TransWomenandTransFemmes 20
TransMenandTransmasculine 23
ButchWomen 28
AssignedFemaleatBirthNonbinary/Genderfluid 29
AssignedMaleatBirthNonbinary/Genderfluid 32
ChapterThree: TheAnatomyofDiscrimination 37
Discrimination’sManyFaces 38
TheLuckyFew 46
FillingintheBlanks 48
vi Contents
ChapterFour: OnMen,Women,andHegemony 51
CisgenderStatusInequalityandWorkplaceDiscrimination 51
TransStatusInequalityandDiscriminationintheWorkplace 54
TransWomen 60
TransMen 68
ButchWomen 75
Conclusion 83
ChapterFive: JustPickOne! 87
BeyondtheBinary 88
AssignedFemaleatBirthNonbinary/Genderfluid 89
AssignedMaleatBirthNonbinary/Genderfluid 99
DoingAmbiguity 108
Conclusion 111
ChapterSix: StrategiesforAvoidingandReducingDiscrimination 115
TransWomen 116
TransMen 118
ButchWomen 121
AssignedFemaleatBirthNonbinary/GenderfluidPeople 121
AssignedMaleatBirthNonbinary/GenderfluidPeople 123
PuttingItAllTogether 127
Conclusion 138
ChapterSeven: MovingForward 145
TheUnwillingOrganization 147
InclusioninProgress 152
PartingWords 166
Bibliography 167
Index 175
Acknowledgments
Firstandforemost,weshareourdeepgratitudeforthe25individuals
whoparticipatedinthisresearch.Theactofstorytellingisavulnerable
one, and the openness and honesty with which these individuals
shared their stories shook us to our core. This book would not be
possibleifnotfortheirstrength.
Wearealsogratefulforthemanyresearchassistantswhodedicated
themselves to this project and the following funding organizations
that made this research possible: the National Science Foundation
DoctoralDissertationImprovement Grant, StanfordDiversityDisser-
tation Research Opportunity Grant, Stanford Graduate Research
Opportunities Fund, and the Stanford Sociology Research Opportu-
nity Grant.Andwe’dlike to thank Vanessa Sheridan for believing in
thisbookandadvocatingonourbehalf.
Alison: Paula England, Shelley Correll, and Cecilia Ridgeway, the
yearsofguidanceandinsightfulfeedbackyouprovidedonthisproject
was invaluable;thank youfor your time andwisdom.EdenWilliger,
thank you for taking me to my first TDOR in 2008 and inspiring me
todothiscriticalwork.KaitiCarpenter,thankyouforworkingcount-
less hours alongside me offering yourgenerous encouragement;you
fueled me morethanyouknow.TibetSprague,thankyoufor thegift
oftruefriendship;mylifeissomuchbetterwithyouinit.And,finally,
myparents,Dr.GailKaplanandThomasFogarty,thankyouforinstill-
inginmeformativefeministbeliefsandapassionforlearningfroman
earlyage.Iamsogratefulforyourunwaveringsupportanduncondi-
tionallove.
viii Acknowledgments
Lily:To my parents,thank you for teaching me to tell my own sto-
ries, and giving me the strength to write them down. To the activists
inmylife,thankyouforsittingmedown,raisingmeup,andshowing
me how to dream. To my partners and loved ones, thank you for the
many long nights spent by my side,andfor the words of encourage-
ment along the way. Finally, to the trans people who have been my
family, my inspiration, my grounding,and my light, thank you from
the bottom of my heart. I am ever in awe of our community and its
resilience.
Author’s Note
As activists, we all have the little things we say to ourselves when
we’re back from the rallies, when we’re tying our shoelaces, when
we’refillingwater bottlesor plugginginourlaptopchargers in busy
cafes.Smallwishes,littlerituals,ourprotestanthemtoourselves.
“Ibelievethatwewillwin”wastheoneIlearned.
WhenIwasayoungtransgirl,Ilearnedquicklythattheworldwas
notmadeforpeoplelikeme.Ihadgrownuponthesametirednarra-
tivesthatmadetranspeopleintoslurs,punchlines,ghoststories,and
boogeymen(orwomen,inmycase),andas hardas Itried,Icouldn’t
helpbutlearnsomeofit.Itdidn’ttakememuchlongertolearnabout
theotherthings,aboutdiscriminationandmarginalization,prejudice,
and violence. “Why would you ever choose any of this?” people
asked,andmyresponsewasalwaysshame.IbelievedIdeservedit.
Community gave me the hope to dream of a better world, and the
strength to believe in the collective power of trans people and their
allies.“Ibelievethatwewillwin,”Itoldmyself,andsayingitoutloud
gave those words power. I know now that the trans community is
resilient,vibrant, loving, andfierce,andthatthe work ofliberation—
of dreaming up and moving toward amorejustworld where people
of all identities and experiences can thrive—is larger than any of us.
In writing this book, I am excited to play a part in this vision, and
humbledbytheworkthathascomebeforeme.Tothefighters,dream-
ers, survivors, and lovers who makeup ourglobal trans community,
thankyou.Ibelievethatwewillwin.
LilyZheng