James Chartrand, a respected blogger from Men with Pens and Copyblogger, recently came out as a woman who, driven by necessity when faced with rebuilding her life and supporting two young daughters as a single mom, assumed a pen name — a male name that garnered her very different results from the same clients and editors who slighted her when she used her real name. The writer’s work or style didn’t change; only her name changed. The male name opened the door to more contracts, better pay, fewer rejections, and a decreased number of rewrites and nasty comments from editors.
James’ story is both inspiring and profoundly saddening.
For her success in building a thriving, sustainable writing career while supporting her family, I respect and applaud James (despite coming out as a female, the writer is afraid to reveal her real name). I’m inspired by her perseverance, dedication, and courage. What she has accomplished is difficult, even with a man’s name.
That the assumption of a masculine pseudonym irrefutably changed the trajectory of James’ career when talent and perseverance couldn’t saddens me beyond words.
I don’t disillusion myself with the fallacy that “gender discrimination doesn’t exist”, as some (mostly men) like to think. But perceiving the raw reality of how gender discrimination threatens the very lives of women and girls in North America (rather than just in Africa, the Middle East, and India) always hurts, even though it’s not a surprise. I’ve lived with keen awareness and very personal experiences of gender discrimination all my life. Being quite androgynous, I’ve often been perceived as a man and treated one way, and then, the instant I’m recognized as a woman, the male with whom I’m talking turns on his heel and leaves (my experience in India) or immediately changes his tone of voice and level of respect for me (in the States).
We women all have stories of gender discrimination, but most are quietly hidden and often ignored (as we to do with pain) or overlooked (if we’re complicit with the fallacy “that’s just the way it is”). Highly pervasive and very personal, gender discrimination affects us — including men — more than most realize. Gender discrimination forces us into roles, rather than allowing us to relate and interact with one another as individuals. Gender discrimination perpetuates, if we don’t identify and actively work to stop it. James’ story is forcing many to stop and consider the presence and effect of gender bias in their own lives. As do many who read it, I hope James’ story continues to spread and touches a wider audience through mainstream media.
As well as saddening me, James’ story has inspired me, not just because James is a writer and communicator who has succeeded, but because stories like James’ reinforce precisely why I am doing the work I feel I must: Helping women advance themselves and the community, bringing women’s values, and value of women, into the world.
As James’ story proves, we still have a long way to go.
