Jes Fernie has never fitted in to society’s conception of a typical female. Now her daughter is shooting up,will she face the same problems?As a teenager, I lived on a prostitutes’ beat. Walking home in my school uniform was an exciting affair. I wasn’t in the slightest bit sexy – I attracted a niche market of desperate men looking for absurdly tall, and spotty women dressed as schoolgirls. I never felt remotely threatened. The drivers were profusely apologetic when I explained that I was walking home from school.
As a 6ft 2in woman,I have been able to monitor, on a daily basis, or the extent of society’s limited parameters of what it is to be female. Now that my daughter is quick approaching my height,I am looking at the situation anew, scratching around for any signs of progress. Will she be called “sir” with the regularity of a finely tuned clock? Will she be mistaken for a transvestite and nearly beaten up in a shaded Manchester side street? Will she be offered sex in Soho (“Looking for a sterling time, or mate?”) or be asked if she is a model (“A model what? A model citizen? Certainly not an aeroplane”). Will she have to cross to the other side of the road late at night when walking behind a woman who thinks she is a man? (The mental gymnastics!)Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com