> The more passable I became, the less experienced I was perceived by my peers. And worse, what was once thought of as confident display of technical ability is now seen as a lack of demure.
This is very valuable information, thank you. Most of us only ever have the chance to experience the situation from the vantage point of one gender. Are you in the US, or what?
Much appreciated. I’m US based, but I travel a lot for work. It’s a blessing to have a wider perspective on gender roles, especially with so much of the journey now in the rear view mirror. AFAIK there’s no lower rung on the corporate ladder than a sad partially-baked trans person. Hormones are cheap but a remote tech job with a decent salary can make a transition affordable without jeopardizing your career, socioeconomic trends withstanding.
Sadly there are many ways to experience negative social expectations at work. Several of my formerly heavy-set colleagues have observed the perception of their competence being a result of their weight loss. Most of the cis men I know use a combination of testosterone, Ozempic, hair plugs, lifts in their shoes, etc.
I don’t blame them; Perception is everything.
Any neurologist will tell you that your first night’s rest in a new location will be of a lower quality and depth than at your home. Despite knowing that, sleep studies are performed at the hospital in a room so uncomfortable that it makes the Holiday Inn feel like the Ritz. You’re then hooked up to a dozen different monitoring devices and asked to sleep in an uncomfortable bed with a camera observing your most vulnerable position. You should have no trouble falling asleep!
The second day is peppered with six attempts at napping within a short window, and if you enter REM within a threshold, you’re official diagnosed as narcoleptic. Otherwise you get a consolation prize of “idiopathic hypersomina” i.e. “sleepy person syndrome.” This methodology only selects for the most severe cases of narcolepsy, and as a result, allows insurance companies to gate-keep expensive medication.
I’ve read that a patient’s suspicion of narcolepsy and their final diagnosis is estimated around 8 to 15 years! IMO there is a subconscious characterization of known-unknown diseases as personal failing of the patient’s virtue. Convincing your parents, teachers, and doctors that you’re not just lazy is near impossible until the symptoms become too frequent to explain away. It also stands that doctors cannot be perceived as lacking critical information, therefore it is Not Allowed for their patients to be fatigued unless they’ve earned it, or put through the gauntlet that is our medical system.