I had an uncommon and androgynous name. Although I have followed suit here on FR due to my perception that some men tend to dismiss women’s serious comments, in practice it was a very inconvenient and sometimes downright unpleasant experience. Not so much the uncommon part, but rather the androgynous part.
As an adult, I found that it helped me get in the door in business, but then I was sometimes treated to extra helpings of discrimination because men felt tricked because they thought they would be interviewing a man. But that was decades ago.
Now, in the recent two decades, my once-rare name that was usually given to males has become more popular and is usually given to females, although not always. I don’t have to pronounce it or spell it for other people multiple times any more. I still don’t like it; but it is what it is.
How unfeminine of you to point that out! Don't you know being treated like a dithering fluffy bunny, irrespective of the logic of your statements, is a compliment? (/s)
I don’t have to pronounce it or spell it for other people multiple times any more.
I have to spell our German last name all the time, and very few people (including my own mother-in-law!) pronounce it correctly without multiple reminders. It makes one wish to be "Jane Smith" sometimes.