A trans man has revealed that he now experiences “male privilege” and that strangers “listen to” and “respect” him more than when he was a woman.
George Evans, 30, from Rhyl, North Wales, was born female and transitioned 10 years ago.
Now happy with himself, George was surprised when he began to experience male privilege.
He realized that people “listened to him”, “respected” him more and he was no longer “afraid” to walk alone.
George, a graphic designer, said: ‘I wasn’t expecting male privilege.
George Evans (pictured in 2012, before he transitioned) says he is a man now and benefits from male privilege.
According to George (pictured in 2016, after surgery), he now feels like he is listened to more than when he was a woman.
‘BITTERSWEET’: George (pictured with fiancee Rhi) described the difference in how he is treated now as ‘bittersweet’, saying it was ‘really strange’ at first.
‘It was really strange.
“It’s a bittersweet feeling. Why didn’t they treat me like this before?
‘I remember feeling ignored before. They listen to me more 100 percent.
“I don’t feel that scared.”
George, who is also a trans speaker and activist, grew up in a small rural town and both he and his twin sister, Ashleigh, 30, hated wearing dresses.
He said: ‘My sister and I dressed alike. We hate dresses.
“We were wearing tracksuits and sneakers.”
He didn’t consider his identity much until he was 19 and started watching coming out videos and saw one of a trans man.
As a child, George (pictured) said he hated wearing dresses and always opted for tracksuits and trainers.
According to George (pictured left and right), he didn’t think about his identity as a child and only saw a video of a trans man when he was 19.
It wasn’t until 2015 that George (pictured in 2009) began a medical transition. He began the social transition when he went to college.
George said: ‘Everything this man said ticked a box for me.
“I was terrified to relate to that.”
George went to college and began a social transition: he changed his name and cut his hair.
He continued his medical transition in 2015 and began taking testosterone before undergoing top surgery in 2016.
The physical changes were not a surprise to George, but the privilege that came with them was.
George said: ‘It took a lot of getting used to.
‘Women get out of my way when I walk.
“I’ve had both experiences.”
George (pictured as a child with his twin sister, Ashleigh) says he feels a “huge difference” in how he is treated now.
After beginning to socially transition (e.g. cutting his hair and changing his name), George (pictured in 2013) says he has already started to feel “less scared about walking alone in the dark.”
Among the differences he experienced when he started passing as a man, George (pictured in 2014) says he didn’t feel like he needed a rape alarm when walking down dark alleys.
When he started college he began to appear socially as a man and began to feel less afraid of walking alone in the dark.
George said: ‘I used to go to my sister in the evening for tea.
‘There was an alley you had to walk down. My sister would say you need a rape alarm, but I said it was a man passing by.
‘They don’t follow me.
“There is a big difference”.
George is now acutely aware of what his fiancée, Rhi, 28, a sales assistant, walks her dog at night and what she experiences with other men.
Now that she passes as a man, George (pictured in 2015) says he is more aware of what his fiancée Rhi goes through and how other men sometimes treat her.
‘UNDERCOVER’: George (pictured in 2018) says that as a trans man, he feels like an ‘undercover spy’ who is ‘exposing cis white male privilege’.
He said: ‘If we go out to a bar it’s like I’m invisible.’
‘If I’m holding my future wife’s hand and a man finds her attractive, he’ll keep calling me.
“It’s crazy the difference.”
George says he feels like an “undercover spy” who is “exposing cis white male privilege.”
He said: “A lot of men comment saying ‘you don’t understand what it’s like to be a man or a boy’ or ‘this isn’t real’.”
Now George (pictured in 2022) is speaking out about his experiences because he wants to help others, as hearing the experiences of a trans man when he was young would have helped him.
George (pictured with his fiancee Rhi) travels around the country visiting schools to talk about his experiences with young people.
‘But in the eyes of society I am a 30-year-old man.
“I’m a white man, I have privilege.”
George talks about his experiences on social media and travels the country talking to companies and schools about it.
He said: ‘Having a trans man talk about identity would have helped me enormously.
“It’s the only reason I’m doing this.”