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Gender bending 101
Cross-dressing philosophy professor makes bold political fashion statement
Daniel Girard
Education Reporter
Professor Michael Gilbert admits his wardrobe choice this day is entirely inappropriate.
It's not that the conservative black skirt, matching blouse and jacket clash with his necklace, pink watch strap or gold bracelet. Nor is his make-up smudged or his grey curls askew.
No, Gilbert is a little miffed that he's chosen one of the coldest days of the winter to come to York University as "Miqqi," his cross-dressing alter ego.
"If I'd looked at the weather forecast, I'd probably have changed my plans," Gilbert, 61, told his fourth-year philosophy class last week. "I'm probably the only person on campus today wearing a skirt. And, Michael would have definitely worn a hat but today I had my curls to worry about.
"Oh, the price of beauty."
Welcome to gender and transgender theory, where it's clear that those who teach, also do.
Gilbert is a husband, a father, a grandfather and a well-respected philosophy professor with more than 30 years of service at York. He's also a lifelong cross-dresser who for about a decade has come to campus at least once a semester en femme to teach the philosophy of gender and sexuality. But this is about much more than just a guy wearing a dress.
Sure, Gilbert wants to give his second- and fourth-year classes a real-life example of the theories they're studying. But it's also a way to break down barriers.
As a tenured professor, Gilbert has job protection to voice controversial opinions or beliefs. With that privilege, he says, comes a responsibility. Though Gilbert's wife knew and he told his four children in 1994, it wasn't until late 1996 that he showed up in class as a woman.
"I thought it was incumbent on me to come forward. And, I felt by doing so I would help people who weren't as fortunate as I am and not as protected as I am. It's all part of the `desensitization.' Once someone becomes familiar with something, it's just not that big a deal anymore."
That sums up the reaction to Miqqi's visit to campus last week. Aside from the occasional double-take, the appearance evoked little outward reaction.
After lunch in a busy graduate student lounge, a colleague addressed him as Miqqi while they talked business. Upon entering his afternoon class, not a chin was dropped or a snicker heard.
It's a reception Gilbert prides himself on. This is no flamboyant drag queen in heels, but someone who knows the rules of dress for female faculty. "If you don't know me, I'm just a large, old, unattractive professor and there are a lot of us on campus, I'm afraid." Gilbert's mannerisms and voice are more feminine as Miqqi. He also believes it's important for a cross-dresser to adopt the personality of the other gender.
Department chair Judy Pelham said there's been "zero" pushback or complaint from faculty about Gilbert cross-dressing on campus, noting philosophy is about engaging people in thought-provoking discussions that challenge their pre-suppositions.
"What I've always found quite remarkable is that he commands the class just as well as Miqqi as he does as Michael," Pelham said. "You have to have a personal connection with the class to pull that off."
"It's obviously a brave thing to do," said Joshua MacKay, 23, a third-year philosophy major. "We're kind of lucky for him to be willing to be out there and be an example."
MacKay said there was some tittering in his second-year class when Gilbert walked in as Miqqi last year. But after the professor answered their questions – from does he shave his legs (yes) to which gender he goes as to special occasions (it depends) – the lecture carried on.
Classmate Ekta Talwar, also 23, called Gilbert "a front-line spokesperson for political appropriateness and positive space for everyone on campus."
But Talwar, who has taken several courses with Gilbert, said some friends in other programs "would become very uncomfortable" in a class where he showed up as a woman. "He'd win them over if they gave him a chance," said the fourth-year philosophy and English major. "But they'd never be willing to give him a chance."
On the website ratemyprofessor.com, Gilbert is ranked 4.6 out of 5 overall and has earned comments such as "amazing, simply amazing" and "best prof you could ever hope for."
"It's been a cakewalk, frankly," Gilbert said of his decade of cross-dressing on campus. "I'm not surprised because York is a very affirming institution." Many in the transgendered community say Gilbert deserves some of the credit. He also chairs a committee called SexGen York, which deals with issues affecting sexuality and gender on campus. It has advocated for gender-neutral washrooms and holding "positive spaces" workshops to combat homophobia and eliminate gender stereotyping.
"He's made a whole lot of lives easier," said Lynnette Dubois, 42, a transsexual, third-year English and political science major and external co-ordinator with the TBLGay Alliance (Transgendered/Transsexual, Bisexual, Lesbians and Gays) at York. "When they see somebody like professor Gilbert out there it makes them feel York is a more accepting environment."
For his part, Gilbert concedes there's still much to do. While the York campus has proved welcoming, he knows others will be slower offering acceptance.
"Why is this thing that I do so terrible?" he said. "Half the people in the world are women.
"If I want to express my womanly self, what's the big deal?"
Cross-dressing philosophy professor makes bold political fashion statement
Daniel Girard
Education Reporter
Professor Michael Gilbert admits his wardrobe choice this day is entirely inappropriate.
It's not that the conservative black skirt, matching blouse and jacket clash with his necklace, pink watch strap or gold bracelet. Nor is his make-up smudged or his grey curls askew.
No, Gilbert is a little miffed that he's chosen one of the coldest days of the winter to come to York University as "Miqqi," his cross-dressing alter ego.
"If I'd looked at the weather forecast, I'd probably have changed my plans," Gilbert, 61, told his fourth-year philosophy class last week. "I'm probably the only person on campus today wearing a skirt. And, Michael would have definitely worn a hat but today I had my curls to worry about.
"Oh, the price of beauty."
Welcome to gender and transgender theory, where it's clear that those who teach, also do.
Gilbert is a husband, a father, a grandfather and a well-respected philosophy professor with more than 30 years of service at York. He's also a lifelong cross-dresser who for about a decade has come to campus at least once a semester en femme to teach the philosophy of gender and sexuality. But this is about much more than just a guy wearing a dress.
Sure, Gilbert wants to give his second- and fourth-year classes a real-life example of the theories they're studying. But it's also a way to break down barriers.
As a tenured professor, Gilbert has job protection to voice controversial opinions or beliefs. With that privilege, he says, comes a responsibility. Though Gilbert's wife knew and he told his four children in 1994, it wasn't until late 1996 that he showed up in class as a woman.
"I thought it was incumbent on me to come forward. And, I felt by doing so I would help people who weren't as fortunate as I am and not as protected as I am. It's all part of the `desensitization.' Once someone becomes familiar with something, it's just not that big a deal anymore."
That sums up the reaction to Miqqi's visit to campus last week. Aside from the occasional double-take, the appearance evoked little outward reaction.
After lunch in a busy graduate student lounge, a colleague addressed him as Miqqi while they talked business. Upon entering his afternoon class, not a chin was dropped or a snicker heard.
It's a reception Gilbert prides himself on. This is no flamboyant drag queen in heels, but someone who knows the rules of dress for female faculty. "If you don't know me, I'm just a large, old, unattractive professor and there are a lot of us on campus, I'm afraid." Gilbert's mannerisms and voice are more feminine as Miqqi. He also believes it's important for a cross-dresser to adopt the personality of the other gender.
Department chair Judy Pelham said there's been "zero" pushback or complaint from faculty about Gilbert cross-dressing on campus, noting philosophy is about engaging people in thought-provoking discussions that challenge their pre-suppositions.
"What I've always found quite remarkable is that he commands the class just as well as Miqqi as he does as Michael," Pelham said. "You have to have a personal connection with the class to pull that off."
"It's obviously a brave thing to do," said Joshua MacKay, 23, a third-year philosophy major. "We're kind of lucky for him to be willing to be out there and be an example."
MacKay said there was some tittering in his second-year class when Gilbert walked in as Miqqi last year. But after the professor answered their questions – from does he shave his legs (yes) to which gender he goes as to special occasions (it depends) – the lecture carried on.
Classmate Ekta Talwar, also 23, called Gilbert "a front-line spokesperson for political appropriateness and positive space for everyone on campus."
But Talwar, who has taken several courses with Gilbert, said some friends in other programs "would become very uncomfortable" in a class where he showed up as a woman. "He'd win them over if they gave him a chance," said the fourth-year philosophy and English major. "But they'd never be willing to give him a chance."
On the website ratemyprofessor.com, Gilbert is ranked 4.6 out of 5 overall and has earned comments such as "amazing, simply amazing" and "best prof you could ever hope for."
"It's been a cakewalk, frankly," Gilbert said of his decade of cross-dressing on campus. "I'm not surprised because York is a very affirming institution." Many in the transgendered community say Gilbert deserves some of the credit. He also chairs a committee called SexGen York, which deals with issues affecting sexuality and gender on campus. It has advocated for gender-neutral washrooms and holding "positive spaces" workshops to combat homophobia and eliminate gender stereotyping.
"He's made a whole lot of lives easier," said Lynnette Dubois, 42, a transsexual, third-year English and political science major and external co-ordinator with the TBLGay Alliance (Transgendered/Transsexual, Bisexual, Lesbians and Gays) at York. "When they see somebody like professor Gilbert out there it makes them feel York is a more accepting environment."
For his part, Gilbert concedes there's still much to do. While the York campus has proved welcoming, he knows others will be slower offering acceptance.
"Why is this thing that I do so terrible?" he said. "Half the people in the world are women.
"If I want to express my womanly self, what's the big deal?"
That is really one of your better, Asher 
ACK!
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