Do you think Carol's life would be better if she were born male? Similarly, would Hal's be better if he were born female?
carol? yeah, without any doubt, she herself thinks her life would be better if she was born a man. so much of carol's (inter) personal issues stem from the fact that she wasn't born a son. she, obviously, faces a lot of misogyny as a woman in power and as the female heir of her father. but above wanting to be a man she wants to be her father's son.
in carol's FIRST APPEARANCE we're literally told how her father wanted a son and was disappointed carol was born a girl. this is something she would've heard a lot while growing up and we know she heavily internalised this.
her father wanted a son to be his legacy, but carol was a disappointment to him from birth, even her name being a sign of what she's lacking!
carl ferris controlled her life BECAUSE she was a woman. he gave her that power as CEO and then forbade her from doing anything she wanted. her relationships were all influenced by him (and I'd argue this is the main reason for carol currently being so friendless, because up until his death she wasn't free to do what she wanted).
this turned into more of me talking about how misogyny has affected carol's life but to summarise; all of her problems are caused by carl ferris punishing her for not being a son. her being born a boy would solve this singular but huge problem, because (s)he'd finally be able to make him proud and give him what he wants.
as for hal? I'm not too sure. i think his life would largely stay the same except for now having to deal with misogyny. a huge problem in hal's life is the toxic masculinity he constantly faces and has to deal within himself, that would simply be replaced by misogyny. i think it'd make his life worse.
like carol, so much of hal's issues are also his father's fault. i think hal being born a girl would worsen his relationship with his father, especially if his brothers remain boys. hal looked up to his father but his father never cared about him, that neglect would be made so much worse by hal being a girl while having two brothers.
why would his father, that normally doesn't care about him, care about a daughter wanting to be like him? she's a girl, this is a man's job etc. he already has two sons to share what's important with, she should stay a mama's girl.
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