Better Be Ready Bout Half Past Eight - Essay

Some people go through life contemplating on if they really know their true sexuality. Many people know right off the bat they are heterosexual. Other people have questions about whether they like one sex or the other. In the story, “Better Be Ready ‘Bout Half Past Eight,” written by Alison Baker, Zach had spent a lot of years knowing that he wanted to be a woman. Byron, a friend from work, was not ready to see his friend have a sex change or accept that he was a homosexual. Through the story, Byron goes through different emotions and even goes as far as trying to be a little more metro sexual himself. He finds that even though having a sex change is not for him, that it could possibly be the right thing for Zack to do. People go their entire life trying to figure what life is all about, sometimes it takes a sex change to help with this process. Zach was afraid of telling his long time friend and co-workers that he was going to become a woman. With as much television people watch, and the freedom television has to show pretty much whatever they want, people are desensitized from people having sex changes. Although, when Chasity Bono had her sex change, the media blew it up. Having a daughter from the famous couple, Sonny and Cher, have a transgender change was unreal to the world. Chasity, now known as Chas, had the same thoughts and feelings as Zack. They both knew they were different from when they were kids. Dealing with this big of a situation, as a young person, is mind boggling. Having the stress of what should be for an adult could really make a person mature a lot faster. Every person goes through it, but a lot of people don’t go through the life changing decision Zach has. As Byron tries to comprehend what Zach has told him, he in turns goes through a bunch of life questions. Being an adult and having a friend of 38 years all of a sudden decided he wants to become a woman is hard to deal with. People become comfortable with the way everything is in

Cited: Baker, Alison. “Better Be Ready ‘Bout Half Past Eight.” Thinking and Writing about Literature: A Text and Anthology. Ed. Michael Meyer. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. 1232-1246. Print. Bartolomeo, Joey. “Becoming CHAZ.” People 71.25 2009: 54. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO Web. 16 Nov. 2010. McGinn, Daniel. “Changing Gender On the Job.” Harvard Business Review 88.11 2010: 134- 136. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 Nov. 2010.