IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!

For those who were expecting that this British ex-pat somehow had a direct line to Saint Mary’s hospital in London and could deliver the news before he BBC I am afraid this post might disappoint you!

I am actually referring to the social typecasting that happens simply in a name. How many times have you read a CV and thought this girl looks good only to be surprised when the candidate is a boy and vice versa. Not that sex makes them good or bad but you do start to build a mental picture of the person based on their Name, CV and hobbies, this could allow people to build a very different picture of you. There are actually a number of Gender-neutral names to be aware of pasted below to help keep you aware: (I am sure this list if not definitive)

Addison

We talked last week about the 6 second CV, well if in that 6 seconds they thought you were the wrong sex would that be an issue? Why do call centers based in India often have people using a false name “Hello my name is Peter…” etc., when clearly it is not. This is because humans are predisposed to racially stereotype based on name also.

I mention all of the above because there is so much in the press about the name of the forthcoming British Royal and it made me think about the associations people have with names and how often I personally have been wrong in my mental picture of a person prior to meeting them.

So to all would be parents out there please think twice before naming you child Chardonnay or Merlot you could be stacking the odds against them from a very early age!

Now lets see if Wills & Kate name the new arrival something quintessentially British!