Black woman given a "white male name"—here’s how it changed her career
Have you ever introduced yourself and realized the person did not quite hear correctly, causing you to awkwardly repeat your name to get it right? That is a regular occurrence for Christopher Stewart, who has faced a lifetime of confused reactions to her name (yes, you read that right). The 40-year-old from New York has always loved her name, but there is no denying that it is an unconventional choice for a woman. Stewart, a restaurant reservations manager, told Newsweek that she always knew her name was different, but “it was natural” for her. “My family made sure to nurture my name, even in knowing it was a big name for a girl,” Stewart, owner of the lifestyle website Eating Fabulously, said. By the time Stewart was in middle school, she started to notice teachers questioning the name they read on the attendance sheet and the student raising her hand in class. She chose to go by the nickname Chrissy for a long time, but once she started to mature, it felt only right t...