Out and About around Children

[Kate T]

I generally don't act specifically differently in girl vs male mode so the way I treat children is the same as if I was in male made i.e. I don't specifically try and interact but if they directly interact with me I will interact back.

One time I was in girl mode with my wife wandering in a shopping mall and a little girl took hold of my hand obviously thinking I was her mum. I just stopped and said "sorry sweetie, I'm not your mum, do you know where she is?". Her mum was literally right behind us and she apologised profusely to which I just replied "no worries".

[mechamoose]

So, being around children that are not your own?

My vote: be a counter example. Show them a confident person who doesn't fit the 'Duck Dynasty' view of the world.

Be you, be unashamed, and those kids will know something more than their parents knew how to tell them.

<3

- MM

[Hermana]

I underdress, usually in tight light tops and a contour cup bra which gives me a shapely bust. I guess I must have a knack of blending in to a crowd, because in spite of a visible bra outline under my top and the bumps, hardly anybody has given me a hard time. I do feel so comfortable stepping out as a man with a fem top half, that I suppose my demeanour is quite relaxed and normal and so I often don't draw attention to myself - just guessing about that...

There was one time I was walking through my suburban streets towards the local mall and although I am not sure now, I may have been wearing my coarse-weave black tight string vest over a beautiful black contour underwire patterned lace trimmed bra with a little gold medallion sewn between the cups. Black man-trousers and black man-shoes. As I neared the mall I heard a lot of yelling from the second floor car park: it was about 50 or so early-to-mid teen girls, and they had noticed me... Those alert sweeties were calling out to me, saying things like "Nice boobs mister" and "we approve mister" and giving me wolf whistles and the like. It was then I realised I had chosen to do my shopping just after school had got out for the day.

I couldn't help also noticing that all of the usual crowd of adults milling around the ground floor were trying hard to pretend they weren't watching me carefully to guage my reactions. I wanted to let the kids know I thought their calls were a pleasant way to engage with what they saw as a potentially interesting and harmless older man with a fun dress code, while at the same time I wanted the adults furtively watching to know I was a "regular" guy. So I never said a word, but I did put on a great show of waving cheerfully and enthusiastically to the kids, taking them all in with a big genuine smile that told them I liked their attitude, and carried on without breaking my brisk walk into the mall proper - and nothing more was said or done by kid or adult.

A few years later, I threw in my job and went to university to study for a BA at the age of 63. And I can tell you, in the university environment where any dress code goes, I got along just great with the older teen kids, male and female. I can only guess also that tthe girls saw me as a sort of benevolent eccentric grandfather figure, for they treated me so sweetly and with obvious approval - that is, many of them did. I just ignored the other sort of older girl teenager, you know, the ones who act like old people don't exist or think that "all men are perverts" and who scowl when something with legs that doesn't exist gets in their way. But with the good teen girls, it was so sweet, I couldn't help noticing that the ones in my lectures who wore the lowest cut tops and the sexiest bras with cleavage on display, eventually ended up sitting clustered all around me. How about that for a vote that I was seen as a nice safe albeit probably quirky man in my bra.

But I think we always need to be careful around young people.

Love

[Sarah Welch]

I remember that day as if it was yesterday.....