I just read a post by Karen Edwards who made a most profound statement. She said that she had been going out dressed in the same town from the same hotel for four years and that nobody ever gave her a hard time. Then she mentioned that none of these people had ever seen her dressed in masculine mode. In other words, they had no other expectation of her and their only perception was that of Karen.
My goodness! What does this say about people and what we might expect from them when we go out? We can be very self-conscious and insecure because we know how we look in drab. But the people who see our dressed self have no experience of the male side.
How many times have I read advice saying that it is so important that we act pleasant and smile and dress reasonably when we meet the public. If we do that, according to Karen's experience, we ought to be treated quite well because folks will react to us as if we were anyone else.
If we present a pleasant person to someone, then we can expect that person to have a pleasant reaction and our encounter will be positive. It makes a great deal of sense.
In the words of Roosevelt (I think) "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
What are your feelings about this?