Leslie Langford
10-15-2011, 08:53 PM
O.K., this is where it starts to get a little bit interesting for me (if not somewhat weird) in the way that "Leslie" is starting to assert herself as a separate entity who shares the same body with my "guy" side:
I had booked an appointment with my favorite free-lance make-up artist on Friday afternoon since I haven't had one done since last June, and I was really feeling the need. She's a great gal, we've actually become friends since I began seeing her about 2 years ago, and we talk about all kinds of "girl" stuff whenever I go there. So between the great make up job she usually does for me and that intense immersion into "girl world", I was really pumped, confident in my appearance and demeanor, and ready to take on the world as "Leslie". In other words, the guy side of me had gone totally A.W.O.L. at that point.
That said, I had an evening of shopping planned after my makeover, but first I had to attend a scheduled meeting with the GG owner of a very TG-friendly consignment store that I often go to, and who had wanted to run a few ideas past me on how she might be able to attract more customers from among our community to help grow her business in new directions. She had just renovated and expanded her store as well, and was eagerly showing me around when her husband came around from the back of the premises.
I usually avoid interacting with men if I can when in "Leslie" mode, as I always fear the worst regarding what kind of reception I might get from them. But before I could react, she cheerfully called him over to met "Leslie", and I was trapped. In retrospect, I needn't have worried as he was super-friendly and immediately extended his hand to me in greeting. But here's where it gets interesting: rather than extending my own hand in the usual "guy" fashion and then pumping his vigorously as I would normally have done when in male mode, I instinctively (and delicately) extended my hand palm down so that he would only be grasping my fingers the way most GG's would approach this. This he did, and then continued with some small talk as though this was the most normal thing in the world.
O.K., no biggie in itself, but still - I had to secretly smile at myself at how instinctively and naturally I had made this simple gesture without any prior forethought. Amazing also how readily and easily one lapses into girl mode the more one goes out and about "en femme", and this kind of ties in with Stefia's recent post about how much more relaxed and natural her smile has become lately when out in public, and for very much the same reasons.
I had booked an appointment with my favorite free-lance make-up artist on Friday afternoon since I haven't had one done since last June, and I was really feeling the need. She's a great gal, we've actually become friends since I began seeing her about 2 years ago, and we talk about all kinds of "girl" stuff whenever I go there. So between the great make up job she usually does for me and that intense immersion into "girl world", I was really pumped, confident in my appearance and demeanor, and ready to take on the world as "Leslie". In other words, the guy side of me had gone totally A.W.O.L. at that point.
That said, I had an evening of shopping planned after my makeover, but first I had to attend a scheduled meeting with the GG owner of a very TG-friendly consignment store that I often go to, and who had wanted to run a few ideas past me on how she might be able to attract more customers from among our community to help grow her business in new directions. She had just renovated and expanded her store as well, and was eagerly showing me around when her husband came around from the back of the premises.
I usually avoid interacting with men if I can when in "Leslie" mode, as I always fear the worst regarding what kind of reception I might get from them. But before I could react, she cheerfully called him over to met "Leslie", and I was trapped. In retrospect, I needn't have worried as he was super-friendly and immediately extended his hand to me in greeting. But here's where it gets interesting: rather than extending my own hand in the usual "guy" fashion and then pumping his vigorously as I would normally have done when in male mode, I instinctively (and delicately) extended my hand palm down so that he would only be grasping my fingers the way most GG's would approach this. This he did, and then continued with some small talk as though this was the most normal thing in the world.
O.K., no biggie in itself, but still - I had to secretly smile at myself at how instinctively and naturally I had made this simple gesture without any prior forethought. Amazing also how readily and easily one lapses into girl mode the more one goes out and about "en femme", and this kind of ties in with Stefia's recent post about how much more relaxed and natural her smile has become lately when out in public, and for very much the same reasons.