Got Scanned

[RenneB]

Hey, has this ever happened to you?

Short story – At the mall the other day while wearing a modest skirt, top and knee high boots, I got “the scan”. Looked right into the eyes of a 40-something GG and watched her eyes go down and up and then again down and up. She then turned and just went about her business.

Long story - Let me set the stage for you and maybe you’ll understand my situation and how I felt.

First you need to know that I’ve been out and about a bunch of times so walking ‘round is getting kind of common by now. Okay, now you also need to know that I strive to blend in at all times. Ya know like knee length skirts, a nice black or grey top, and a pair of knee-high boots with 4” heels (just can’t shake that desire for heels). Anyway, you should also know that I have walked the malls and shopped before, but every time I come close or pass by someone I turn my head and hide my eyes. I do this to avoid any final judgments on my look. So I’ll turn and look at something in the store window or whatever just so that I don’t have to “deal” with any potential rejection or the “you’re clocked” look.

Now, so I’m out and about as above, but I’m finally starting to look at the eyes of the GGs that are walking by me. And then it happens. I am approaching what appears to be a husband/wife couple and look right at this 40-something slim GG and I watch her eyes. We are only about 5 feet from each other. I’ve stopped to look at a mall hallway display and she is stopped with her SO while he looks at something in the window. I catch her eyes as she has already started her scan from the top of my head down and then I watch them as her eyes come back up and then down again. And then our eyes meet.

Now, I wait for the results… is she going to roll her eyes, is she going to smirk like a little curl in the cheek that she knows or is she going to turn to her SO and say something…. No, she doesn’t do anything. The reaction that I was expecting, anything didn’t happen. What the heck.

Has this happened to anyone?

Renne….

[Edyta_C]

Renne,
I wish the reaction to me being out and being scanned would be so little. That must mean you are passing or closer. Your femulation must be pretty good.

Edy

[Leah Lynn]

Girl, I wish. It's more like hysterical laughter after the scan.

[NathalieX66]

The term is "clocked".......being clocked , or getting clocked.

I have no idea what the analogy has to do with clocks.

In my case, I confuse some people...which is fine & acceptable for me. Most times I get ignored.

[RenneB]

Thanks girls for the feedback. I shared this experience 'cuz so many of us are just in fear of the worst and most of the time, it's in our heads.....

Thanks Nathalie for the update on the clock reference. I've been there before.... [ref - OMG you're right, it's one of them]. It's taken me a long time to get over that experience and am only now trying to 'face the music' and see what's in other people's eyes. I agree, most of the time, I blend in so well that I don't get a first or a second look, but this time, I got the up and down look and then whatever registered in her head didn't manifest itself in any type of expression....

So now it's off to the next 'out and about' experience....

Renne.....

[Eryn]

At the mall the other day while wearing a modest skirt, top and knee high boots, I got “the scan”. Looked right into the eyes of a 40-something GG and watched her eyes go down and up and then again down and up. She then turned and just went about her business.

I get that just about every time I encounter a tall GG in public. She's checking my feet to see if I'm wearing heels. Of course, I'm doing the same thing to her. We look back up, smile at each other, and move on.

[Chickhe]

I haven't gone out in a while, but I've have had that happen in the past. Its hard to believe at first because we condition ourselves to think everyone is looking for a guy in a dress. It is a pretty cool feeling to think someone else may like our choice in clothing. I think its part of the female greeting...smile, scan, move on...

[Nicole Erin]

Sometimes I get scanned. Once in a while I hear idiots laugh.
The "scanned" part I think is just peoples' tendancy to size each other up.

The laughing part - who gives a damn? To me it is like hearing an Adele song for the millionth time - annoying for a second but then blocked out.

[Persephone]

Hi Renne!

It sounds like she was just checking you out. Women do that to each other lots. It means that your outfit and presentation were worth checking, that you looked like you were in her league so your clothes and shoes were worth scanning.

When your eyes met did you smile at her? It sounds like she didn't smile and that is a bit of an odd note. When eyes meet women almost always smile at each other. Maybe she found something in your outfit that she dispproved of, or maybe she just had some bug up her a--.

Offhand I'd say it was her problem, not yours.

Your practice of turning and averting eyes is not necessarily a good one. Deliberate lack of eye contact gives the appearance of some sort of guilt. You've got to project inner confidence. Eyes meet? Small "girl smile" and move on.

Hugs,
Persephone.

[Beverley Sims]

Like others have said women are checking each other out all the time.
I get scanned and when our eyes meet, a smile and and possibly lip movement type of greeting.
Then life goes on.
Now you are making eye contact you will just have to accept it.
That's progress. Great isn't it? (smiley omitted)

[I Am Paula]

I like the term 'scanned' and know it well. I find myself checking my own posture, and doing a mental checklist of my presentation, all in the three seconds of 'the scan'. Once over, I really don't give a cr*p if they giggle or shake their heads. I have really thick skin.-Celeste

[rachael.davis]

The term is "clocked".......being clocked , or getting clocked.

I have no idea what the analogy has to do with clocks.

In my case, I confuse some people...which is fine & acceptable for me. Most times I get ignored.

cop talk, Excuse me, I stopped you because the radar unit you passed two miles agl clocked you going at ....

[Leslie Langford]

Hi Renne!

It sounds like she was just checking you out. Women do that to each other lots. It means that your outfit and presentation were worth checking, that you looked like you were in her league so your clothes and shoes were worth scanning.

When your eyes met did you smile at her? It sounds like she didn't smile and that is a bit of an odd note. When eyes meet women almost always smile at each other. Maybe she found something in your outfit that she dispproved of, or maybe she just had some bug up her a--.

Offhand I'd say it was her problem, not yours.

Your practice of turning and averting eyes is not necessarily a good one. Deliberate lack of eye contact gives the appearance of some sort of guilt. You've got to project inner confidence. Eyes meet? Small "girl smile" and move on.

Hugs,
Persephone.

Renne, I think that Persephone's analysis of the situation that you decribe is spot-on.

This GG may have "clocked' you, but her reaction in scanning you so intently and in not showing any overt reaction either way - either negative or positive - was an act of tacit "approval", if not downright acceptance. She was clearly impressed by the way you were presenting yourself, your flair, your sense of style, and the great lengths that you had gone to in order to look as "passable" as you could as opposed to dressing like a drag queen and in a manner reflective of a cartoon-like version of femininity.

I'm also guessing that this GG was wearing the standard suburban soccer-mom uniform of jeans, runners, baggy, ski jacket-like outerwear, and with a large, satchel-like purse slung tightly around her shoulders, resting on her hips and within easy reach to put her into full "mall wars" power-shopping combat mode. And then she spots an elegantly-dressed "lady" who - Holy Sh*t! - probably isn't a "lady" at all but still manages to look absolutely stunning... so as the wheels in her brain are turning, the reaction vacillates between thinking "How dare he look this good?" and "Crap, I clearly need to up my game to play in the same league".

I once had a similar experience in a mall, where I suddenly heard hurried footsteps following me, only to have a GG pass me , wheel around, and out of the blue say to me "I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I just love your outfit!" Being caught totally off-guard, all I could manage was a "Why, thank you", while she followed up with a "Yes, you look absolutely stunning!" before hurrying on her way. I never did figure out if she had "read me" and thought I looked "stunning" as a crossdresser or took me to be a real GG, but either way, it was a mind-blowing comment that still makes me smile to this day when I think back on it.

So own it and savor the experience, Renne. You clearly knocked this GG's socks off, and I can say that with some authority, as odds are, she probably wasn't wearing pantyhose either ;).

[kimdl93]

Renne, when I'm out, I make it a point to make eye contact with people I encounter, male or female. I think its a bit disarming and if we do make eye contact, I follow it with a polite smile. I never turn around to see how someone reacts but, if there's a mirror or glass nearby I'll give a sideways glance to see if there was any ovbious reaction. Most of the time, there isn't.

[suchacutie]

Hmmm, I'm not so sure you got "clocked". I think there would have been some detectable reaction if you had (at least normally). I think what you experienced is just the normal process of checking each other out. Some women do it a lot and some not much at all. Just life!

[MarinaKirax]

I think she was checking out your uniform, girl to girl. The heels probably got her attention. I get scanned but less and less. The reason is that I have found 2 powerful weapons. The first is a smaller heel, a low heeled pump. I'm 5'11" and if I wore 4 inch heels I would stand out. Even 3" heels. So I wear 1 1/2 inch heels, or kitten heels, often in a pointy toed pump that looks as if the heel is much higher (except from the side). I wear them with a pant that shows off my flat front, hips, but is looser toward the lower leg, so it swishes in a very feminine way when I walk. This way I'm scanned as 6 feet while wearing heels, which automatically puts me in a normal female height range. For winter, a flat boot is also visually very feminine but adds no extra height.

The second, most powerful weapon is a smile. Closed lipped, slightly ironic, 'hi/g'bye' type smile, and then I look slightly past them, to the next target. This way, my head is up, I'm making eye contact and smiling, and I blend right in. Until I speak, but thats a different matter. Don't be afraid of eye contact. Hell, check THEM out while you swish your hips and click your little heels down the mall. Thats what will make you fit right in, GF. MK

[joank]

I look them in the eyes, SMILE, and even make a soft recognition. I was out today for a nails (fingers and toes) and went to Target and Kohl's. I was checked out , talked to and no one ran away screaming. I was in consevative dress; slacks, red sweater and low black wedgies. On top was a car coat and scarf. (I think I looked good and blended well.)