On the other side of the barricade

[Betty70]

At the gas station, the employee huddling around the dispensers generally did not notice me.
The lady at the cash register, on the other hand, greeted me with a broad smile.
Recently, I bought gasoline as a woman.
The gentleman at the distributors necessarily wanted to help me open the fuel filler cap and then personally refueled the car.
Instead, at the cash register I was greeted with cool indifference.

[SaraLin]

I just HAVE to ask - in the first episode, were you dressed up as a man?

That said - it sounds like you're finding yourself in the women's world just fine.

[GretchenM]

Like Sara, I am a little confused as well. But either way encountering stereotypes can be shocking. In your example when dressed as male the treatment is one way; when dressed as a woman the treatment can be quite different. Old school thinking and action is alive and well. On the other hand, encountering such courtesy is a nice variation - a throwback to an age when men thought of women as being unable to do anything for themselves other than what the men wanted them to do which is to serve them. (Sorry, I am actually a bit of a feminist :) ).

[Deborah G]

From my experience, some people will be snarky no matter how you appear. That said, I much prefer when people are nice as they take your money. There was a little second hand women's clothing store back in PA. The two ladies that ran the store did not care who you were; the minute you walked thru the door, you were treated with respect and kindness. I bought clothes there off and on, and even if I did not make a purchase on a particular visit, they always were pleasant, which made me look forward to the next time.

[Patience]

Congratulations on going over the top (of the barricade, I mean)!

I'm confused about something, though:


[...]The lady at the cash register, on the other hand, greeted me with a broad smile.[...]
Instead, at the cash register I was greeted with cool indifference.

A broad (no pun intended) smile and cool indifference? Also, what about your voice? Isn't it a bit of a giveaway? I am happy the outing went well. Just the details are a bit fuzzy.

[Betty70]

Yes, voice is a problem, I try not to talk too much and too loud.
However, every time I speak, it is a challenge.
I found an app that is simply called "Voice Tools."
Based on, I guess, frequency analysis, it evaluates the recorded voice as male or female.
When I tried to speak in a moronic falsetto I was classified as female. When, on the other hand, in a relatively normal way - then the application decided that "fifty fifty".
And since that's the case, I ventured out, but I get the impression that when I speak, the interlocutor looks at me more closely.

- - - Updated - - -

Yes, the first episode - as a man, my everyday routine:)

[chrissy111]

In NJ they pump the gas for you, so other than saying how much you want there is no other interaction. Unless your in a short skirt showing some leg!!

[Debbie Denier]

In the UK the majority of gas/ petrol station s are self service and pay at the pump by card . Hence no interaction. Some you pay at the cash register. Most are pleasant some not so much irrespective of male or fem mode.

[Diane P]

I can't think of any gas stations in Oklahoma were they will pump the gas for you. It's all pretty much pay at the pump, or inside if you have cash. So yeah absolutely very little interaction at all.

[Jazzmin]

OP's post was very confusing, more initial details would have eliminated the confusion.

And I am puzzled by the title of the thread, "On the other side of the barricade"????? What barricade? What actually happened here? Did I miss something?

[Betty70]

Sorry for the confusion. I was laconic and used figuratively.
"The other side of the barricade" was meant to mean something like "men are from Mars and women are from Venus."
The experience I wanted to briefly describe was pleasant: I dressed up as a woman and the station staff saw the woman in me.:)

[Cheryl T]

If they were pumping gas for you you must either be in Oregon, New Jersey or Europe. No one does that in the U.S. except those 2 states.

[Bobbi46]

There will always be that two sided level of acceptance I have come across similar times happily very infrequent. In one shop ordring a gas hob for my kitchen I was asked how would I like to be addressed and was so pleased to be asked this and by the way it was a man that was serving me. I have had little to no problem with women anywher, but sadly it does excist.

[Simple pleasures]

Well done for venturing out and being accepted.