Since about the age of seven, my biggest hobby has been magic (not the candles & pentagrams kind, the cards and slieght-of-hand type.) One of the most interesting aspects of it to me has always been psychological "misdirection." That is, taking advantage of the fact that most people's minds are wired in a way that they often "see" what they expect to see instead of what's actually happening right in front of them. In fact, I found the psychological and related perceptual tricks our minds often play on us so intriguing that Psych became my major in college.
Ever since I decided to crossdress full time, I've been drawing on things I learned both in the study of psychology and as a magician to see just how much I can "get away with" in my femme-lite mode and still be percieved as a relatively normal male. Recently I've begun to wonder about the opposite: can CDers turn people's perceptual quirks to their advantage when they want to pass? Along that line, here's a link to one of my favorite videos. It's a piece by Derren Brown, a magician from England, that demonstrates just how little people often see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBPG_OBgTWg
In the video, even the one guy who thinks he notices something, pauses for a beat then seems to decide, "naw...I must be wrong," and carries on. It makes me wonder if we all really have to be as nervous about passing as we usually are. I'm certainly not saying that we could be slack and still hope to pass. But perhaps if we could give just a few small cues, it might be a little easier than we assume.
What do you think? Do any of you have any "tricks" to share that you think have helped you pass, or any examples of how much you can get away with in male mode?
Jacueen
