So here's the scenario - my wife was away overnight this past Friday to baby-sit our son's biological replacements, giving me free rein for some quality "Leslie" time which I took full advantage of. The malls were beckoning, the weather was perfect, and I had picked out just the right outfit to wear to blend in seamlessly (or so I thought). Granted, my make up was not quite up to my usual standard because the heat was doing a number on it and it was getting all cakey on me, but I still felt that it was perfectly adequate for an outing of the type that I was contemplating.
I must have done something right as I encountered numerous "ma'ams" as the day progressed. This included a stop for supper at a family-style East Side Mario's restaurant where I got no odd looks - not even from the malewaiter who ended up being my server, and who treated me just like any other female customer.
But here's where it gets interesting...as the evening wore on, I wound up at the downtown Toronto Eaton Centre and eventually made my way over to a Browns Shoes store where a set of clearance racks near their entranceway sang their siren song to me. I succumbed without a struggle, and quickly made my way over to the middle one where my sizes were located.
Up to that point, none of the female patrons in the store had paid any attention to me, but as I rounded the end of the rack, I made eye contact with a young girl shopping with her mother. From all appearances, she was a pre-teen...probably 12 years old or so, and therefore likely old enough to start shopping for adult shoes as well. I immediately received the "deer in headlights" look from her, followed quickly by a laser-like "missile lock" stare, yet oddly enough, Mom was totally oblivious to any of this at the time.
Having made my way to the opposite side of the rack by that point, I was able to surreptitiously peer over the top shelf and witness her whispering to Mom in hushed tones and with a slight smile on her face while stealing another quick glance over my way. Now, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the gist of the comments here was either (1) "Don't look now, but isn't that a really mannish-looking woman over there?" or else (2) "OMG! I think that's a MAN!". To her credit, though, Mom didn't really look over towards me, and despite a small smile also appearing on her face, probably just told her demon seed to shush, and that it was not polite to stare. Mom was probably also aware that this was the start of 2014 World Pride Week in Toronto, so seeing a tranny in the middle of the Eaton Centre under these circumstances was likely not too much of a stretch in her mind.
All that said...I have mixed feelings about this encounter. We all know that for most of us, it is virtually impossible to "pass" at all times, and the best that we can hope for is to blend in. No wounded pride here as a result..."win some, lose some" I say, and all the "ma'am's" before that more than made up for this minor setback. Besides, it was getting late in the day, my make up was starting to fade, and likely some stubble was starting to show through depending on the angle at which I was being looked at. So in essence, I had no overwhelming issue in being read here in principle. But day-um, what specifically was it about me that tipped this kid off so quickly???
I guess what really p*sses me off here is being stared at so blatantly. Granted, this young girl was still a minor, and likely didn't have all the social "filters" yet that most adults possess. But staring so overtly and so shamelessly is just plain rude IMHO. Fixate the way she did if one has to - I get that...I probably would, too, especially if I unexpectedly saw a unicorn, a yeti, or a leprechaun - mythical creatures that are as rare to most people as a transgender person/crossdresser probably is to a "muggle". But at least, don't be so obvious about it, and do show some discretion when processing this visual.
There, I said it...rant over, and I feel so much better now...
Originally Posted by Leslie Langford
