Several years ago, our area started an internet group to communicate. Neither my wife nor I were interested in joining. But we heard about it from others and she agreed that we might want a presence, if nothing more than to see what everyone talks about on line. And it goes without saying, that we won’t participate much. I somewhat reluctantly joined.
Remember that my real given name is now used by females, and there is already a female in town with the same given name. She’s been introduced at some of the gatherings we’ve attended as “the pretty one.” But, it’s really anybody’s guess what the result would be, if she and I stood hip-to-hip and arm-in-arm, both wearing the same dresses and heels, being fully made up, with brightly polished nails and me with a more feminine hairdo. (It could be a bit closer vote…one never knows.)
And obviously, not everyone knows me. Some of the neighborhood women (probably the ones who don’t attend often meet their neighbors) have been using the email group’s welcoming feature to “welcome” each other aboard. Not so much the men. Only a couple men have responded. It’s a girl thing.
Yet, I find that somewhat interesting – are those who don’t know me assigning a gender by virtue of my name? Especially by new correspondents, who haven’t met me yet? They may get a bit of a shock if we eventually meet! This happened to our long-haired son too, at his first year in college – his male “nickname” ends in “y” but somewhere along the official line that got switched to “ie.” Needless to say, the lucky boy didn’t accept the invitation “s/he” received with his first year’s registration packet, to join a sorority….LOL! And other than long hair, he clearly was a guy…
Oh, well – so I can be a girl or a guy, and the way I dress daily “typically” indicates female. I answer to “Ma’am,” “Miss,” and other feminine form of address, as well as (grudgingly, “Sir.”) But I can clean up fairly well, as you can see from this picture a few years back… Here I am, outside my hotel room at the motel, ready for dinner.
Blue is obviously my favorite color…that skirt almost matches my car (that’s why I bought the skirt!) Perhaps blue isn’t just for boys after all…
Till next time,
Mandy
Mandy's Miscellany 
You just keep living your life in the middle and let the rest of the world make whatever assumptions it may choose to make. You do as well as anyone and even though you may prefer the female form of address I would not hold it against anyone going the male route…as long as it was not uttered in a nasty fashion.
LikeLike
That’s pretty much the way it works with me. I dress androgynously, with feminine cues, and prefer female forms of address. But I generally answer to most any of them.
LikeLike