Called "Sir"... Why, oh WHY?!?!

[Possegal]

I once got a speeding ticket driving back to PA from a weekend in Ontario. I had been at a family wedding and had nice long, well painted fingernails. My hair was very long and "girly" and permed (shut up, that was the fashion then!)

I drove away and glanced at the ticket and saw that sex of driver was marked MALE. I asked my federal judge sibling if that was grounds to get out of the ticket - hey, wasn't me driving, clearly I'm not a male! He didn't think so.

Once when my niece was little we were at the mall and someone saw her (with her very short pixie haircut) and said - oh what a cute little (short pause) person! We just laughed as she totally looked like a little boy.

[Pax]

I had an older woman in Alabama actually grab me by the arm to pull me out of the women's restroom, she said "young man, you are in the wrong place!!!". I gently pulled my arm out of her grasp, cupped my breasts (which were at the same level as her nose), and said "ma'am, I am a woman". Her reply??? "well with that hair, who could tell".

[Biciclista]

Pax, the hair thing is getting to me. Women in this day and age often have really short hair. Where are these people coming from???
But yeah, have you seen the breasts on some guys (bleah) !!!

[jessmarimba]

Once when my niece was little we were at the mall and someone saw her (with her very short pixie haircut) and said - oh what a cute little (short pause) person! We just laughed as she totally looked like a little boy.

I was bald for so long as an infant that my mom had my ears pierced to distinguish that I was a girl. I guess even dressing me in pink wasn't enough (though, from photos, I pretty much ran around in a diaper & t-shirt for a year or two, so it's no wonder people were confused).

I had a pixie cut once. It looked bad enough on me, but I got really tired of people referring to me as a guy that I won't do it again. I don't have much of a figure (or cheekbones) though, so I wasn't too surprised by it. I actually pondered auditioning for an all-male drum corps to see how long til I was caught.

[goldfinch]

I've never had it happen to me. My hair is very short and has been for years. But I am only 4'11'' so I default to woman I guess. Plus, I tend towards round.

Who knows what triggers these mistakes. It seems weird to me.

[GLC1968]

Yeah, the hair thing really surprises me, too. I often have super short hair (like less than an inch short) and while I do make a point of trying to remember to wear earrings when my hair is that short, no one has ever mistook me for a guy.

Maybe there is a regional difference, perhaps? Thinking back, I'm sure that super short hair on a woman would probably have been entirely too modern for most of the people I knew when I lived in the Poconos...so maybe it somewhat depends on where you live?

[spokewench]

Maybe some people are kind of dumb, huh?

Just saying

Giggle . . . giggle - snort!

[surgtech1956]

I was given a 'senior' discount last week at a fast food restaurant, at least I didn't get called 'sir' that day too.

[Miranda]

Knot... I'm sorry this happened to you. Some people are just idiots. Only buy that stuff from the cosmetics counter if you want. Not because it's suppose to be more womanly.

Though I'm feminine looking, I've always been a Tom-Boy at heart. Mother Nature gave me a little bit too much testoterone in the womb. It's usually how I view things, or what I say, that makes people go... ...whoa, I can't believe a woman would say/do that. Sometimes it feels like a lot work trying to sugar coat things and pretend to be something you're not in life. Most of the time I just don't... only when I feel like I really have to.

[malkin]

Maybe some people are kind of dumb, huh?

Just saying

Well, that would 'splain it, wouldn't it?

[KnottedYet]

Knot... I'm sorry this happened to you. Some people are just idiots. Only buy that stuff from the cosmetics counter if you want. Not because it's suppose to be more womanly.

Oh, no, I love make-up! (I'm especially fond of lipstick.) Don't worry, I don't buy stuff I don't truly want.

I'm also one heck of a tomboy, but even as a little kid I was the kind of tomboy who wore skirts.

Maybe the salesclerk had a point - maybe it's my height and broad shoulders. I try to be amused by it, but after 30 years of being mistaken it does tend to grind on the soul.

I totally get the dismay transgendered people feel - being identified as the gender you *know* is wrong for you really, really, really sucks!

[hulagirl]

Me too!!! All the time! At least 2-5 times a month.
I'm 5'8", 145 lbs, I don't even own make up, and my earrings are the same ones that have been in my ears for almost 3 years. (little hoops) My hair is about 1" long if that. 34D, tan. ***-kicker.

I think it has something to do with intelligence. For real. It happens here in Hawaii ALL THE TIME. Rarely on the mainland. Go figure.

[Trek420]

Well, that would 'splain it, wouldn't it?

'splains a lot of things

[Velocivixen]

I'm not saying this applies to you Knotted, but I can usually tell male from female by the way the person moves. Doesn't matter about heights, shoulders, hips, lips, cheekbones or clothes. Even the most beautiful transgendered men dressed as women, with beautifully done hair and makeup, with "femininely" shaped bodies cannot confuse me once I see how they move. I cannot describe it but there is "something" that tells me male from female.

[sgtiger]

Knott, your curves alone scream female and I don't agree with your self assessment that you are not pretty. The people who think you're a dude need their vision checked.