![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sorta odd encounter
I must have achieved a rather gender neutral look today, without even thinking about it. Black short sleeved shirt, khaki pants. Didn't have my ~dorky brown faded animal print jacket on like I usually do in cold A/C conditioned stores.
At JCPenney, while walking through the men's section, a male employee asked me if I was finding everything ok, and called me "Sir". I replied something like "Yes, thank you". Immediately self-conscious of my high-pitched voice, and thinking that now the employee was probably a bit taken aback. Or maybe he was being polite in the first place, seeing me dressed in masculine clothing and addressing me accordingly.
Then in Target, browsing through the shoe section, a woman said something like, "Do you think these shoes are for boys or girls?". I looked up and she was holding a pair of small grayish sneakers. She said, "Yes, I'm talking to you," because like with the guy in Target, I may have done a slight double-take to make sure there was no one else behind me that they were talking to. But she said it in a friendly way; it didn't seem mean or rude. There was someone else standing by her, I think a guy but don't really remember. (That's why it was odd; why would she ask me rather than the guy next to her?) I looked at the shoes and replied that they were probably boys'. Then I said something like, "but I don't really make distinctions like that. I'll wear anything." Pause. "As long as it meets my criteria. That's the hard part!" Big smile (as I'd been looking through all these shoes, including the ones at JCP, and none met my criteria enough for me to even want to try them on). The woman smiled back. I wondered if she had initiated that short conversation to try to figure out my gender. Which, like the guy sirring me, tickled me a bit.
I've been wanting to cut my hair shorter again (as in closer to an inch long rather than 2 inches long). This made me think that maybe I shouldn't, maybe it's more masculine looking like it is. But then, it's summer, and when I look in the mirror, it doesn't look right, just dorky.
Edited to add: Maybe the woman and man disagreed on whether the shoes were for girls or boys, and that's she they asked me, the closest other person around. But it's a funny coincidence then that the person they ask happens to be agender and disregarding of gendered fashion norms. In retrospect, I should have answered "I can't tell. Those shoes must be meant for both boys and girls".
.
At Kroger, this particular Kroger being one I don't go to often anymore, they changed the self-checkout section. They no longer have the shelves where you can put your own bags. You now have to either balance them on top of the rotating rack which has the plastic bags, or try to fit them in the small spaces where the plastic bags hang. Sheesh. The checkout lady was helpful though, and pulled up another shopping cart for me, telling me that I could put my bags in it after filling them. I was surprised that the register didn't nag me to "replace the items you removed" when I did that. But it didn't.
At JCPenney, while walking through the men's section, a male employee asked me if I was finding everything ok, and called me "Sir". I replied something like "Yes, thank you". Immediately self-conscious of my high-pitched voice, and thinking that now the employee was probably a bit taken aback. Or maybe he was being polite in the first place, seeing me dressed in masculine clothing and addressing me accordingly.
Then in Target, browsing through the shoe section, a woman said something like, "Do you think these shoes are for boys or girls?". I looked up and she was holding a pair of small grayish sneakers. She said, "Yes, I'm talking to you," because like with the guy in Target, I may have done a slight double-take to make sure there was no one else behind me that they were talking to. But she said it in a friendly way; it didn't seem mean or rude. There was someone else standing by her, I think a guy but don't really remember. (That's why it was odd; why would she ask me rather than the guy next to her?) I looked at the shoes and replied that they were probably boys'. Then I said something like, "but I don't really make distinctions like that. I'll wear anything." Pause. "As long as it meets my criteria. That's the hard part!" Big smile (as I'd been looking through all these shoes, including the ones at JCP, and none met my criteria enough for me to even want to try them on). The woman smiled back. I wondered if she had initiated that short conversation to try to figure out my gender. Which, like the guy sirring me, tickled me a bit.
I've been wanting to cut my hair shorter again (as in closer to an inch long rather than 2 inches long). This made me think that maybe I shouldn't, maybe it's more masculine looking like it is. But then, it's summer, and when I look in the mirror, it doesn't look right, just dorky.
Edited to add: Maybe the woman and man disagreed on whether the shoes were for girls or boys, and that's she they asked me, the closest other person around. But it's a funny coincidence then that the person they ask happens to be agender and disregarding of gendered fashion norms. In retrospect, I should have answered "I can't tell. Those shoes must be meant for both boys and girls".
.
At Kroger, this particular Kroger being one I don't go to often anymore, they changed the self-checkout section. They no longer have the shelves where you can put your own bags. You now have to either balance them on top of the rotating rack which has the plastic bags, or try to fit them in the small spaces where the plastic bags hang. Sheesh. The checkout lady was helpful though, and pulled up another shopping cart for me, telling me that I could put my bags in it after filling them. I was surprised that the register didn't nag me to "replace the items you removed" when I did that. But it didn't.