The mind's ability to recognize patterns in appearance, behavior, vocalization, etc. is truly an amazing ability. Properly assessing the gender of a person you meet face to face is extremely important to people because it determines how they should interact with that individual. I guess that's why I've always been somewhat uncomfortable meeting people that are androgynous in appearance. If I can't determine their gender, I feel I have to approach the person in a more reserved, careful manner.
I expect this is a source of some discomfort on the part of people who meet a transgender person who does not pass well as their target sex. The ambiguous cues lead to some uncertainty as to how to interact -- as to a man or as to a woman. I think it takes years of training and practice to pick up the subtle behaviors that mark one as a member of one sex or the other. It's another reason I won't try to present as a woman outside of a controlled environment. I feel it's tantamount to my trying to learn a new foreign language. Might be fun, but I'd never succeed at my age.
Clara
I expect this is a source of some discomfort on the part of people who meet a transgender person who does not pass well as their target sex. The ambiguous cues lead to some uncertainty as to how to interact -- as to a man or as to a woman. I think it takes years of training and practice to pick up the subtle behaviors that mark one as a member of one sex or the other. It's another reason I won't try to present as a woman outside of a controlled environment. I feel it's tantamount to my trying to learn a new foreign language. Might be fun, but I'd never succeed at my age.
Clara