Unisex Looks

When Maggie was a few years younger, and could not stand to have her curly hair brushed, we finally had to cut it short. It was cute, and I thought it looked "little girly." But occasionally, she was referred to as "little boy." She did not like that!

The other day, my oldest daughter posted about a customer mistaking her for a guy. Seems odd enough to me, even if she is at that in-between stage of growing her hair out.

I think part of the problem is that there are SO many people now who prefer the unisex look. Many girls want to look masculine. Some guys want to look feminine. I remember at a funeral, when a "boy" went into the ladies' room at church, and several of us were taken aback. Then we finally decided that it probably was a girl, after all. When my mom and dad were in the hospital (many months apart) each one had the same nurse for a while. None of us could figure out definitively if this was a guy or a girl. Finally, I got a peek at the name tag: Kristen. Okay, that's a girl. Good thing the name wasn't "Chris" or "Pat."

So I was pleased to be recognized as a girl yesterday. I had been pumping gas and had gone into the station to pay. Some good natured joshing about the weather got a conversation going among the customers and owner. When we were headed out the door, Howie (the 70+ yr old stranger who was one of the flirters) said, "Hey, I'm hanging out with her" and indicated me. He knew I was a girl. It was cold. My hair was up under a hat. No make-up. No jewelry. No purse. I don't have much of a figure anyway, but any feminine curves were completely hidden by my big ol' ugly man's work-coat that's warm and heavy. There were no tell-tale signs of femininity anywhere. But he knew I was a girl. And that made me feel so good! :-)