Whenever we go out in public, we prepare ourselves for encounters that might be unpleasant.
That's just part of being a cross dresser in a society that largely doesn't understand us.
So when I go out with all my defenses at peak readiness, I am often quite unprepared when very pleasant encounters occur.
One of these unexpected moments happened last week. I was shopping in a small boutique. The sales clerk and I were the only persons in the shop. After I made my selections, I took them to the cash register to check out. The young lady who was helping me noticed my wedding band and engagement ring and said, "That's a very nice ring you have."
I thanked her as I noticed she was wearing an engagement ring. So I asked, "You have a nice ring too. Have you set a wedding date yet?"
"No. We've been together eight years, but we're in no hurry. We're not planning to have children, so we haven't felt like we needed to get married right away."
I told her my husband and I also decided not to have children. We immediately felt a kind of bond between us and continued to chitchat for several minutes.
Finally, as I was ready to leave she commented on the size of my diamond. I found myself saying, "Oh, my first ring was a lot smaller than this one," implying my husband gave me a smaller one years ago when we got married. (I didn't have the heart to tell her I bought the ring myself and paid less than $50 for it.)
What impresses me about encounters like this is how quickly women bond with each other and we easily share intimate details about themselves. Men never do that. But what warmed my heart is how this woman shared with me. It was clear she accepted me as another woman. For a person who has been struggling all her life with her female identity and male body, to be accepted by another woman is just the most wonderful feeling.
This newsletter is a labor of love for of our contributing editrixes.
Please join the staff by submitting your own insights into the world of cross-dressing.
Send your input to:
Barbara Van Horn.
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Updated: 04/27/05
