Let Them Stare

Hannah McKnight offers some advice on how to handle the looks you get when out en femme:

Almost anyone who falls in the transgender spectrum (which includes you), is going to be stared at. Most of us stand out. I stand out for two reasons. Number one, I am obviously trans. I am tall, I have very masculine features, and my voice doesn’t help. People will stare or at least do a double-take when they see me....

Secondly I stand out because of what I wear. Not many girls at the mall are wearing heels and a dress, but I am. So, I stand out because of that, too.

You are powerless to stop what others think of you. But you will also likely never know what people think. Sure, they might be staring at me, but are they staring at me because I’m transgender or because they love my dress? Or they giving me an evil eye because I’m transgender or because I can strut in heels better than they can?

I don’t know. I haven’t asked anyone what they think of me.

Whether you are in male mode rocking a skirt or glammed up head to toe, who we are will never be okay. Let ’em stare. You can’t stop them.