Actually, no. You don't HAVE to dress a certain way, regardless of how you look.

#27, you are right, that is, if you don't mind having others uncertain about your gender. Maybe you're into that sort of thing.

Questioning looks from strangers turn me on ;)

I believe this was the joke......

Your are wrong since I have big boobs and strangers think I'm a guy and I wear jeans and graphic t shirts

...... That destroyed humanity.....,

59- Shutup. Perdix- I believe your original comment may have gone the way of the geese and flew over some heads. :-) And just to confuse everyone- I go out in a footbal uniform all the time.. but I lost my helmet on the bus after I licked all the sparkles off. :-P

#21, you're new here. A while back, there was an epidemic of Indeterminate Gender stories. If it wasn't one of those, it was an Underpaid Babysitter one.

They all come in waves. Like a user reads one and it reminds them of something that happened to them once, then put it into format and click submit.

I totally agree, people just need to learn.

Yes, when it comes to window smashing to save a cabbage patch kid or a stuffed animal, people need to mind their own business, but what's so bad about asking a question? Why can't we all just be pleasant to one another? I'd prefer to live in a world were people are allowed to talk to each other and ask questions rather than a world where no one is allowed to talk to people and with lots of taboo subjects as if everything were offensive. Why not be open and friendly? Why should we all pretend girls have to be girly and guys have to be super masculine? Too many rigid gender roles, man.

I thought the first bump started so you didn't actually have to touch people in a handshake situation

Oh... so I should stop grabbing people my the crotch when I meet them?

Like Kim or Pat

You mean a gender neutral name like don/dawn or jo/joe. There is no such thing as a "transexual name" unless you count Frankenfurter.

Well bisexual name sounded bad so I twisted it...

Also transmen who are early in transition may look androgynous and sound feminine... But calling them female is pretty insulting. Biological sex or pitch of voice does not equal gender.

There's that too, absolutely. I don't understand this obsession with needing to know a stranger's sex or gender. Unless I plan on dating them, it's none of my business, and most of the time it doesn't even cross my mind, so I couldn't even begin to imagine the thought process that goes behind actually going up to someone and speculating on whether they're male or female.

Its simular to inquiring about someones race. My BFF used to forget I was female all the time... I would forget he was black. Its not something we readily thought about when discribing each other to someone else.

Some people are just very social and they are interested in interacting with strangers. So when they're not sure what gender a person identifies with, or what sex they are, instead of forgetting about it and moving on, they will be more open about it and try to find out. There's nothing wrong with being a bit more social and extroverted, and approaching a stranger to ask them about their gender/sex. Its good for people to mind their own business and not get in people's way, but simply asking a question is perfectly fine. Besides, they weren't being rude, just curious. Its totally okay to dress more neutral :)

Sorry, but I can't equate 'being social' with 'going up to a stranger and asking their sex/gender'. It seems extremely invasive and rude to me, and as #51 said, if there's transitioning involved, it could make the person feel even more uncomfortable than just having a stranger coming up to you and being all, "So are you a girl?!" If you want to speculate, that's fine. If you want to laugh at someone's shoes, or admire their purse from afar, knock yourself out, but casual conversations with strangers should not involve the third degree about their sex or gender.