Quote from: valyn_faer on August 15, 2011, 09:48:04 AM
Sorry for the delayed response on this, but it seems to be the case here in the U.S. as well; at least from what I've seen. When I chopped my hair off, quite a few ciswomen were kind of baffled by it, like I have to be hyperfeminine, but they don't. Men, however, don't seem to care. I see women literally every day who have short hair. In fact, it's not uncommon to see girls with shaved heads here. I live in Oregon and most people in my town don't seem to care at all if a ciswoman has a shaved head. They tend to just chock it up to the hippy lifestyle that is common in Oregon. It's like we have to be even more feminine than ciswomen do, even in a town where being a grungy hippy girl who doesn't wear makeup and has dirty looking dreads or a shaved head is a common phenomenon. 
When I was in the US, I sometimes happened to watch talk shows feautring m2f trassexual. Still, most people around me there did not tell clearly between gays and m2f transsexuals.
In my country, the problem is worse. Most people still do not know much about transgender or transsexual. Most people first think that I am a kind of gay, and some friends ask me about my sexual orientation. They seem to be relieved after hearing my reply that I am a kind of lesbian rather than gay men. And, openly, the term 'transgender' is exclusively used for denoting transsexual de facto in the western society, and most people here never heard about transsexual. I explain again that there are many 'transgender' people who do not want SRS. To them, transgender people are those who underwent SRS or consider it seriously. It is just a kind of etymological debate, not any more.
My existence and appearance is so striking in my work place or my town that nearly all people know me. To them, I am just a unique or bizarre person. Some people like me. Without my current career and professional performace, all of them would not like me. As long as I perform well in this 'normal' society, most people, including my family, accept and tolerate my queer appearance.
Most people consider me as a man, but they tend to be surprised at my hidden aggressiveness when I work with others. Some even say that I possess a kind of charisma.
It is difficult to explain 'androgynous' to people here. Some people even say that they can not accept my feminie expression unless I undertake SRS.
And nowadays I am tired of explaining or debating about my transgenerism, no longer try hard to justify it.
Thus, my motto is "Just do it."
Barbie~~