So apparently I'm a reasonably attractive woman. I don't say this to skite (Aussie for "boast"), it's just a reflection on the feedback I've been receiving. I even had a random guy try to chat me up at a bus stop on my fourth ever outing. I'm not complaining, it's certainly great to be told that I look good - a real boost just when I really need it. And I can see it too, which is unusual since I never considered myself to be a very attractive man... certainly the women were never falling over themselves to be by my side (they were all wondering why I wasn't in a relationship, but none of them were ever willing to be the one who was in that relationship with me). No doubt a lot of it has to do with presentation and confidence - I feel I present better and am more confident and outgoing in female mode than in male mode.
Anyway, I was thinking forward to being out and about, at functions and the like...and it struck me that the incident at the bus stop might be just the start of that kind of thing. It's a fairly common experience for cis girls from puberty onwards but for me, not so much. I suddenly imagined guys hitting on me at any particular place, especially if alcohol is involved. Again, not boasting, just hypothesising. It would be cool if I was actually attracted to guys, but I'm not. Yeah, poor me, right?
I handled the incident at the bus stop somewhat brusquely - in part because I was so shocked at being hit on but also because he seemed a bit creepy. Some of the feedback from the forum was that I was a bit (or very) rude, others cautioned against inflaming the situation, on the other hand the feedback from the women at work was that I'd done exactly the right thing.
So I was wondering how any of you might have dealt with unwanted attention in the past? Was it successful or not? How do you read the situation and stay safe?
