I remember a few times that amused me - but nothing awful... I didn't change overnight, I spread it over a couple of years, simply making myself more androgynous to start with. I'm married with children and needed them to get use to my transition too. So I started by wearing women's clothes that looked like men's clothes. Donating all my men's clothes to charity shops and knowing all my clothing was now women's was enough of a start. Then the shoes changed to women's trainers, then high-heeled women's trainers...
I got make-up lessons aimed at looking like I wan't wearing make-up, but letting me feel I was grooming. I believe that estrogen has given me a new 'grooming' urge that makes me fascinated by nail-varnish, hair, heels and sparkly things that I never had before!
My T-shirt neck-lines gradually got lower, my jumpers slowly got tighter and I started removing black from my wardrobe.
So fading from male to androgyny and then to female appearance has been as seamless as I can make it. No boats were rocked. Well not much!
I nearly came unstuck when I was waiting for a shop assistant to get me something from out back when one of my boys' friends' mother walked past, recognised me and said, "hello!", then immediately continued to shop... I was in tight black jeans with high court shoes on and my face still pretty manly... But after my initial panic I realised that she was shopping... and focused on that - not me. She probably barely registered who I was or where she'd seen my face before. But if she'd told her family and her son had picked on my son, the sky would have fallen in! well, maybe. But it never happened and I learned to lower the risk of making life awkward for others. I made friends with other parents easily (estrogen being the friendly hormone, helping again, I expect) and my boys have had no issues.
So courage is required - but think of it as excitement and if it all goes wrong, try to see the funny side: I went to a food shop and an elderly couple saw me and froze... their jaws drooped open - wow! They'd clearly heard of people like me on the TV but never seen such a person in broad daylight and I had them transfixed! So I took a couple of steps towards the man and motioned my hand as if to shut his mouth whispering, "you're staring!", smiled and carried on shopping!
The only other event was leaving another shop that had some kids hanging around outside. One of the boys did a mocking laugh at me... unfortunately it came out a little too high and girly, so I stopped and turned and said, "I think I'm worth more than a girly laugh like that!", expecting some come-back, but there was nothing. I guess I was a scary grown-up they thought was telling them off... but I did look wrong - I still can, so I'm perfectly willing to forgive people being interested in me.
I look at this as a journey. Soon I'll reach the destination and simply remember the journey as awkward and amusing in equal measure.
As I've evolved and gone through awkward looking stages, people in my area have come to know and recognise me until I feel like a minor celebrity. My youngest son and I go round town and at most of my regular shops the assistants all come to chat - I never experienced this at all as a man. It's great! So looking wrong for a while actually helped me be noticed - but being nice led to the people who noticed me wanting to see me again.
The need to be friendly had ended up with me joining lots of clubs and meeting people there too.
So I hope you enjoy your journey too: it's an adventure; a part of your life to look back on and wonder how you ever made it - and why you didn't change earlier! Have fun!
