I will state right up front here that I am no expert. I was speaking with my neighbor and our conversation made me think about things I need to work on so I decided to share what I discovered.
My neighbor has severely bowed legs, one knee replacement and the other is due for replacement. She told me that she was trying to walk without limping. She has walked with a limp for so long, now she needs to unlearn that habit.
This made me think about how I walk. I never gave it much thought before. I am tall, so I tend to take long strides. Women take shorter strides and keep their feet closer together.
Dr. Todd Martin has a couple of videos on YouTube discussing the biomechanics behind male walks and female walks. He pointed out that males tend to sway with their shoulders, and females sway with their hips. You don't have to throw them around like a runway model, (I think that looks ridiculous), but keeping the shoulders steady and adding a touch of feminine energy in the hip sway makes a big difference in how we present ourselves.
Males also tend to "duck walk", that is with toes pointing out. Females tend to walk with their toes pointing straight forward. I think there is a psychological factor in this. When I was attending the College of Hypnotherapy, we learned about different personality types. I don't mean like a narcissist or introvert or whatever. There are two primary types: physical and emotional. Don't get wrapped up in labels. They just help us identify which type of person we are observing, or treating.
In my practice, before I would give my client a demonstration of hypnosis, I would first have them relax with their feet up. Like relaxing in a recliner chair, or feet on an ottoman or footstool. They were unaware of it, but when they were relaxed I noticed their feet. Physical types tend to rest with their feet in a V (toes out), while emotional types tend to rest with toes straight up or even pointing in. I suspect that physical types also walk with their toes out, and emotional types walk with their toes pointing forward. It is just a theory.
As I said, do not get wrapped up in the labels. It has mostly to do with psychology and one's environment growing up. There are physical women and emotional men. And it can change. For most of my life, I was a physical type. Recently, I discovered that I am now an emotional type.
My point here is, notice if you duck walk. Some women do, but that is considered a masculine walk. If you are FtM, maybe work on adopting that style with a shoulder sway. Ladies walk with their elbows tucked in and their arms swing more freely to the side, behind, or in front of them.
Anna Bey has several YouTube videos on feminine body language and how to present oneself as an elegant woman. Things like how you sit or stand, or gesture. Making slow, smooth, and deliberate movements. These are all things we can do in the privacy of our homes. Practice them enough to make them a habit and you can send those subtle cues without realizing it. When that happens, we will get more positive reinforcement when people address us, and that builds our confidence and self-esteem.
Although I mostly addressed the things I am working on as MtF, the same techniques can be used by FtM. Just realize what your body is doing and shift to doing it the other way. For our intersex and non-binary friends who might wish to be more stealthy or unisex, notice your body language and adopt a different approach to subdue the cues that you do not want to send.
I hope this helps. I am still learning and practicing, so take this with a grain of salt.
