What's that boy doing?!

[MaxAloysius]

Today I was at work, and a woman came in pushing a trolly with two children in it. I would guess they were around five or six. I went over and talked to her and asked if I could help etc, then went back to stocking up the shelves. It was then the little boy said very loudly, 'Mummy, what's that boy doing?!' pointing to me. Even if he hadn't been pointing, the family and I were the only people in the store.

I grinned and went back to working, at which point the little girl joined in the boy's frantically repeated 'What is that boy doing?!'. Their mother rounded on them and was hissing that 'That's a girl!' To which the kids just kept getting louder and louder, going, 'No! It's a boy!' 'Mum, you're wrong it's a boy!'.

I was super happy about the whole thing, even though children are much easier to fool than adults. I was really brought down by the mother insisting I was a girl though Ah well, that's just the way it goes

[SnailPace]

It's not the children who were fooled, but the mother who was mistaken.

Congratulations!

[VeryGnawty]

children are much easier to fool than adults.

Children are much more intuitive than adults.  It's a skill that must be trained out of them through decades of mind-numbing "education"

If I'm ever confused about who I am, all I have to do is find a pre-teen.  They'll tell me.

[Squirrel698]

Kids are honestly awesome.  They called it long before the adults of this world knew anything. 

Once I was dropping off my baby at the day care my gym provides.  This was pre-T or shortly thereafter.  I wasn't even trying to pass.   A young boy about 6 looked at me closely.  He said to my daughter,

"It's okay your Mom will be back soon."  Looks at me and pauses.  "Unless you are a boy.  I think you are a boy."

Heh, made my day.  Now I get tons of kids walking up to me and asking regarding my boys.  "Are you his Dad?"   To which I have to reply.  "I'm his parent."  Occasionally they will persist and I have to answer.  "I take care of him"  or "Yes, sort of." 

I can't answer yes to the Dad question because my partner wants to be the only with that title.  So basically at this point I'm the lover to my children's father which is interesting ...   

[SnailPace]

I can't answer yes to the Dad question because my partner wants to be the only with that title.  So basically at this point I'm the lover to my children's father which is interesting ...   

My partner also wanted to be 'Dad' so I went with 'Papa'. 

[Radar]

It's not the children who were fooled, but the mother who was mistaken.

True fact.

[insideontheoutside]

Almost all kids see me as male. But they don't have the lifetime of perception of gender like adults do.

[Noah G.]

I agree, you weren't fooling the kids in this situation. It was their mother who was mistaken.

Reminds me of my last job though. We had a lady who, along with her two young kids, were regulars at the store and at one point she got into an argument with her son over my being a boy. I couldn't help but smile because I was already fond of the kid (he was cute, there was no way around it, and I always thought he was a good kid though his mother was a little strict with him -- and I'll admit here that this was only my observation, I know I was only getting part of the picture). He kept insisting his mother was wrong and I was a boy, all the while she kept "correcting" him -- it continued even as I helped her carry her groceries out to her car.

It certainly put me in a good mood. That's one of few glimpses I've had into what people call kids' intuitions on such matters, and it's one that's really stuck with me.

[MaxAloysius]

Hahah, wow, you guys have now made me feel even better about the situation

It was awesome to have the kids 'defend' my manliness to their mother They were so very certain I was a boy; no matter how many times I spoke to them and their mother, my very feminine voice didn't seem to change their minds at all

[Thatman]

my daughter was 7 when i started transition, so i've had many occasions where she and her friends would want me to settle the argument because she said i was a girl and they were convinced i was a boy lol. Even with all of that tho when we first talked to her about my transition she accepted it and understood it better than most adults do even now. The highlight for me tho i think is when she said she wanted me to be her "forever daddy" and have my last name. (her fathers not around due to his choice, and i'd never encouraged her to call me dad, cuz she had one) Since then she's referred to me as her daddy (unless she's mad at me then it's my first name). But kids just know somehow, it still amazes me.

[lancem27]

The highlight for me tho i think is when she said she wanted me to be her "forever daddy" and have my last name.

Dude, that is pretty incredible. 

[MaxAloysius]

I have to agree with Caleb Jeremy, that is pretty damn awesome!

[Devin87]

My kids have been slipping and calling me "he" a lot, which is funny because I'm not out at work at all and never plan to be at this job.  Must be a vibe thing.  They also have no problem at all with me going into the boys bathroom while they seem a little uncomfortable with the other female teachers going in there.  If there's a problem in there (for instance, we've had a rash of poop-art on the walls the past few weeks) they'll call on me to go in and check it out so I can call the janitor.

[Brent123]

I had little girls ask their mom why there was a boy in the bathroom. Though it was a little embarrassing, I'm taking it as a hint to use the men's