Went to the barbershop today, for the second time ever.
Last time I went, everything seemed to go fine until right at the end when it was time to pay: the barber called me 'madam' and tried to charge me the ladies' price (£10) rather than the men's price (£8).
Today it was a different barber. Now I am pre-T and mine isn't the first head he's ever worked on in his life, so there's no fooling anyone about what's going on here. But I do dress male, I present as male (to the best of my ability) and I specified a men's haircut. At the end when it was time to pay he was clearly unsure about whether I was male or female and needed to find out so he could charge me the right amount.
Do you know how he phrased it?
"How much do you usually pay for your haircut?".
Isn't that a brilliant, sensitive, thoughtful way to ask whether I'm a guy or a girl? What a pro.