I've had mixed reactions as well. Before starting my transition, women/girls were only really mean to me in situations such as school where I was not at all popular or good looking so they thought less of me I guess. Now, women are rude in that I think they see me as the stereotypical guy. Right now, women's rights are being brought to the forefront again and I think the media and such is really influencing women's behaviors. I definitely think it's great that women are really fighting for their rights, but it's kind of making women view men differently. I really don't want to offend anybody because it's not my aim, but I really think it's true. Now a lot of women think that if a guy tries to help them lift a heavy box, the guy thinks they are "weak" when that is usually not the case. Yes, there are some men out there who think less of women, but not all guys are like that. I'm not trying to make generalizations because not all women think this way, but the ones who have been rude to me in public seem to think this way. And also some women have just been rude to me because that's their personality I guess. For example, the other day I was at the store and I accidentally blocked the aisle with my cart and as soon as I noticed a woman standing there, I said "I'm sorry" and moved it out of the way. She then proceeded to glare at me and push by me in a way that was obviously meant to be rude.
As far as women treating me differently in a good way, it's not all that much different. Before transition, women just pretty much ignored me. Now, they still ignore me. I'm not the best looking guy out there so I don't get flirted with, but even everyday conversations aren't that much different. I guess now women just keep conversations short. Some transguys might see this as rude but you have to remember that there's not really any common ground anymore. Before, women may have tried to talk to you because they felt like they could talk about "girl stuff" like hair and makeup. Now, they can't really do that anymore so they just avoid conversations. But I've also noticed a change in female sales workers. They seem more enthusiastic about helping me find things...I don't know, it's kind of weird. I don't see why me being male would affect how they greet and treat customers, but I've definitely noticed that. But again, those are just really small differences.
Men on the other hand have started treating me so much differently. Before, guys just ignored me. I never really spoke to any men and that was the end of it. Now, some guys will just make polite conversation in waiting rooms. They also give me a nod if we just so happen to look at each other while walking down the street. I'd say the majority of guys that know I'm trans are really uncomfortable with it for reasons I'll probably never know, but the ones that don't care are really cool about it. In school, most guys just avoid me (probably because they don't see me as one of the guys) but the ones that I'm somewhat friends/acquaintances with really just treat me like a guy. It's hard to explain. I won't name any names but there's this one guy I have a few classes with and he gives me a nod a lot in the hallways, he doesn't say things like "you were born a girl so you wouldn't understand" like a lot of other guys do, and he always shakes my hand. It's a little weird to me how much he shakes my hand but it's kind of cool. He also kind of compliments me on certain things...it's almost like he knows that I'm a bit insecure about certain things. To go along with the handshakes topic-I've always been really insecure about it because I felt like mine were weak, but then the first time he shook my hand he nodded and said "nice manly handshake, none of that weak crap". Anyway, I'm kind of getting off topic so I'll just stop now.