Quote from: tekla on February 02, 2010, 12:59:58 PM
Her reaction when wrongly spotted was to verbally anihilate the offender by loudly enquiring what sort of idiot it was who couldn't tell the difference and then to ask him if he would care to step outside...

That's so British.  It's a different game to do that in the States where the odds of someone being armed are much higher.

I don't know if you can understand how sad that sounds. Every time I read of yet another mass shooting by some nutcase on innocent people in the US, I wonder when someone I know, from the net, will be included in the tally.

My feeling is height has nothing to do with passing as such. But I think really short people and really tall people attract attention. If you have any 'tells' then more people will notice if you stand out.

I don't know if you can understand how sad that sounds.

I know exactly how it sounds, and getting beat up, fistfights and all that, are very unAmerican, and I think the reason is that you better be real sure about calling someone down because they are armed.  I have a list as long as my arm of people who got into fights, beat up, and all that in London, and for some reason Edinburgh.

Ever see anything like a soccer riot at a US football game?  Nah, those kind of brawls - a classic Donnybrook if you will - are pretty rare here for just that reason.  Though the odds of getting shot are pretty much third world level, the odds of getting beat up anytime after high school are much, much lower.

It's a trade off.

Quote from: ativan on February 02, 2010, 07:52:36 PM
   Is it just 'really short' and 'really tall' people that stand out or are some of the 'short' and 'tall' also included? And the more 'tells' they have, the closer to 'normal' they are, they will still have problems anyways?
   Where is the bar set that defines really short, short, normal, tall, really tall?  This is the part of all this I have a hard time with. WHERE is the bar set?  WHO set the bar?  This is true of any kind of comparasins that are made, without defining the conditions that are in question.  The conversations center around an elusive standard (the bar), that seems to move continuesly. but is refered to as being a stationary thing.
    Who set the bar and where is it set? Agree on that and then the answer can be found with a reasonable degree of certainty.
    I'm getting dizzy again.....time for another..
   Ativan

Um, it is subjective. There is no bar, it is a moving thing and it is different depending on who is looking. I think you have to reject the idea that it can be quantified, you are not going to get an exact number. If you are blond and 6 foot in japan you will stand out like dogs balls, but if you are in a scandanavian country not so much. If you dress like a reject then you will stand out no matter what, but if you are greater than average height, by a goodly amount and look like a reject then you will probably stand out even more.
I mean if you look like a man, it does not matter how tall or short you are, you still look like a man. But if you only sort of look like a woman more people are going to give you more than a casual glance if you are unusually tall or short. mmm maybe height can affect passing. I think I trumpt myself. 

An armed society is a polite society - though I kinda doubt that.

Quote from: ativan on February 02, 2010, 09:28:32 PM
I would doubt that too.... but an unarmed society could be polite. Better possibility.
When we all believe that none of us are any more important than anyone else, maybe we will become polite enough to get rid of our fears and our weapons..  hmmmm

Certainly nice to wish for, but seeing how human have spent history inventing weapons that can kill at further and further distance away, I somehow doubt it...

Re guns and fighting in America: check out http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=81 and listen to Act 2. It's rather disturbing. I never did well with that kind of terror (I mean, the pre-gun-proliferation kind), even the much less intense suburban version I was subjected to.

Back to the original topic: I guess it's nice that cis folk occasionally explore how gender is constructed in our society, though that blog isn't quite at the level of a PhD dissertation; high school book report, perhaps.

I only got about half way through the article before I had to leave it.  The woman has some issues she needs to deal with and we can't help her.

As for height, it's just one factor, and a lesser one, in gendering a person.  It's a math equation.  Add up all the male markers, then add up all the female markers and whichever is greater will usually get the nod for gender.  Of course, some markers weigh more heavily than others. 

People know what markers are the result of years of a given dominant hormone coursing through your body and if they take the time, they will recognize the signs.  Still, there's no foolproof way to gender a person just by looking at them.

I think height is rarely ever a factor for mistaking gender.

Quote from: Myself on February 03, 2010, 12:57:09 PM
I think height is rarely ever a factor for mistaking gender.

I agree, passability doesn't really relate to height

Quote from: K8 on January 27, 2010, 07:42:02 AM
It's not the altitude; it's the attitude.

- Kate

I don't believe I could break it down any better.  Well said Kate.

passability is more related to physicality than height! It's possible attitude might help but overall it's more to do with the physicalities than anything else.

Nicky said:  "My feeling is height has nothing to do with passing as such. But I think really short people and really tall people attract attention. If you have any 'tells' then more people will notice if you stand out."

Since I am 6'4" I know this subject very well, and I agree with what Nicky said above.  Tall women attract attention and are looked at with scrutiny just for the fact that we are tall.  Because of this sometimes I pass well and sometimes people can pick up a "tell".  Through the years I have learned to look at those who look at me, and I give them a nice smile, and mostly, I get a smile back.  I have learned to have fun with it and not "fear" being picked up as trans.

Quote from: Virginia87106 on February 18, 2010, 11:00:07 AM
Nicky said:  "My feeling is height has nothing to do with passing as such. But I think really short people and really tall people attract attention. If you have any 'tells' then more people will notice if you stand out."

Since I am 6'4" I know this subject very well, and I agree with what Nicky said above.  Tall women attract attention and are looked at with scrutiny just for the fact that we are tall.  Because of this sometimes I pass well and sometimes people can pick up a "tell".  Through the years I have learned to look at those who look at me, and I give them a nice smile, and mostly, I get a smile back.  I have learned to have fun with it and not "fear" being picked up as trans.

I think that's also true virginia. A tall person would attract attention just by being tall, and then of course then they are open to far more scrutiny than a shorter person.

6' 4" is very tall, even for a man, so tall people have got to work harder on the visuals more than a short person would who may not be noticed at all.