Yesterday I had a lunch date with two cis female friends. These two women have known that I am trans for a long time; however, I have only gone out with them as a man. Since I am a full-time female, I thought it would be nice to dress up. I wore a floral print dress, black stockings, and 2.5-inch heels. I paid for my lunch along with the lunch of one of my pals. When my other friend paid for her meal, the cashier said thank you, ma’am. I then paid for the other ticket, and the guy looked at me(I was looking very female) and said Thank you, SIR. I chose to ignore the slur. It was a slur, do not doubt it.
Flash forward to today. I was not wearing any makeup; I wore a KISS t-shirt and maroon leggings. My nails are painted, and I was wearing dangling earrings. I was also in my car. A young lady walks up to my car, takes my order, and then says thank you and have a good day, ma’am. I thanked her right then and there and told her those two words mean a lot.
I write about these two experiences hoping that someone will take note. I don’t expect to be called sir or ma’am, but if you don’t want to call me ma’am, please still be respectful. The person in the first situation could have said thank you, which would have been good enough. You do not have to agree with me nor I you but we should be respectful to each other.
Alla Davis
