But HOW CAN YOU TELL

Have posted this before I think. I am an emergency/urgent care doctor Over the years, I have seen tens of thousands of people with their clothes off following medical emergencies. I have had many patients who were cross-dressing, some of whom were probably trans and some cross-dressing for other reasons. But, in all those tens of thousands, I have never, ever been surprised to find a patient was male, even if she or he (not misgendering - I don't know how many identified as women) was dressed as female. I have occasionally been surprised to find that someone who presented as male was actually female, but never the other way round.

No TW passes. I don't mean that as belittling - I don't think they should feel a pressure to pass, and I am sorry for those who do. But the idea that there are loads of TW using female facilities without anyone noticing is sheer fantasy. We know.

Gosh there are some delightful people out there who make delightful comments, aren't there?

Agree, why do they even bother to do that? It's a very selfish attitude imo.

You are doing sterling work Katie.

Our brains are constantly scanning the environment for things that are out of place, it's the same thing as when you turn a corner and some buildings have been knocked down and there's a big gap and you immediately know something is wrong without necessarily knowing what. Mostly there's nothing to report so your brain feels as though you're safe. Occasionally there's something unexpected. When DD (16 and woke-ish) were walking down the pavement in Brighton there was a transwoman walking along, not particularly close to us, dressed in office-y type clothes, not at all ostentatious, but I noticed DD do a double take, only very quickly, but she clocked something wasn't quite as she expected. She didn't say anything though and I doubt she noticed that I noticed. Of course it would be better if we were in a world where men could dress in skirt suits if they wanted to and no one batted an eyelid, but we are not there yet.

Katie that is very true! And I love how much some people try and convince us that their perspective is 'scientific'. 🤣

Thanks for a great article - I know a bit about this topic, but I'm grateful for the new articles you've shared. Keep up the good work!

For anyone newly addicted to Portlandia, this is a must see:

There's a surprise in that sketch that's worth watching for.

hoteltango
I know exactly who you mean.
Forget the name but has an impressive CV on military history.

Small children can usually tell whether another small child is a boy or a girl; I've noticed with both my DDS.

DD1 as a toddler in a supermarket trolley wearing generic shorts/T shirt and blue shoes. Another small child acknowledged her as a girl and was "corrected" by mother. It struck me then that the adult was looking for "clues" in the clothes, shoes and hair, while the other child just took all of that at face value.

FF 20+ years and DD2 wearing a blue all-in-one puddle suit and green wellies. Another child complaining that she was splashing them and their father doing the "boys will be boys" routine.

In that first video it was telling to watch the TW stomping across the field in a way that actual women don't.

Yes men move like men, yes they smell like men, yes they have male facial features.

Have to disagree on top removal though. My partner does the same as me, cross hands, grab hem, lift from front and he has arms so stupidly long he can link his hands and 'skip' with his own arms.

(I'm not convinced he isn't part gibbon)

That's a very interesting article. Thank you Katie.

Women don't mansplain, manspread or display male entitlement.

I watch a lot of documentaries on TV. There's one series which is about military history. Experts do brief video segments, just head and shoulders. There's one expert who I suddenly got puzzled about. There was nothing in particular - voice sounded like a woman's, no visible Adam's apple, or brow-line or hair-line - nothing obvious, and yet... I did a quick google, and she's a transwoman.

That's not to detract from her expertise or her presentation - in fact, I'd certainly enjoy having a chat with her - it's just that even though the signs were really very minimal, there was nevertheless something that didn't quite fit.

Thanks Katie- for putting into words what we all know by instinct and adding the actual science.

@LemonGingerCakes - he was a very beautiful man. Possibly the most beautiful man I've ever seen. And I've been looking...

When in disguise it is the tilt of the head and the stroking of the hair.

a horse that’s most likely a TERF.

Nay, lass

(It's panto season, right?)

I LOVE that the acronym for Facial Feminisation Surgery is FFS

He's so masculine.

She's so feminine (in a shirt and jeans).

It's not about the clothes and make up 🤷🏽‍♀️

Hmm it seems I usually take off my shirts the male way, but I do usually wear quite loose shirts and have small breasts. But with tighter tops I do it the female way.

Do you think they are funded by the Christian far right?

Quite a lot of TERFY horses aren't there? Certainly TERFY dogs.

I know a horse that’s most likely a TERF.

Whoa, there!

(It's panto season, right?)

That's so true about runners nauticant. I was watching the finish of a half marathon earlier this year. There was a final straight of about 700m to the end. When the runners first came round the corner of the lake they were just small dots. The first female runner came in at about 7th place but when she rounded the corner, I knew immediately that she was a woman.

Has anyone seen that video going round twitter where women can lift a chair when they're at right angles to a wall and men can't?

Something to do with the way our hips work I believe. It's really interesting because it just demonstrates that even if you take away the muscle stuff, our bones and the ways we are put together are quite simply different