by annie » Mon Sep 30, 2013 7:08 am
> How you ever had anybody give you a hard time while riding?
Throughout the history of Pinkfest I've heard of no cases of anyone being confronted or hassled on the CTA, either bus or El/subway.
Here are my observations on the topic, based on experiences over decades of being involved with TG groups and riding transit.
I would encourage you to think not in terms of "passing" but in terms of "blending", meaning not appearing to be out of place for the time, place, and circumstance of the activity at hand. After all, women (both GG and TG) come in all shapes and sizes! Here are some cases where I've observed members of our community failing to blend, particularly in the context of public transit.
1. Overdressing. Someone (anyone, GG or TG) who is obviously dressed up more than the other women in the area will stand out and draw attention.
2. Riding and hanging around in groups. The solo individual usually has no issue avoiding attention. Two can often times do it, but when you approach that magic number of three, things get iffy and the group usually stands out no matter how well the individuals blend on their own. I can cite some rather geeky numbers on this if anyone wants.
3. Behavior and demeanor. Loud talking in an obviously masculine voice is a dead give-away and attracts attention. Joking around, grab-assing, and acting like (for the lack of a better term) men is certain to draw a lot of the wrong kind of attention. I observed a blatant example of this on the Las Vegas Monorail a few years back but still, nobody was hassled.
The bottom line is that almost all transit riders are doing their own thing and are willing to live and let live and are only giving passing glances to other riders unless something specifically grabs their attention.