Head nod

[Guest SusanB]

Usually when i see someone in passing i just smile and nod my head.

Just occured to me the other day that this is a male thing that i'll have to learn to not do.

Do most of my walking around my apartment complex and while everyone is friendly, i noticed that most women will smile and wave while men will just nod back. Some women just cover up and hide if they're not wearing make up LOL

I usually walk in the early hours of the morning when most are just getting up, men don't care what they look like but the ladies sure do. What are you gonna do when your dog wakes you up wanting to go for a walk ? Glad i have a cat LOL

[Guest Jenny_W]

Yes, head nodding is definitely a male bahaviour. I have noticed that I am saying hello or 'good afternoon' a lot more recently and the head nodding doesn't happen as much - and I'm in male mode all the time out of the house atm.

Jenny

[Cyndee]

Most definately, women tend to smile a lot more and express friendly guestures.

If a man were to be friendly and smile, people might become suspisous, so the head nod thing spares the man of exposing his inner feelings or speaking, it's another cold front.

Just my .02

Cindy -

[Guest Jenny_W]

Most definately, women tend to smile a lot more and express friendly guestures.

If a man were to be friendly and smile, people might become suspisous,

Oh, drat! What do I do now? I guess I'll have to transition - I don't want to go back to being non-communicative and 'cold'!

Jenny

[Charlize]

I love the difference in how i am comfortable with smiling as a woman. As a man women found me a threat if i smiled in passing. Now i smile and i get a smile back almost every time. It just feels so right and accepting. Sorry Jenny. Might not be a reason to transition but sure is a perc..

Hugs,

Charlie

[Guest shani d]

regardless of me being in male mode all the time i never noded to people

just smile and wave or hug

my best friend who is a very trans friendly young girl is an adorable person and she always smiles and hugs me in happiness of seeing me

it just feels me with wormth every time to see again how i love being a woman

[Guest Deanna]

I have always done the nod thing with men and women have always done the smile thing and I always did it back and I usually go out in male mode only so far. I noticed the difference, just didn't put 2 and 2 together. I do know the smile and little hi in passing is so much more comfortable! I always thought the nod thing had some thing to do with men being more territorial and acknowledging the others area.

[Guest Lizzie McTrucker]

The head nod is definitely a male thing. It's a way of saying "I acknowledge you but I have nothing to say to you." thing. lol

I'm amazed at how often I end up just smiling at people in passing, male or female, if we inadvertently make eye contact. It's like the female version of the head nod.

[Guest Deenah]

I was walking down the sidewalk the other day.I was in like partial m/f mode,anyway a guy was about to pass me so not thinking about it i smiled. He looked at me like i did something totally wrong,i just chuckled a bit and kept smiling. I never really thought that smiling at someone would be borderline offensive.

[Guest]

Smiling in male mode usually "confuses" people.

They can't figure out what you're up to.

Huggs,

Joann

[Guest rikkicd64]

I love the difference in how i am comfortable with smiling as a woman. As a man women found me a threat if i smiled in passing. Now i smile and i get a smile back almost every time. It just feels so right and accepting. Sorry Jenny. Might not be a reason to transition but sure is a perc..

Hugs,

Charlie

I am like you Charlie, it is so nice to smile at someone and for them to smile back and sometimes even speak.I never want to go back to pretending,woman all the way for me.

Rikki....

[Guest Kallum]

I love the head nod. Nod down is generally acknoledgement. Nod up is usually to a mate, hey whats up. Younger boy is a glare (thats more a teenage guy thing). I dont know what is is but is another guy smiles at me id be.... weird. Even before I knew I was trans I nodded . Same with when I tried to walk like a guy, I looked like an idiot because it was over the top, until I figured out that I had never walked with my hips.

I never know what to do when a woman walks past???

Kal

[Cyndee]

I never know what to do when a woman walks past???

Kal

Smile at the woman, G'day making eye contact.

Be careful not to expose "elevator eyes" however, too much glare from a guy might put her on the defensive, some women really like the male attentiion, others not so much, try to read the situation with her body language, that will say alot about how well your encounter just went.

It certainly can be refreshing in male to male encounters when someone finally breaks the ice and says something.

Hugs

Cindy -

[Guest SusanB]

Since i posted this i tried to change things up a bit

I'm usually wearing a ball cap when i walk and actually tried tipping my hat to the ladies

Most of them blushed and had nothing to say

Next day they smiled and waved like they have known me for years, one even stopped and we had a long conversation. We actually talked for over 20 minutes about hair, seems she just loves my long hair LOL

One guy even stopped and shook my hand and we started talking, seems it never hurts to smile and say hello

[Guest HeatherAnne]

Aha! That's what it is. I stopped doing the head nod at all when I started hrt, as I knew it was a dead giveaway and it could take a while to break a habit I had cultivated as part of my "man disguise". In those months I have had a ton of fun gabby conversations with my female coworkers. I bet the "smiling with my eyes" thing (don't remember where I heard that phrase) is initiating it.

[Guest Robin Winter]

I have both kinds of days. Depends on my mood really. If I'm down I tend to revert back to head nodding, because I just don't feel like being friendly and social, but I always feel sort of dirty after I do it lol.

[Carolyn Marie]

I've definitely gotten into the smile routine with women, and I almost always get a smile in return. What I really like is when another woman smiles at me first, because it seems like a small affirmation. I almost never got into conversations with people, men or women, at the market when I was a man. But now, it happens all the time, and I just love it.

HUGS

Carolyn Marie