Online (and in this forum) I have been occasionally mistaken for a man.
RL, I have been frequently asked what country I come from. Umm…the United States. This invariably happens with people who speak English as a second language (or, non-American English)–they hear the remnants of my Appalachian drawl and can’t place it. I’ve been asked if I’ve Scottish, Australian, and British, as well as just the basic, “Where are you from?” “Umm…California?” “No, originally?”
A few times people have just walked up to me and started speaking Spanish. I do have dark hair and eyes, but fair skin–but still enough, I suppose, for a few people to assume I’m Hispanic. I do speak Spanish, actually, but not at all fluently. Funny, I’ve been told my Spanish has a Castillian accent. I have no idea how that happened, as my Spanish instructors were Argentinian.
I’ve also been mistaken for anything but a teacher. When I tell people my profession, they tend to raise eyebrows and say “You? A teacher?” Not sure how to take that.
Some people I have talked to have thought I was a Maritimer/Newfie and one really drunk Irish guy I was playing darts with one night asked me where in Ireland I was from. People have told me I don’t have a Canadian accent (whatever that might be).
I worked in the Bahamas and no-one there thought I was a Canadian.
Online I have had guys come on to me thinking I was a woman… must be the androgenous handle.
Falcon, Satan still assumes you are a man if the last few doper meetings that we were at together were used to judge.
When I lived in Texas with a full beard I still had several people (mostly checkers at the grocery store) call me ma’am. Most of the time they corrected themselves. Not all the time. I would answer to it anyway. Why make them embarassed that they couldn’t tell the difference between a guy full face and beard on looking directly at them being unambiguous about it and wearing male styled clothing.
When I had long hair people used to say I looked like Sebastian Bach from Skid Row. Gods I hated those people although I could see a very minor resemblance. I hated that poseur band.
Maeglin, up until now I thought you were a girl. Your name isn’t ambiguous it is feminine since I know a few Meglin’s out there who are girls and never have met a male Meglin. I just figured you had an alternate spelling for it.
Oh, several people in the past assumed I was straight. Go figure.
I forgot to mention one amusing incident: I’m 18, my ex is 22. We went to a bar where you had to be 20 to get in (for some reason - the drinking age here is 18). HE got carded.
We can only conclude that I look 22 and he looks 18.
When I was 13 years old, I was in a laundermat folding clothes and some woman came up and asked me how many children I had. People always thought I was older than I was. Fast forward 10 years. I’m at a bus stop with a backpack with my law school books in it. A woman asks me what high school I go to. I told her I was in law school and she said I didn’t look older than 16. Weird. What was the dividing line between looking old enough to have children and young enough to be in high school?
When I was younger, my babysitter always said I looked like a young Patty Duke. His friends agreed–I think they were smoking pot at the time. Besides long brown hair, we looked nothing alike.
In college, my roommate and best friend was named Amy. People called us by each others names all the time. Now at work, my closest friend is named Nancy. People got those names wrong too. Apparently it was contagious because I once left her a phone message which started, “Hey Cathy, it’s Nancy.” She like that so much she forwarded it to me so I could hear what I said. We’ve just decided we’re completely interchangeable.
SqrlCub, the name Maeglin is a (male) character in a book whom I happen to like. I have never known any Meglins, male or female, so have no frame of reference.
oh yes its funny to see we volunteer with the chinese immigrant population and help tutor them in english and for the naturalization exam, they look at me and cringe they look at audrey with such hope in their eyes, thinking, “finally one of ours has arrived to save us!” its so cute…
I was mistaken for a guy by someone on this board (who shall remain nameless )
I was also (on another message board) mistaken for John Taylor (formerly with Duran). What was weird about this was that it was his message board, and I had several long discussions with people about my life that involved exclusively feminine topics! Go figure.
I am also frequently mistaken for someone who cares, but I think that’s because I make too much eye contact.
Swedish and French, in Spain. British, in England – as long as I never opened my mouth. (Actually, I met one guy from Yorkshire who insisted I talked like I was from southern England, but he was drunk out of his mind and probably not very bright to begin with.) French people, on the other hand, seem to know I’m American by instinct.
Male, on these boards, but surprisingly rarely.
A middle school student – when I was actually a 22-year-old volunteer tutor.
A college freshman, two days ago. I’m a 24-year-old PhD student.
One of these days I suppose I’ll find the age thing flattering – but not for a long time. On the other hand, rightly or wrongly I’m extremely flattered when Europeans mistake me for one of their own.
My wife told me after we were married that when I first asked her out, she was really surprised. We knew each other for about a year before I asked her out, and all that time she assumed I was gay.
I’m told I look a lot like Gillian Anderson by some friends and family members. I don’t see it.
I’ve also received faxes addressed to Dr. Jennison or Nurse Mishell. I guess I must seem rather authoritative on the phone.
Then, there was the time I answered the phone, and this doctor needed to have one of his patients be seen in the department I used to work in. So, he starts rambling on about her left ventricle and all this, and he’s going really fast, and I’m trying to jot it all down, and finally I say, “can you slow down a bit? I’m trying to get this all down for the doctor,” and he says, “Oh, you’re not a doctor?”
Just wait, once I really am a doctor, everyone will think I’m a secretary.
I got a phone call once, when I was still living with my parents, from a woman who was surprisingly cheerful about informing me that she was suing me. It was supposedly over some car accident that I had caused and she had been involved in-- thing was, it wasn’t me, it was some other person with the exact same name.
What makes it kind of funny is, I didn’t have a license then, and I don’t now. I’d barely driven outside of practice sessions in parking lots, let alone causing a lawsuit. I have absolutely no idea how she got my number instead of the person she meant to reach, but her cheerfulness wore off right quick when I made it clear I had no clue what she was talking about. In retrospect, I think she was torn between believing me, and fearing that I was lying to her. At that point I invoked one of the main privileges of still living at home, and handed her off to my dad, who told her to piss off. Though not in those words.
I’ve often been mistaken for being Mexican.I find it highly amusing. I guess when I get better at speaking Spanish, I can really screw with the heads of people who don’t speak it. I’m thinking my looks and Spanish speaking ability might come in handy in France if I go, because then i won’t look or sound “American”, unless they have an innate ability to sniff out Americans.
Other than that i haven’t been mistaken for any ethnicity or person.
At the McDonalds drive through this older lady starts yaking away.
Her “How are the kids?”
Me “I don’t have kids.”
Her “They sure were cute yesterday all dressed up.”
Me “I don’t have kids.”
Her “I just saw you yesterday with them.”
Me “I don’t have kids!”
At McDonalds at the counter, same lady that I now don’t like starts up really loud, with people all around.
Her “How are the kids?”
Me “I told you two days ago I don’t have kids!”
Her “They were all dressed up in customs.”
Me spoken slowly and very loadly “Listen lady I DON’T HAVE KIDS!”
Her “It must be somebody else then.”
I didn’t go back to that place for at least six months.
After having lunch with my friend Karen (who’s Jewish) and meeting her 13 YO daughter for the first time, apparently the following conversation ensued between the two of them:
Becky: “Mom, is Barb Jewish?”
Karen: “No, why do you ask?”
Becky: “Well, she has dark curly hair and she’s loud.”
Ok, let’s start in the early years:
-"Are you an Eskimo?"
-"Are you Chinese?"
Moving on to late grade school (about 5th grade):
-[from a new person at the school]"Are you a Junior?"
-[from a person who had been there a few years, yet didn’t recognise me]** Are you a senior? Did you just transfer here?"**
Middle school years:
-“You look an awful lot like Claire Danes.” [“Thanks, I think she’s really ugly.”]
-“You sound like Romy from Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion.” [“I really appreciate the fact that you compare me to a character that’s a big moron.”]
-“You remind me of Daria.” [“Thanks, don’t you just love my sunny outlook on life?”]
-“Are you a dyke?” [“Um, no, but thanks for asking so politely.” :rolleyes:]
High school years[up to present]:
-“You look really foreign. You know, kinda European.”
-“You sound like Daria.” [Gee, thanks. That one’s getting old."]
-“You look Spanish.” [“Riiiiight.”]
-[I heard this from a friend who was asked this after an acquaintance of his met me.]“Is she a dyke?” [His reaction: :eek: “What the fuck? Where did you get that idea?” I still have no clue if I’m throwing a “lesbian vibe.”]
The first play that I was in was Midsummer Night’s Dream. I played Snug the joiner, a traditionally male role. (Well… all Shakespeare roles were traditionally male… but you know what I mean.) I wore baggy clothing, changed my walk, and put up my hair. People though I was a guy… even my mom, for a few minutes.
I’ve also been mistaken as Irish and English. Also as a resident of anywhere but where I live, mostly because I don’t have a Delaware accent.
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