definite difference in me over the last year or so. She only sees us a
couple of times a year so to her the change would be more noticeable
than to someone who sees me regularly. She commented that I appear to me
"more gay" than I used to be. I can see how she would say this. What she
is seeing is the more feminine mannerisms that have crept into my every
day way of functioning.
Some examples that I can think of are that I no longer slouch like guys
usually do. Most guys have really lousy posture. When I sit now, I do
sit up straighter, my back doesn't always rest heavily into the chair
back, and my shoulders are back and down more than they used to be. By
comparison, most guys sit hunched over, shoulders forward and a bit
higher. Guys also sit back heavily into a chair, with their butt away
from the back of the chair causing their spine to curve. Women tend to
sit with their butt against the back of th seat and their shoulder
blades touching the chair back. If their butt isn't touching the chair
back, neither do their shoulders or back. I definitely have started
sitting with a better posture, much closer to that of a woman.
Guys also tend to sit with their legs far apart and may lean forward
with their elbows on their knees. Girls sit with their legs much closer
together, putting their feet to one side or the other rather than far
apart. This lowers the height of their knees and is a learned response
to wearing higher heels. Women will also lean on their forearms rather
than elbows if they do lean forward. When I sit, I will keep my legs
together and shift my feet to one side or the other without thinking
about it.
When a woman sits at the dinner table she will sit back a little further
from the table and rest her arms on the forearms if she puts them on the
table at all. Guys, on the other hand, will think nothing of leaning
forward on their elbows at the dinner table. I don't rest on my elbows
anywhere near as often as I used to, and when I do find myself doing it,
I tend to correct my posture without thinking about it.
When a guy rests his hands, he will naturally ball them into a fist.
Some theories I have read say this is related to the traditional male
role of protector. Males are ready to fight on a moments notice. Through
evolution, male hands have developed shorted tendons (or whatever it is)
that causes them to naturally curve when relaxed. Women's hands on the
other hand have not evolved in this manner and so a woman's natural
resting state for her hands is a more straightened finger. When a woman
rests her hands, they will tend to sit with the fingers more straight,
nails facing out where a male will have his nails against his body,
table, etc. I find myself balling my hands up quite a bit, as is natural
to do. When this happens. I now relax them and straighten the fingers...
again without really consciously thinking about it.
When I walk, I now keep my legs under me, closer to centerline. This is
definitely closer to a woman's walk and is a direct result of wearing
heels more often. Most guys walk in a manner that I can only describe as
Neanderthal. They walk in a much longer stride than women (which I still
do in lower or flat shoes). Men also walk with their legs much further
apart than women do. Most likely this has to do with having to be ready
to fight on a moment's notice. Women also swing their arms much less
than men do and their arms are much more relaxed. There is no question
that many feminine qualities have snuck in to my male presentation when
i walk. Another feature of a woman's walk is she tends to glide more
where a male will bounce more as they walk.
Men have much stiffer wrists when they gesture as well where women will
relax the wrists, allowing the hands to move much more. This is
definitely associated with the stereotypical "gay" male. Men also cross
their arms when they stand or sit quite a bit. Women will not do this
very often, instead they will relax their arms, setting their hands in
their lap when sitting or letting their arms rest at their sides.
I think it is kind of funny. I may actually have to re-learn to look
"male" when in guy mode....
No comments:
Post a Comment