August 19, 2003 3:59 PM BST
Claire--
You have not "gone wrong"...unless you want to...! (Like Mae West once said: "I used to be Snow White...then I drifted.")
Children of that age are very perceptive, and also can be very cruel without knowing it. Let's be frank (oh, alright...you can be Francine if you want!)--kids know what "Moms" look like. Very few of us, no matter how good we look, are ever going to have that "Mom" look. Hence they read you faster than a comic book.
Adults, on the other hand, tend to not notice things as much, as we are usually preoccupied with our own little world. The world to a child is still so shiny and new, not old stuff like it is to you and I. Hence we pass much easier as adults, because if we see someone who looks mostly femme, we expect them to be a woman. (That's why shaving and good makeup is so important!)
I'd not be too worried about this episode--just chalk it up to kids being kids.
Now, about the voice thing...that can be rectified...sort of. On my website is a link to Melanie Phillip's site--where she sells a great disk for some help with voice. I have it, I've used it, with
some success. My website:
http://ladyjayne83.tripod.com/id37.htm and look for the link to "Heartcorps."
Luv 'n hugs,
(Dr.) Jayne Sakura
"Almost-Angel, T-Girl Genius, and Ultra-Flirt"
August 20, 2003 1:40 AM BST
Some people (especially children) can read any tranny; no one will pass 100% of the time. Recently, a child came up to a friend of mine (a post-op TS who passes extremely well) and asked, quite innocently, if she was a man. It is nothing to worry about.
I used a different tactic on the voice - I coughed up the money and saw a professional speech therapist. It took some time to lay the groundwork, but now I am hearing results and I am quite happy with the progress I have made. But I am working towards becoming a woman full-time, so the investment is worth it to me. The voice was my biggest passability problem; now, it seldom gets in the way.
Heather H.