If K.D. Lang never came out of the closet, will you think that she is straight? In the first place, why are we suspecting her sexual identity? Is it because of her short hair and her manly mannerism? If so, a man who keeps long hair and behaves gently must be gay. Such stereotyping is not an absolute indication of a person's sexuality. By such a generalisation, are we sure that there is no regular looking men and women among us who could possibly be living in brokeback mountain? Today, I learned that this is untrue.
It is my 3rd day working part-time at the departure hall of Changi Airport. Naturally, a lot of Caucasians walked into the store where I work in. After serving a customer (at the back of the store), I saw an athletic looking, white guy standing at the entrance. As I got nearer, I couldn't confirm if he is a man or a woman because he has a soft feature but yet his androgynous look made me think twice about confirming his gender. He towers at about 176cm (5 ft 7") and his hair is boyishly short. He wore a sweater and I couldn't see if he has chest or breasts. I thought the safest way not to offend a customer was simply to say 'hi' without its appendages 'sir' or 'ma'am'. Briefly, this is our conversation:
"Hi, how can I help you?" I asked casually.
"I'm just looking." he replied suavely, I mean, she replied suavely. He is a she. She stood majestically and didn't nudge her body at all while talking to me.
"Why don't you come on in and take a look at other stuff?"
"Oh no, I'm waiting for my boyfriend."
Shit. He, whom I thought was a he turned out to be a 'she', and whom I later thought was a lesbian turned out to be straight. The revelation one after another was so unexpected. An interesting person requires an interesting question. So I boldly told her:
"I thought you are interested in my product because you keep looking at them."
"Oh, because I do a lot of sports and I have used your product before."
"What sports do you play?"
"I swim, ski, cycle and I play tennis and basketball..."
Her explaination made me so ashamed of my generalisation. Instantly, I linked the reason for her short hair to the sports she plays.
"You are so tall. Your boyfriend must be very tall."
"About this tall." she showed me his height by levelling her palm above her head. From the distance apart, he must be at least 10cm taller than her.
"so where are you from?"
"Germany."
Regrettably, our conversation had to end there because another customer needed help. Otherwise, I might have the chance to continue the chat till her boyfriend returned. I greeted her a pleasant flight home and left her.
She is the most memorable girl I have met in my life. If I were a lesbian, I could be infactuated by her. If I were straight, I will like her too. Being womanly in her special way, she stands out among all the babes.
Perhaps, there is a reason for her to stand outside my store and a reason that I approached her. I will never judge a person's sexuality from the outside again. Next time, I will keep an open mind when I talk to a slim guy with long hair who behaves gently. He may tell me that he is waiting for his girlfriend.
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