The error about which I'm speaking is actually not so small, and I made it last weekend when the bf and I ventured to the cinema to see Dark Shadows. (I will see any movie with Johnny Depp. Except that animated lizard one--blech.)
You see, I was walking into the ladies bathroom, and upon entering the entrance hallway to the bathroom, I spied someone waiting just outside the main bathroom area. This person was of medium height, wearing cargo pants and an untucked polo shirt. S/he also had very short gray hair, and to my eye looked like a man. So, to make sure that I hadn't walked into the wrong bathroom, I stopped and quickly craned my head sideways to check the gender placard on the wall. It said "Ladies." Me: Fuuuuuuck! Of course I didn't say that out loud, but I might as well have, since the woman--yes, it was in fact a woman--noticed my actions and said "Yes, it's the ladies room." I apologized vehemently and said, "Oh my I'm so sorry that was horrid," and she responded--somewhat tersely--by saying "It's okay. It happens all the time."
So, wtf? I have a graduate certificate in Women and Gender Studies, I've done research and lots of thinking about gender roles and ambiguity, and still I found myself potentially inflicting pain on someone who didn't (ostensibly) conform to traditional gender roles. I can also promise you that I'm not blind--7 or 8 people out of 10 would've mistaken this lady for a gentleman.
*Has anything like this happened to you? Should I just chalk this up to a silly misunderstanding on my part, or did I truly wrong this woman?
In other news, I made dinner in our new house! It was wild rice with steamed broccoli, adzuki beans, and scrambled eggs. It's no so fancy, but I was really wanting some scrambled eggs and hot sauce, so this did the trick:
I also inhaled some more of the Emerald Sesame Kale from Whole Foods...mmmm:
All that green means I don't have to feel bad about eating more muffin top today...
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