Over the years, I have made a lot of presentations at ham radio conferences presenting as a male. Also, I have made a lot of presentations at GLBT conferences presenting as a female.
In both cases, I am always a little nervous beforehand. But once I stand up behind the dais and start talking, my nervousness dissipates and you can’t shut me up. So when I start getting nervous before a presentation, I know that from past experiences that I have nothing to fear, that everything will be fine and knowing that helps to take the edge off my nervousness.
However, when I made a presentation at a ham radio conference presenting as a female for the first time, all bets were off. It was something I had never done before and I did not know how my audience (a lot of conservative older white guys) would react.
Needless to say, I was scared to death. The one saving grace was that my presentation was short (less than five minutes long), so I could get out of Dodge quickly if things got out of hand.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the dais. I completely embraced the fact that I was a feminine being and that whether the audience accepted me or not was their problem, not mine. As a result, my presentation went smoothly and no one seemed to mind my female appearance. (You can view my presentation on YouTube starting at the 6:39 mark.)
In fact, after my talk, a fellow, who I have encountered as a male at almost every ham radio conference I have attended during the past 10 to 15 years, came over to me and asked, “How are you related to <insert my male name>?”
I guess I had nothing to worry about!
Still Out and About Dept.
Encouraging you to femulate out and about among civilians is what this blog is all about. With that in mind, I started the Femulating Out and About slot below, which features photos of girls like us out in public.
If you have a photo of you out and about en femme in public, I would be happy to feature it in the Femulating Out and About slot.
By the way, “out and about” does not mean femulating in your home, your back yard or in a hotel room. Rather, I am looking for photos of girls shopping, dining, partying, sightseeing, etc. – doing things that women do out among the civilian population.
Hopefully, your out and about photos will encourage other girl to go out and about, too.
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| Wearing Zuhair Murad |
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| Nora Simone out and about encounters an admirer |
Nora is a beautiful person and has a very informative and wonderful you tube channel
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing that beautiful story about your first presentation. In what I'm sure was a mix of anxiety and confidence, your confidence won out!
ReplyDeleteTerrie
What impresses me is how I appear in the video: completely confident, not a sign of nervousness. Is that really me??? LOL
DeleteYouTube link did not work
ReplyDeleteFixed it. Thank you for the heads-up.
DeleteHere is the correct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejfdhEhEDvU&t=415s
I shall echo Terrie regarding your public speaking story. That's a powerful one.
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth (and it's not worth much), I went out fully dressed to a trans support group last night for the first time. The first time I've been dressed in semi-public (I drove to the venue dressed, meaning I had to walk from my house to the car and back again dressed too) since 2005. February 2005. I have been walking in a skirt and wedges (2011), skirt and boots (2012) and fully underdressed (2021) but not fully dressed since then and before last night.
Last night was, in no small part, down to your out and about section. Among other factors. Alas, I have no photos to share this time.
Joanna
Congrats, Joanna.
DeleteI've only spoken as Mikki to a relatively small group of Meetup people -- two groups, one of which is CD/TG. But I've spoken to large groups many times. Stana, what you said about audience acceptance was their problem, not mine is universally true. I know the stuff and they don't. All I have to do is impart the information in a way that's clear and keeps them awake. I also make a point of doing my best to look at everyone out there directly (unless the group is too big). Once you're there on the dais it's like jumping into the swimming pool -- I'm more than halfway there, let's get this thing done. I'd love to have the opportunity to have Mikki speak to a completely straight audience. But I doubt anyone would mistake me for my "sister".
ReplyDelete