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Hi Bryn!?? I recently cut my hair (it used to be really long) into a pixie cut. I thought it looked pretty cute but apparently, I look like a boy now because of my short hair (I am definitely a girl). A lot of people think so and call me a boy. Some people are just plain rude about it but others are genuinely confused, but either way I end up awkwardly standing there as my parent explains that I just have short hair. Every time this happens I wish I had something to say back, a badass response for the rude people and a subtle way to correct the confused people… any ideas?

Hi Short haired girl,

You are the third girl in a week who emailed asking what to say when people get your gender wrong. Yup, girls certainly don’t appreciate being mistaken for a boy.

Most of the time people don’t mean to be insulting when they assume that a person is the incorrect gender. We are socialized with stereotypes from a young age, boys have short hair and girls have long hair and like to wear pink.

People in customer service roles usually don’t have time to look closely at the person they are helping, they are too busy trying to do their job and get through the day. When someone finds out that they find out they’ve insulted you and called you the wrong gender they are usually horrified, and in some cases afraid they may get in trouble at work.

Whatever the case, here are a few things that you can say next time someone gets your gender mixed up.

Wishing you all good things.

Bryn

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