Have you ever mistaken a man for a woman or vice versa?

@ersmommy1 (12588)
United States
October 11, 2008 2:17pm CST
Going through the line at the grocery store or bank said excuse me sir. Only to realize when they turn around that it is a lady? Oops. How do you handle a situation like that? Do you end up feeling bad or embarrassed? Going back a few years on SNL: It's PAT must have been based on a few experiences like that.
3 people like this
11 responses
• Philippines
12 Oct 08
Yeah , and sorry for those that i mistakenly thought a SHE or a HE. Well what can i do sometimes they really resembles what i think of them . Funny because a SHE can really be so masculine in the outside plus the looks and a HE also can be so feminine. You know sometimes i do that a lot in the phone and they will correct me " mam but i am a she not a he
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
12 Oct 08
Yes. I have done that a few times before. It was very embarrassing for me too but I had no clue. Some women look like men these days and some men look like women because they choose too. I felt bad but it really was a mistake.
1 person likes this
@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
28 Feb 09
Yes I have from behind or the side only never face to face. But I usually just say excuse me, so that helps keep out if embarrassing situations like you suggested. It has been awhile since I have thought about Pat on the SNL show. I bet Pat was made up because of experiences such as these.
• Romania
11 Oct 08
I many times confused men as a women or the way around. Moslty it happens when i'm talking with somone else so the person who I've mistaken his her gender won't know, but sometimes it did happen to me. Either i apologize and explain why i confused it (sometimes I invent something if the truth is too hars) or i just make an idiotic face (to make that person laugh) and walk away). Mostly those persons find it very funny but their are who don't so it's better to choose fast a tactic to repair it.
1 person likes this
• United States
13 Oct 08
Hrm.. I think that I have gotten cat-calls while walking down the street. It was hilarious. In college, the girls liked me to have my hair long so they could run their fingers through it. I have also been told by others than I have a nice butt. So, apparently, someone driving up from behind me saw my butt, my hair, and made an assumption. (Unfortunately for them, I don't tend to shave so their error must have been embarrassingly apparently as they drove past.) I now wear my hair short as I have to work in a professional environment. Thankfully, no one seems to think I'm feminine anymore. :)
• Philippines
12 Oct 08
yeah, but not because of the looks but the voice. lol. in our class, some students were reporting and i was making my assignment so i wasn't looking at the reporters. my guy friend asked me if whether the reporter was a guy or a girl and i told him that obviously, it's a girl. he laughed out loud and to my surprise the reporter was a guy with a high-pitched voice. he stared at me and i was like so nervous. lol. i pinched my guy friend.
1 person likes this
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
11 Oct 08
That 'Pat' segment on SNL was so funny back then. I never did figure out if it was a he or a she lol. A few years ago I went to this party and there was this nice friendly person there, but I just couldn't figure out if it was a man or a woman. I even spent time talking about common interests of the hosts with this person. Turned out it was a woman. You'd never know it from the haircut, clothing, or the voice. I didn't feel bad or embarrassed, there just wasn't a normal clue to go by, so I kept conversations not gender-specific....if you know what I mean. When I meet somebody like that where it's impossible to figure out, I don't add 'maam or sir' I would just be friendly, say 'excuse me', and let it go at that.
@MH4444 (2161)
• United States
12 Oct 08
I have and it is very embarrassing. Sometimes the people are cool about it. sometimes they aren't. It isn't really your fault as it can happen. No issue there.
• United States
12 Oct 08
I saw a man and it turned out to be a woman. The woman did look like a man the way she was wearing.
@sk66rc (4250)
• United States
12 Oct 08
Few times I've been mistaken for a female. I guess it was because I had long hair. I even had a guy stop & get out of the bathroom because he tought he was walking into a woman's bathroom when he walked in & saw me. I thought it was sortta funny. I've been called "miss" few times.
@pillsen (69)
• Romania
12 Oct 08
wow it happend to me once in a bus. i mistaken a girl with a man, almost got punched in the face for grabbin him lol what emabarrasing moment. kinda funnt though