So we were getting on the parking shuttle at the airport....

DizBelle · Jul 7, 2015

We parked our car and were getting on the shuttle to the terminal when another person who just parked their car approaches and gets on the shuttle. The driver needs to know what airline/terminal to take you to so they ask them, "Sir? What airline?"...... no response. The driver says again, "Sir? What airline?.... Sir?"

The person finally responds, "You called me 'Sir' and I just can't respond to that." The driver says "I apologize, ma'am. I am so sorry."

In the driver's defense, this person presented as very masculine. She was tall and broad shouldered with no waist that could be seen at least. Short hair that is a typical men's haircut that was maybe a little longer in the bangs. She was wearing what I would identify as men's jeans and a purple polo shirt that were both loose/baggy. Everything she was wearing would have looked perfectly in place on my DH. Actually, it probably would have looked dumpy on my DH. She didn't have a feminine shape at all. The only way you might identify her as female is if you saw her face which I don't think the driver even saw in the getting on the shuttle and loading her suitcase.

So, I'm wondering, since just about everything she presented to the world was masculine, should she have been so offended that she was referred to as "Sir"? Given her reaction, I would bet that this was not the first time she was referred to as "Sir".

sonnyjane · Jul 7, 2015

I work a job where I have to address strangers frequently and I don't use "sir" or "ma'am" unless it's 100% unmistakable. I've been bitten by that before!

Arielle22 · Jul 7, 2015

Last month I took a tour of Ireland. A woman on the tour dressed very masculine. She was called sir on multiple occasions but she was very laid back and politely corrected them.

IndyRnRfan · Jul 7, 2015

No, she shouldn't have. You don't want to be mistaken for a man then don't dress like one.

BrianL · Jul 7, 2015

It was a simple mistake that I am sure was embarrassing to the driver, but she didn't need to be rude about it. A simple correction, then stating your airline/terminal should suffice (or just ignore it completely and answer the driver). There is no need to hold everyone up over that.

cluvsdisney · Jul 7, 2015

I think she could have corrected the driver the first time he called her sir. She must know that she looked somewhat masculine or at least not feminine. There's no need to be rude when it was clearly an honest mistake.

But this reminds of this situation at Commander's Palace in NOLA. A woman was trapped in the rest room...the door lock jammed and she couldn't open it from the inside. Maintenance was on the case and they were waiting for the other women to vacate the rest room so they can help this lady out. In the mean time, a woman with a similar build and outfit the OP described wanted to use the ladies room. The workers were saying you can't go in there right now and the woman thought they thought she was a man and put her hands to her chest and exclaimed "But I am a woman". The situation was cleared up right after that but we were all hysterical watching this go down.

Squirlz · Jul 7, 2015

There was an incident at a Greektown restaurant recently where a very masculine woman was physically removed from the women's bathroom. She is sueing everyone involved. My hair is longer than my Wife's and naturally curly. I can't tell you how many times we've been addressed as "Ladies" at first glance.

DizBelle · Jul 7, 2015

Squirlz said:
There was an incident at a Greektown restaurant recently where a very masculine woman was physically removed from the women's bathroom. She is sueing everyone involved. My hair is longer than my Wife's and naturally curly. I can't tell you how many times we've been addressed as "Ladies" at first glance.

And are you surprised you are addressed as such?

ronandannette · Jul 7, 2015

Oh, for Pete's sake, in the OP's example why didn't she just say "Delta" (or whatever) and get on with the day... :rolleyes2

minnie mum · Jul 7, 2015

Was her name Pat?

cluvsdisney · Jul 7, 2015

minnie mum said:
Was her name Pat?

Haha!

That was how we referred to the lady in the restaurant.

Pembo · Jul 7, 2015

Reminds me of the movie Blended with Adam Sandler. He dressed his girls in boy clothes and they kept being called boys. Funny in a movie, not so much in real life. I think I'd err on the side of not saying sir or ma'am if I was in the driver's job.

Gumbo4x4 · Jul 7, 2015

Squirlz said:
There was an incident at a Greektown restaurant recently where a very masculine woman was physically removed from the women's bathroom. She is sueing everyone involved. My hair is longer than my Wife's and naturally curly. I can't tell you how many times we've been addressed as "Ladies" at first glance.

When I had long hair, a guy stopped to help me fix a flat. Should have seen the look on his face when he saw my beard.

Squirlz · Jul 7, 2015

DizBelle said:
And are you surprised you are addressed as such?

A bit surprised, mostly amused.

MickeySP · Jul 7, 2015

I would have let her ride around the airport a few times :cool:

georgina · Jul 7, 2015

IndyRnRfan said:
No, she shouldn't have. You don't want to be mistaken for a man then don't dress like one.

Oh my yes, we should all be wearing dresses and heels! Sorry, jeans and a polo shirt are not just men's clothes. I'm not condoning her reaction, but those are unisex clothing items.

Miskey · Jul 7, 2015

Oh for Pete's sake. I've been looking at someone that was clearly a man and accidently said ma'am and vice versa. She need to get the chip off her shoulder.

JoeA · Jul 7, 2015

Classic example of, "get over yourself!". The lady thinks too highly of herself and could have at least been polite.

Gumbo4x4 · Jul 7, 2015

Had a friend who married a much older woman - like 30 years difference. And she actually looked older than she was (thankfully, so did he, but not enough). She would get ALL kinds of huffy if anyone mistook her for his mother instead of wife. I say it comes with the territory.

MickeySP · Jul 7, 2015

georgina said:
Oh my yes, we should all be wearing dresses and heels! Sorry, jeans and a polo shirt are not just men's clothes. I'm not condoning her reaction, but those are unisex clothing items.

From the OPs description it really is clear she was not just in unisex clothing but dressing non-gender specific. We have all seen that in life. So to get huffy when we have to play "boy or girl" is very disingenuous.

So we were getting on the parking shuttle at the airport....

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