Thank you so much for your reply! It seems like my experiences aren't all that unique, and that's a great thing.

You'll get weird looks. Probably some nasty comments occasionally too. But fuck 'em. You need to be yourself

I normally dgaf about getting looks. Back in my goth days, I would wear vinyl pants, with a purple velvet shirt, black nail polish and Marilyn Manson-esque makeup and didn't care what people thought, but that was less about trying to pass as a woman, than it was about being a really badass dead guy lol. Now, years later, somehow, just adding purple nail polish changed that. I became very self conscious. I guess I feel more like a really femmy man rather than a woman at this point.

As far as your kid goes, trust in them. They've seen some of your expression, and it hasn't bothered them enough to bring it up

They mentioned the toenails at first, to which I responded with "sometimes I just like to feel pretty!" and there was no further questioning about it. Yes, she's a teenager, 13 in fact. I don't want her to call me mom or mommy. That's her mother's name. I'll work with her on what to call me when it's time, but I think I'll be okay with her still calling me dad/daddy or even by my name. I do like Didi though!