The Odd Fellows

According to recent ABC News, a Colorado (United States) man was admitted to the hospital for a kidney stone but got more surprising news about his condition than he bargained for. Test results showed that he was a combination of a man and a woman.

Steve Crecelius said he had always felt different about himself since he was a kid even though he currently has a wife and 6 children. Now, his wife of 25 years has not only accepted his double-gender situation but also has taken him to buy his first bra. His condition is described as intersex or hermaphroditism, a term used to describe individuals with male genitals along with female fallopian tubes and ovaries.

At least Steve Crecelius's situation is natural, not man-made. This is not the case with some men who unwittingly create confusions as to which gender they belong.

A few years ago, I was in a grocery store where I got stuck on a long check-out line because the "woman" in front of me kept yapping on a cell phone in one spot instead of moving forward as the line progressed. As there was a long line of customers behind me and I could not bear it any more I moved closer to "her" to say; "Excuse me ma'am, can you please move forward?"

In an instant reaction, "he" turned around angrily to confront me, "Did you just address me as ma'am?"

Even though I was surprised to hear this feminine-looking person proclaim "himself" a man, I apologized.

He did comply with my request to move forward but he was still fuming.

"Darn...do I look like a woman to you?"

I wish I could say yes but that would have aggravated the situation. Some minutes afterwards, as I finished making my payment and went outside toward my car, the woman who was right behind me in the store walked toward me.

"You know what?" she stated in disgust. "I could have sworn that guy was a woman..."

I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly although I was happy to find an ally. And all the way home, my mind flashed back to the man's physical features as he stood in front of me at the store. From his back-view, the image he projected and which I saw was that of a woman with flamboyantly-braided hair, dangling ear-rings and a rotund body. His voice was high-pitched while he wore a pair of jeans and a unisex top that looked like a female blouse to me. It was a classic case of a man who was all feminine by choice, not by Mother nature. Yet, he was upset when addressed with the word "ma,am".

Why can't some guys just make up their minds on what gender they want to project to other people. Do they want to be seen as men or women? I was not really surprised to learn later that out there, in the inner cities, are some guys whose bedrooms contain make-up (cosmetics) boxes and female hair accessories. I also gathered that such men would spend hours standing before mirrors when preparing to go out. Worse, when going to bed at night or whenever, they take time wrapping some cloths around their heads, just like women. Yet, they are supposed to be men! Some odd fellows!