Lana Mae, I love your story, it's so affirmative when people call us ladies (whenever I go with my wife) or mom, etc.
I daily work with new respondents. I had never had a experience of refusal for who I am.
Once, while interviewing a white male, one of the questions are obvious answers so I can't make assumptions, and that I explain to all my respondents beginning the interview.
I reach the point to ask him if we was male, female, transgender or other gender. I look at me and said, I'll tell you Devi : God created just males and females, whatever in between is devil's trick.
Interviews sometimes take one hour or more. When I finished, it was night, dark, in a bad neighborhood, so the guy, in his 60's, ask me, Devi, where did you park your car, I answer, just really close, a short walk, he says, I could go with you, this is not a good neighborhood for a lady like you...
Still that, my middle kid still calling me dad when out and about. At the beginning that would bother me, but not longer. I don't longer "read" people's faces, I don't care. It's more the men that turn to look around checking me for being pretty that any that could look me in a weird way....
