A cardinal sin

The friends and acquaintances I have made particularly over the last few years don't know I am transgender. 

I have thought a lot about this; their ages, whether it's relevant that they know, etc. 

If someone were to point blank ask me I would tell them but I keep things as they are unless confronted. 

This could easily all play into impostor syndrome where you can feel like you are a fraud. However, since I am always myself I come off as genuine to them. 

I feel that they are interested in the kind of person I am rather than my gender which they do not question. 

Yesterday I met Angela for coffee who I have known for years. She used to work at the jewelry department at The Bay and we would banter when I visited the store. At 60 she is in-between jobs and the conversation is not much different were I conversing with a male. 

There are some differences but only around the periphery of what is not important. At one point she asks what lipstick brand I am wearing. 

Gender was so engrained in us from birth (particularly among those of us who are older) that escaping its clutches became difficult. We had to perform it to perfection lest we committed some cardinal sin.