The thing is about "clocking", at least on appearance alone, is that biological sex is holistic, which means sexually dimorphic traits are general.

Sex appropriators want to complain that you can't tell what sex someone is, there's no traits that can make you tell that someone's a man, women can have noticeable adam's apples, women can have big hands, women can have narrow hips, but the thing is about that is that sex is HOLISTIC. It's the entire, general person that is sexed, which can sometimes make sexing someone when they are clothed more difficult than we'd like, and this is important lest we accidentally reinforce sex roles. Maybe we can train dogs to sniff out men if we want to keep them out of a women's land.

Often, a part of sex appropriation ideology is that "people have parts" , when people are wholes that are at one with their parts, this is why those people "lack the capacity to see" biological sex (I don't think they actually lack that capacity, but their ideology says they do).

Sex appropriation ideology says that sexually dimorphic traits are actually a bunch of parts that can come in any arrangment, which is why they say stuff like "but women can have beards" - their ideology literally rejects the notion that being female is a whole thing and insists that it's a label that we've asigned to an arbitrary arrangments of potatohead parts.

My overall point is to be a little bit beware of picking up on isolated parts.

There’s no “magic formula” for clocking TIMs because what makes them clockable is not always the same thing. Some are laughably obvious, others require the ability to pick up on a few different subtle indicators.

For example, I saw a TIM at my local grocery store a few months ago. He was bagging my items. He wasn’t a total gigahon or an obvious fetishist trying to be an anime catgirl. He was, shockingly, normally dressed and even a little bit ‘pretty’. His voice passed fairly well. I suspect he could have been a minor when he first transitioned, possibly even been on puberty blockers for a little while.

What gave him away were three things: the first two were being over 6 feet tall and so skinny that his male skeletal frame was unmistakable. The third was he began glaring at me awkwardly, like he knew that I had clocked him in my head and he was upset about it. If I had merely been suspicious before then, his obvious insecurity removed all doubt.

For me it is three things, two obvious one vibes.

1. Greasy hair. I am not sure why but most TIMs and almost all to become TIMs are man with bad mantained long greasy hair. I just dont get it at all because most men with even longer hair (like metalheads or even just femboys) dont give that vibe at all and have it better maintained.

2. Brow ridge. Just look at their profile, if the brow ridge is protuding probably a man. Few women have this (maybe some germanic ones, but still you can sense their femaleness in other aspects like in the eyes).

3. They have bad posture and like a bad selfposessed energy. Its like they ooze shame and awkardeness of being too aware of themselves. This is harder to explain but I just notice it.

The good thing is

For the most part, and certainly there’s exceptions

The most physically dangerous TIMs are the most obvious

When you can’t tell if someone is an edgy older woman, or a pathetic old TIM, less physical risk

Nobody likes being perved on

But assessing who can overpower me works for my personal purposes

I think some of them do pass in almost every way, but facial expression is a big one for me. They so rarely smile like a woman. You know how most women automatically smile at each other when they make eye contact, and it’s a real smile (at least in the US, and not always in big cities or in certain parts of the country, but even in those places, women will usually react to a smile, or at least their faces will sort of soften)? I’ve noticed that TIMs don’t do that. Men do not smile at each other in the same way that women do, and that carries over into their “transition.”

And furthermore, I’m not worried about giving this away to the lurkers here, because I’ve noticed that some of them are actually aware of this, and they try to do the automátic smiling thing and they always fail. They just can’t pull it off, because they know it’s a lie and it makes them extremely uncomfortable.

Hips, jaw, and voice will never lie. Hips are the biggest one tbh. Even with a BBL, bone structure will NEVER CHANGE and male vs female femurs are structurally different - the angle to which the femur connects to the body is completely different in females. Once you notice it, it’s honestly hard not to notice

Edit to add inb4 TIMs get insecure about their femur angles 🤣 sorry TIMs

Voice and face, honestly. These are HARD to fake in real life, where it's easy to see things like stubble caked in makeup, or hear their "girly" voice drop in and out.

Also -- skinny legs with big feet. Women have a curvier shape to their legs, even thin women, and we tend to have much smaller feet. Stick straight legs with large feet is a huge giveaway for me.

But to be honest, I think the ones that pass well in person are SO RARE you're unlikely to meet many. I've met some very young and cute TIMs that I'm sure pass in photos or online, that are still just clearly not women in person.

I don't believe there's a "most reliable" way. Imo it's usually glaringly obvious and everyone else I give the benefit of the doubt bc I'd rather mistakenly not clock a tim than hurt a masculine woman's feelings

Outside of a medical context or actual current illness, a face mask.

I’m not trying to say that masking was ever a stupid idea. Just that continuing to wear them in the lowest threat scenarios (walking outside in a relatively low population area for example) is a tell that maybe a person benefits from hiding their facial features, enjoyed higher passability during the pandemic, and would like to continue to hide the lower half of their face.

You'd just know. Its like asking to name the difference between a cow and a buffalo. Hard to put into words, but you'd know when you see one.

I know this is a rather rude subject but it is unfortunately necessary to understand in the city I live in (Baltimore): what's the most reliable way of clocking a TIM?

It isn't. Rude men are the reason you have to make threads like this.

I don't have much to add that hasn't been covered.

Our different hips and pelvic area change the way we walk and sit. It's really noticeable. "Manspreading" is genuinely natural. Women's knees usually sit closer together for the same reason.

Curiously, TIMs never adopt the aesthetic of short-haired, makeup-free women because the raw data gives them away. So men usually try to overpower features or hide them, like their creepy teen girl voice. Makeup and accessories enhance feminine features, but on men, it highlights their masculinity. Lipstick draws attention to a masculine jaw and thinner lips.

Women's clothes are built to enhance natural physical features (sorry about the little pockets). Men don't really have the build the clothes are designed for. It looks jarring to me. A shoulder-revealing dress on a woman is appealing, but a man, not so much. "Those are clearly a broad's shoulders" vs. "Christ, he's broad-shouldered!"

AGP's have stereotypes and social signals for "female" cranked up to 10. The message comes across to me like a booming, "DEFINITELY NOT A MAN, HON!" even when going for subtle. They're less likely to have shaped or plucked eyebrows if they don't "live authentically full-time as a woman."

Despite what they say, we're actually incredibly reliable at instantly telling someone's sex. Not infallible, but like 98% and within milliseconds. The propagation of a species is reliant on such skills. Any binary sexed species must develop a way to readily tell the members apart. It's been part of our evolution for hundreds of millions of years and even early hominids had no trouble. We've been developing this ability for so long that it runs in the background without us knowing.

This movement has tried hammering into your head that you can't trust your own eyes. But it's not just our eyes we're using to scan specific features. We subconsciously determine sex through subtle cues like micro-expressions, gait patterns, posture, gaze behavior, vocal nuances, pheromones, muscular tension, etc. Our brain takes these into account and triggers alarm bells when something's up.

"I can tell he's a man because that's obviously a damn man!" actually is compelling and reliable reasoning. No need to explain further. That's the trade-off from being so damn good at telling who is who. We also don't need to think about ducking down when a car backfires or a gun goes off. We just immediately do. These are instincts designed to keep us safe without the need to consciously enable them. We don't need to explain why to have confidence in their efficacy. Don't let them convince you that identifying a man isn't one of your powers. It is, even if you can't quite put your finger on any one specific reason.

That's why it's so offensively evil to gaslight women and children into believing they can't rely on their senses. You can. A man in a wig does not a woman make and I think it's extremely rare that a male genuinely "passes" and sneaks one past you. It's so awful that a thread like this exists.

Edit: Here are clear differences in movement with a few solid comments on the details. Without even seeing his face, he stands like a man; narrow hips and moves so awkwardly. He walks like a T-rex in his heels and carries the purse like a football. If real, I can't believe there's a market for this.

It's really easy for me to crack jokes on how out-of-place these men look, but I need to remind myself that they aren't joking. Whether it's the fetish overriding his dignity or some other social issue, these men have something wrong with them. I think years of "man in dress = LOL!" in movies/TV have desensitized me because it's always presented as humiliating for the man. It's reassuring to everyone, he doesn't like it and wants these clothes off. These men aren't embarrassed, though. And seem to think womanhood is heels and a dress with a performative act. I read a comment recently about the trans-widows and apparently these men are often very sexually violent to them. Those realities don't come up as often as a joke about their awkwardness. I don't think I can/will laugh at these men again or contribute to such an oversight on SM. It's downplaying what's actually driving this and the risks involved. I see so many videos mocking them on X for laughs, but that's it. I need to remember there are real victims because of these men. They are dangerous. Damn. Sorry, typing this out for myself.

Overly nice even to women that your typical man wouldn't speak to.

They all are to me, but even the TIMs that aren't immediately clockable always give themselves away by being a little too nice and "bubbly" towards me.

I think I have a grungy look and vibe (and honestly a kinda strong, some would say masculine face) short hair, ect.

And of course since all males think women they don't wanna fuck are being ugly at them, TIMs think the way I look naturally, (like my curly hair and cheekbones and deep brows) are actually a carefully curated "FUCK YOU" to men that I step out of the house and do on purpose every day to stick it to the patriarchy. It's literally just my hair isn't straight, which of course is enough to disgust and offend your average score into treating me like a dumpster.

So of course TIMs drool at me like Labrador puppies thinking that a menstruator as ugly and disobedient as me gives them the honorary "HEY PUSSY POP SLAY QUEEN YAS MAMA WORK HERE'S MY NUMBER MUSCLE MOMMY!" thing, that means they somehow aren't a male. They also want to appropriate this particular vibe and style but of course they can't. If a TIM dressed and acted like how I'm inclined to, he'd just look like a damn regular man.

I've clocked several that would have otherwise flown under my radar because they're fucking annoying and overly friendly and familiar. Always fucking vibe checking me - and getting their feelings hurt of course. Staring at me, grinning, announcing that they're trans after not receiving warmth or a compliment.

Like if you want me to think you're a woman, look me up and down with disgust and give me the silent treatment on sight 😂😂 PLEASE

Also, you realize if you're not immediately friendly and pussy slay queen with them they'll tell you they're trans, expectantly, right??

We have a new TIM at work and his Adam's apple and voice are what give it away - if he didn't have those it's possible that I may not have been able to tell, although he has that horrible incel/4chan energy going that is so signature to heterosexual TIMs, which would have made me side eye him regardless.

The movement and walk are generally giveaways. You can filter pictures all day, but hip angles change the rhythm of one’s gait in a way that’s challenging to fake. The men in skirts plod around, oblivious to how absurd their walking is.

I’m convinced women are fundamentally better at clocking for evolutionary reasons. All the more reason we notice and are shocked by infiltration. Whereas I think many men just don’t perceive the TIMs in their midst.

Hips. Those hips can't birth no babies. Which leads to the walk, or gait.

Sometimes the men who have been on cross-hormones since they were teens and have lived an unhealthy lifestyle can look like a squarish, barrel chested woman... but often you will see tells in their behavior, mannerisms, style of speech, and attire. Sometimes the quickness with which someone will make a gesture (not sure if it's their fast twitch muscle fibers) can signal "male" to me. The way they move their face can indicate "male" (many women have learned to be aware of how their face looks at all angles; whereas men feel entitled to make all sorts of ugly expressions). How what they say to me seems awkward and off-putting unlike any woman I encounter (for example, there is a young, blocky TiM who works at the local Walgreens near me and every time I check out he says "safe travels" as I leave, as though I am on a road trip... and his tone makes him sound like a hateful incel even while he is saying something supposedly "nice").

Gait, Adam's apple, brow ridge, wrists and hands, hip to shoulder ratio, how "hulking" they seem, whether they look like they could snap your neck like a twig...

The Adam’s Apple lol.

I do have a more pronounced bump there cause I have thyroid disease lol but it’s still less noticeable than any man’s

The gait as well is a giveaway. All women have a feminine way of walking just cause of our anatomy. We sway our hips, men don’t

Skinny legs! Males tend to have leaner, skinnier legs with defined musculature. It's very rare to find a moid who isn't overweight with thick thighs. Some do, like F1nsters ex, but most have chicken legs. Not like a drumstick, but thin all over.

Face and eyes. I’m yet to meet someone or see someone online who I haven’t correctly sexed by looking at their face and eyes. You just get a gut instinct for whether they’re male or female.

Edit to say by eyes I mean like if you look at their upper face - across the brows etc.

I think men have larger hands than women even if they're the same height.

Specifically WIDER hands. Men have 60% wider hands than Women of comparable height on average—the second-largest such difference anywhere on the body (only biceps circumference is even more disparate; men's biceps are 70% bigger on average).

​

Also there's no surgery or meds besides maybe puberty blockers that will get a male small hands,

The opposite, actually. The pubertal rush of testosterone is the main factor in cutting off boys' height and limb growth, so, puberty blockers—by delaying or preempting that testosterone surge—make them grow taller than they would otherwise, with even longer arms and legs and bigger hands and feet than they would have had with a normal puberty.
Their final adult proportions tend to be a lot like those of men with Marfan's syndrome (an image search is probably worth 1000 words here if You aren't familiar). For a real-world case, check out recent photos—or, if You can find them, videos—of German "slut pop" singer Kim Petras, who was neutered as a "trans teen" and is now in his early 30s.

I usually look at the forehead in profile; women's foreheads tend to be rounder while men's tend to go straight up and down. Other than that, if they have the stereotypical speech patterns and/or gait of a gay male, that tends to also give it away.

Long mid-face! Start looking a bunch of men's and women's faces and you'll notice that the space between the bottom of the eye to the top of lip is noticeably longer in men.

the angle of the jaw to the ear:

Women have a wider angle measuring the jaw to the ear, men have a shorter, more 45 degree angle.

hands and feet are other good indicators

Body shape

I used to filter for height on dating apps as there comes a certain point where only very low percentages of women are over a particular height (e.g. where I live and worldwide, there are almost no women over 6ft). But seeing them in person, it's even just the way that they move that triggers my spidey senses most of the time, including with TIFs on testosterone.

I my opinion, secondary sexual characteristics are not always so easy to clock, I have not always been sure if the person I am walking past is a man or a woman, becuase they look androgynous.

This thread is descending into phrenology bullshit. Angle of the jaw?? Hip to shoulder ratio?? Thats the same as saying you can tell criminals by the shape of their head. The sad fact is you cant always tell and you'll only make yourself miserable and bitter if you try to investigate every GNC woman. If the person behaves inappropriately, call them out for their behaviour.