Tao

TAO

**Appearance**

Tao has been blessed with a somewhat generic appearance and look that can be seen as either perceived male, or authentic female, depending on their Gender Expression and the style of their personal grooming. Tao has a rounded face, but with full cheeks that stand out slightly, and a slightly pointed chin. One great advantage is that Tao has huge, anime and manga girl's eyes, a real rarity for a perceived male. Her eyes are a milk chocolate brown, with thick eyelashes (that can be groomed with mascara), but with thin eyebrows. She seems to be always slightly blushing, but that only adds to her cuteness. Her hair is such that she has thin, spiky bangs across her forehead, and longer bangs in back that drop down to her neck, like a girl's hairstyle. Her hair is of a dark chocolate coloration, with dark pink highlights. Her skin is surprisingly pale for a perceived male, creamy and even all over, giving her a healthy feminine appearance.Tao has narrow shoulders, long, thin arms, and average sized hands. Her chest is flat, as a perceived male would be. She has a trim waist, narrow hips, long, lean legs, and average sized feet.

Tao, after doing her private, internal 'coming out', declaring to herself that she is a girl, is shown wearing only one female outfit, a pretty dress. It is a fancy dress with two spaghetti straps looping over the shoulders. A wideband of lace encircles the top of the dress, wrapping around and covering the bust area. A small brown bow adorns the center of the lace band, between the two boobs. The dress is gathered at the waist, then flares out toward the hemline, finishing with a lower tier of wide pleated panels around the hem. The hemline is short, falling at mid-thigh, obviously above the knee. The lace is of a cream color, whereas the rest of the dress is of a pale reddish brown coloration, giving it a pleasing, but mysterious look. It is the dress that she will wear, at a baseball game, as the first time that she is presenting herself to others out in public as an attractive teenage girl.

**Personality and Circumstances**

Tao was shown as their correct Gender Identity of female only in the last couple of panels in the short story manga. Here she does a personal 'coming out' as a male to female transgender teen, and wears a pretty dress for the first time. That makes it somewhat of a challenge to describe her personality in detail. The best that can be realized is to infer a few of her personality traits from what she was like, perceived as a male. Even that is not much, given the brevity of the story.

Tao seems to be somewhat of a shy and reserved individual. She does not like to be the 'life of the party', in the baseball club, or at other activities. She can be quite creative and artistic, as seen from her daydreaming during the dressing of the team in cheerleader outfits. However, it might be surmised that Tao has a mild streak of exhibitionism, what with her eagerness to perform as a dancer at the upcoming baseball game that afternoon. Plus, she was honest and forthright, quick to reveal that her heartfelt interests were not actually baseball, but something far more important to her mind, heart, and spirit. This revelation about herself is what she was quick to announce to the team.

Looking at this meager display of personality traits, nevertheless, it seems that Tao has the self-confidence and self-worth to follow through on this beginning of her transition from a 'baseball boy' to that of an attractive, vivacious, happy and contented teenage girl, despite any obstacles or discouragement that may be thrown her way.

**Trivia**

In the Japanese language, the first name "Tao" is masculine, and means one who has embarked on a long, exciting, fulfilling life's journey, or one who comes alive, and lives their life only in the evening.