'I'm trans - I've learnt so much about male body language working at steel mill'
A transgender man has shared what it's like working in a steel mill - a traditionally male-dominated job. TikTok user Leo Macallan posted a near-five minute video on his page explaining just how he dealt with being among blue-collar male workers and observations about them that he noted.
The model, author, and actor explained: "I was born a girl. I transitioned into a man and put on about 200 pounds of f*****g muscle mass. And then I went to work in a steel mill and everyone wanted to know: how did I survive?" He went on to liken himself to a famous British primatologist while in the workplace: "So I was essentially Jane Goodall of the steel mill. I was observing the body language and observing the interactions."
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Leo then advised to how act around a "bunch of men that feel intimidating and uncomfortable and unsafe to you." Firstly you have to go slow, he said, otherwise, you'll give off an air of nervousness. He added: "It's all about the presentation of who you are and what you're doing.
Secondly, he cited body language and said: "This is only for when you're around all dudes. I want you to spread out as much as you can. Put your arm across the chair. Any time I'm sitting down and there's a chair next to me, guess what b***h? I'm pushing the chair out and putting my whole arm over it and I'm leaning back with my chin up and and crossing my legs or stretching them out.
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"Don't do that around girls because that's rude. Plenty of TED talks and other things that show that it's biologically proven that being spread out is just a powerful stance and it'll trick your brain into calming down. Even if you're really stressed out, assume a position that would demonstrate that you're relaxed and your mind will catch up. It may not be all the way but also everyone else watching you won't know that you're really nervous."
Thirdly Leo, who has around 430,000 TikTok followers, advised against laughing at a worker's bad joke. He said: "If you're with a dude and he's making a joke and you don't think it's funny, don't laugh. Just sit there. This goes into my next point: you have to become very comfortable with silence. Because silence is very powerful too. The power of not filling space also emanates confidence. If it was something really offensive or they were trying to f**k with you, all you have to say is 'what was that? real loud'. Watch then squirm - that is how you get your energy source."
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The video, which has been seen by 3.4million viewers, also advised to observe rather be observed. Leo said: "The minute you shift that perspective, you can calm the f**k down. I would walk into a room full of 30 dudes - did not know any of them, did not squat about a steel mill. But you know what I did? I would stand and put my hands on my hips, power stance, and I would look at every one of them."
He finished by saying: "At the end of the day I know for certain I can tell you that men don't know what the f**k they are doing no more than anyone else. Men are just a lot better at being performative. I can't tell you how many times I stood in that steel mill with a bunch of other dudes around me and they are all scratching their bellies like confused orangutans.
"But they are making a s**t ton of money and they probably went home and made their wives and kids think they were doing the most important job on planet Earth. When in reality they were gossiping, being homophobic, transphobic and racist. They were being insecure little children.
"Just keep that in mind. That helped me face my fears because I truly thought that I was dumb, I didn't know any better and didn't have the brain power to learn a new skill. But guess what? I did!"
The post had almost 5,000 replies and with plenty of praise for Leo's words. One user said: "This is good advice for women too. Thank you for posting," while another added: "Even as a cis guy it's super interesting to get an outside observation for things I wouldn't even notice."
While one woman wrote: "As a cis woman I am taking notes! Especially taking space! had an epiphany when you talked about that." Elsewhere, a young worker took the advice to heart and said: "I’m going into a mechanics apprenticeship next month. As a young, nervous woman I appreciate these tips," and another simply state: "The sociologist we didn’t know we needed."
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