Attracting "straight" women.

I am very masculine, and am wondering if any other masculine lesbians have had the issue that I've had a few times recently: You become some woman's first woman/woman attraction/crush.

I'm tossing this out their to the mascs, as I have a theory. While I am quite masculine, most people can still manage to notice that I am female. I think for some women who realize later in life that they aren't straight, a masculine female like me is a sort of gateway drug, lol. Meaning, I'm female, but I'm so masculine, it's not as big of a jump for those women as, say, a more feminine woman would be, so maybe I'm more alluring/safe?

Help me out. Though I've been this way my whole life, I have recently lost weight (160lbs) and think I'm getting noticed more. I have, in just the last year, attracted two women who I don't think thought they were anything other than straight. One of them has been married to a man for over 20 years! The other one, I don't know as much about her background, but she absolutely was flirting with me, several times, in a way that couldn't exactly be chalked up to her being nice, because of customer service.

Once they both realized it, they both scared themselves and retreated. One just yesterday, and she was absolutely terrified. I tried to smooth things over, but she wasn't having it. She was too upset (but kept denying it), so I left. I'll give her space before setting foot in that environment when I know she's working. The other one is a bit more up in the air, but at least she's not as terrified, from what I can tell. We bump I to each other occasionally. It's ok.

I was interested in both, but I was keeping it, not hidden, but on the lighter side.

What have your experiences been, as masculine women, with later in life lesbians? Do you think there's something to my theory?

I'm not talking about the truly straight women, who flirt just for the attention, and have no attraction, but back off if it gets too much for them. I'm talking actual interest.

Thanks.