I felt exactly the same way around the time puberty hit. Hated being female and being scrutinised and sexualised at such a young age. I tried disguising myself as a boy with short hair and loose baggy clothes, but it didn't work. Even a comparatively liberal family is rife with misogyny.
When I left home at 17 in the 70s in Holland, and had to face the world by myself as a teenager, I started wearing black capes! And I found a long grey corduroy coat with a huge hood, a bit like a monks cloak, to stop attracting attention to my female body. I came out as a lesbian at age 19 and reinvented myself. Thank goodness I was left to do that without any gender identity confusion. I was terrified people would label me as a man. I very much treasure my woman to womanhood.
So glad to see a new post from you! Please let us know how it goes with Behind the Looking Glass. Be well always, don't let anyone or anything overwhelm you--you are so strong.
Wow. This should be shown widely to inform people about the very different reasons for women and girls choosing to 'opt-out' of womanhood. Not for reasons of sexual fetish, but an inevitable side-effect of misogyny and unwanted sexual attention; sexual assault, by men.
I felt exactly the same way around the time puberty hit. Hated being female and being scrutinised and sexualised at such a young age. I tried disguising myself as a boy with short hair and loose baggy clothes, but it didn't work. Even a comparatively liberal family is rife with misogyny.
Absolutely chilling and telling that no one shared those horrific headlines with the boys. Thank you for sharing
When I left home at 17 in the 70s in Holland, and had to face the world by myself as a teenager, I started wearing black capes! And I found a long grey corduroy coat with a huge hood, a bit like a monks cloak, to stop attracting attention to my female body. I came out as a lesbian at age 19 and reinvented myself. Thank goodness I was left to do that without any gender identity confusion. I was terrified people would label me as a man. I very much treasure my woman to womanhood.
Thank you for this work 🙏🏻
So glad to see a new post from you! Please let us know how it goes with Behind the Looking Glass. Be well always, don't let anyone or anything overwhelm you--you are so strong.
Wow. This should be shown widely to inform people about the very different reasons for women and girls choosing to 'opt-out' of womanhood. Not for reasons of sexual fetish, but an inevitable side-effect of misogyny and unwanted sexual attention; sexual assault, by men.
I thought being 'male' was the answer too.