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submitted 1 week ago by may_be@thelemmy.club to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

Back when I was 8, I wanted to be just like my dad (before finding out his actual personality). I wanted to have the bodily characteristics of an AMAB person if that makes sense, IDK how to word it. I wanted to be mistaken for a boy, do the stereotypical boy things, reject makeup and dresses, and I went through a "girls stink" phase like some young boys did. I wanted my hair cut short because it made me look like a boy and even wanted to wear my dad's clothes simply because they were "men's clothes".

“Girl" didn't feel right to me but growing up in a certain kind of family, all I knew was the word "tomboy", so I used that. But my family tried to convince me I was the most feminine girly girl, and that just wasn't me. It felt wrong.

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[-] ada@piefed.blahaj.zone 29 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

When it comes to choosing the labels we use for ourselves, if it's right for you, it's the right label.

A label doesn't define you or who you are, a label is an imperfect attempt to communicate who you are to yourself and to the people around you.

If the label is helping you do one or both of those things, it's the right label.

[-] may_be@thelemmy.club 8 points 1 week ago

Yes, thank you :3

this post was submitted on 02 Jan 2026
44 points (95.8% liked)

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