I grew up in a houshold where gender norms were not enforced. I was allowed to wear “boy clothes” and play with “boy toys” just as much as “girly” things. For my 5th year I was obsessed with Spiderman and would wear a Spiderman costume around the house all the time (and try and climb the walls). I had my hair cut short and was constantly questioned about my gender as a young child. At first I would get annoyed by constantly getting asked “ArE yOu A bOy oR a GiRL?” because to me it was obvious that I was a girl. I didn’t understand that to everyone else girls are supposed to have long hair, and wear pink dresses. I didn’t understand why it wasn’t obvious I was a girl in my Pokemon shirt and short hair. Even at a young age I was questioning gender norms (probably due to being autistic lol). I first learned the word tomboy in early elementary school. This was a label that was pasted onto me, not chosen by me. I never understood it. Why couldn’t I be a girl and like playing in the dirt? Why did I need a seperate label from everyone else. This othering definitely coincided with my lonliness as an undignosed autistic child. I just felt so different from other girls. Most of my friends were boys because they liked to do the same things that I did. I struggled to relate to women well into my adulthood. It wasn’t until I realized I was nonbinary did I fully understand why I never felt “like other girls”. Sure people called me a pick me in high school and college. But I geniuinely wasn’t like other women, because I wasn’t a women!!!! It has taken me a long time to come to terms with my non-binary identity, and it’s something I’m still exploring. I only started using they/them pronouns only 2 years ago. I am excited to continue exploring my identity as I grow and change.