Boys, girls or what?

[datahawk]

I’m thinking over a conversation a friend and I are having in Twitter about underwear, panties specifically. The comment was made to me that at least I’m the ‘correct’ gender for my obsessive collection of panties. I realized I don’t subscribe to that notion. Girls can wear boys clothes with little question made of them, however a boy wears girls clothes of any fashion and it’s ‘weird’ or different. I have so many friends who are gender correcting or gender fluid that I have a hard time considering there being a correct gender for panties.
Then it got me thinking of kids and specifically tomboys. I am a tomboy. I never ‘grew out of it’ like so many girls are expected to. So, do tomboys grow out of it because they want to or because society, and possibly their parents, are forcing them to. My personal opinion? I think it’s the expected gender roles defined by our society that expect girls to grow out of being tomboys, that call non masculine boys sissies and adults fags and dykes for not dressing, or acting, how we are expected to.
I am a girl. It is something I have never questioned. I am a girl who society thinks dresses like a boy, because I wear comfortable jeans and casual t-shirts and I’m more likely to be in my Vibrams or Converse than heels. I am also a tomboy who wears frilly panties and lacy bras. So, then what do you call me? I call me, me.

Comments

[stormdog.livejournal.com]

*nods* Obivously I can't speak for other peoples' experiences, but I grew up hating team sports. I had no interest whatsoever in watching or playing them because the culture surrounding them was unrelentingly negative.

When I played in a softball game that Stevie organized ten years or so ago, I was amazed. It was the first time I'd ever actually enjoyed playing in a team sport. I still don't have any interest in watching them and I find a lot of aspects of the large-scale culture that surrounds them very puzzling. But I can appreciate the small-scale experience of doing something physical and fun with people you know.

[sylverfox.livejournal.com]

I remember that game. That was the first time I met you, actually.

And sports can be fun without all of the negative connotations surrounding the concept of competition and such. It was why I started the LAFF softball games all those years ago, as a way to do something else other than sitting around eating and getting fat. ;) And even then, it was met with trepidation from those who said that they sucked at sports, etc. My response was, "Who cares? Come out, get some sun and just have fun, whether you strike out or hit a home run." And now, thirteen years later, the games are still a fixture within LAFF events. So I was glad to help change some people's minds...