Amy Diehl, Ph.D.Mar 22
Girls are often encouraged to be athletic, assertive or like “tomboys,” while boys face no socially acceptable equivalent in the other direction. There is no benign male version of tomboy. The closest is “sissy,” not typically considered a compliment.
https://theconversation.com/gender-conformity-starts-young-and-boys-and-girls-fall-in-line-in-different-ways-275996
Gender conformity starts young – and boys and girls fall in line in different ways

Children learn what it means to be a woman or a man early on. How they respond to threats to how well they conform to gender stereotypes changes with age.

The Conversation
Show thread🏴🏳‍⚧🏴‍☠Mar 22

@amydiehl

"It’s also unclear to us why girls’ responses to perceived threats to gender conformity may weaken with age"

that's because "male" is the top of the social hierarchy. a person, perceived as female, displays male tendencies that is still a net positive (moving up the social hierarchy). conversely, males displaying feminine tendencies are purposefully degrading their social standing and that is, to them, insane (moving down the social hierarchy).

Show threadLord Caramac the Clueless, KSCMar 22
@coolcalmcollected @amydiehl I don't care about any hierarchies. I just don't do what people tell me. And during my childhood and adolescence I noticed that I couldn't avoid getting bullied no matter what I did since I could never fake being "normal", so I decided to just be myself, do what I like, and be a weird anarchist freak. I'm 50 now, I'll be 51 in a week, and I'm still weird and androgynous. Why should I try to fake masculine behaviour just to make other people happy who think everybody who happens to have a penis should be forbidden from doing things labelled as "feminine" and obliged to do things labelled as "masculine"? Why should I cut my hair short if I like having long hair? Why should I stop wearing jewelry if I feel better wearing it? Why should I wear boring ugly clothes or a silly suit-and-tie uniform when I can wear something nice instead, something that makes me enjoy looking at my reflection in the mirror?
And if the normal people don't like me, I'll keep hanging with the freaks and weirdos and queers.
Show thread🏴🏳‍⚧🏴‍☠

@LordCaramac @amydiehl

I came to the same conclusion in high school. I spent my entire childhood trying to fit in and nothing I did worked so I gave up trying. a huge part of that was being autistic, which I didn't figure out I had until my 40's. the best part is being 55 I have completely lost all fucks to give about how i'm perceived by others.

Mar 22 at 9:41pmWeb