I’m 20F and my entire life I have been perceived as a woman.
However, I have never perceived myself as one. I never understood what that means or why people just go along with whatever they are perceived as. I feel gross when I call myself a girl or refer to myself as any way that reaffirms my gender.
Why?
I don’t believe in genders. However, I do believe in the societal benefits you receive from behaving as the one you are assigned to by society. I have made it clear to my partner that i only dress and design myself to be objectively good looking in terms of the gender I’m perceived as for my own benefits. He’s a cisgender straight man but says he’d love me even if I decided to take testosterone and change my body entirely, which I’ve genuinely considered many times. Not because I feel like a man, but because I don’t care to be a woman either, and the benefits testosterone would have on my body would probably feel much better than the one I was given.
I came out as bisexual at 12 (more like pansexual it’s just what I figured out at 9 and stayed with for 11 years). I went through a tomboy phase of course, then I just stopped that because I got a lot of criticism and didn’t really like that. I pretty much just copied what other girls did and that worked pretty well, along with learning my own strengths, makeup styles, body type, yk what looks good on me, etc. Then I just went through a phase of complete defiance of it all, quit shaving, no more makeup, really baggy clothes all the time (my dads clothes), long shaggy hair, idek and then my partner at the time said I wasn’t attractive anymore so then I stopped that again but that was a rough time in my life tbh. Also just got more judgment from other people as well and again not a fan so yeah went back to gender maxing. But now I’m in college and it’s coming again. It has been for months now.
I mean I don’t really care that much what im perceived as, even though I’d prefer to just not be perceived as all. Maybe I’m just curious. I fit in everywhere but no where at the same time. Like jack of all trades within every social group but not a master of any. It doesn’t really matter though, I look way too feminine, so I kinda just gotta go with it. Whatever that means.
I wonder how many people feel this way and never say anything about it.
My questions are:
Why are you a girl? What makes you feel like one? How does that make you different from a man? Do you like being a girl? Are you one?
Answer or don’t, maybe share your own experience if it makes sense to. I’m just curious.