Poems & Short Stories

Conformity, Identity

The term tomboy gets thrown around a lot.
I mean, in a way, I guess it makes sense.
Girls who don't conform to the common idea of femininity are often compared to men.

Isn't it weird that being called a tomboy isn't really deemed a bad thing,
but if you're a guy who's into more feminine stuff,
you're chastised for it?

I mean, I'm pretty sure I know why.
Being feminine is typically seen as wrong by societal standards.

You know what else is weird?
Tomboys are usually assumed to be lesbians,
and feminine guys are usually assumed to be gay.
Why is nonconformity automatically associated with being LGBT?
Is it because, like being LGBT, people think not conforming is weird?
Probably.

...
Sometimes I ask myself if I'm really a trans man,
or if I'm just off the wall and trying too hard not to conform.
I mean. I feel like a man. At least, I feel more like a man than I do a woman.
But is that on my accord?
Or is it because the world told me that if I don't fit the standards of a girl
I'm a (tom)boy.

Then again.
I know me better than anyone else does.
And I feel like I'm a man.
Or, uh, close to one.
Not just a "tom"boy - a boy.