{"sf1_id":697433,"sf2_id":"rnaG3pXe","title":"Boy or Girl?","author":"ShingetsuMoon","words":373,"posted_at":"2014-04-26T02:09:00.000Z","tags":["Boy","Gender","Girl","Poem","Poetry","feminine","masculine"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/697433-boy-or-girl","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/rnaG3pXe","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/ad/c5/adc5c2d4-05fb-455a-b8d3-3c3136ad5979","description":"#25 of National Poetry Writing Month\n\nPoem number 25 for National Poetry Month","content":"* * *\n\nI've always envied  \nthose who felt at home  \nin their own bodies.\n\nThose who were proud  \nof themselves and had  \nno doubts that they were  \nexactly who they were  \nsupposed to be.\n\nThose who had no doubts  \nabout where they stood  \nwhen it came to the line  \ndividing the boys from  \nthe girls.\n\nI never wanted to be a boy  \nbut I never felt like one of  \nthe girls.\n\nWhy don't you like dolls?  \nYou should wear dresses more.  \nWhy do you always put her in  \nboy's clothes?\n\nWhy doesn't she have more   \ngirl friends? Why is she  \nalways with boys?\n\nI stayed with the boys because  \nI just had more in common  \nwith them.\n\nNo matter how hard I tried  \nI always felt out of place  \naround other girls.\n\nLike I was wearing an  \nidentify that didn't quite  \nfit right no matter how  \nmuch I moved it around.\n\nGirls like dolls not cars.  \nGirls like dresses not jeans.  \nGirls like like pink, not blue.  \nGirls like dressing up not  \nplaying with dinosaurs and  \naction figures.\n\nMy parents didn't care if   \nthey had a daughter who  \npreferred Jurassic Park over  \nBarbie so why should anyone  \nelse?\n\nWhy did I?\n\nIf I tried to be myself they  \ncriticized me for my interests.  \nIf I tried to be more feminine  \nthey could only talk about how  \nit was about time I acted like   \na \"real\" little girl.\n\nWhy was I made to feel as  \n if any interest\u0026nbsp;in the masculine   \nwas\u0026nbsp;a betrayal\u0026nbsp;of the feminine   \nside I was supposed\u0026nbsp;embrace?\n\nWhy do we live in a society  \nthat seeks to place such\u0026nbsp;harsh   \ndividing lines between us?\n\nBoy or girl?  \nGirl or boy?\n\nAsk five people and you'll get  \nten different answers. Why\u0026nbsp;  \ncan't we all just be who we are?\n\nWhy can't we seek to understand  \neach other first instead of just  \nforcing\u0026nbsp;them to fit into boxes we  \nalone feel comfortable with?\n\nI never wanted to be a boy.  \nNot then and not now.  \nBut that wasn't something  \nothers could understand.\n\nI don't want to be anything.  \nI just want to be myself.\n\nI will not hang my head in  \nshame because I do not  \nfit your stereotypes of\u0026nbsp;what   \na woman is supposed to be.\n\n  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"National Poetry Writing Month","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/697078-empire-of-sand.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/697753-the-imperial-throne.json"}}