The Importance of Female Role Models
When I was a kid, I enjoyed running around with our neighbours' kids, climbing trees and playing soccer. I would wear shorts and running shoes because it was more comfortable and I would refuse any of my mother attempts to dress me in pretty girlie clothes. For this and other reasons, she would sometimes tell me I should have been borne a boy because I didn't fit the narrow narrative she had of a girl. In my mother's eyes, girls were supposed to look pretty, wear cute dresses and have nice long hair. I rebelled and eventually she was okay with it.