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Tomboy: an alternative transgirl narrative

By Riley Wood

There’s a conventional ‘trans narrative’ that can be picked out of forums and message boards that describes transwomen. This narrative is the same one that they fed to their therapist, their GP, their parents, with the hope of being treated seriously as a transwoman. There will are variations, different details, and different points of realization. But the themes will remain consistent.

“I always played with dolls, never cars.”

“All my friends were girls.”

“Well, puberty literally ruined my life.”

“I just knew.”

These themes don’t come close to adequately describing every trans experience (of course they can’t, everyone has their own story), but they’re repeated enough online that it feels like they are. Especially when you’re 12-years-old and trying to explain why you’ve stashed tampons under your bed (despite not knowing what they’re for), or stolen a garter belt, the dissonance stands out. You have to have played with dolls, been friends with girls and hated puberty to be a transgirl. I was clearly a fetishist, young-me thought. My obsession with girly stuff was obviously sexual in nature, because hey, I didn’t relate to any of the trans narratives that were accessible to me.

When I was a kid, I played with cars and rode dirt bikes. I spent a lot of time rough housing and getting into fights with my guy friends, I played a whole lot of video games and I liked puberty as much as anyone can. Puberty made me taller and thinner. I was excited to shave for the first time. Hell, it even made people stop mistaking me for a girl, which happened a lot, and I was all the happier for it.

So when I started having these weird feelings of wrongness about my body, I had no clue what it was that was making me feel so shitty. Neither did my therapist, who suspected clinical depression. But when I put on the clothes I had stolen from my mom, something came together. In those moments, things felt okay.

As far as 12-year-old me knew, I was a crossdresser. A male who was comfortable as a male, but seemed to gain something from wearing women’s clothing. Cool. Whatever. Honestly, this suited me for a long time.

Yet, my gender feelings never went away, and the older I got, the more I was compelled to wear feminine clothes publicly. First, on Halloween. Then, girl’s jeans everyday — things that were socially acceptable for effeminate queer men. You’d think that after I made female friends who shared my interests, dated a transman, and had transwomen friends, I would finally accept my identity. At the very least, realize that elements of the stereotypical trans story are just that — stereotypes.

I couldn’t, though. I still liked masculine elements about myself. I didn’t feel like dressing up in women’s clothing most of the time, even while I felt compelled to other times. I still knew something was different. I was still drawn to things that let me express my femininity. But I thought transition would minimize the masculine aspects that I liked about myself, so I didn’t.

My inaction climaxed in my first year of university. I was sure that coming to Toronto and living away from my parents for the first time would allow me to be myself and transition. I had grown a lot and learned a lot about myself, and knew that even if I wasn’t sure I was trans, I definitely wasn’t sure I was a man.

I went to a support group. This discontinued group, Trans Youth Toronto, facilitated young adult trans people (mostly women) to talk, share experiences and support one another. I thought I would find other people like me. People who needed assurance, and guidance, and didn’t fit neatly within the mold of the gender binary.

Instead, I found a lot of lovely girly girls who, while great people, just reinforced the notion that I wasn’t like them. At the time, they seemed like over exaggerated women; girls who had deeply embraced their femininity and expressed it thoroughly.

But for me, I was still into camping and hiking, motorcycles and building. I wanted to wear baggy men’s flannel shirts. Men’s work boots. A shorter haircut fit my aesthetic better, but it felt weird asking for ‘a pixie cut,’ and not just a short men’s haircut. I still thought I couldn’t transition because it would mean erasing my masculine elements. For a while, I identified as gender fluid where I comfortably just expressed myself however I wanted to. Mostly, this was a masculine expression, even though I felt pretty much like a woman in my head.

All of this changed when I read Julia Serano’s Whipping Girl for a sex and gender studies course. In an essay, Julia describes herself post transition as a woman who, “rarely wears makeup, who regularly dresses like a tomboy, who often goes long periods of time without shaving her legs or armpits, who sometimes curses like a sailor, who is sometimes very physically active, and who is unafraid of taking supposedly masculine tasks.”

Despite being someone I had viewed as a woman the whole time, she was unabashed in her masculine traits and had no problem holding onto them as a trans woman. I immediately started crying.

This was it! I thought, this is who I am.

There are tomboyish women! OF COURSE there’s going to be tomboyish trans women! Of course I can dress in men’s clothing and still be feminine. I’ve been so silly all these years!

For the first time, I finally found a trans voice that I related to. One that spoke to me. Then, I started to transition.

Now that I’m in the middle of it, I’ve had some time to gather my thoughts on being a tomboyish trans woman. First, while I know my identity is legitimate, there are a lot of people who are weirded out that I would go through all of the hassle of physical and social transition so I can, what, wear men’s clothing? It doesn’t make sense to them, just as it didn’t make sense to me for most of my life.

Second, I get misgendered a lot. People are already bad at assuming everyone is a binary gender. Dressing like a gender opposite of yours as a trans individual just confuses/reinforces their idea in their heads that you are a member of your assigned sex. But women can wear men’s pants and boots, and men can wear skirts and dresses, and this doesn’t invalidate their gender identity even a little. I can be a trans tomboy. You can be a trans man and wear a skirt and makeup and shave your legs, and if anyone has an issue with that, they’re assholes. Clothing does not belong to any gender, even if it does play a role in how you may express it.

Third, I realized why all those trans women seemed so hyper feminine to me. I’m sure to some degree it’s related to their personalities, but being misgendered simply fucking sucks. For many trans women, highlighting and exaggerating your femininity is a requirement for anyone to take you seriously. Or even to gender you properly at all. These days, I understand the appeal as I fumble with an eyeliner pencil I don’t know how to use, pad my bra and put on fake glasses. Otherwise, people will have no idea that I’m a fucking woman. But that’s a problem with society, and not with me.

Gender shit is confusing for everyone. Even for those with the staple narrative, because realizing your trans is a huge moment, and transitioning is a big deal. Before you get to convincing your family, friends and medical professionals that you’re serious about your identity, you have to convince yourself. You feel like you have to search for those signs, those clues as to who you really are, and you hold onto them because they seem more real than the feelings in your head. Because those evidences don’t change, aren’t ‘a phase,’ aren’t affected by any mental condition known or otherwise. They feel like they’re the only way to be sure, but they’re not, and you don’t have to be sure to be trans or transition.

In my experience, cisgender people don’t usually spend all that time contemplating their gender, and if you’re feeling unsure, like you’re lacking sufficient evidence, just trust yourself. Men and women and everyone else are all unique, and no one else’s experience will be the same as yours. So, just be honest with yourself, and let’s stop perpetuating this notion that it’s somehow not okay to celebrate elements of our assigned genders, because in the end we are people and there is more to us all than a predictable narrative.

14 Comments

  1. Zach

    I identify as a transgirl tomboy. I IDENTIFY AS A TRANSGIRL TOMBOY!

    It feels so good to say that. My story is so similar to yours and iv been hurting so much. Thank you for being an anchor in these troubled waters.

  2. Joey

    I stumbled upon this story, but wow this website should be called eye closer because my eye was twitching as you wrote out my childhood. Wow. Thank you. Wow. I met a tomboy when I was .. 6? They identified as a tomboy and I was like. Wow that’s so me too. “But in opposite”. This is great.
    Thank you. Transgirl Tomboy.

  3. Anonymous Writer

    I found this story a while ago, and find myself coming back to it every so often. I am non-binary and find your story of gender-nonconformity and the expansive nature of womanhood and trans ness comforting. We need more representation of trans tomboys, butch trans women, and other gender-nonconforming transfemme folk! I still haven’t found many role models with these identities. Thank you for sharing.

  4. Alexis

    Such a great article for even non-trans people like me! It shows so clearly how gender is so much more than just the science of two sexes. A person’s identity is of course very complex. It’s completely a part of someone, and is integrated into every aspect of who they are how and how they can most live a full & happy life!

  5. R. Griffiths

    Thank you from the incredibly loving mum of a trans girl who never presented in a feminine way growing up. I expected a gay son, but not a trans girl! I love her to the moon and back — she just doesn’t fit the stereotype! it’s nice to read other stories that resonate!

  6. Tim

    I can somewhat relate to the feeling of not being placed in a box just because you veer towards certain things. I am a man which is very masculine that gets along better with with women than men. while still being a man that enjoys wearing a skirt, tights, or figure fitting jeans while my interests are gaming, cars, and electronics and very much happily married to a woman, I dislike the fact that just because I’m a man I cannot wear certain things or stand a certain way. Everyone’s persona is different and everyone should be allowed to express it the best way that feels most comfortable to them

  7. Greta B

    Nailed IT!! I so much identify. Much like we have a SPECTRUM of skin color so should it stand to reason that gender, sexuality and taste in music. Well maybe not music, however this very much resonates.

  8. Dakota

    Glad this is a top result for “tomboy transgirl”, this fits my experience so well! Always good to hear from someone else who struggles with similar feelings

  9. Vanessa

    THANK YOU!!! I’ve been dealing with some really nasty brain weasels telling me that I couldn’t possibly be a tomboyish trans girl and that my imposter syndrome was valid. Now *I* have validation, I can finally be myself and not have to worry.

    Thank you so much for this! You are awesome! <3

  10. Kate

    Its been years since this was posted and I only found it now, regardless I am grateful that it exists as I feel a little less alone in my strangeness now. Thank you so much. This has helped me feel a little more conviction in who I am and relieved.

  11. Petra

    So glad I found this, it’s absolutely priceless. Thank you so, so much!

  12. Jamie

    Thank you for this. The article may be almost 7 years old, but it made me feel so much better about myself.

    I’ve always felt that I was a trans fraud because I didn’t give up my typically male interests (there’s 5 cars on the driveway I am working on) and wasn’t really interested in “girly” things. I’m 17 months into transition and been on hormones for 14 months, and I don’t own a single skirt. I spend my time in jeans or overalls.

    In the space of a few minutes, this article eliminated the source of so much of my imposter syndrome.

  13. Alyssa

    I really resonate with this. I love watching sports, lacing up my hockey skates, rowing, and watching “guy” movies like “Inglourious Basterds,” “Jack Reacher,” etc. But I also want to be able to wear dresses, skirts, makeup, etc. I thought for a while that it was impossible to be trans but have many personality traits that are typical of your AGAB.

  14. Me

    I’ve read this from time to time. The first time I saw it , it struck me. I guess straight away I thought , hey, maybe I’m not imagining this. Thank you for the article, I got a lot from it as many of us have before 🙂

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