At the start of high school, I dressed in baggy clothes and clunky boots. My head was shaved. If it weren’t for my short stature, I might’ve easily been mistaken for a boy. I was actively creating distance between myself and my idea of femininity. Like many others, I associated my femininity with weakness and ignorance. I had grown to hate it over time, to hate the way it enabled people to view me and treat me. I did what I felt would protect me from those misconceptions. By presenting androgynously, I convinced myself that I would be perceived...
