There's no such thing as a tomboy

In elementary school, there was a girl named Sharon.? She was fast, strong, and great at sports.

She never wore skirts or dresses and seemed to prefer playing with us boys.?

A "tomboy" we called her.? She was different.? Not "girly".? Not “normal”.??

I remember being in grade 1 or 2 when she brought a dried up bird’s foot into school.? She would pull its tendon and make the claw close tightly.? She got in trouble and was sent to the principal's office.

I don’t remember teasing her or others teasing her either, but I imagine a strong likelihood we probably did.? Us kids could be so mean.? So unaccepting and intolerant of anything considered abnormal by the group.

My daughter is 13.? She’s probably only worn a dress once in the last 8 years and that was only because she was a flower girl for my sister in law’s wedding.??

She’s very athletic, loves soccer and flag football and has more skate shoes than I ever did.??

I think she’s the perfect combination of her mother and I.? A balance of yin and yang –using both the masculine and feminine energies to her benefit, very confident and unconcerned about what other people think.

Is she a tomboy?? I don’t think such a term is used anymore (and she agrees).? The idea that boys and girls need to follow preset formats of what it means to properly be a boy or a girl is, at least in our little part of the world, an outdated idea -- and for that I’m very grateful.?

I want my daughter to pursue anything and everything that interests her.? I don’t care about what’s normal but only in her being able to pursue happiness.

Sharon was not a tomboy.? She was a brave and perfect girl.? Kudos to her parents for letting her be free to be the way she wanted to be.? It’s much easier now, but I’m sure it wasn’t easy then.??

Happy International Day of the Girl.