A term I hate

In French, there's the term "garçons manqué."

Literally, "missed boy." It's mostly used for little girls who like "boyish" things. Honestly, it might not seem like much, but can you imagine how it feels to a little girl? It implies, "You were supposed to be a boy, but you're a mistake, you're not allowed to be like this, your parents failed you."

As a child, I loved firefighters, knights, building blocks, and pirates. It already made me uncomfortable to look at toys in the blue section of the store with little boys on the boxes or to look longingly at the "boys'" section of clothing stores. I hated being given dresses, skirts, makeup, and that kind of thing. I was called a "missed boy."

As a result, I grew up feeling bad about myself. I forced myself to be feminine, but I couldn't because it wasn't me. I felt ridiculous; I was pushed towards things that weren't me. Today, because of that, there are things I don't want to wear.

It makes me feel good to see things changing, even if it's not enough. I will never stop fighting for children to have the right to love what they want without being gendered, and for a girl to never again be called a tomboy.