My childhood was very similar to Liz’s. My whole childhood consisted of my mother trying to make me more “girly.” But unlike Liz, it worked on me. I became embarrassed about the fact that I was to refer to myself as a tomboy. Sadly, I feel more like the “girly” ex-tom boy she read about in the Magazine. It is important to mention that girls being athletic is no longer seen as something out of the ordinary, or “boyish.” The lines of gender have shifted, and it is much more acceptable for girls to like things that were once considered “only for boys.” That’s today. Ten years ago, it was not like that. Liz Prince ends her story with a series of things that people tease about, followed by a comment about how words don’t hurt. I have to say I disagree with the part about words not hurting. The truth it Words hold power. If the unsupportive words were said by her parents, most likely they would be connected to unsupportive actions, such as forcing her to wear dresses. The quote “Stones and sticks break only skin, while words are ghosts that haunt me,” by Barrie Wade, is a perfect response to her ending.
Truth — Barrie Wade
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can also hurt me.
Stones and sticks break only skin, while words are ghosts that haunt me.
Slant and curved the word-swords fall, it pierces and sticks inside me.
Bats and bricks may ache through bones, but words can mortify me.
Pain from words has left its’ scar, on mind and hear that’s tender.
Cuts and bruises have not healed, it’s words that I remember.”
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