Trans Men and Butches Raising Femme Daughters.

[Quintease]

My mum's not gay, nor is she very girlie. She was far more comfortable in the garden than in a dress, so by the time I was in my mid-teens she started taking fashion cues from me!

Despite her lack of femininity and my abundance of brothers (I have many), I was wearing dresses from the time I could walk, makeup from 14, earrings from 15 and heels from 18.

Later in life my mother commented that had she known I was going to be so femme, she would have done more to encourage me. I wish she had as well. My parents didn't want to be seen encouraging me to learn about makeup or fashion as they didn't feel it was appropriate for young girls. In hindsight I think it would have made me more confident and responsible, and I may have even avoided some of the fashion disasters I went through in my teens