I read a great book recently called Alice in Genderland, in that book Alice talks about memories of her childhood of things that in looking back were not 'normal male behaviours'. She is not talking about people who know from an early age that they are trapped in the wrong body, but people who start dressing later in life.
The book brought on some serious OMG moments for me as memories flooded back, it put a whole new perspective on my whole journey. I now realise that there were very early signs that I was not going to be a traditional/normal little boy.
For example
'Sugar and spice and everything nice that’s what little girls are made of
Frogs and snails and puppy dog tails that’s what little boys are made of'
Even as a little boy I so clearly remember being offended by this little rhyme, I did not feel that I was made up of frogs never mind snails. Whilst my young mind did not think I want to be one of those nice girls, I was not one of those yukky boys, why did the girls get the good stuff?
Then there was this
At age 5 I used to pretend I was a girl, I did not have a sister and therefore no clothes, but I did ask my mother to put a ribbon in my hair, I even had a girls name karen... i think I stopped playing at around age 7 and i think that was just one of many games I played.
I was always so very aware of girls and I remember (stressing is way to strong a word), wondering how girls go about getting their first bra, did it become obvious? or did their mother arrange it. Then it was periods, how do they make sure they don't bleed everywhere the first time ... What the!!!! was a little boy concerning himself with these things?
And finally the most scary for last
I remember very clearly walking with my mother at the shops and wondering why I didn't look like everyone else? I remember like it was yesterday looking at other children and thinking I don't look like them, I had an inherent feeling that something was wrong with the way I looked. it was quite a while before I realised that no one looked like anyone else
Before anyone thinks too much i had a very happy childhood growing up in a very normal environment, I just had some signs of early gender dysphoria perhaps.
I would love to hear of anyone else's childhood memories that perhaps didn't fit the gender norms.