This. Thank you so much for writing this, and for sharing your fantastic real-life example. I'm sorry that happened to you, but sadly, I think the attitude is (and has been) more common than we realize. For several years, there's been a particular brand of "feminism" that derides girls/women who feel "not like the other girls," as if we're traitors to our gender — no matter that the girls/women being derided already feel a bit like outsiders and suffer for it.

The reality is, some of us are more involved in hobbies, interests, etc. that have long been associated primarily with boys and men. And many of these same girls/women are less involved in hobbies, interests, etc. that are associated primarily with femininity. I was one of these girls through my formative years — didn't like makeup or fashion, played tons of video games (hell, I wanted to be a video game designer!), played Magic and poker and sports, and had primarily male friends. I never felt "like the other girls," but this feeling was NEVER about competing with them. It was simply about me liking what I liked and staying in the lane that felt most comfortable for me — stigma be damned.

It saddens me that we're presumed to be enemies of feminism, as if our impetus for embracing our inner tomboy came down to some pathological rejection of sisterhood. Most of us are(/were) just living our lives and embracing what we genuinely like(d). How about women stop looking for reasons to chastise the ones who don't fit the stereotypical mould. *facepalm*

Again — thank you for writing this!