from https://www.reddit.com/r/GenderCritical/comments/54gq0n/my_journey_from_gender_dysphoria_to_accepting/

I was always a tomboy. I have an older brother and I would rather play with his toys, though I still liked Barbie. I'd rather play catch with my dad, or go fishing then hang around inside with my mom and she despised me for it. I was treated very poorly by her compared to my older brother who was like a prince in her eyes. Both he and my dad told me matter of factly that she treated me like shit because I was a girl. She wanted a doll she could dress up in frills but she got me instead.

Growing up, my mom was very abusive towards me, only stopping when my dad came home. They would physically attack each other in front of the kids and of course my dad always won. I associated strength and courage with being a man. In my eyes, I couldn't stand up to my mom like my dad, like my brother on the rare occasions he drew her ire, because I was weak. A coward. Because I was a girl. So I didn't want to be a girl.

I often daydreamed about being a boy growing up. I would be strong and brave. I would protect the weak from bad people. Being a nearly mute, poor, odd, friendless child, I was bullied a lot in school. When the other kids would start in on me, I would stare at them blankly and say nothing until they left me alone, but I wanted despartely to stand up to them. I'd go home and cry, lamenting that I was a coward. Because I was a girl.

As I got older, I developed feelings for a female classmate and Avril Lavigne. I was outraged. It wasn't right. Homophobia was just a way of life in the small, Southern town I grew up in. I also learned about transgenderism. I thought it only natural that I'd get surgery and transition when I became an adult. I never thought of myself as a woman when I grew up.

In highschool, I had very bad internalized misogyny. I hated women because they were “weak”. But most of all I hated myself. As an older teen, I discovered Reddit and a bunch of other bitter misogynists and that's when it occurred to me that no matter how “different”, or fun I was, men would still hate me just for veing a woman. This profoundly disturbed me and I quickly turned to feminism, which set me straight. Through feminism, I learned that women could be strong. Over the years, I've had a lot of therapy and come to terms with things. I have a good relationship with my mom now and have forgiven her for past treatment.

Even though I'm GNC, I know that I'm a woman and that it's okay to be a woman. With the help of feminism, I realized I shouldn't ve trying to change myself, I should be trying to change the status quo, to be brave and fight not only for myself, but for my sisters, as well.