Back when I was 8, I wanted to be just like my dad (before finding out his actual personality). I wanted to have the bodily characteristics of an AMAB person if that makes sense, IDK how to word it. I wanted to be mistaken for a boy, do the stereotypical boy things, reject makeup and dresses, and I went through a “girls stink” phase like some young boys did. I wanted my hair cut short because it made me look like a boy and even wanted to wear my dad’s clothes simply because they were “men’s clothes”.
“Girl" didn’t feel right to me but growing up in a certain kind of family, all I knew was the word “tomboy”, so I used that. But my family tried to convince me I was the most feminine girly girl, and that just wasn’t me. It felt wrong.
Definitely an unusual situation, so there’s no easy answer.
Reminds me of the scene from Predestination where the guy opens his story with “when I was a little girl.” It has transgender elements to the story but it isn’t a trans story. And that’s all I’ll say. Wild ride.