I think tomboys are born, not made. This tomboy was born in 1952. My twin sister, Sue, wasn’t a tomboy and neither, was my older sister, Janie.

When not in school, where I was forced to wear a dress, you could always find me wearing a tee shirt, jeans, with my beaded Indian belt holding them up, and Ked sneakers. My sister, Sue, would, sometimes, wear a dress, even when she didn’t have to wear one! I just couldn’t understand it. I hated wearing dresses. The dresses with lace around the collar were the worst! Itched my neck, like crazy!

When Sue would brush her hair(several times per day), I would tease her about the bows she put in her hair. “Kissy, kissy, with that pink bow, sissy, sissy”, I would chant with contempt.

I, on the other hand, brushed my hair once a day. Less, if I could get away with it. One day, I was on the way out the door to play, when I heard Sue wail, “Mom, Barbie’s hair needs brushing! It’s full of tangles!” I gave her a dirty look, then, just smiled, as Mom replied, “Leave her alone. She’ll brush her hair, when she is ready.” I gave my sister the finger and ran out to play.

All the neighborhood kids accepted my tomboy ways. The boys always picked me to play on their teams for any ballgames. I excelled at catching and threw the ball “like a boy”. I longed to play in Little League, however, in the early 1960’s, girls were not allowed to play. I couldn’t understand this rule at all! I could throw from outfield to the catcher with precision and belt homers over the fence. Oh, I how longed to be in one of those uniforms, wearing cleats. But, it was not to be.

All the girls I knew played with dolls, had tea parties, played dress-up, house and teacher. They played with pretend make-up or the real thing, if they could get their hands on some. They, endlessly, brushed their hair, trying this style, then, that style.

Boys built forts, played baseball, kickball and dodgeball. They modified their bikes and hiked in a nearby canyon. They built models and messed around with tools.

The accepted uni-sex activities were rollerskating, riding bikes, playing board games and card games. Outdoor games, such as, Hide ‘N Seek, Mother May I and Red light, Green light, were also, uni-sex games.