Mirror mirror - what am I?

I have had cause of late to think about how I am viewed by others, and its comparison to how I view myself. More than once in the last 24 hours I have been told that I am a "girly-girl". I find this more than a little amusing, since I think quite differently.

I will admit to having a great predilection for red lipstick, shoes and, of course, handbags. But is that what makes one a "girly-girl"?

When I was little, I think I may have been about 6 or 7 at the time, I thought I was a boy. Why I thought this I am not quite sure. But I distinctly remember standing in front of the mirror, and noted that I had no breasts, and my voice seemed rather lower than my female friends. So I put my great analytical skills to the task and came to the conclusion that I was obviously not quite a girl. I felt that breasts were the most obvious sign of womanhood, and since I was quite clearly without, then, it was apparent that I could really be a boy.

It goes without saying that I was always a strange child.

I grew up in a neighbourhood amongst only boys and did all that they did. I rode my bike, burnt ants with a magnifying glass, and would punch back when hit. But then things changed. One summer holidays I turned up at the neighbour's house, ready to go swimming with the "other boys", only to find my (male) friend looking at me weird. It seemed from nowhere, the breasts had arrived and so had his hormones. I thought it quite amusing but ignored it all.

At high school, I matriculated with only women, and as a consequence was not distracted by the male flesh until university. By this time, the boys were quite used to the presence of women, and paid me no heed (or at least it seemed that way). Studying a predominantly male course, being female seemed only to mean that my notes from class would be neater - and therefore, I spent my university years catalogued as the person who lends their notes, and not as a girl.

But it would appear that somewhere along the way I become a little girly. So now in my adulthood I am a combination of contrasts. I swear like a wharfy and will talk on any subject that might make grown men blush, but then expect a door opened for me. I don't necessarily want a man of mine to talk vulgar, but expect that I can, when I feel like it.

So back to the original concept - what makes a woman a "girly-girl"? Genes, state of mind, attitude or the way she is treated? Or is it a combination of all this and more? I could think on this more but I think I really should file my nails before I change the oil in the car.......