Gender Identity Pt. 1

In growing into a man that I am proud to be, I have come across the issue of gender identity a number of times. As a child I was told that things were the way they were because that's just the way we operated. The answer was always given to me in a caustic manner that made me fear to delve deeper to interrogate the images in front of me. I was told that girls play with dolls and boys play sports or just don't; but there was a desire to know more. The inquisitive nature of a child will continue to ask why until they are satisfied or, in my case, they are shunned/shamed into acquiescence. I played that role for years until I was tired of not finding the truth, a battle that I am still fighting with at times. Its hard to define what is truth is when conventional constructs are thrown in your face everyday and are 'cemented' with religious doctrines. But I am gaining ground and will speak out on things that I find offensive to the comprehensive construction of gender.