16.

“What I remember was not so much the beauty standards — it was the behavior standards for girls. Be soft-spoken, dignified, don’t ask the boy out, don’t be flamboyant, don’t swear like a sailor. In other words, act ‘feminine.’ Not every girl followed that, so I salute the ones who didn’t give a rat’s ass. No shame for the ones who were very femme if that was natural to them.”

—Anonymous, 67, Montreal, Québec, Canada