Stuff by Sprouticus

Tomboys for me as a child did not represent not wanting to be a girl. It was about being free of the idea that girls liked dolls more than baseball, that girls are naturally sweet and sedate. You can’t be sedate when you’re sliding into third base. Tomboys are self-reliant. They demand 10 percent. Or, like Addie Pray, they demand $200. Sweet talk doesn’t work on them. They refuse self-pity. They’ll work it out for themselves.

D.I.Y. broadcast mediums like Instagram have ushered in a golden age of personal eccentricity. In the history of humanity, the vast spectrum of private weirdness has never been so public. People use (and in many cases, waste) their time in astonishing ways. It’s inspiring. If it didn’t exist, a science-fiction novelist would have to invent it: a magic button that grants access to a globe-size playpen of oddballs and misfits.