Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Young Marines

marines_poster "The Young Marines is a youth program in the United States and Japan open to children from the ages of 8 years old through the completion of high school, or their eighteenth birthday." (Source: Wikipedia)

The organization was founded in 1959 in my hometown. In fact, the founding organization had its meetings in my grammar school, a block from my home.

My Dad was in the Marine Corps during World War II and as a result, he knew some of the local Marines who were founders of the Young Marines. I don't recall if he approached his Marine buddies about me joining the Young Marines or if his Marine buddies recruited me.

In either case, I was a Young Marine for a year or two and it was a very bad fit. I never graduated through the ranks, was denied some of the group's privileges and suffered psychological abuse from some of the adults running the organization.

I never mentioned these issues to my parents because I assumed that I was at fault ― that I was a bad Young Marine and deserved the treatment I received. I eventually stopped going to meetings and my parents never reacted to my being AWOL.

In retrospect, I believe that I assumed correctly, that is, I was at fault ― not because I was a bad Young Marine, but because I was a feminine Young Marine. The adults running the organization probably thought I was gay, so they did their best to make me feel so uncomfortable that I would quit. And they succeeded.

The Girl Scouts would have probably been a better fit for me, but back then, they didn’t want me either.

 

femulate-her-new

 

 

Source: ShopBop

Wearing Tibi top, Piamita trousers, Dannijo earrings,
Jennifer Behr headband and Giuseppe Zanotti pumps.

 

femulator-new-new

 

 

Paolo Ballesteros, femulating and masculating.

12 comments:

  1. I wanted to be a Girl Scout, soooooo bad. I was put in Boy Scouts. But quit, because I did not like all that boy stuff you needed to do to get badges.

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  2. Stana, I see that you have invented a new word: masculating.

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  3. Reminds me of my Boy Scout experience. I wasn't too excited about the Girl Scouts either, as it seemed all the girls were allowed to do was go around selling cookies in order to make money for the adults. Every time I asked my mom what Girl Scouts did, she said, "sell cookies," which may be the source of my young perceptions. :-)

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    Replies
    1. The uniform made up for the cookie selling!

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  4. I think you have the most interesting blog out there, Stana! At 15 I had a similar experience in the old country, though in my case it was compulsory – it was called Instrucción Pre-Militar, or IPM for short, and I was a terrible fit. In my case though I was very mouthy, wouldn’t back down ever, and had no qualms in getting even with whomever tried to bully me (something I learned tired of being bullied while younger). I was also the best shooter using those old Mauser bolt rifles, and my “platoon” needed me for the competitions  I actually came fifth country wide that year.

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    Replies
    1. I had a high draft number, so I never had to join the military. But if I was ever drafted, I believe my manner of dress would have kept me out of the service.

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  5. Sally StoneMarch 18, 2015

    Stana, I have a question about your "Femulate Her" section. How many of the girls in this section have actually been boys femulating? Any of them?
    Hugs,
    Sally

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    Replies
    1. Hi Sally,

      As far as I know, none of the girls in the Femulate Her section were femulating boys.

      The purpose of the Femulate Her section is to show examples of cisgender women that boys can emulate/femulate.

      Stana

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  6. antonym, dear - NASA is an acronym...

    Anyone else think the girl above looks something like Jillian Michaels?

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    Replies
    1. Antonym was in my head, but acronym was in my fingers. Must be the cold meds I am taking! LOL

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