Redefining realness: My path to womanhood, identity, love, & so much more

Mock discusses the certainty with which she grew up concerning her everyday activities. She speaks of being woken up by her Grandma Pearl and being walked to school by her sister, Cheraine, and her best friend, Rene: “I was certain that when it was time for recess or bathroom breaks, we would divide into two lines: one fore boys, the other for girls. I was certain I was a boy, just as I was certain of the winding texture of my hair and the deep bronze of my skin” (15). Mock talks about how society separates the sexes from the beginning of life, and how she wanted to cross the void into being a girl, although she knew others thought it was wrong. Even though Mock says she always knew she was a girl, she admits this is partially to combat the protests of others who believe her girlhood is imaginary, as there was some aspect of self-discovery.

She makes friends with another girl named Marilyn in kindergarten. Marilyn is the first person she found commonality with in regard to skin tones and love of playing. Mock remembers playing truth or dare, and Marilyn dared her to put on her grandmother’s muumuu and run across the park.