Boy or Girl

Boy or girlI see on every standardized test
But what if I’m neither
Or I don't know what I am
Or I don't careBoy or girlIs the question asked when I fill out those online quizzes I like
But what if it doesn't matter
Or I don't want to answerWhat's your nameIs asked whenever I meet someone new
I know what name my parents gave me
But I'm not sure if I want it
and it's too feminine for me
I've chosen one I like better
But my parents won’t get itJust be who you areThe teachers say on the first day of schoolBut thenThey make me choose a bathroom that doesn’t feel quite right
And they assign a set of pronouns to me
Based on the length of my hair
Or the style of my shirt
Or the size of my chestStop assuming my genderIs said in the halls every day
But what if you’re assuming mineWhat ifYou have no idea what it feels like
To be misgendered every single day
To have to cram yourself into a box too small for your identity
To have to conform to the social constructs
To please the people around youEvery dayI live with the knowledge
That people don’t truly understand me
That the well meaning people who try to comfort me with
It's just a phase, you'll be normal in no time
Everyone feels this way during puberty
Are the people who are feeding my dysphoria
my insecurities and my self-doubtThink about thisEvery time you tell a gender non-conforming teen that everyone feels this way at some point
Every time you incorrectly assume someone’s pronouns are binary
Every time you say I get what you’re going through when you don’t
Every time you ask boy or girl to someone who is neither
You tear down a little bit of what makes them who they are
What gives you the right to assume who I am?