I grew up in a very small country town and spent my childhood hanging out with the boys and one other 'tomboy' riding motorbikes and playing sports...definitely not playing dress ups or with dolls.
Senior schooling was hard..I tended to hang with females and gay males. I think to some extent we all realised that we didn't quite fit anywhere else and that gave us all something in common . By this stage I was getting a lot of male attention (usually from the alpha males) and its hard to explain but it made me feel powerful in that I could attract this attention but at the same time it was uncomfortable because it certainly didn't make me feel giggly or go weak at the knees and I soon learnt that it was best to try and stay under the radar.
I then spent 6 years in the Air Force..what a blast!!! Male and like minded females, my personality soared. In my squadron, I was one of a handfull of females and I can honestly say that these were some of the best days of my life.
Now, a bit further down the road... given my location and situation (an expatriate), my closest friends are female (not girly girls tho). I still enjoy male companionship but often my friendliness is 'misread' by males and I certainly don't want to upset the wives!
I still have good relationships (albeit on facebook) with males from my past which allows the 'maleness' to step up.
I figure it's probably safer behind a screen for now.
