"I think it might be easier to be loud and proud than in the closet, maybe that's part of being human - being able to define what is different and put a label on it."

With all the change and talk about sexuality following the debut of Caitlyn Jenner, I'd like to offer a unique perspective on it. You could say that society and the medical profession labelled me gay and treated me as an aberration, when they shouldn't have.

I was brought up in Hamilton where I attended a number of schools. I was outgoing, a little extroverted and definitely a little "different" in most people's eyes.

I excelled at academics and athletics, but was awkward and aloof from my peers so I became a bit of a loner. I had friends, but few of them. I wasn't popular unless I gained popularity through school achievements.

Teachers loved me because I'd try hard, fellow pupils didn't know what to make of me. One thing everyone thought I was though was gay.

Early primary school was not so bad, but the gay label started creeping in all the same.

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With hindsight, I could say that I was initially at fault. Why? Because I liked women. I liked them a lot. I liked them so much that when I played and dressed up - I emulated that which I admired the most: Girls! Girls! Girls!

My parents separated when I was 18 months old. I had a fair mix of older brothers and sisters but it was the sisters and my mother I loved the most.

I felt that women played the most important role in my life - in anyone's life. The men had to go work, leave the children, were absent and separate to my life and to those I saw around me. Meanwhile, the women had all the freedom to do what they wanted, stay at home, engage in conversations with others, they had buying power.

As a kid, I rationalised that men missed out on the best life had to offer, while girls had all the fun. Without seeing how the other half lived I was content to throw my lot in with all the women I was surrounded by and imitate that which flattered me the most.

'APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR'

I remember being 5 and going to school on a rainy day with my yellow rain coat on and pretending it was a dress - oh, the mockery that caused.

The students laughed, the teachers cried foul, my mother was called in, psychologists jumped on board to right the wrongs and an innocent act by a 5-year-old was condemned with the full weight of society.

I clearly remember being drilled about it. Had I dressed like that before and acted out? Yes, yes I had. I had been acting out since I was 2.

At that time, in the late 1970s, Wonder Woman was on TV along with Batman. Batman and Robin were cool, although a little pathetic with the BAM, BOP and WHAMs. It didn't appeal as much as Wonder Woman did.

Wonder Woman was gorgeous. A former Miss Universe, sweet, sensitive, powerful and mysterious - everything I could love in a woman. I can recall my mum making me a Wonder Woman outfit and me thinking it was the best thing since colour TV.

How I played at home was not a problem at home, the problems came when I was at school.

After the psychologists got involved, I learned "appropriate behaviour" - I kept it to myself and I didn't dress up ever again.

'THE BUBBLE BROKE'

I was diagnosed as hyperkinetic (a step up from hyperactive, probably your ADHD equivalent today) and had regular appointments to check on my progress. The main focus was often my sexuality.

However, nothing could change the fact that I am (or rather was MORE) effeminate and different. At one stage, the psychologists told my mother that I was nine points out of 10 towards becoming a transvestite. I was aged between 7 and 9 at this stage.

I could never seem to stay at a school for long before getting fixed with labels - gay, homo, etc. While I never displayed attraction to the same sex it was a label that followed me around and was usually started up again by someone that knew me at the new school.

The fact that I denied being gay seemed to spur the insults more.

I spent most of my time in the library and hated being with my peers. I became more distrustful of those my age. I loved school, learning and the teachers, but dreaded team work because I was always the last one picked. I learnt to withdraw.

By high school, the labels started to slide off. I was excelling in academics and sporting achievements and had a few groups of friends I could sit with. I felt more normal and had tried to up my manliness by then. I was a star gymnast and martial artist.

But like all things, the bubble broke after I ran away from boarding school.

My mother received a letter from the acting principal advising that I would not be welcome to return, and my effeminate behaviour would not be tolerated at a boys' boarding school (that had just gone co-ed).

The letter went on urging professional help for me and my "problems". This was the first the school had mentioned of any problems and I had been there for two years.

NO OTHER LABELS

No-one has ever been able to describe what these effeminate behaviours were. Some have said it's my voice and the way I talk, others have said perhaps my wrists were too limp or it was the way I held my head - pretty flimsy reasoning for inflicting a childhood of misery if you ask me.

After leaving school at 15, I found peace with the adult world far easier than I ever did at school. Unfortunately, I still couldn't walk down town on a Friday night without someone my age recognising me and calling out abusive names from across the street. So I left my hometown and moved on with my life.

I am now 40, have been with my wife for 20 years and have six children. I'm a full-time nerd and would consider myself heterosexual. I am not gay, I am not bi, I have no other labels, I am just me!

The world has definitely changed now, but perhaps not as much as we might hope.

I think it might be easier to be loud and proud than in the closet, maybe that's part of being human - being able to define what is different and put a label on it.

In my case, I think the fact that I did not easily fit into the categories that others wanted to put me in caused more trouble, ridicule and abuse.