I’ve been a tomboy from a young age. My friends have always been guys, and I developed a dislike for being around other girls around age 10-11 because the people who bullied me were all girls.
When I was a teenager, I kept hearing that girls and women supposedly have a strong “fishy” smell. I know it’s a meme, but I’d seen and read enough firsthand stories that it stuck with me. I even came across accounts from gay men who said that every woman they knew smelled that way, and that it influenced their attraction to men.
In my case, I seem to be an exception. There’s no fishy smell on myself, just normal skin or sweat when I’m active, or at night when I’m due to shower. But that actually made me even more uncomfortable around groups of girls and women, because I really hate the smell of fish or seafood in general, and if there’s a lot of women in a room, that smell lingers even after they’ve left.
Sometimes I feel embarrassed, because people see me, see that I’m female, and I worry they automatically assume I’ve got a rotting crab factory somewhere.
This is internalized misogyny. Someone would only have that smell if they had an infection or other strong smells come from poor hygiene which is not related to sex specifically. Also, not like you’re going to know about it said smell unless you’re down there in someone else’s businesses. It is really not okay to let these sexist and nonfactual thoughts permeate to the point where you dislike yourself or are hateful towards women. I would see a therapist, and if you are around people who speak about women this way I would see them to the door.