This is a very old thread, started 04 Mar 2011, with the last post, before a few very recent ones, dated 03 Mar 2012.
Anyhow, I think the answer to the question probably varies by culture, region, and era.
When I was growing up here in NYC in the 1960's and early 1970's, it was much more acceptable for a girl to be a "tomboy" than for a boy to be a "sissy."
In high school, because I was good at math and science, I had the good fortune to be able to attend the Bronx High School of Science. I was well aware that a regular high school would have been hell for me. At Bronx Science, I made only one (temporary) friend, but at least the other kids left me alone, for the most part, and had better things to do than to go around actively making life miserable for oddballs (as kids at regular high schools were known to do, regardless of the gender of the oddball).
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