In the summer of 2013, SCS intern De’Liza Galimidi had an idea to ask the question, “What does it mean to be a girl?” We decided to run with that question as a loose guide on a series exploring the idea of not only girlhood but gender and the gender binary as a whole. The following series of four posts is what we came up with — a combination of our own lived experiences, stories and thoughts submitted by readers, and a compelling interview with transgender rights activist Jane Heenan of Gender Justice Nevada.

• What does it mean to be a girl? (part 1)
• Different for girls
• What you said about being a girl
• Decoding the gender binary