As a young boy, Ernest Hemingway was dressed in girls’ clothing by his mother and referred to as ‘Ernestine’.

This collection of interesting facts about Ernest Hemingway begins with a rather revealing tidbit about his childhood. It almost sounds slanderous to accuse someone as manly as Ernest Hemingway of ever wearing girls’ clothing, but it's true - even if it wasn't by choice. Ernest's mother had always wanted twins, so when Ernest was born only 18 months after his older sister, mummy dearest decided that was close enough: she began dressing Ernest up in Marcelline's old clothes, even though they were little girl's clothes—lacey white dresses with pink bows and the like. His mother soon began buying duplicates of everything and dressing her children in matching pink gowns and flowered hats. She referred to the children as her "sweet Dutch dollies" and even told strangers that they were her twin girls. To keep the twin fantasy alive, Grace pushed Marcelline back a year in school so that she and Ernest would be in the same grade. Oh, and his mother cherished the fantasy of Ernest as a little girl so much that she referred to him as "Ernestine" at times.

If you've ever wondered why the author emphasized masculinity so much, hopefully, this bit of trivia will help answer your question.