Thinking a lot about trans man Nicky today
I think that in the Glenn Close timeline, Nick would have realized he was trans at a young age and been living as a boy for most of his life. Gender roles weren't a big part of Nick's childhood. Glenn and Morgan weren't raising a girl; they were raising a rockstar. So when Nick is trying to earn his parents' approval, he isn't concerned with meeting standards of being a girl; he's concerned with more androgynous ideas of "coolness". This gives him the space to drift over into male gender roles as he realizes those are more comfortable for him.
I also think that queer topics would be just a normal part of life in the Freeman-Close household. Before Morgan died, they probably went to Pride events as a family. I imagine Glenn would have been too busy or depressed to continue going after she died.
This is why, even though Glenn isn't very emotionally available and wouldn't be someone who's necessarily equipped to help Nick work through Big Gender feelings, he finds himself equipped to realize he is a boy at a young age.
In the Jodie Foster timeline, Nicholas does not realize he is trans until he begins to process his memories as Nick. Not because Jodie is outright transphobic, but rather he's just ignorant and not attached to queer culture in the same way. Jodie would have been raising A Girl; gender roles would have been put on Nicholas in a way they weren't on Nick. Not even harshly enforced, necessarily, but subconsciously present. And because Nicholas, like Nick, is largely defined by his need for his father's approval, that means being a perfect daughter. He could have continued repressing for years if he had never recovered his memories.
Nicky still holds a little bit of a grudge against Jodie because of it.
