I do clearly remember an interview where she said she deliberately dressed and acted in a tomboy manner because as a teen she was always getting unwelcome advances by random guys, so this was her way of warding them off. I guess the softening part came from her finally embracing her feminine side and no longer being afraid of it, something I can definitely relate to.

The funny thing is, most tomboy girls, (at least that I know of) usually turn out to be straight, so I'm a little surprised that people assume that Alicia is gay because of her style. Even in her tomboy phase, I didn't consider her to be butch, just rough around the edges. Butch women usually don't wear makeup and girly accessories.