I've wondered lately if things would have been different if I'd been a
boy

Trust me, boys are different.

But fathers vary across the gamut. My son-in-law treats his girls like
little princesses. When we "have them," I treat 'em as grand kids. Me
they help in the shop, get tasked to do whatever I need done. I teach
'em cooking, carpentry, electrical. chickens, gardening, whatever -
and have them do the work and make the mistakes.

Best thing you can do for a child in this society is teach them
everything you know and hope they become self-sufficient, independent
souls who need no one and can, thus, choose whom they associate with
or marry, based on something other than helplessness. A pretty girl
can always fall back on her back or knees to get whatever but she
should have other options.