Tomboy
:''For the computer software, see
Tomboy (software)A
tomboy is a
girl who behaves according to the
gender role of a
boy. This typically includes various things:
* Wearing non-
feminine clothes.
* Enjoying
games, interests, and activities (often physical, such as
running,
jumping,
climbing trees and
sports like
soccer and
baseball) that are often considered to be the domain of boys.
* Preferring school subjects often considered to be the domain of boys, like
mathematics and
science.
* Preferring to befriend boys more than other girls.
The word is recorded in Engish since 1553, for a "rude, boisterous boy," from Tom (a common boys namen as in 'Tommy' meaning soldier) + boy; the meaning "bold or immodest woman" is attested from 1579; the present use is first recorded in 1592.
There is little study of the causality of tomboyness, since it has been considered a youthful phase. In recent times, however, due to a perceived correlation between tomboyishness and
lesbianism, there have been more attempts to find a causality for what is perceived as a deviant behavior. Some folk theories might be that a girl spent her
childhood and/or
adolescence in an
environment where the
male presence or action predominates, and having therefore a lack of
female role models. For example,
* a
family with:
** more than 2
brothers and 1
sister or fewer, or
** a single
father* a school mostly of boys, hence the tomboy befriends few girls.
However, this
post hoc hypothesis is challenged by some tomboys' personal experiences and by modern research that suggests that tomboyishness is heavily influenced by genetic and prenatal factors. [
1]
Historically, tomboys were defined by boyish behaviour (especially more physically active, technological, and scientific interests) and wearing boys' clothing. In recent times, as the use of "traditional" girlish clothing such as dresses, blouses and skirts steadily declines among Western females, the distinction has become more and more one of behaviour. A general increase in the popularity of woman's sporting events (see
Title IX), and other activities that were traditionally male-dominated, is today broadening tolerance and lessening the impact of "tomboy" as a pejorative.
Childhood genders are handled somewhat differently for tomboys and
'sissy' or girlish boys. Tomboyism generally enjoys much more social approval and support than femininity in young males. However, gender scholar
Judith 'Jack' Halberstam has noted that while tomboyism is often tolerated or even encouraged in young girls, older girls and adolescents who display masculine traits are often repressed and punished as well. Thus, youthful gender expressions are increasingly linked to sexuality and evaluated in relation to heterosexual norms.
Famous tomboys in fiction include Jo March from
Little Women, Alicia Lambert from
Step by Step, Scout Finch from
To Kill a Mockingbird, and George (Georgina) from
The Famous Five (by
Enid Blyton). Depictions of tomboys in other media include
Peppermint Patty of the
Charlie Brown cartoons and
Velma of the
Scooby-Doo franchise.
Occasionally, someone who identified as a tomboy while growing up might come to identify as a
transman,
transsexual,
transgender,
butch or
boi. There is also a possibility that a tomboy will later be diagnosed with an
intersexed condition, though not all people with such conditions who were raised as and/or identify as girls will exhibit tomboyish tendencies. To date, scientific research regarding the causes and effects of tomboyishness is quite limited. There are no statistics available on what percentage of tomboys grow up to identify as any of the above, or how that compares to the percentage of the general female population who identify as such.
Most tomboys grow up to identify unambiguously as
women. They may retain a large degree of their childhood tomboyishness, or may become more feminine as they grow. In the latter case, this may result from naturally changing over time, making a conscious effort to appear more feminine, or a combination of the two. Some of these adult women have openly expressed regret for their tomboy youth.
(incomplete)
*
EtymologyOnLine*
Amazon feminism*
Butch and femme*
Effeminacy*
Girly girl*
Masculinity*
Sissy*
Lesbian 
