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Tomboy resources

“Tomboy” is a controversial word for masculine minors who were assigned female at birth. Some people use tomboy as a reclaimed word, like the TomboyX clothing line or people who use it as a self-identity. Experts in child development recommend not using the term to describe young people. Via the Girl Scouts:

“The term tomboy is used as a shortcut to describe a girl’s interests and is often even thought of as a compliment of sorts,” says Girl Scouts’ developmental psychologist Dr. Andrea Bastiani Archibald, “but when we label sporty, adventurous girls as boyish, we’re reinforcing the idea that certain behaviors or interests are better suited to boys and men, while the rest are for girls. That’s limiting to children of both genders and not good for anyone.”

Girl Scouts (2017)

Gender diverse youth who have historically been described as “tomboys” may continue to be gender diverse as they get older. Some may show interest in taking social, legal, and/or medical steps as part of their gender expression.

Some identify as cisgender and/or straight as adults. Some identify as lesbian, especially butch lesbian. Some identify as transmasculine people or as trans men and may take social, legal, and/or medical steps as part of their gender expression.

Some gender critical people in the anti-transgender movement have claimed that calling the term tomboy controversial is causing the “erasure” of lesbians and/or children they describe as “tomboys.” Lisa Selin Davis is a notable example of this claim.

References

Girl Scouts of the USA (2017). It’s Time to Stop Calling Her a Tomboy. https://www.girlscouts.org/en/raising-girls/happy-and-healthy/happy/what-is-a-tomboy.html

Abate, Michelle Ann (2008). Tomboys: A Literary and Cultural History. Temple University Press, ASIN ‎ B001WAKAD4

King, Elizabeth (January 5, 2017). A Short History of the Tomboy. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/01/tomboy/512258

Elise, Dianne (1999). “Tomboys and Cowgirls: The Girl’s Disidentification from the Mother.” In M. Rottnek (Ed.), Sissies and tomboys: Gender nonconformity and homosexual childhood (pp. 140–152). New York University Press, ISBN 978-0814774847

Brown, Jayne Relaford (1999). “Tomboy”. In B. Zimmerman (ed.). Encyclopedia of Lesbian Histories and Cultures. Routledge. pp. 771–772. ISBN 0815319207. 

Halberstam, Judith (1998). Female Masculinity. Duke University Press. pp. 193–196. ISBN 0822322439.

Harris, Adrienne (2000-07-15). “Gender as a Sort Assembly Tomboys’ Stories”. Studies in Gender and Sexuality. 1 (3): 223–250. https://doi.org/10.1080/15240650109349157

Creed, Barbara (1999), “Lesbian Bodies: Tribades, Tomboys and Tarst.” In Janet Price and Margrit Shildrick, Eds. Feminist Theory and the Body, Routledge, pp. 111–124, ISBN 978-0415925662

Gardiner, Kelly (2021). Tomboys: Performing gender in popular fiction. Image & Text http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2617-3255/2021/n35a2 

Books for younger readers

These are suggestions for further research. Some listed books may not be appropriate for all young readers.

Titles in bold are about real people.

For ages around 6 to 9, depending on reading level:

For ages around 9 to 12, depending on reading level:

Classic books, for around middle school and above, depending on reading level:

Resources

Duke University Libraries (guides.library.duke.edu)

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