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Conceptualizing Tomboy

The notion of tomboy is quite common in our culture. Yet, to date, there has been very little research on the subject. While cultural studies has given tomboys the most consideration, conceptualizations have largely been placed in specific contexts usually within topics of female masculinity and popular culture. The primary focus of these conceptualizations has generally been on issues of gendered comportment, dress, and behavior. Drawing on a more sociological perspective, I address how the concept is a mechanism of social control and in what ways it is a restrictive phenomena or if can it also be freeing. In response to these criticisms and questions, this article examines “tomboy” and “tomboyisms” to create a conceptualization that incorporates historical context, structural forces, and the potential for identity politics via narratives of self-identified tomboys. Through narratives, I examine what conditions are sufficient in which a tomboy-framing arises, or becomes associated with an individual. Findings illustrate how tomboy can sometimes represent a very persistent predicament in the lives of persons deemed or affected by the label, but can also be boundary breaking and liberating at least momentarily. On a more micro-level, it is interesting to consider the multiple domains in which lives of tomboys have been affected and if there has been a differential distribution of life chances afforded to them and their life outcomes in the long-term. I examine what conditions are sufficient in which a tomboy-framing arises, or becomes associated with an individual.