the tomboy project: October 2012

Is there ‘a’ gender which persons are said to have, or is it an essential attribute that a person is said to be, as implied in the question: ‘What gender are you?’

Judith Butler

Consider the Tomboy - independent, adventurous, outdoors, free - pertaining to elements of social surprise. Climbing trees and cutting up worms might be the sort of stuff a girl who wouldn’t be seen dead playing with dolls gets up to, but does this render her a Tomboy? Furthermore, what clues contribute to our impression of a girl who is a Tomboy, when not observed outdoors roughing it up and behaving akin to a ‘rambunctious boy’ – a Hoyden?[1]

Lesley Turnbull

[1] The concept of Tomboy made its debut during the mid-nineteenth century; it supplanted the English term, Hoyden. For more information regarding the etymology of Hoyden and Tomboy concept refer to Abate, A M, Tomboys: A Literary and Cultural History, Temple Press 2008, Philadelphia.

the tomboy project

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