Tomboy

Starred review from March 9, 2020
In this thorough and engrossing investigation, novelist Davis (Lost Stars) posits that gendered child rearing may soon be a thing of the past. Prompted by criticism of her 2017 New York Times essay about her gender-nonconforming daughter, Davis uncovered the mid-17th-century roots of the term tomboy and its evolution from having a negative connotation to a positive one in the late 1800s due in part to Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel Little Women. By the 1920s, the early childhood years—previously gender neutral, with lace, ruffle, and bow-adorned outfits for both boys and girls—became a proving ground to “prepare kids for their future adult performances of gender” with the introduction of boy/girl toys and clothing. While the pop culture Girl Power movement in the 1980s and ’90s ostensibly promoted tomboy-ism in television and film, Davis learned from gender studies experts that “these characters were allowed and encouraged and beloved because they seemed straight and cisgender. They weren’t crossing the line into lesbian and/or trans territory.” In coming out, Davis notes, tomboy actors Jodie Foster and Kristy McNichol mainstreamed LBGTQ issues, and today, “gender-creative” parenting—raising a child free of gender identity or expression until they decide for themselves—introduces a new approach. Davis’s persuasive and deeply personal argument for moving beyond the gender binary will resonate with those curious about child rearing free of normative expectations.

March 15, 2020
An analysis of girls who identify as "tomboys" and how the designation has changed over time. For decades, girls who had short hair, preferred to wear pants rather than dresses, and liked to do "boy" things like climb trees or play sports were often called "tomboys," a term that disappeared once the girl reached puberty and "outgrew" it. Though the name is still widely used, journalist and essayist Davis, who has contributed to the New York Times, the Guardian, and other publications, explores the (in)adequacy of the word to cover the spectrum of gender and sexual identities finding expression today. In this meandering journey through the history and current state of "tomboyism," some of the author's pressing concerns include the pinkification of everything remotely feminine and the extreme boy-girl separation of toys and children's products based on algorithms that instantly promote specific items tailored by gender. Davis scrutinizes the area surrounding gender identity vs. sexuality, especially in the chapter titled "War of the Words: Tomboy or Trans Boy?" She also considers the role of socio-economic status in the application of many of these designations. In addition to citing research into a variety of relevant topics, Davis includes personal stories of women who were considered tomboys as children who have since been able to find a comfortable place on the wide spectrum that exists today. "I think it's important for parents, and kids," she writes, "to understand how sex, gender, and sexuality have been understood in different eras, to see that the way we are experiencing and understanding them now is part of the evolution, and that we've still got so much more to learn." There is still much to learn, and though Davis could have gone more in-depth in some areas, readers will find this a good place to start their education. An informative jumping-off point for further investigation.

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April 15, 2020
It started, the author writes, when her three-year-old daughter announced she wanted a tie and a button-down shirt. What was going on here? The answer may have come when, three years later, the girl came home from school announcing she was a tomboy. Eureka! Inspiration for research into the subject and the fascinating book that has resulted, exploring, as it does, the concept of the tomboy from Victorian times to today's world, where considerations of gender are front and center. And when between one-third and one-half of adult women declare they were childhood tomboys. Though sometimes a bit wonky (look for words like androstenedione, neuroimaging, androphilic), the book is always well written and accessible, and interest never flags, even when the dive into the subject is at its deepest. The author divides her book into three parts: "The Creation of the Pink/Blue Divide," "Why Tomboys Do What They Do," and "Tomboys, All Grown Up." Interspersed throughout are accounts of actual tomboys, humanizing the text. The conclusion is clear: tomboys rule! Women in Focus: The 19th in 2020(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)