A tomboy is a girl who behaves according to the stereotypical gender role of a boy. This can include various things:
- Wearing non-feminine clothes, typically for comfort or practicality. See: cross-dresser.
- Enjoying boy's stereotypical games, interests and activities, such as running, jumping, climbing trees, science and baseball.
Some contribute, and some tomboys themselves think, the substantial cause of their inclination is spending their 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 or less sister, or
- a single father
- a school mostly of boys, hence the tomboy befriends few girls.
A tiny fraction of tomboys may be diagnosed as suffering from gender identity disorder.
¹ This "middle" philosophy was defined by one girl as "No I don't have any pink outfits or shorty shorts, I don't go for cheerleading tryouts, and I don't constantly stare in the mirror - but I also don't only shop in the boys department, dislike people for acting prissy, or get sweaty playing football every afternoon." [1]Notes