![]() ![]() Sometimes tomboys were called vulgar or dangerous in the press, with experts declaring that girls should not be raised with the malignant idea that they deserved equality with boys, or be educated with them. The word tomboy had meant a boisterous boy when it was coined in the 16th century, then morphed into meaning a lascivious woman and, eventually, came to mean a boisterous girl. ![]() In fact, tomboyism in America is firmly rooted in racism. These tomboys had something else in common besides their refusal to submit to sexist restrictions: They were almost always white. Tomboys continued to be a hit in the media, right up to the end of the 20th century. In 1868, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women hit the scene, and Jo March captured the hearts and imaginations of girls around the country. Southworth’s 1859 The Hidden Hand-the country’s first bestseller-starring the mischievous tomboy orphan Capitola Black. As well as running through fields and climbing trees in real life, tomboys were the stars of 19th-century novels like E.D.E.N. Most of us think fondly, and uncritically, of tomboys: spunky girls who act and dress boyishly, who don’t give a hoot about gender norms. ![]()
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