TOMBOY is a revealing dive into the forces that have shifted and narrowed our ideas of what’s normal for boys and girls, and for kids who don’t fall neatly into either category. It is a celebration of both diversity and those who dare to be different, ultimately revealing how gender nonconformity is a gift.Inspired by several of her viral op-eds for The New York Times, Lisa Selin Davis’s TOMBOY: The Surprising History and Future of Girls Who Dare to Be Different explores the history, and imagines the future, of girls who defy societal expectations based on their gender. Whether you're a grown-up tomboy or raising a gender-rebel of your own, Tomboy is the perfect companion for navigating our cultural shift.

Above all else, Davis's comprehensive deep-dive inspires us to better appreciate those who defy traditional gender boundaries, and the incredible people they become.

She highlights the forces that have shifted what we think of as masculine and feminine, delving into everything from clothing to psychology, history to neuroscience, and the connection between tomboyism, gender identity, and sexuality. In Tomboy, Davis explores the evolution of tomboyism from a Victorian ideal to a twentyfirst century fashion statement, honoring the girls and women-and those who identify otherwise-who stomp all over archaic gender norms. So was it outdated? In an era where some are throwing elaborate gender reveal parties and others are embracing they/them pronouns, Davis set out to answer that question, and to find out where tomboys fit into our changing understandings of gender. But 'tomboy' seemed like an outdated word-why use a word with 'boy' in it for such girls at all? Her child favored sweatpants and T-shirts over anything pink or princess-themed, just like the sporty, skinned-kneed girls Davis had played with as a kid. So when author and journalist Lisa Selin Davis's six-year-old daughter first called herself a 'tomboy,' Davis was hesitant. We are in the middle of a cultural revolution, where the spectrum of gender and sexual identities is seemingly unlimited. Based on the author's viral New York Times op-ed, this heartfelt book is a celebration and exploration of the tomboy phenomenon and the future of girlhood.

Tomboy by Lisa Selin Davis