A tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of the gender role of a boy, including the wearing of typically masculine-oriented clothes and engaging in games and activities that are often physical in nature, and which are considered in many cultures to be the domain of boys. Tomboy, since its print inception in 1592, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, "has been connected with connotations of rudeness and impropriety."
In recent times, as the ubiquity of traditionally female clothing such as dresses, blouses, and skirts has declined among Western world females, the distinction has become more and more one of behavior. A general increase in the popularity of women's sporting events (see Title IX) and other activities that were traditionally male-dominated is today broadening tolerance and lessening the impact of tomboy as a pejorative term.
There is a perceived correlation between tomboys and lesbianism. For instance Hollywood films would stereotype the adult tomboy as a "predatory butch dyke." Lynne Yamaguchi and Karen Barber, editors of Tomboys!, argue that "tomboyhood is much more than a phase for many lesbians," it "seems to remain a part of the foundation of who we are as adults." Many contributors to Tomboys! linked their self identification as tomboys and lesbians to both labels positioning them outside "cultural and gender boundaries." While some tomboys later reveal a lesbian identity in their adolescent or adult years, behavior typical of boys but displayed by girls is not a true indicator of one's sexual orientation.
Gender scholar Judith Halberstam has found that while the defying of gender roles is often tolerated in young girls, older girls and adolescents who display masculine traits are often repressed and punished.
There have been few studies of the causality of women's behavior and interests, when they do not conform to the female social gender role. One report from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children suggests that preschool girls engaging in "masculine-typical" gender-role behaviour, such as playing with toys typically preferred by boys, is influenced by genetic and prenatal factors. Tomboys have also been noted to demonstrate a stronger interest in science and technology.