List of tomboys in fiction

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

A number of fictional characters have been described as having tomboy characteristics.^[1][2]

Literature

• Arya Stark from the novel series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin (and the adapted TV series, Game of Thrones)^[3]
• Caddie Woodlawn from Carol Ryrie Brink's Caddie Woodlawn^[4]
• Emerson Watts from Meg Cabot's Airhead Trilogy^[5]
• Evie Lilith Burns from Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children^[6]
• Frankie Addams from The Member of the Wedding (also the 1952 film)^[7]
• Georgina (George) Kirrin from Enid Blyton's The Famous Five^[8][9]
• Gypsy Breynton from the Gypsy Breynton series of books by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps^[10]
• Idgie Threadgoode from Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café (also the 1991 film)^[11]
• Josephine "Jo" March from Little Women^[12]
• Leslie Burke from Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia^[13]
• Nan from Little Men^[14]
• Rachel ("Hellfire") Hotchkiss from Mark Twain's Hellfire Hotchkiss^[15]
• Scout from To Kill A Mockingbird (also the 1962 film)^[16]

Film

• Addie Pray (Tatum O'Neal) from Paper Moon^[17]
• Amanda from Manny & Lo^[18]
• Amanda Whurlitzer from The Bad News Bears^[18]
• Annabel Andrews from Freaky Friday^[18]
• Becky 'The Icebox' O'Shea from Little Giants^[19][18]
• Billie from Billie^[20]
• Billie Jean from The Legend of Billie Jean^[18]
• Calamity Jane from Calamity Jane^[21]
• Carter Mason from Princess Protection Program^[22]
• Denise Fleming from Can't Hardly Wait^[18]
• Diana Guzman from Girlfight^[18]
• Edith from Despicable Me^[23]
• Frankie Addams from The Member of the Wedding (also the 1946 novel and adaptations)^[24]
• Graham from But I’m a Cheerleader^[18]
• Hayley Stark from Hard Candy^[18]
• Idgie Threadgoode from Fried Green Tomatoes (also the 1987 novel)^[11]
• Jess and Jules in Bend It Like Beckham^[18]
• Juno MacGuff from Juno^[25]
• Kit Keller from A League of Their Own^[18]
• Kotoha from Konjiki no Gash Bell!! Movie 1: Unlisted Demon 101^[26]
• Kristy Thomas from The Baby-Sitters Club (also the series of novels)^[18]
• Laure from Tomboy (2011)^[27]
• Legs Sadovsky and Goldie Goldman from Foxfire^[18]
• Maggie Fitzgerald from Million Dollar Baby^[18]
• Marjorie Winfield from On Moonlight Bay^[21]
• Monica Wright from Love & Basketball^[18]
• Mulan from Mulan^[18]
• Roberta from Now and Then^[18]
• Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird (also the 1960 novel)^[18]
• Terry Griffith from Just One of the Guys^[18]
• Viola from She's The Man^[18]
• Watts (Mary Stuart Masterson) from Some Kind of Wonderful^[28][18]

Television

• Agura from Hot Wheels Battle Force 5^[29]
• Ashley Funicello Spinelli from Recess ^[30]
• Buttercup from The Powerpuff Girls^[31]
• Darlene Conner from Roseanne^[32][18]
• Eve Baxter from Last Man Standing^[33]
• Gosalyn Mallard from Darkwing Duck^[34]
• Jen Masterson from 6teen^[35]
• Jo from The Facts of Life^[36][18]
• The Kanker Sisters from Ed, Edd n Eddy^[37]
• Kaoru Matsubara/Powered Buttercup from Powerpuff Girls Z^[38]
• Letitia "Buddy" Lawrence from Family^[18]
• Lindsay Weir from Freaks and Geeks^[39]
• Leather Tuscadero from Happy Days^[18]
• Lou from Choushinsei Flashman^[40]
• Maddie Rooney from Liv and Maddie^[41]
• Mary-Kate Burke from Two of a Kind^[42]
• Punky Brewster from Punky Brewster^[43]
• Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic^[44]
• Sam Micelli from Who's The Boss?^[18]
• Sam Puckett from iCarly^[18]
• Snoop from The Wire^[18]

Anime and manga

• Renny Ai from Ninja Senshi Tobikage^[45]
• Kanbaru Suruga from Bakemonogatari^[46]
• Runo Misaki, Mira Clay and Fabia Sheen from Bakugan Battle Brawlers^[47]
• Rin Natsuki from Yes! PreCure 5^[48]
• Sora Takenouchi from Digimon Adventure^[49]
• Nagisa Misumi from Futari wa Pretty Cure^[50]
• Akane Kimidori from Dr. Slump^[51]
• Akane Tendo from Ranma ½^[52]
• Anzu Mazaki from Yu-Gi-Oh!^[53]
• Fūko Kirisawa from Flame of Recca^[54]
• Itsuki Akiba and Nami from I"s^[55]
• Kaoru Shimizu from Major (manga)^[56]
• Karin Kurosaki, Tatsuki Arisawa and Hiyori Sarugaki from Bleach (manga)^[57][58][59]
• Maruko from Chibi Maruko Chan^[60]
• Mikoto Suo from School Rumble^[61]
• Misao Makimachi and Kaoru Kamiya from Rurouni Kenshin^[62]
• Motoko Aoyama, Mitsune Konno, Kaolla Su and Sarah McDougal from Love Hina^[63]
• Rin from Nagasarete Airantō^[64]
• Saki Akasawa from Mahoraba^[65]
• Sally Acorn, Bunnie Rabbot, Julie-Su and Belle D'Coolette from the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series^[66][67][68]
• Sanae Nakasawa from Captain Tsubasa^[69]
• Tia from Zatch Bell!^[70]
• Tsukasa Nishino from Strawberry 100%^[71]

Comics

• Peppermint Patty from Peanuts^[72]
• Valerie Smith from Josie and the Pussycats^[73]

Video games

• Ashei from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess^[74]
• Baiken from the Guilty Gear series^[75]
• Kumatora from Mother 3^[76]
• Narumi Mishima from 12Riven^[77]
• Princess Daisy from the Mario series^[78][79]
• Sheik/Tetra from The Legend of Zelda^[80]
• Brigitte "Rosie" Stark from Valkyria Chronicles^[81]
• Ryune Zoldark from Super Robot Wars^[82]
• Shina/Marvel from Bloody Roar 2
• Touko Zaizen from Inazuma Eleven 2 Kyoui no Shinryakusha^[83]
• Tsarevna Alena from Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen^[84]

Other

• Anybodys, from West Side Story^[85][18]
• Ginger from Time Out For Ginger^[86]
• Tsubasa Onodera from Love Get Chu^[87]

References

1. “I am no lady!”: the tomboy in children's fiction
2. Tomboys: A Literary and Cultural History
3. Shmoop Editorial Team (2008). "Arya Stark in A Game of Thrones". Shmoop University, Inc.
4. Philip Herbst (2001). Wimmin, Wimps & Wallflowers: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Gender. Yarmouth, Me: Intercultural Press. p. 273. ISBN 1-877864-80-3.
5. http://www.kidzworld.com/article/16132-airhead-book-review/
6. Rushdie, Salman (2006). Midnight's Children. Random House. p. 251. ISBN 978-0-09-957851-2.
7. Freeman, Elizabeth (2002). The Wedding Complex: Forms of Belonging in Modern American Culture. Durham: Duke University Press. p. 45. ISBN 0822329891.
8. Purves, Libby "Today's tomboys not getting on so famously," Times Educational Supplement 4753 (9/7/2007): 27. Abstract: "The author, a British novelist and broadcaster, comments on social pressures on girls in 21st-century Great Britain. She begins with a reference to a planned play in which author Enid Blyton's Famous Five characters are shown as adults, and she wonders how tomboy George will be portrayed. She states that modern girls are expected to be so many things, including sporty, brave, and beautiful and wonders if idleness and indifference are the few remaining forms of rebellion".
9. David Rudd, Children's Literature in Education 26.3 (Sep95): 185. Abstract: "Examines the sexism issue in the Famous Five series of children's books by Enid Blyton. Critics' comments on the series; Focus on the tomboy character named George; Characterizations; Gender struggles in the book".
10. Abate, Michelle Ann (2008). Tomboys: a literary and cultural history. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press. p. 47. ISBN 1-59213-722-9. "Likewise, Gypsy is transformed from a rough-and-tumble tomboy into a selfless surrogate mother to her older brother."
11. Lindenfeld, Laura (2005). "Women Who Eat Too Much: Femininity and Food in Fried Green Tomatoes". In Avakian, Arlene Voski; Haber, Barbara. From Betty Crocker to Feminist Food Studies: Critical Perspectives on Women and Food. Boston: University of Massachusetts Press. pp. 221–245. ISBN 1-55849-512-6.
12. Ashford, Richard K. "TOMBOYS & SAINTS: Girls' Stories of the Late Nineteenth Century," School Library Journal 26.5 (Jan80): 23. Abstract: "Focuses on literature about American girls in middle 19th century. Social conditions during the middle 19th century; Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott; Susan Warner's The Wide, Wide World; Ann Douglas's The Feminization of American Culture."
13. Darnall, Beverly (2006). Laura's List: The First Lady's List of 57 Great Books For Families and Children. New York: Penguin. ISBN 1585425036. Leslie Burke, a girl and a newcomer, puts an end to that dream, but Jess can't help but like the feisty tomboy and they become great friends.
14. Clarkm Beverly Lyon (1996). Regendering the School Story: Sassy Sissies and Tattling Tomboys. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-92891-5. Like Jo, Nan provides a middle ground for diverging tendencies: as a tomboy
15. Hellfire Hotchkiss, Mark Twain in Satires and Burlesques, University of California, 1967. The character's creator explicitly refers to her as a "tomboy," and this is echoed by the volume's editor. "Hellfire" Hotchkiss was introduced as a female counterpart to Oscar "Thug" Carpenter, whose gentleness makes him seem feminine by the standards of that time and place. Hellfire herself describes their difficulties in life as being due to their "misplaced sexes" (Everett H. Emerson, Mark Twain: A Literary Life, pp. 231-232). See also Linda A. Morris, "The Eloquent Silence in Hellfire Hotchkiss", in The Mark Twain Annual 3 (2005), pp. 43–51.
16. Pamela Hartman (2005). "Outspoken Tomboys and Arrogant Women: Four 10th-Grade Girls' Talk about Female Characters in English Class". The Women in Literacy and Life Assembly of The National Council of Teachers of English.
17. Halberstam, Judith (1998). Female Masculinity. Duke University Press. p. 191.
18. "Tomboys of TV & Film: They Might Be Gay Today". SheWired. Here Media. July 14, 2011. Archived from the original on July 20, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
19. Holden, Stephen (October 14, 1994). "Little Giants". The New York Times. "The film follows the struggle between the Little Giants and the Cowboys to determine which will represent Urbania, Ohio, a fictional town, in the peewee football league. The Little Giants, who are largely made up of Cowboys' rejects, are the brainchild of Becky O'Shea (Shawna Waldron), an 11-year-old tomboy who was rejected by the Cowboys simply for being a girl."
20. Spigel, Lynn; Curtin, Michael (1996). The Revolution Wasn't Televised: Sixsties Televiosion and Social Conflict. London: Routledge. p. 105. ISBN 0415911222. Tomboy Billie is a talented runner, the star of her high school's otherwise all-male track team.
21. Abate, Michelle Ann (2008). Tomboys: a literary and cultural history. Temple University Press. p. 147. Receiving both critical acclaim and box office success, these movies featured some of the most popular and well-respected actresses in the tomboy role. Screen icon Doris Day plays baseball-playing Marjorie Winfield in On Moonlight Bay (1951) and the rootin'-tootin' title character in Calamity Jane (1953).
22. "Princess Protection Program". Disney Channel. "Carter Mason, is your average teen girl (and a bit of a tomboy) who lives in the small lakeside Louisiana town of Lake Monroe."
23. "Despicable Me at NYTimes". NYTimes. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
24. Benshoff, Harry M.; Griffin, Sean (2006). Queer Images: A History of Gay and Lesbian Film in America. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 100. ISBN 0742519724.
25. Liss, Sarah (December 17, 2007). "Calling the tune: Is Juno the female equivalent of High Fidelity?". CBCNews.ca (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved December 6, 2009. "Played by Ellen Page, 16-year-old Juno MacGuff is all one-liners and stink-eye glares, a comfortable tomboy with a penchant for Gibson Les Paul Guitars and a habit of trusting a person based on their musical choices."
26. 劇場版金色のガッシュベル「101番目の魔物」 (in Japanese).
27. Dargis, Manohla (November 15, 2011). "A Summer of Freedoms in Boyhood". The New York Times.
28. Shary, Timothy. The Journal of Popular Culture, Volume 44, Issue 3, June 2011. "Buying Me Love: 1980s Class-Clash Teen Romances", pp. 563–582. Accessed 26 November 2011. "...hangs out with his long-admiring tomboy friend Watts (Mary Stuart Masterson)..."
29. "CAPCOM：ROCKMAN ZX｜ロックマン ゼクス" (in Japanese).
30. "Recess: The Spinelli Story". Movie TV Episode database. Retrieved 6 December 2009. "Spinelli's a real little toughie, a tomboy with a heart who's fiercely loyal to her friends."
31. Hains, Rebecca C. (2008). "Powerpuff Girls, The". In Mitchell, Claudia. Girl Culture an Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 480. ISBN 0-313-08444-0. "Buttercup, the brunette, is a rough-and-tumble tomboy."
32. http://blog.taylorcolemiller.com/2011/10/too-short-to-be-quarterback-too-plain.html "Establishing Darlene as a tomboy provides Roseanne a way to talkback to gender performance expectations through the voice of a child without alienating audience members who would be uninterested in more frank or “preachy” displays of feminism by an adult."
33. Vogt, Tiffany (December 14, 2012). "We Shine the Spotlight on LAST MAN STANDING Star Kaitlyn Dever (feat. Exclusive Jonathan Taylor Thomas Sighting on Set!)". thetvaddict.com. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
34. "Gosalyn Mallard". "The quintessential tomboy, Gosalyn is most often seen wearing a purple hockey jersey with the number 1 on it, and a pair of sneakers. She has an extremely expressive face, and would never be mistaken for meek little girl."
35. "Jen Masterson". Cartoon Network. "Jen is sports-loving tomboy who dreams of being an Olympic snowboarder one day."
36. Gurwitch, Annabelle (2007-01-02). Fired!: Tales of the Canned, Canceled, Downsized, and Dismissed. Simon and Schuster. p. 2. ISBN 9780743294409. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
37. "Marie's Page". EDtropolis.com. "Marie is the real tomboy of the group and sometimes a bit of a bully when she doesn't get her own way, just because Double D is her so-called boyfriend and she simpers "Hiya muffin" doesn't mean she's adverse to wiping the floor with him - or any of the others for that matter."
38. Galardi, Nina. "Character Description: Kaoru Matsubara". Absolute Anime. Retrieved December 6, 2009. "Kaoru is the major 13-year-old Japanese tomboy at her school, and she is praised for it"
39. "TV: Breaking Down the List", Entertainment Weekly, #999/1000 June 27 & July 4, 2008, 56.
40. ピンクフラッシュ (in Japanese).
41. "Liv and Maddie (Music from the TV Series)". iTunes Preview. Apple. Retrieved 25 October 2015. The show centers on the often contentious and competitive relationship between former child star Liv and her tomboy sister Maddie
42. "Two of a kind". WCHS-TV8. "Mary-Kate is a tomboy whose biggest interest is in perfecting her curveball; and Ashley is a straight-A student starting a boy-crazy stage."
43. Mansour, David (2005). From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century. Kansas City, Missouri: Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 385. ISBN 0740751182. Spunky seven-year-old tomboy...
44. Faust, Lauren. "My Little NON-Homophobic, NON-Racist, NON-Smart-Shaming Pony: A Rebuttal". "Rainbow Dash has rainbow-striped hair because of her name and because she is very interested in sports, specifically flying. She is a tomboy, but nowhere in the show is her sexual orientation ever referenced."
45. 登場人物紹介１ (in Japanese).
46. 化物語 (in Japanese).
47. "Runo". Bakuga Battle Bawlers. Cartoon Network. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
48. "Yes！プリキュア5 ｜ キャラクター" (in Japanese).
49. 空キャラ紹介 (in Japanese).
50. ふたりはプリキュア (in Japanese).
51. Gill, Bill, ed. (2000). Pojo's Unofficial Total Dragonball Z. Triumph Books. p. 92. ISBN 1-57243-416-3.
52. Napier, Susan J. (2005). Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 51.
53. 真崎杏子 (in Japanese).
54. "Flame of Recca". SHONEN SUNDAY. "Quite the tomboy, Fuko also habitually gets into brawls with Recca, but she actually appears to have feelings for him."
55. "ZET TOWN-Is アイズ 秋葉 いつき（あきば いつき）" (in Japanese)."ZET TOWN-Is アイズ ナミ" (in Japanese).
56. "NHKアニメワールド メジャー MAJOR" (in Japanese).
57. "Bleach Anime at Videobleach " Bleach Character Bio". Bleach Anime at Videobleach. "As an authoritative tomboy, she enjoys playing soccer."
58. Recto, Nicole. "Character Description: Tatsuki Arisawa". Absolute Anime. Retrieved December 6, 2009. "Tatsuki Arisawa is kind of like a tomboy that practices karate to fulfill her dream of becoming a vale tudo champion."
59. http://www4.ocn.ne.jp/~kids/arannkaru.htm
60. "Shows - Chibi Maruko Chan". NickIndia.com. Retrieved December 6, 2009. "Chibi is a naughty tomboy, imaginative, crazy, and a truly adorable kid."
61. "Character Description: Mikoto Suou". Absolute Anime. "Sometimes Mikoto can be a bit of a tomboy, but she never loses her feminine side."
62. "るろうに剣心：DVD-BOX＆コミックス完全版発売記念特集" (in Japanese).
63. http://f3.aaa.livedoor.jp/~takuya/lovehina/chara/chara.htm
64. "StarChild:ながされて藍蘭島" (in Japanese).
65. まほらば (in Japanese).
66. "Princess Sally Acorn".
67. "Bunnie Rabbot (SatAM)". StHRPs. "Despite her girly ways she has a surprisingly tomboyish streak in her, especially when it comes to her love of sports."
68. "Julie-Su the Echidna". Mobius Roleplay. "This tough echidna is also quite the tomboy, and refuses to touch any dress."
69. キャプテン翼 (in Japanese).
70. "GBA 金色のガッシュベル!! 魔界のブックマーク／プレイヤーキャラクター" (in Japanese).
71. いちご100％［キャラクター紹介］ (in Japanese).
72. Schultz, Charles M. (2009). Celebrating Peanuts: 60 Years (1st ed.). Andrews McMeel. p. 285. ISBN 0740785486.
73. Bertman, Sandra L. (1999). Grief and the healing arts. Baywood Publishing Company. p. 162. ISBN 0-89503-189-2.
74. ゼルダの伝説 トワイライトプリンセス (in Japanese).
75. ギルティギア イグゼクス アクセントコア【キャラクター】｜梅喧 (in Japanese).
76. ""Characters of MOTHER 3"". The sole heir of Osohe castle, Kumatora is a tomboy princess.
77. "物語の謎に迫れ！　『12RIVEN the Ψcliminal of integral(トゥエルブリヴェン ザ サイクリミナル オブ インテグラル)』" (in Japanese).
78. "Daisy". Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (official site). Sega. Archived from the original on December 7, 2009. Retrieved December 6, 2009. While a bit of a tomboy, Daisy and Peach are great friends.
79. "New スーパーマリオブラザーズ Wii" (in Japanese).
80. East, Tom (December 1, 2009). "Zelda: Profile Of A Princess". Official Nintendo Magazine. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
81. "戦場のヴァルキュリア[SEGA]" (in Japanese).
82. "OG Char". The Gate of Magus. "She's beautiful, but is still a tomboy."
83. イナズマイレブン2 脅威の侵略者 ファイア／ブリザード (in Japanese).
84. "DRAGON QUEST IV". SQUARE ENIX."A fierce tomboy with a knack for battle and a thirst for great adventure."
85. "Overview for West Side Story (1961)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 6 December 2009. "When they learn from an eavesdropping tomboy, Anybodys, that Chino is carrying a gun and bent on revenge against Tony, they organize to protect him."
86. Hischak, Thomas S. (2009). Broadway Plays and Musicals: Descriptions and Essential Facts of More Than 14,000 Shows Through 2007. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. p. 469. ISBN 0786434481. When tomboy high schooler Ginger Carol (Nancy Malone) insists on going out for the school's football team...
87. "あにてれ：ラブゲッCHU ミラクル声優白書" (in Japanese).