Taming the Tomboy: Discourses of Recuperation and Androgyny

• In Event: Discourses of Children and Youth

Abstract

This essay explores the discourses of recuperation and androgyny as central to the formation of Tomboy subjectivity. To better understand the cultural implications for gender identity and agency, I articulate the scientific discourses concerning Gender Identity Disorder in Childhood and contemporary constructions of the Tomboy across popular culture. Addressing the tension between and among these competing discourses, I suggest the Tomboy is an important liminal figure for understanding the transformative potential of female mediated subjectivities.

Author

• Jamie Skerski, Indiana University