A tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of a boy. Common characteristics include wearing masculine clothing and engaging in games and activities that are physical in nature and are considered in many cultures to be unfeminine or the domain of boys. Tomboy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary was used to refer to, "brash, boisterous, or self-assured youth." The OED dates the first printed use of the term to Ralph Roister Doister, published in 1567. Author Michelle Ann Abate stated that, in nineteenth-century American culture, the usage of the word tomboy came to refer to a specific code of conduct that permitted young girls to exercise, wear "sensible clothing", to eat a "wholesome diet"; because of the emphasis on a healthier lifestyle, tomboyism grew in popularity during this time period as an alternative to the dominant feminine code of conduct that had limited women's physical movement. Abate stated that this mode of behavior was planned to enhance the power and durability of the country's coming brides and child-bearers and the progeny that they birthed.

She said that tomboyism was more than a new fostering method or gender statement for the country's young women. In her 1898 book Women and Economics, feminist writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman lauds the health benefits of being a tomboy as well as the freedom for gender exploration: "not feminine till it is time to be". Joseph Lee, a playground advocate, wrote in 1915 that the tomboy phase was crucial to physical development between the ages of eight and thirteen. Tomboyism remained popular through World War I and World War II in society and film. During the twentieth century, Freudian psychology and backlash against LGBT social movements resulted in societal fears about the sexualities of tomboys, this caused some to question if tomboyism leads to lesbianism. Throughout history, there has been a perceived correlation between tomboyishness and lesbianism. For instance, Hollywood films would stereotype the adult tomboy as a "predatory butch dyke". Lynne Yamaguchi and Karen Barber, editors of Tomboys!

Tales of Dyke Derring-Do, 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". Psychoanalyst Dianne Elise's essay reported that more lesbians noted being a tomboy than straight women. However, while some tomboys 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; the idea that there are girl activities and clothing, that there are boy activities and clothing, is reinforced by the tomboy concept. Tomboyism can be seen as both refusing gender roles and traditional gender conventions, but conforming to gender stereotypes; the concept may be looked at from a positive viewpoint. Feminine traits are devalued and unwanted, tomboys echo this viewpoint toward girly girls.

This can be due in part to an environment that only values masculinity. Idealized male masculinity is atop the hegemony and sets the traditional standard, it upheld and spread by young children through children playing with one another. Tomboys may view femininity as having been pushed on them, which result in negative feelings toward femininity and those that embrace it. In this case, masculinity may be seen as a defense mechanism against the harsh push toward femininity, a reclaiming of agency, lost due to sexist ideas of what girls are and are not able to do. Tomboys are expected to one day cease their masculine behavior. During or right before puberty, they will return to feminine behavior, are expected to embrace heteronormativity. Tomboys who do not do such are stigmatized due to homophobia. Creed writes that the tomboy's "image undermines patriarchal gender boundaries that separate the sexes," and thus is a "threatening figure." This threat affects and challenges the idea of what a family must look like nuclear independent heterosexual couplings with two children.

Gender scholar Jack Halberstam states that while the defying of gender roles is tolerated in young girls, adolescent girls who display masculine traits are repressed or punished. However, the ubiquity of traditionally female clothing such as skirts and dresses has declined in the Western world, where it is no longer considered a male trait for girls and women not to wear such clothing. An increase in the popularity of women's sporting events and other activities that were traditionally male-dominated has broadened tolerance and lessened the impact of tomboy as a pejorative term. Instead, as sociologist Barrie Thorne suggested, some "adult women tell with a hint of pride as if to suggest: I was independent and active. Filipino tomboys are masculine-presenting women who have relations with other women, with the other women tending to be more feminine, although not or transmasculine people who have relationships with women. Women who engage in romantic relationships with other women, but who are not masculine, are still deemed heterosexual.

This leads to more invisibility for those that are lesbian and femin

Dida of Eynsham was a 7th-century sub-king of the Mercian territory around Oxford, near the Chilterns. Little is known of his life, although he is mentioned in the various Anglo-Saxon chronicles, he has been purported, since ancient times, to be the father of St Frideswide, patron saint of Oxford; the date of Dida's birth is not known. He appears to have acted as a sub-king of the Chilterns around 670-675. Anglo-Saxon chronicles describe him as controlling areas of Mercian territory around Oxford and the Chilterns, he appears to have been in constant dispute with the West Saxons over land boundaries. It is speculated that he was a Mercian nobleman, raised to the status of sub-king by Wulfhere of Mercia; because of his connection to St. Frideswide, it is assumed that he was related to the sub-king of Surrey, Frithuwold of Chertsey; the chronicles do not record the date of Dida's death. In a Vita of St Frideswide, William of Malmsbury mentioned Dida, describes him as "a catholic and upright man", married to a "worthy wife" named Safrida.

Their only child was Frideswide. When Safrida died, Dida built a church at the behest of his daughter, dedicating it to the Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary and all the saints. There he allowed Frideswide to become its first abbess. After the death of Dida, a certain Algar of Leicestershire succeeded wooed Frideswide. Frideswide continued as the abbess of the monastery at Oxford until her death, she was to become patron saint of Oxford and of the university there. Anglo-Saxon Christianity The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Anonymous 10087 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England

The 22nd Annual Tony Awards was held on April 21, 1968, at the Shubert Theatre and broadcast on television by NBC. Hosts were Angela Lansbury and Peter Ustinov, assisted by Jack Benny and with Alfred Drake doing narration; the theme of this year's awards ceremony was to salute previous Tony Award-winning musicals. Presenters: Anne Bancroft, Shirley Booth, Art Carney, Trudy Carson, Diahann Carroll, Carol Cole, Sandy Dennis, Audrey Hepburn, Jerry Herman, Anne Jackson, Alan King, Groucho Marx, Liza Minnelli, Paul Newman, Gregory Peck, Harold Prince, Tony Randall, Eli Wallach, Joanne Woodward. Musicals represented: Golden Rainbow. How Now, Dow Jones Hallelujah, Baby! Winners are in bold Audrey Hepburn Carol Channing Pearl Bailey David Merrick Maurice Chevalier APA-Phoenix Theatre Marlene Dietrich Tony Awards official site