During my childhood, boys would run around the neighborhood in gangs. Not the criminal mischief kind, but the kind of gangs that would create ramps to ride their bikes off of in the middle of the street, or find some way action-packed activity that would often result in bloody knees, black eyes, and copious amounts of dirty clothing. 

But while these boy gangs were common, every now and again you'd find these gangs contained a girl or two. They would ride out with the boys and partake in the activities. They could swing a bat, jump off the aforementioned ramp, and run, jump, and push just as well as the boys could. Her clothes got just as dirty, and when it came to outdoor skills, she was sometimes just as talented, if not more so, than the boys.

This was the "Tomboy." 

Tomboys often had a temporary lifespan. Once the hormones started kicking in, girls and boys naturally started to embrace the natural aspects of themselves that made them more appealing to the opposite sex. I can remember the shock I felt when the local tomboy, whom I'd seen dress up in dirty jeans and baggy t-shirts, stepped out of her house in a dress and makeup. She was gorgeous and, for a young boy hitting puberty, suddenly very intimidating. 

But not all Tomboys drop the adventurous outdoorsy part of themselves. They keep being interested in things masculinity typically gravitates towards. Big trucks, big tractors, hunting, fishing, wild game, machines, and guns pique their interest. They feel more at home in well-worn boots and t-shirts than in skirts and dresses. They're not afraid to sweat. 

You might be wondering where the Tomboy went in this day and age. I can tell you firsthand that they're still around, they just don't speak up much, and for a few reasons. 

As my colleague Jennifer O'Connell wrote in a recent piece concerning the story of Hannah Barron, one reason is that today, people are just mean. A woman can't just enjoy being herself in front of other women without being judged by them. 

(READ: International Women's Day Should Be About Inspiration and Empowerment, Not Delusion and Demoralization)

Take, for instance, this tweet by X influencer Sameera Khan, effectively tearing down Barron for her accent and lack of femininity, accusing American women of being men.

This accent needs to be illegal and women should be banned from doing manual labour like this.

There is NOTHING feminine about American women.

American women are literally men. pic.twitter.com/iypi1CGNov

— Samirah (@SameeraKhan) March 9, 2024

I'm gonna pump Khan's brakes here. 

My loyal readers will know me as a heavy critic of the modern woman. I see the anti-feminization of women through the brainwashing brought on by modern feminism as a tragedy that is contributing to this country's degradation in a massive way. 

Feminism has convinced women that they're not just as good as men at everything but they're even better. They will boldly look into a camera in the midst of a city built and kept safe by men and say with all the conviction in the world that they don't need men. Meanwhile, modernity has convinced some women that they actually are men. Both have abandoned their femininity in different ways. 

You might be surprised to hear me say that the opposite camp has done something equally as damaging. People like Khan have become so judgemental and harsh against women who don't display the correct amount of femininity. They mock and belittle other women, shaming them until they find it uncomfortable to be themselves. I can't imagine a more effective way to make women feel resentful of femininity. 

But the Tomboy isn't masculine. She doesn't think she's a man. She might think she's just as capable at things as a man is...but that's because she is. She's had a lot of practice. Just taking a look at Barron's posting history, I can tell you that she's definitely accumulated more outdoor skills than I have. 

But Barron, despite being a skilled outdoorsman (outdoorswoman?), is still very much a feminine woman.

That's because femininity isn't about looking feminine. A woman can put on a T-shirt and a pair of dirty overalls and go work on a car and still be more feminine than a city dweller with outfits that cost $200 a pop. At the end of the day, femininity is a woman accepting and embracing her womanhood and everything that naturally comes with it. 

And I'm using the word "naturally" here very pointedly. 

Tomboys might not put on a lot of makeup but they do display their natural beauty, a type of beauty that comes stock with being a woman. Tomboys don't reject men or refuse to learn basic housekeeping skills. Their only issue is finding men who can keep up with them outside the home. Tomboys are wives, mothers, and lovers just like any normal woman is, they just have an added interest in things that are typically masculine. 

And that's not a bad thing at all. As O'Connell put it in her article concerning Khan's reaction to Barron: 

Who would you want on an island with you? I'll take the person who actually can get stuff done and help produce food, over someone who equates femininity to looks and environment. It's all stereotypical nonsense fueled by someone whose job it is to get attention. 

But unfortunately, people like Khan are presented as the standard, while role models like Barron are marginalized because they don't fit that paradigm.

In a world of false values, false beliefs in gender, false loyalties, and false eyelashes, the Tomboy is...natural. 

The Tomboy can get the hard work done and still be a beauty to behold by date time. 

And in that regard, that could rank among the top examples of the true American woman.