Final Fantasy females: tomboy, girly-girl, or in-between?

[Del Murder]

I'd say most of them were in between. The difining tomboy of the series was Faris and the defining girly girl is probably Vanille.

And Jenova is obviously part of the Quina category.

[SuperMillionaire]

Fang is a tomboy. And so is Vaan.

No, Vaan is a REAL boy.

Also, among tomboys, which ones do you think retain a greater sense of femininity than the rest?

And was Faris the first tomboy?

[cloud_doll]

Even though Tifa is tough and strong I wouldn't call her a tomboy...she still acts very feminine and dresses like a woman.
Nor would I call Elena a tomboy she only dresses in a suit because she's a turk.

Selphie to me seems more girly...

Ok, let's just classify them all as girls.

[MJN SEIFER]

As I've said before, I think the majority of them are "In Between".

As I've also said before "Tomboy" is a redundant phrase because, what does it mean in this day an age? A girl who's adventurous, and athletic, and so on? Just because she's not a damsel in a dress, does not make a "a girl who acts like a boy".

[SuperMillionaire]

True, girls can be sporty and boisterous, but what about her interests and choice of clothing? Does she do traditionally feminine activities when not in battle? And does she dress girly and feminine or more like a boy? And does she have traditional family values?

And also, before, some feminists used to find the term "girly girl" offensive, but now, given your statement about taking offense to the term "tomboy," are girls and women out there who are tomboys starting to take offense to being referred to as such?

[DMKA]

And also, before, some feminists used to find the term "girly girl" offensive, but now, given your statement about taking offense to the term "tomboy," are girls and women out there who are tomboys starting to take offense to being referred to as such?

I certainly hope not. The last thing the world needs is more idiots getting bent over certain words and how they're used, like they hold exclusive ownership over certain pieces of speech.

[VeloZer0]

To my knowledge tomboy was always a derogatory term, and only recently has the negative stigma attached to it begun to fade.

[SuperMillionaire]

Let's revisit this topic, since it's been a little while.

Apparently, the rate of wearing traditionally-feminine clothing among girls has been declining in the western world, and it also has to to do with a girl's interests being closer to that of a boy. Now, MJN Seifer, I was expecting you to reply to this earlier, but I've come up with additional information now.

You say that that a girl who is rough-and-tumble and athletic is not a "girl who acts like a boy," but what about her sense of femininity? She may not be into traditional feminine activities all that much, and is more physically-active than other girls, and prefers to wear sneakers, jeans and t-shirts/tank tops to loafers/high heels, skirts, and blouses. She may also sometimes dress in skimpy sport outfits to show skin on arms, upper chest, midriff, and legs. If she has long hair, it would probably be very straight, but does she still care about her appearance? Does she still try to look good, even if she doesn't wear makeup or perfume? She may also be more adventurous, although not necessarily a daredevil. And what about her mannerisms? For instance, does she cross her legs when sitting? And is her voice high-pitched or low and deep?

The reason why I'm asking this is because many tomboys seem to be feminists, but the hard part is balancing feminism and femininity. Tomboys who are more feministic are more "masculine," although not necessarily "butch," and are also more daring, while others seem to still retain a sense of femininity, in that although they like many boyish things such as sports, they are not as daring, and they know that they are still girls, and so they try their best to act like a traditional girl, despite having more boyish interests; thus, these type of tomboys tend to act more like effeminate boys than "macho" boys (note that effeminate does NOT mean "girly"), and sometimes may have higher-pitched voices.

[Jiro]

Traditionally feminine clothing used to be big poofy dresses, corsets and bonnets. The idea of "feminine" clothing has changed, and at the same time, the idea that females need to wear it is diminishing.

Bringing feminists into the discussion doesn't seem like a smart idea. I think, personally, that it's pretty irrelevant.

[SuperMillionaire]

Well, there are some tomboys who are very much "one of the boys," but then there are others who still retain a sense of femininity. Thus, there are two types of tomboys: "effeminate" and "macho."

I'm still waiting for your response, MJN.

[LikeaLion]

FF7:

Girly - Yuna, Black witch woman thingie (I forgets name)

Sorry for bumping an older thread. I just couldn't help but chuckle!

How could you forget LULU! XD
My favourite character!

[SuperMillionaire]

Actually, thanks, because I'm still waiting for MJN Seifer's response to my questions.

[Mercen-X]

FFX:

Girly - Yuna, Black witch woman thingie (I forgets name)

Wasn't her name like Donna or something?

[SuperMillionaire]

What do you mean by that?

[TaylorS]

In 6, Celes is an obvious "tomboy", as shown in the Opera House scene when she goes "I'm a GENERAL, not some opera floozy!"), she's strongly comparable to many powerful women in our modern word that often get the "iron" label attatched to them (Maggie Thatcher, Hillary Clinton, Angela Merkel, etc.), creating a cold, hard persona to fit in traditionally "masculine" areas.