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Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you\u2019ll hear about:\n\nHow journalist Lisa Selin Davis became interested in tomboys.\n\nThe questions that arise when we say the word \u201cgender.\u201d\n\nThe supposed freedoms and limits of being a tomboy.\n\nWhy manufacturers insist that clothing and toys and d\xe9cor are \u201cgendered.\u201d\n\nA discussion of the book\xa0Tomboy: The Surprising History and Future of Girls Who Dare to be Different.\n\n\nToday\u2019s book is:\xa0Tomboy: The Surprising History and Future of Girls Who Dare to be Different, which journalist Lisa Selin Davis was inspired to write when her six-year-old daughter first called herself a "tomboy.\u201d She favored sweatpants and T-shirts over anything pink or princess-themed, just like the sporty and skinned-kneed girls Davis had played with as a kid. But "tomboy" seemed like an outdated word, and why use a word with "boy" in it for girls? Where do tomboys fit into our understandings of gender? In\xa0Tomboy, Davis highlights the forces behind what we think of as masculine and feminine, delving into everything from clothing to psychology, history to neuroscience, and the connection between tomboyism, gender identity, and sexuality. Davis's deep-dive appreciates those who defy traditional gender boundaries, and the incredible people they become.\n\nOur guest is: journalist Lisa Selin Davis, who wrote the novels\xa0Belly,\xa0and\xa0Lost Stars, and the non-fiction book\xa0Tomboy: The Surprising History and Future of Girls* Who Dare to Be Different. She has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Time and many others.\nOur host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who holds a PhD in American history. She is the co-producer of the Academic Life.\nListeners to this episode may also be interested in:\n\n\nGender and Our Brains, by Gina Rippon\n\n\nRaising Them, by Kyl Myers\n\n\nA Burst of Light, by Audre Lorde\n\n\nLGBTQ+ Studies channel\xa0on NBN\n\n\nGender Studies channel\xa0on NBN\n\nThis\xa0conversation\xa0about gender bias in science\n\nThis discussion of the book\xa0Raising Them\n\n\n\ufeff\nYou are smart and capable, but you aren\u2019t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today\u2019s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we\u2019d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies