Gender Identity In Liz's Tomboy

Is it a boy or a girl? Adolescents today are facing a coming of age story of their own and are trying to figure out who they were born to be. Tomboy by Liz Prince displays a great example of gender identity. On the surface, people tend to look at gender as a definable yes or no matter, and fail to see the variations that exist. Gender identity is a learned self-perception, and self-identification. Learned because essentially, the person experiencing frustration with their labeled gender goes through a sort of trial-and-error process. Gender can be identified on one’s own terms. In this comic, a young girl named Liz struggles to understand what makes her female. She is still in search for something to love about herself but has not managed to find it. Growing up, Liz did not have an interest in clothes, make-up, or princesses. She grew up with guys in elementary school in which she developed similar interest, such as, video games and punk rock bands. Because of this, she feels further pushed away from girls her age and in the process develops self-esteem issues. Even her closest friends begin to drift away leaving Liz feeling more abandoned than ever. However, things start to turn for the better when she gets involved with a volunteer project at a place called Warehouse 21.

While the book is focused on Liz's personal experiences, readers will still find that they can easily relate to her stories. The author effectively communicates the topic of gender identity by conveying to her audience that “adolescence is a difficult time for everyone, and it is even worse when you feel like you do not fit in” (Yancey). Obstacles like peer pressure, bullying, and feminism are also important topics Liz touches on throughout the book. In doing so, we learn from our own experiences that the events Liz is going through has also occurred as some point during our