History Main / UsedToBeATomboy

* Yuki from ''Anime/WolfChildrenAmeAndYuki'' as a young child she loved to get dirty, fight with other animals and hunt them, and collected snakes, bugs, and animal bones, however once she began to go to school she freaked out the other girls with her hobbies and wolf tendencies, so in order to fit in she begins to act more girly and wear more fashionable dresses, she also rejects her wolf side.

An AlwaysFemale trope where a feminine character is shown to have been more boyish when they were younger. If the character is not introduced in this way, it'll often come in the form of a flashback or other form of reveal. It's typical for her to be on extremes of the gender expression scale -- going from [[LadyLooksLikeADude very butch]] and [[{{bifauxnen}} androgynous]] to a GirlyGirl.

* ''Disney/TheLionKing'': Nala was a mischievous cub who could beat Simba in every fight, and also very adventurous and restless. She loses her tomboyish traits as an adult and becomes more mature and regal.
* ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid'': Teenage Ariel was a rebellious TomboyPrincess. In the sequel she acts quite queenly becoming the Girly Girl to her daughter's Tomboy.

[[quoteright:258:[[Manga/BlushingGirl https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/m003_7947.jpg]]]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' fancomic ''WebComic/HowIBecameYours'', set some years after the conclusion of the series, regular tomboy Toph has become more feminine with growing up, wearing dresses and makeup and developing a (relatively) more romantic temperament. The example is a somewhat downplayed one, however, since she still retains a lot of [[TheLadette her rough personality]] under the surface.

* Ellie from ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'' was shown to have been a tomboy in flashbacks to her childhood. In her adulthood she was more feminine-looking.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}} vs. Caesar'', Asterix mentions in passing that the beautiful feminine Panacea used to be quite the tomboy as a child.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2,'' Jessie's previous owner Emily went through a cowgirl phase, and loved horses, cowgirl hats, and Wild West things. As she became a teenager, her interests shifted to makeup, music, and colorful '60s posters.

[[quoteright:258:[[Manga/BlushingGirl http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/m003_7947.jpg]]

[[quoteright:258:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/m003_7947.jpg]]

An AlwaysFemale trope where a feminine character is shown to have been more boyish when they were younger. If the character is not introduced in this way, it'll often come in the form of a flashback or other form of reveal. It's typical for her to be on extremes of the gender expression scale-- going from [[LadyLooksLikeADude very butch]] and [[{{bifauxnen}} androgynous]] to a GirlyGirl.

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* In the YuriGenre one-shot ''Blushing Girl'' a girl meets her old friend Ichigo (pictured above), who moved away in early middle school. She was a trouble-making DirtyKid but when they meet four years later she's much more feminine than before, has grown her hair out, and is more polite. She's still a LovableSexManiac though.

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* Ellie from ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'' was shown to have been a tomboy in flashbacks to her childhood. In her adulthood she was more feminine looking.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' Vs Caesar Asterix mentions in passing that the beautiful feminine Panacea used to be quite the tomboy as a child.

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* Penny from ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' was a tomboy, going so far as being the Junior Rodeo Champ, because her father wanted her to be a boy. After she got her first push up bra, she became a cheerleader and adapted the girly, low cut wardrobe and boy crazy attitude she has attitude she had at the series. However, she still has flashes of her roots, mainly in being able to do traditional "manly" activities like holding her own in a sports discussion, or gutting fish when her nerdy guy friends can't.
* Robin from ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' was a tomboy growing up due to her father wanting a son.
* In ''Series/PrettyLittleLiars'' in the episode Shadow Play, Aria tells Paige that she used to be a tomboy, and spent more time in trees than in her own room; she went on to say that she grew out of it once she fell in love for the first time. All of the four girls are feminine snappy dressers, including still tomboy and [[LipstickLesbian resident gay gal Emily.]]

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[[AC: WebComics]]

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]

* The protagonist from ''Manga/{{Prism}}'' is stuck in the past about a boy she spent time with one day in late elementary, who she [[PuppyLove fell in love with]]. On her first day of high school she gets hugged by a random girl. This girl, [[GenderBlenderName Hikaru]], tells her she was the "boy" she met all those years ago.

* Inverted with ''Manga/FamilyComplex'''s Fuyuki. She was first introduced as demure and feminine, sporting GirlishPigtails and wearing dresses. As she grew up and overcome her shyness, she cut off her hair and started wearing boyish clothes, becoming a {{Bifauxnen}} instead. When she reappears in the manga's sequel ''Manga/PrincessPrincess'', Akira's friends mistook her as Akira's brother.

* Played with in ''Manga/FamilyCompo'', somewhere between this and OldFriendNewGender. Masahiko once met a boy at a grave site years ago, who played a joke on him and he is bitter towards the memory even years later. It turns out that was his cousin Shion. Shion looks feminine most of the time but is implied to be [[{{transsexual}} genderqueer]] and sometimes still dresses as a boy.

* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': Baljeet's cousin Mitzi visits in the Titanic episode. When they were younger, they played in the mud together, and Baljeet is looking forward to her visit--and then she shows up in a gorgeous red dress and makeup. He panics and escapes.

* This happens to Ann in ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonSNES'' if you marry her. She grows her hair out, trades her [[TankTopTomboy tank top]] and pants for a dress, and becomes a housewife. She keeps her WrenchWench habits though. This situation is {{averted}} in ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonMagicalMelody'', where the wives aren't {{Palette Swap}}s after marriage anymore.
* Jennifer Pleasant from ''VideoGame/TheSims'' had an identical personality to her older brother and was dressed in full soccer kit as her standard outfit. In ''VideoGame/TheSims2'', set 25 years later, Jennifer re-appears as a suburban wife and mother dressed neutrally in a tank top, mid-length skirt, and heels. Her bio states that she gave up on her childhood aspiration to be a soccer superstar, and now wants to be fashionable and stylish instead.

A common variation, especially in comedies, is OldFriendNewGender. Sub-trope of ShesAllGrownUp and related to GirlinessUpgrade. Compare FormerTeenRebel.

* Sora from ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' is OneOfTheBoys, very playful and tomboyish. But in the sequel ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' (where the previous Digidestined teenagers), she has become a rather feminine girl.

* Hungary from ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' was shown to have been a {{Bifauxnen}} CuteBruiser who thought she was a boy when she was a child. As an adult she's a TeamMom who wears frilly dresses and sports hair decorations. Noticeably the series averts the common cliche that they get [[RealWomenDontWearDresses weaker]] when they become more girly, in that Hungary actually got TookALevelInBadass when she grew up.

** Akane has shades of this. As a toddler she used to loathe skirts. She still plays the [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl "tomboy" to her best friend Marika]] however has multiple stereotypically feminine qualities as well.

* Inverted in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' with Cynthia. It's revealed in a conversation with Severa in the DLC map Harvest Scramble that she used to be way girlier before her parents died when she was young and became determined to become a great hero like they were. Though she's only a tomboy in the sense that she likes being a dashing hero and fighting for justice - otherwise [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak she still dresses, looks, and sounds *incredibly* girly.]]

* Inverted in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' with Cynthia. It's revealed in a conversation with Severa in the DLC map Harvest Scramble that she used to be way girlier before her parents died when she was young and became determined to become a great hero like they were. Though she's only a tomboy in the sense that she likes being a dashing hero and fighting for justice. She still dresses, looks, and sounds ''incredibly'' girly.

* In ''ComicBook/Asterix'' Vs Caesar Asterix mentions in passing that the beautiful feminine Panacea used to be quite the tomboy as a child.

* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': Baljeet's cousin Mitzi visits in the Titanic episode. When they were younger, they played in the mud together, and Baljeet is looking forward to her visit--and then she shows up in a gorgeous red dress and makeup. He panics and escapes.

* Inverted in ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' with Sapphire. She wore a pink lolita dress as a little girl and was very feminine. [[spoiler:She decided to change after Ruby got hurt saving her. ]] The opposite happened to Ruby, making them a MasculineGirlFeminineBoy duo.
* ''Manga/BokuraNoHentai''

A common variation, especially in comedies, is OldFriendNewGender. Sub-trope of ShesAllGrownUp and related to GirlinessUpgrade.

* Parodied in a mock FlashForward in ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls''. The tomboyish Buttercup is portrayed as a feminine, boy-obsessed ValleyGirl along with her sisters as a teenager. The scene in question is a joke about the fandom's older versions of the girls.