So you have a female character who lacks the characteristics and mannerisms of a normal female and only have the characteristics of a male. They can fight, they can play sports, they drink a lot, they play video games, and they're well-liked by the guys (at least some of them). Yes, that's a tomboy. But there's something missing. What could it be?
Well, all she needs is a trademark baseball cap.
This is the trope where a tomboy can be identified by wearing a baseball cap. Most of them wear caps if they commonly love to play baseball. They may wear it when they're in the army. Others wear it just for the sake of setting themselves apart from the Girly Girls she's expected to hang out with. As far as this trope is concerned, a baseball cap is like the cherry on top for the tomboy, and when tomboys wear caps, it's usually a cool sight to see.
They often wear their caps frontwards, especially if their hairstyle is a ponytail. They often wear their caps backwards just to make them look more of a badass. They even wear caps sideways if they're acting like the guys from the 'hood.
A subtrope of Signature Headgear. Also see Tertiary Sexual Characteristics; baseball caps are a masculine one.
Examples:
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Art
- This artwork
by DeviantArt user Meago, which even has the hat labeled "Tomboy".
Anime and Manga
- Subverted in Gunslinger Girl. While being trained on the firing range by her handler Captain Raballo, Claes wore a baseball cap that he'd given her, marked with the insignia of the Gruppo di Intervento Speciale, the special forces unit he used to serve in. However after his death Raballo was erased from her memory and the cap sits unused in her room, while Claes wears more feminine clothing to fit her more sedentary lifestyle, now she's no longer sent on missions for the Agency.
- You from Love Live! Sunshine!! is one of the most athletic girls of the group, and she wears a baseball cap with her name on it as part of her training outfit. She also wears a backwards baseball cap when the group travels to Tokyo in the first season of the anime.
- One of Makoto's outfits in the Sailor Moon nineties anime had her wearing a baseball hat. Fittingly, she's the Tomboy with a Girly Streak of the Inner Senshi.
Fanfic
- Allie from Digimon Legend always wears a yellow baseball cap backwards. Plus, she's an Action Girl who does have moments of being a bit pragmatic.
- Short Stuff from Daring Do can never be seen as an annoying sidekick to Daring Do without her trademark baseball cap. Despite this, she knows how to be a fierce fighter.
- Jade Tanner from Supernannya: Pokémon AU, a black Pokémon trainer, wears her black/green baseball cap which matches the rest of her entire wardrobe on her green hair, backwards. Likewise, she would also have the trope of Characteristic Clothing Colors, alongside the trope of Action Girl, as in Pokémon battles, she kept scoring perfect battles and took down Alessandro Todaro.
Film — Live Action
- Sam Montgomery from A Cinderella Story wears a baseball cap since she likes playing baseball. This is what makes Fiona to consider her unattractive despite being jealous of her.
- In a couple of scenes from She's the Man, Viola, a tomboy, wears a baseball cap with a British flag logo and has a huge interest in playing soccer.
- Amanda Lemmon from It Takes Two is an orphan tomboy who always wear baseball caps and loves playing street ball and hates acting lady-like for adoption.
- The movie version of Lex Murphy from Jurassic Park is a tomboy who wears a baseball cap, although she's more of a computer nerd. In the books, however, she is a huge baseball fan and she does wear her hat proudly.
Literature
- The Famous Five: In Five Have Plenty of Fun, the Five have to disguise the very girly girl Berta as a boy, who has her hair cut short, and they buy her a cap, which suits her boyish look perfectly. Alas for George, the ultimate girl who wants to be a boy; when she tries it on, it does not sit well on her curly hair, and makes her look ridiculous.
- Annabeth Chase from Percy Jackson and the Olympians wears a Yankees baseball cap which allows her to become invisible. This goes well with her category as the Smart Action Girl.
- The Babysitters Club: Kristy is rarely seen without her red baseball cap.
Live-Action TV
- In Beetleborgs, Jo is never without her trusty backwards baseball cap. She does play Little League baseball as well.
- As opposed to her original portrayal as the smart and sensible girl who enjoys dolls, celebrity gossip, and other traditional feminine activities, Alicia Guzmán of Carrusel is a tomboy who wears a baseball cap and likes playing football.
- Dr. Brown's daughter Delia in Everwood frequently wears a baseball cap and is very tomboyish. For instance, she plays ice hockey on the boys' team and she's very good.
- Telly from Salute Your Shorts occasionally wears one. Justified since she actually plays baseball.
- Step by Step: Al, Frank's daughter, is the only one of the girls who is a tom-boy as her step sisters Dana and Karen are girly girls (identified as the smart one and the pretty one). Al often spots a baseball cap when she's younger on the show. She's into sports, outdoor stuff or she loves helping Frank with his work.
- The Suite Life of Zack & Cody resident tomboy Max is introduced wearing a baseball cap.
- Two of a Kind: Mary-Kate, the tomboy of the two, often wears baseball caps.
- Tony's daughter Sam(antha) on Who's the Boss?. Sam wears baseball caps during the first season.
Music Videos
- In the music video for legendary singer Kelly Clarkson's mid-2000s decade song "Breakaway", a young girl with an aqua hoodie was wearing a black baseball cap backwards.
Newspaper Comics
- Inverted in Peanuts, where the very girly Frieda refuses to wear a baseball cap even when she is playing baseball! She doesn't want to mess up her "naturally curly hair".
- Also inverted in a storyline where Marcie keeps demanding caps for their baseball team while Peppermint Patty, despite being a tomboy, a Passionate Sports Girl, and captain of the team, argues that they don't really need them.
Professional Wrestling
- Former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro wore a backwards black cap in her debut in 2005 (she also won the 2005 Diva Search). She stopped wearing it around her return in 2008.
- Nikki Bella adopted this image after her 2013 Heel–Face Turn. Coupled with wrestling in a t-shirt and soccer socks, it helps provide a Tomboy and Girly Girl dynamic next to her sister Brie.
- Liv Morgan is a Tomboy with a Girly Streak from New Jersey and the image is topped off by her wearing a baseball cap to the ring.
Video Games
- In Borderlands 2, Gaige the Mecromancer (a Wrench Wench and self-described "Woman of science and asskickery") has two heads which are caps of some sort; Keeping It Real (an actual baseball cap) and Read All About It (a paperboy style cap).
- In Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten, Fuka wears a Prinny hat and happens to wield an axe in battle.
- Siska from Prodigal is a boisterous Wrench Wench who builds mechas and other machinery, and wears a baseball cap with her first initial on it.
- Clementine from The Walking Dead was given a baseball cap as a gift from her dad. She also prefers playing around in her treehouse more than watching television and playing with dolls.
Web Animation
- Red vs. Blue: The only hat seen in the entire Red Vs. Blue universe is sported by Action Girl to the extreme Tex.
Webcomics
- White from Black Adventures wears a trademark Pokemon baseball cap. Plus she's The Lad-ette who acts like she's a part of the boys, especially her brother Black.
Web Games
- Scooter is a playable character in flash games of Papa's Donuteria, Papa Louie 2: When Burgers Attack!, and Papa Louie 3: When Sundaes Attack!. She has appeared in every Papa Louie game after Papa's Pancakeria. She has a baseball cap, she wears it backwards.
Western Animation
- The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan: Anne is Alan's twin sister who is a feminist tomboy. She wears an orange-on-white t-shirt with a matching baseball cap.
- Arthur: The episode "Best Enemies" features a young female character named "W.D. Merkle" who wears a baseball hat which goes along well with her boyish clothing, gender-neutral haircut, gender-neutral voice, and tomboyish interest in racecars.
- Family Guy: When the Griffins temporarily move to the south Chris becomes "friends" with a "boy" who turns out to be a tomboy wearing a baseball cap covering her long hair.
- The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy: In one episode, Mandy invokes this by sporting a baseball cap as well as disguising herself as a boy named "Manfred" in her plan to prove to Billy that girls can surely play sports.
- The Loud House: Lana Loud always wears a red baseball cap, backwards. In fact, the only time we see her wear her hat forwards is in the episode "You Auto Know Better", albeit unintentionally.
- Mike, Lu & Og: Mike Mazinsky doesn't usually wear a baseball cap, but she does don one in "Sultans of Swat" and "The Mother of All Marathons".
- Miraculous Ladybug: Alix, the tomboyish Passionate Sports Girl, wears a baseball cap at all times. She only takes it off when she needs to wear a helmet.
- The Owl House: Luz Noceda, a tomboyish macabre enthusiast, sports a red baseball cap during the Time-Passes Montage in "Thanks to Them".
- Recess: A subversion where Spinelli, although she is a tomboy, wears a ski cap rather than a baseball hat.
- Rosie's Rules: Jun, the tomboyish twin of Quinn, wears a backwards baseball cap.
- The Weekenders: Passionate Sports Girl Lor sometimes sports one.
- Wonder Pets!: Linny wears a trademark orange baseball cap and is a female, which often has the audience confused whether Linny was male, considering that caps are usually what males usually wear.
