History Main / FeminineMotherTomboyishDaughter

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing'': As a cub, Nala is the spunky tomboy to her feminine mother Sarafina. In the sequel ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKingIISimbasPride'', Nala is a regal and reserved queen, while her daughter Kiara is an adventurous TomboyPrincess.

* ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'': In ''Children of the Lens'', Clarissa Kinnison is described as a womanly feminine lady who tried hard to make her daughters grow up as feminine women too - and failed. They would not play house, or play with dolls; instead they played with atomic engines, flitters, and speedsters, and they also enjoyed roughhousing with their big brother Kit.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Disenchantment}}'', Bean is a hard-drinking tomboy who favors breeches and tunics, whereas her biological mother Dagmar was a proper queen (at least that's how her father insists on remembering her, the truth is she was kind of ''both'' [[spoiler: and an evil sorcereress to boot]]. Her stepmother Oona is also fairly proper (with some odd quirks as a FunnyForeigner) but reveals a tomboyish streak when she takes over a pirate crew in the second season, but they never got close.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil:'' Star is more of a GirlyBruiser than a tomboy, but she still often clashes with her more "proper" mother, Queen Moon. Granted, [[LadyOfWar Moon is perfectly willing to fight if she has to]], but doesn't seek it out like Star, who got that trait from her father.

->'''Elinor:''' Merida, a princess does not place her weapons on the table.
->'''Merida:''' ''[moans]'' Mum! It's just my bow!

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

[[folder:VisualNovels]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Disenchantment}}'', Bean is a hard-drinking tomboy who favors breeches and tunics, whereas her biological mother Dagmar was a proper queen. Her stepmother Oona has a tomboyish streak, as seen when she takes over a pirate crew in the second season, but they never got close.

* PlayedForDrama in ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}'', where boyish military {{Otaku}} Maki wonders if she's afraid of acting girly because she loathes her abusive, neglectful mother, who was feminine.

This can be played several ways. The mother might be a very strict FantasyForbiddingMother who repeatedly brings up that she WantedAGenderConformingChild, or an OpenMindedParent who is accepting of her daughter from the get-go. She and her daughter may be distant because of their differences or very close despite them. Similarly, the daughter may stand her ground or experience TomboyAngst. The important thing is the generational contrast between the two female characters, because this trope is often used to show changing gender norms. The mother is usually the embodiment of AcceptableFeminineGoalsAndTraits, and her treatment of her tomboyish daughter's personality and hobbies is emblematic of the changing times -- society is increasingly accepting of women who take up traditionally 'masculine' pursuits, although old-fashioned characters may still be scandalized. For this reason, the daughter is usually the more sympathetic character, or at least [[RealWomenNeverWearDresses the one the audience is expected to root for]].

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Catelyn is a tried and true ProperLady, while her middle child and second daughter Arya is a wild and rambunctious tomboy. Although Catelyn's husband Ned indulged Arya's hobbies like sword fighting and horseback riding (in part because of her resemblance to his famously tomboyish deceased sister Lyanna), Catelyn expresses concern about Arya's future, was critical over her lack of feminine skills, and takes pride in the fact that Arya's feminine older sister Sansa was "a lady at three".

* In ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' Star and Moon often butt heads when it comes to Star acting like a proper princess. However, technically Mewni doesn't necessarily expect femininity from their princesses and the queen is expected to protect the kingdom.

* Inverted in ''Series/{{The Witcher|2019}}'' with the corset-hating warrior Queen Calanthe and her more PrincessClassic daughter Pavetta.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': In the Pokemon X and Y anime, Serena and her mother are an inversion, where Serena is the GirlyGirl and her mother is an athletic Rhyhorn racer who wants her daughter to be a racer too.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Disenchantment}}'', Bean is a hard-drinking tomboy who favors breeches and tunics, whereas her biological mother Dagmar was a proper queen.

* ''Series/StrangerThings'' implies this to be the dynamic between Max and her mother Susan, which is confirmed and expanded on in the tie-in novel ''Runaway Max''. Max (a TomboyishName for Maxine) is a tomboy who skateboards, drives, plays video games, and hangs out with a group of guys. Susan is dainty, frustrated with Max's tomboyishness, and is a UselessBystanderParent to her new husband's abuse of her new stepson.

* In ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', Natsuhi and Jessica Ushiromiya have this dynamic. Natsuhi is refined and tries her hardest to be a YamatoNadeshiko (despite being [[HairTriggerTemper a bit too high-strung]] to play it straight), while Jessica is feisty and tomboyish.

* In ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', Natsuhi and Jessica Ushiromiya have this dynamic. Natsuhi is refined and tries her hardest to be a YamatoNadeshiko (despite being [[HairTriggerTemper a bit too high-strung]] to play it straight]], while Jessica is feisty and tomboyish.

* In ''Disney/{{Mulan}}'', Fa Li is an accomplished {{Housewife}} and ProperLady. Her daughter Mulan is fairly feminine, but questions her destiny of ending up in an ArrangedMarriage, fails at all her attempts to be a ProperLady, and flourishes as a warrior when she runs away to join the army in her father's place. [[MostDefinitelyNotAVillain Note that Mulan's masculine behavior is atrocious.]]

* The ''Series/ColdCase'' Season 4 episode "Torn", the oldest unsolved case in the series, focuses on the death of a teenage socialite who falls in with the suffrage movement, much to the dismay of her conservative mother. The mother turns out to be her killer in the end, though it's AccidentalMurder.

* In ''Film/BendItLikeBeckham'', this is present in the contrast between tomboyish soccer up-and-comer Jess, and her traditional Indian mother. Jess family forbids her from playing soccer because they don't believe it's appropriate for a woman to do so. Also present to a lesser degree with the white Jess and her similarly ladylike mother.

* ''Anime/[[Pokemon]]'': In the Pokemon X and Y anime, Serena and her mother are an inversion, where Serena is the GirlyGirl and her mother is an athletic Rhyhorn racer who wants her daughter to be a racer too.

* ''Franchise/[[Pokemon]]'': In the Pokemon X and Y anime, Serena and her mother are an inversion, where Serena is the GirlyGirl and her mother is an athletic Rhyhorn racer who wants her daughter to be a racer too.

A specific variant of TomboyAndGirlyGirl applied to a mother/daughter pair. The mother generally ascribes to the feminine norms of the time (such as a ProperLady in period works or a {{Housewife}} from the 20th century onwards) while the daughter is a {{Tomboy}} who generally shirks away from girly things. The mother then disdains her daughter's lack of femininity and may take steps to induce a GirlinessUpgrade, often [[FemininityFailure with mixed results]]. More realistically, she might also worry about her daughter's future, especially in settings that are very strict about gender roles. Meanwhile, the daughter might be tomboyish in part because she is rebelling against her mother's aspirations for her, especially if she has a girly sister or cousin to whom [[WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent she is often negatively compared]]. In period works, the TomboyPrincess and SpiritedYoungLady may clash with more traditionally feminine older relatives.

** In ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'', the tomboyish soccer player Sora doesn't get along with her mother, who is a YamatoNadeshiko who specializes in traditional flower arrangements. However, Sora does get a GirlinessUpgrade later in life.
** Rika of ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' is a rough and brash tomboy who rails against her supermodel fashionista mother. After they make peace, she is depicted as something as a TomboyWithAGirlyStreak, who secretly likes dressing up.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'': Queen Elinor is a very tradition-following mother who is bothered by her daughter Merida being more interested in archery and other physical activities than in marriage.
* In ''Disney/{{Mulan}}'', Fa Li is an accomplished {{Housewife}} and ProperLady. Her daughter Mulan is fairly feminine, but questions her destiny of ending up in an ArrangedMarriage, fails at all her attempts to be a ProperLady, and flourishes as a warrior when she runs away to join the army in her father's place.

* This is a major sticking point between Katarina and her mother in ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom''. Katarina's less than ladylike hobbies like farming and climbing trees and complete lack of proper decorum for the daughter of a duke (much less the fiancee of a prince) infuriate her mother to no end, leaving her as literally the only person in the story who can't be won over by [[BlitheSpirit her simpleminded charm or quirkiness]].

* In ''Disney/{{Mulan}}'', Fa Li is an accomplished {{Housewife}} and ProperLady. Her daughter Mulan is fairly feminine, but questions her destiny of ending up in an ArrangedMarriage, and flourishes as a warrior when she runs away to join the army in her father's place.