Gee ... young women are "throwing off the strictures of femininity" except when they actually put on a dress and realize how silly it is. So ... they are wearing the dresses ironically? How 1995.

I guess they are throwing out the power of femininity as well.

You trivialize womanhood.

Well, I guess you silly little girls can do whatever you want, because, you know, deep down inside, that some of us, over here, won't be throwing off the "strictures of masculinity" anytime soon.

What would Coco Chanel do?

These "tomboys" are comfortable with themselves and do whatever they please, be it dress urban style or throw on a dress if they feel like it.

Why is this "feminist" news? These women do what they like, are confident with themselves in what they do, and don't overcompensate whilst doing it. THAT is sexy. Bottom line it doesn't matter whether she's girly or boyish - if she's confident, knows what she wants, and follows through with her convictions - that's not necessarily feminism. That's being a confident *person*.

Move along, nothing to see here.

I think this is relevant in that how liberating can anything be when it requires one to throw off one set of rules for another. None of this really allows for a core sense of individual empowerment whereby an individual dresses, acts, or orders a drink based on what they feel works best for them and (in the case of drinks) what tastes best.

There is nothing liberating about throwing off girl-tinis and prada if you then are forced to drink Glenlivet and wear China Wall hoodies. Especially - if what you really like is something so utterly uncool as a regular Miller Lite and levis

(Full disclosure, I love Glenlivet neat)

.

You write "Why is this "feminist" news?" but my question is "why is this feminist "news"?"

There's no way that not wearing dresses and high heels can possibly be considered fringe or not mainstream. Certainly not extraordinary enough to merit a news article. And it's not like this hasn't been the case for, oh, fifty years or so.

I'm with the first poster--it ain't liberating if you're only doing it to fit in and impress the guys (though your Converse All-Stars won't damage your feet like your stilettos will).

I also find it funny that this article said these women are the direct descendents of Audrey Hepburn's style. Uhhh...has the author of this article SEEN a single photo of Audrey Hepburn? She had the figure of an 11-year-old boy, but she sure didn't dress like one. Also, she wore quite the plethora of eye makeup. (I went as her for Mardi Gras. It took me a month of practice to learn how to do the mascara and eyeliner just right.)

the utopian ideal of moving "beyond" gender roles is itself a luxury only priviledged femmes can afford.

which i think is the apt point my girl TCF is making when she mentions $200 jeans.

hipsters embody......

wait, sorry- i have to clean some vomit off of my keyboard before it gets stuck in the cracks

Haven't read the article yet, but can't wait to....

1. I don't smoke but yeah, I order Scotch. It's not a "brand." It just so happens that I like Scotch. That makes you want to scratch your face off? Seriously?

2. "OK, I can forgive the piece for being irrelevant non-news..."

I don't think it's irrelevant non-news that there are a lot of women who are not seen in the media, not spoken of, not included in mainstream society's view of womanhood, and who don't find ourselves or our views or desires well-represented by feminism.

3. "These tomboys are simply too confident, too together to care what anyone thinks."

Yes. Or rather, I've learned the hard way that caring what anyone and everyone thinks is a path only to incompetence, humiliation, and hurt. So I'm choosy about the people whose opinions matter to me.

4. " So ... it all comes down to taking another tack to attract a dude, then?"

I'm sorry those are the only terms in which you can think. No, I can't play those games at all. But yes, I think it can and should be celebrated that some men do find it sexy when a woman doesn't play girly girl. Knowing who you are and being comfortable with it, even/especially when it's not something widely celebrated in society, IS hot.

I can't stand the feel of makeup on my face. It's not about pleasing a man, though I certainly know men who adore the fact that I don't wear it. If/when they even notice.

5. "[R]emember, they wear J. Crew, $200 jeans and designer sneakers."

Eddie Bauer is the only one who makes jeans to fit *this* body.

6. "Are urbane tomboys truer feminists?"

I'm just not a feminist. I've always felt devalued by feminism. Other women don't see me as one of them.

So yes, there are women who shrug off the strictures of "feminity," because we won't, or can't, pretend to be something we're not. No, we don't care what you think.

My feminity is fluid. It's not something I put on and take off--it just comes and goes. It's not the kind of feminity you're likely to see on display, or recognize as such. I love wearing skirts. And I love wearing a t-shirt and jeans and getting dirty and sweaty and covered with sawdust and theater dirt at a load in. Do I have my conceits and pretensions? Of course. And I know them as such.

Maybe the subjects of the article are the sort who trade one set of cultural constrains for another, who do take it on and off as just another man-catching strategy.

But we do exist.

... must be hospital employees, because they tend to wear hideously ugly scrub suits, often with jackets covered with little teddy bears, tie their hair back, wear no make-up, no jewellery except stethoscopes, tuck their pants in their socks, and often reek of tobacco smoke.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's great for women to feel comfortable dressing down -- I do it myself all the time.

We were too polite to say anything.