Well, lately I’ve been researching/reading more and more into gender stereotypes and such, and wondered if there is any word that would describe the reverse of this, namely a male child that has more feminine tastes. The search on this came up with a similar thread, but not this question. (Note that a more degrading word, such as “sissy” isn’t really what I am looking for.)
Nancy Boy?
There really is no such word. Any attribution of female characteristics to a male is always insulting in our culture. “Sissy” is the word you are looking for, but it is always insulting. Females with male characteristics are good, males with female characteristics are abominations.
He’s “musical”
Richard Simmons
Tiddy-boom
Quoth, Lemur866
“Any attribution of female characteristics to a male is always insulting in our culture”
Aww Cah Caw. Ever heard of a “sensitive” man?
‘Tomboy’ is a word I haven’t heard used for at least three decades. It was popularly used to identify girls who preferred boys’ sports rather than dolls and ‘girls’’ games, or later to identify girls who preferred wearing jeans and pants rather than dresses. I think that the last time I heard it used seriously was in the Fifties.
It’s a rather meaningless term today, given that girls are usually welcome in most sports (with some exceptions, of course) and dress as they please.
Though I haven’t heard people use the term Tomboy when refering to other people much, I DO still hear it when people reference themselves or their friends, so to my knowledge, it is still in use…
A silly quote from, straykat23
“‘Tomboy’ is a word I haven’t heard used for at least three decades”
At least since since 1971 huh?
I beg to differ I heard the term used yesterday.
I’m less than two decades old and I’ve heard it my entire life.
the 1st response is the best
Yes, and it has strictlly negative connotations. I’ve never seen this word used in a positive context.
My cousin from Australia told me that this specifically refers to gay men, but I’m not entirely certain this is correct.
Anyway, I think this confirms that feminine attributes are considered socially unattractive in a man. I don’t mean that we should find them unattractive, just that in general they are considered unattractive.
Read the question and “Nancy Boy” (or just “Nancy”) came to mind immediately.
Indeed, isn’t there a radio commercial right now for Cingular Wireless where there’s a baseball fan screaming at a pitcher (and it is being “translated” by a machine) where one of the things said is “Why don’t just underhand it in there, Nancy?”.
[snl]
Girly-man!
[/snl]
There probably isn’t a good one, the same way there’s not good female counterpart to “P-whipped”.
IMHO I’d have to say “Nancy” would be the best antonym for “Tomboy”. “Nancy” has negative connotations, sure, but I would guess that back in the day, “Tomboy” wasn’t too complimentary either. I’d imagine that the modern equivalent of “Tomboy” would be “Diesel Dyke”.
Sure there is! “C***-whipped”! 
how about Mama’s boy - Ive heard this many times but have to admit I don’t fully understand what exactly it means.
How about fop?
Thought of another one: “dandy”.
Nah, a Dandy is just an old-fashioned term for a man who prides himself on his appearance. While he may spend more mirror time than many women, it doesn’t imply any truly feminine characteristics.
Also, I have to disagree with the idea that tomboy is an entirely positive idea. I’ve not always heard it used in a positive light, especially by the mother of the girl in question. And it does see frequent use today, I’m only 25 and I’ve heard it used my entire life.