MovieChat Forums > Gidget (1959) Discussion > 'A regular tomboy'?

'A regular tomboy'?


Gidget- and naturally Sandra Dee herself- was about as tomboyish or masculine as Rosie O'Donnell is a frilly, lacey girly-girl. I didn't get that part of the song. She was the definition of a girly girl, blonde, smiley and cute.

Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I'd have the facts.

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Being Austrian I'm not too familiar with the subtleties of the English language. What makes Gidget a "tomboy" are probably her not being interested in a "man hunt", rather really playing ball than just pretending. And - most of all - wanting to learn how to surf and be accepted as one of the crowd. She's probably more a "tomboy at heart".

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Also no boobs or curves. And no makeup at first.

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Ok, we can pretend that made sense.... everyone has boobs and curves especially little curvy C-cup Sandra... who very clearly (like ALL of classic hollywood) wore makeup. are you blind?

and what the HECK does that have to do with being a tomboy?

"I do pretend I am a princess, so that I can try and behave like one."

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Are *you* blind? She has no boobs or curves whatsoever in this film. (An "A" cup at most.) And wore no makeup whatsoever in the first half.

A girl who's rail-thin and looks like a little boy is a more typical tomboy than a voluptuous, sexual woman. Duh.

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my take is that a tomboy was a girl who liked to play sport and really rough it up with the boys. Like Betty Jo on Petticoat Junction always looking for her catchers mitt.

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"little curvy C-cup Sandra"

You have no concept of geometry or brassiere sizing.

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Most 16 year old girls did not have big boobs in the 60s when I grew up. Rarely overweight either.

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Excellent points, queeniewahine71!



Cheese fries...next time.

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Hollywood tends to choose looks over character. And blondes for characters that identify as ethnically Jewish (recent example - Swede Catholic Malin Akerman as Polish Jew Laurie "Jupiter" Juspeczyk in Watchmen), especially in the wake of McCarthyism.

Kathy Kohner, upon whom the original novel was based, addressed their differences in an interview:

"How did you feel about being played by Sandra Dee in the movie?

She was very sweet. I was probably much more of a tomboy than she was. I also wasnt that sweet and had a mouth on me. I told things the way they were and never learned the Protestant way of being reserved or not asking too many questions."

http://www.jwmag.org/page.aspx?pid=799#sthash.YtREyvSI.KOAWfLhZ.dpbs

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Agreed. Typically tomboys dress and act like a boy. One of her friends, definitely looked like a tomboy. Gidget wore dresses and had a girl haircut.

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Her friend looked downright butch.

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