Tomboyishness Upgrade

Xiaxia, as a teen and as an adult.

The inversion of Girliness Upgrade, this trope happens when a heroine starts off as conventionally feminine but, as time goes on, gains more masculine interests or starts dressing slightly boyish (or less girly) manner.

Sometimes she goes from a girly girl to a Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak. Sometimes she's already a Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak, but the tomboy streak is flanderized over time, which may be later parts of a story, or even a reboot, or a sequel, or a later adaption. In extreme cases, she starts out as a moderate Tomboy with a Girly Streak who later loses the girly streak completely and becomes The Ladette.

This may also be because the parents wanted a gender conforming child and influenced the girl to be feminine in childhood. Once they grew up, the girl found their own (tomboyish) ways of expressing herself.

It may overlap with Took a Level In Badass, but not necessarily. Compare Xenafication when a female character becomes an Action Girl in an adaption, or Adrenaline Makeover when a shy or more homely character evolves into a cool and adventurous character.

Anime & Manga

• Attack on Titan: Mikasa starts out as quite girly, but after her parents' murder and her adoptive mother's death she slowly becomes more and more tomboyish, cutting her hair so that it won't get caught in anything. After the Time Skip, she cuts it even shorter than Armin, and, due to constant physical activity becomes rather bulky (for a woman, anyway), and her jawline becomes more defined. After retiring, she actually lets her hair grow back and goes back to wearing feminine clothing, since she no longer has to worry about fighting or putting a tough image.
• Dragon Ball: In Z, Videl is a Tsundere who has a streak for martial arts who feels something for her classmate Son Gohan. When they became a couple, she replaced her old Girlish Pigtails with Boyish Short Hair and pants, and she becomes more serious about martial arts and even learning the ki attacks of the other Z-Warriors. Conversely, when Videl became a mother in GT and Super, she got a Girliness Upgrade with long hair and more feminine clothes.
• Kimagure Orange Road: As a little girl, Hikaru Hiyama was the girly girl to Madoka Ayukawa's tomboy. In the current story, their roles are reversed, as Hikaru is now a Shorttank with Boyish Short Hair (instead of Girlish Pigtails like her child self), while the once short-haired Bifauxnen Madoka has Rapunzel Hair and mixes Action Girl with Ms. Fanservice.
• Pokémon (anime): In Pokemon Adventures, there's Sapphire, an aggressive, super-strong Wild Child, who is initially one of the most tomboyish female leads. Her arc eventually reveals that she started out as a cheerful, feminine-dress wearing little girl before a traumatic incident. Once she and Ruby patch things up, elements of her old personality start resurfacing in the present, making her more of a Tomboy with a Girly Streak.
• Very, VERY dramatically used in 1-nen A-gumi no Monster. Nagisa Okuna used to be very girlish and cute, until during her junior high years her father (whom she was very close to) was revealed to be an Ephebophile and fixated on her friend Erika Tsutsumi, which triggered her parents' divorce. She reacted to such a cruel reveal by, among other things, cutting her hair and shredding a very girly and expensive dress she had...
• In the Himitsu no Akko-chan manga and 60's anime, the protagonist Atsuko "Akko" Kagami is a very girly girl, but in the later series she's a Tomboy with a Girly Streak.
  • Something similar happens with Akko's best friend Moko (who's more aggressive in later versions) and Akko's mother Kyouko (who in the two later anime goes from a Yamato Nadeshiko Housewife to a Hot-Blooded artist)

Comic Books

• Archie Comics: By the 60s, Betty went from a feminine Housewife to a Wrench Wench with a Tomboyish Ponytail.
  • Midge went from a feminine satellite love interest to a Passionate Sports Girl who plays softball.

Film: Animation

• Downplayed with Princess Peach in the Super Mario Bros. 2023 movie. She may have been able to defend herself and be tough at times in the video games, (including in Mario Kart, Mario Party, sports games, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, and especially her own games, Super Princess Peach and Princess Peach Showtime), but she's more of an Action Girl and a warrior princess in the movie to the point where she has more fighting skills, aside from still having a feminine princess appearance.
• Downplayed with Mulan. In the first movie, Mulan fails to fit in with gender stereotypes but is still fairly feminine despite disguising as a man to help her father and fight in a war. In the sequel, however, she's way more of a Badass Princess and Action Girl, but she still remains as a Tomboy with a Girly Streak because of her romantic side for Shang.
• Toy Story: Bo Peep came from a Proper Lady with a Pimped-Out Dress in 1 and 2 to an Outdoorsy Gal with pants and a Badass Cape in 4.

Film: Live-Action

• Beauty and the Beast: In the original 1991 animated version, Belle has a graceful appearance and feminine demeanor, but in the 2017 live-action version, she has more of an Adaptational Badass attitude and is more against the traditional roles of femininity than in the original.
• Grease: Sandy enters as a sweet and naive girly girl, but she becomes a female greaser by the end of the movie.
• Mean Girls: Regina George goes from a Valley Girl to a Passionate Sports Girl who has a streak for lacrosse.
• Mulan: In the original animated movie, Mulan herself did struggle with traditional roles for women because of her circumstances, and she disguised as a man and fight in war in order to help her sick father, but she still had her feminine side. But in the 2020 live action, Mulan is way more of a tomboyish Action Girl and has always been a warrior and a skilled fighter.
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Elizabeth Swann goes from a Proper Lady to Pirate Girl during the original trilogy.
• Snow White (Disney film): Snow White went from a full on giggly and bubbly Princess Classic in the original 1937 animated film to a Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak who still is similar to her classic self but more tough and able to fight in the 2025 live-action.
• Thelma and Louise: While Louise was The Ladette from the beginning, Thelma starts off as a feminine housewife with a frilly dress to a defensive and protective person with tank tops and who can threatens enemies with guns.

Literature

• The Baby Sitters Club: When Kristy Thomas was a little girl, she used to enjoy playing with dolls and wearing skirts, and she participated in ballet class with her two childhood best friends, Mary Anne Spier and Claudia Kishi. But as she becomes a tween, she begins wearing caps, jeans, and turtlenecks, and she becomes the loud and impulsive leader of the BSC we all know and love, along with becoming a sporty girl who plays baseball and starts a kids' softball team.
• Harry Potter: Ginny was a shy little girl in Chamber of Secrets, especially around Harry. In later books, after getting over her shyness, she evolves into a tough Fiery Redhead and accomplished Quidditch player. Harry at one point notes that growing up with six brothers toughened her up a bit.
• Land of Oz: In canon, Tip is reluctant to become a girl but once the transformation happens, Ozma is nothing but the High Queen. Many adaptions, such as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz anime, portray Ozma as either a Tomboy Princess or a Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak. This is due to a long-standing, decades old-fanon concerning Ozma being Raised by the Opposite Gender.

Live-Action TV

• The Big Bang Theory: Penny goes from a girly ditz to a strong Ladette.
• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Watson wears more androgynous clothes in Season 5 than in the earlier seasons.
• Power Rangers RPM: Summer goes from a Rich Bitch to a Power Ranger after her Character Development.
• Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: In the original anime, Makoto dresses and acts feminine, but is more tough and butchy in this show.
• Veronica Mars: In Veronica's backstory, she is a typical girl who wears longs dresses and hangs out with her female friends, but as she grows up, she has more shorter hair, masculine clothing, and enjoys taking part in her father's PI work.
• Xena: Warrior Princess: Gabrielle starts as a naive girly girl, but becomes a tough fighter in later seasons.

Video Games

• Kingdom Hearts: Downplayed with Kairi. After receiving a Girliness Upgrade in Kingdom Hearts II, Kairi is at her most action-oriented in Kingdom Hearts III, where her hair is shorter again and she's upgraded to what looks like combat boots.
• Super Mario Bros.: Downplayed with Princess Daisy. She originally filled the same feminine roles and attitude as Princess Peach even when she first debuted, but starting from Mario Party 4, she's given more tomboyish attributes, such as shorter hair, a boisterous voice, and a more fiery and energetic personality. She also becomes a Passionate Sports Girl in spin-offs. Although, she still has her feminine side.
• Pictured above: In Love Nikki: Dress Up Queen, the Story Suits Flower Season Melody and Soul Blues are about a young woman named Xiaxia, who used to be a very girly violinist in her school years but grew up as a rock band's bass player. Conversely, her school friend and possible love interest Tina (represented by the Story Suits Prelude to Youth and Symphonic Poem of Future) has gone from a plucky rock fangirl to a gentle violinist.

Western Animation

• The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius: Cindy goes from having Girlish Pigtails to a Tomboyish Ponytail, and she also improves on her fighting skills from the movie to the series.
• Ben 10: Kai was originally a girl with a tomboyish appearance but a feminine personality (affectionate, soft-spoken, and mild-mannered), but in Omniverse, she becomes a Deadpan Snarker with a Tomboyish Ponytail.
• DuckTales: Webby Vanderquack came from a girly, naive, and cheerful Genki Girl in the original 1987 cartoon to an adventurous and tomboyish enthusiast in the 2017 reboot, despite still having some girly traits too.
  • Gandra Dee was a feminine receptionist in the original, but in the reboot, she's a punk rocket scientist.
  • Della goes from having a ladylike appearance in the original to being a pilot in the reboot.
• The Loud House: When Luna Loud was a little kid, she was a shy girly girl who wears a purple and white dress and plays the violin, but she grows up to be a energetic guitar player and rock music lover with Boyish Short Hair.
• My Little Pony: In G3, Rainbow Dash was The Fashionista, but in G4, she's a Passionate Sports Girl, and her old elegant and fashionable personality has been given to Rarity.
  • Applejack also got this kind of upgrade, going from a giggly jokester in G1 to a tomboyish cowgirl, while her old jokester personality has been given to Pinkie Pie.
  • Twilight doesn't have her last name changed from Twinkle to Sparkle, but she also goes from a feminine pony in G3 to a Tomboy Princess in G4.
  • Downplayed with Scootaloo, who has a curly mane and a feminine appearance but a tomboyish personality in G3, but she's more tomboyish and is the athlete of the Cutie Mark Crusaders in G4, along with having a pixie cut.
• Strawberry Shortcake goes from a feminine and soft-spoken cottagecore girl in the 1980s version to a tomboyish, outgoing, and adventurous Genki Girl with Boyish Short Hair in the 2003 version. But she soon has a Girliness Upgrade in the 2009 version where she has long pink hair and a more feminine look and who owns her own cafe.
  • In all the older versions, Orange Blossom is fairly feminine, but in the 2021 version, she is a Passionate Sports Girl and Lovable Jock with an athletic look.
  • In all the older versions, Lemon Meringue is one of the most feminine characters, since she is The Fashionista in the 1980s version, a hairdresser in the 2003 version, and someone who owns her own spa in the 2009 version. In the 2021 version, however, she has short hair and is a Gadgeteer Genius and Wrench Wench.
  • Raspberry Tart goes from a cutesy all-pink girl in the 1980s version to a sporty girl with a Tomboyish Ponytail in the 2003 version, and with her name being changed to Raspberry Torte.
• W.I.T.C.H.: In the comics, Irma is a fun-loving teenage girl who has the most girly interests and wardrobe of the other main girls of the franchise, but in the cartoon, she is a a sarcastic tomboy, while all of her former Valley Girl traits from the comics have been given to Cornelia.