Date of Award
Summer 6-26-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Susan Honeyman
Committee Members
Janet Graham
Annarose Steinke
Sandra Loughrin
Keywords
Hunger Games, Divergent, Grace Year, tomboy, dystopia, gender, sexuality, sacrifice, pick-me
Abstract/Description
This thesis explores the world of young adult dystopian literature. Katniss (Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games), Tris (Veronica Roth’s Divergent) and Tierney (Kim Liggett’s The Grace Year) are all tomboy protagonists living in a dystopian society. Apart from the expected challenges of living in a dystopia, being a tomboy means facing conflicts that are a result of their gender non-conformity. Drawing heavily from the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, each protagonist is analyzed within the context of their own story to identify feminine and masculine traits that they express. These traits’ impact on the events of the story is addressed as well as the unique challenges that being a tomboy presents to each character, for both narrative resolution and general audience reception. As young adult dystopian literature experiences a resurgence over fifteen years after the genre’s heyday, these novels are in a prime position to combat problematic messaging that teenagers may be receiving from social media about the roles that girls are allowed to play.
Recommended Citation
Jenkins, Bethany H., "Tomboys in Dystopia: An Analysis of Gendered Traits in YA Dystopian Literature" (2026). English Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity. 21.
https://openspaces.unk.edu/eng-etd/21