The Potential Benefits and Risks of Identifying as a Tomboy: A Social Identity Perspective

The link between early adolescents' gender discrimination and gender attitudes about peers: Does gender similarity matter?

Gender is one of the most salient social identities, particularly during early adolescence. However, factors related to adolescents' gender attitudes remain underexamined. We examined links between adolescents' gender discrimination, felt-gender similarity, and intergroup gender attitudes. Participants were 270 adolescents in the United States (Mage = 12.95 years, SD = 1.33; 47.4% adolescent girls; 63.7% White, 12.2% Latinx, 10.7% Black, 4.1% Asian, 5.6% multiracial, and 3% indigenous). Path analyses showed that gender discrimination negatively predicted adolescents' attitudes towards own- and other-gender peers. Felt own-gender similarity positively predicted own-gender attitudes as expected, but other-gender similarity did not predict other-gender attitudes. Further, own- and other-gender similarity did not interact to predict adolescents' gender attitudes. However, adolescents' attitudes towards other-gender peers were more negatively impacted by gender discrimination for those who felt highly similar to own-gender peers than for those with average or low own-gender similarity. Findings inform potential strategies to improve adolescents' gender attitudes.

Gender Development in Gender Diverse Children

Within "mainstream" developmental science, gender researchers largely study the developmental trajectory of children considered to be "gender-typical", while research housed primarily in psychiatry and clinical psychology often documents the trajectories of gender diverse children. This article aims to bridge the studies of gender diversity and "mainstream" gender development. First, we review literature on the development of four commonly studied subgroups of gender diverse children - children referred to medical clinics because of their gender identity and expression, transgender children, female children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and tomboys - highlighting how these gender trajectories do or do not align with modal developmental patterns. We then describe social, cognitive, and biological determinants of gender in light of their implications for understanding diverse gender development. Finally, we note methodological suggestions for future research, with an eye toward better integrating research on gender diversity into "mainstream" gender development research.

Gender Typicality, Pressure to Conform to Gender Norms, and Anti-Fat and Appearance Stereotypes in Girls

This mixed-methods study investigated the relation among gender identity (i.e., self-perceived gender similarity to girls and boys; self-perceived parental and peer pressure to conform to gender norms) and stereotyping about weight (i.e., anti-fat stereotypes), weight change, and appearance in 83 girls ages 6-9 (M_age = 7.60 years, SD = .85; 65% White, 16% Mixed/Other, 11% Black, 8% Latina) in the U.S. Stereotypes about weight change were assessed with open-ended responses (i.e., qualitatively), and the rest of the constructs were assessed with closed-ended responses (i.e., quantitatively). There was a positive association between pressure from parents to conform to gender norms and appearance stereotypes, and between pressure from peers and negative stereotypes about the fat and thin figures. Girls who were more gender typical, or more similar to girls, were more likely to endorse appearance stereotypes. There was no significant relation among stereotypes about weight change and gender identity. Many girls deemed the fat figure as unattractive, physically restrained, unhealthy, and likely to be bullied and believed that the fat figure should change back to look like a thinner figure. Most girls were aware that exercising, eating healthy, and dietary restriction can lead to weight loss and that food consumption and lack of exercise can lead to weight gain. Findings suggest that certain aspects of weight (anti-fat) and appearance stereotypes are closely linked to gender identity in girls, whereas other aspects of weight stereotypes (e.g., stereotypes about weight change) are so pervasive that they are common in most girls, regardless of their gender identity.

Sexual Double Standards: Contributions of Sexual Socialization by Parents, Peers, and the Media

(Hetero)sexual double standards (SDS) entail that different sexual behaviors are appropriate for men and women. There is large variation in whether people endorse SDS in their expectations about the sexual behavior of women and men (i.e., SDS-norms). To explain these individual differences, we examined associations between SDS-norms of Dutch adolescents (aged 16-20 years, N = 566) and what parents, peers, and the media teach adolescents about appropriate sexual behavior of boys and girls (i.e., SDS-socialization). Adolescents completed an online survey at school. Regarding SDS-socialization, more traditional SDS-norms conveyed by the media and peers, but not of parents, and less perceived sexual activity of female peers, were associated with more traditional SDS-norms. Only for boys, exposure to sexy girls/women on social media and sexual music videos of female artists were associated with more traditional SDS-norms. Thus, SDS-socialization by peers and the media and opposite gender models (for boys) are important in light of adolescents' SDS-norms.

Gender Encoding in Gender Diverse and Gender Conforming Children

Previous research suggests that people encode gender starting in childhood. The present research asked whether gender diverse children (i.e., children whose gender identity or expression differs from that expected based on assigned sex) encode gender. Results showed that 3- to 5-year-old gender diverse participants (N = 71), siblings of gender diverse children (N = 52), and gender conforming controls (N = 69) did not significantly differ in degree of gender encoding. These results converge with prior research to suggest that gender diverse children process gender in ways that do not differ from gender conforming children, and provide further evidence that gender encoding may be a common aspect of person perception in societies that support a binary view of gender.

"We're Supposed to Look Like Girls, But Act Like Boys": Adolescent Girls' Adherence to Masculinity Norms

In the ecological systems perspective, gender ideologies are part of the macrosystem that shapes human development. A growing literature indicates that youth accommodate and resist such ideologies, with adherence to masculinity norms being linked with negative adjustment. Most masculinity research focuses on boys' adherence to masculinity, but girls are also pressured to uphold masculinity norms. Using mixed modeling, we examined girls' adherence to masculinity and psychological (self-esteem, depressive symptoms) and social (peer support and conflict) well-being in the United States (N = 407; M_age  = 12.28) and China (N = 356; M_age  = 12.41). In both countries, adherence to masculinity was negatively associated with psychosocial well-being. Chinese girls reported greater masculinity adherence, but associations with psychosocial well-being were not moderated by nationality.

Similarity in transgender and cisgender children's gender development

Gender is one of the central categories organizing children's social world. Clear patterns of gender development have been well-documented among cisgender children (i.e., children who identify as a gender that is typically associated with their sex assigned at birth). We present a comprehensive study of gender development (e.g., gender identity and gender expression) in a cohort of 3- to 12-y-old transgender children (n = 317) who, in early childhood, are identifying and living as a gender different from their assigned sex. Four primary findings emerged. First, transgender children strongly identify as members of their current gender group and show gender-typed preferences and behaviors that are strongly associated with their current gender, not the gender typically associated with their sex assigned at birth. Second, transgender children's gender identity (i.e., the gender they feel they are) and gender-typed preferences generally did not differ from 2 comparison groups: cisgender siblings (n = 189) and cisgender controls (n = 316). Third, transgender and cisgender children's patterns of gender development showed coherence across measures. Finally, we observed minimal or no differences in gender identity or preferences as a function of how long transgender children had lived as their current gender. Our findings suggest that early sex assignment and parental rearing based on that sex assignment do not always define how a child identifies or expresses gender later.

Sissies, Mama's Boys, and Tomboys: Is Children's Gender Nonconformity More Acceptable When Nonconforming Traits Are Positive?

The evaluation of gender nonconformity in children was examined in two studies. In Study 1, 48 young adults evaluated the positivity of culturally popular labels for gender nonconformity, including "tomboy," "sissy," and two new labels generated in a pilot study, "mama's boy" and "brat." The "mama's boy" was described as a boy who has positive feminine traits (gentle and well-mannered) as opposed to the "sissy" who was described as having negative feminine traits (crying and easily frightened). In Study 2, 161 young adults read descriptions of gender-typical and nonconforming children, evaluating them in several domains. The label "mama's boy" was considered negative in Study 1 but an unlabeled positive nonconforming boy was rated as likable and competent in Study 2. However, participants worried about nonconforming boys, saying they would encourage them to behave differently and describing such children with derogatory sexual orientation slurs. "Tomboy" was generally considered a positive label in Study 1. In Study 2, gender nonconforming girls were considered neither likable nor dislikeable, and neither competent nor incompetent, reflecting ambivalence about girls' nonconformity. It may be that we use gender nonconformity labels as indicators of sexual orientation, even in young children. Therefore, even when an individual displays objectively positive traits, the stigma associated with homosexuality taints judgments about their nonconforming behavior.