Bucking gender expectations: For kids, it's relatively common

[xchrom]

http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-gender-identity-kids-20120223,0,1406192.story

http://www.latimes.com/videogallery/66803251/News/being-transgender

Children whose behavior doesn't conform to gender expectations -- girls who swing swords and play with trucks, boys who tend to dolls and are drawn to high heels and frilly dresses -- are only rarely tipping their hand about their future sexual orientation. But such behavior does predict that a kid is more likely to experience psychological, physical or sexual abuse during childhood, and will go on to suffer post-traumatic stress.

Behavior that defies gender stereotypes is remarkably common, reports an editorial published alongside two studies on gender-defying kids in the journal Pediatrics this week. As many as 13% of teenage boys and 26% of teenage girls report that they engaged in cross-gender behavior as younger kids. And between 2% to 5% of boys and 15% to 16% of girls reported they sometimes wished they could be the opposite gender.

Such behavior can hint at future sexual orientation or gender identity, but not with great accuracy. A new study published in Pediatrics finds that, of children who most intensively engaged in behavior that crossed gender stereotypes (the top 10%), about 60% would identify themselves as heterosexual between the ages of 19 and 27. (That still counts as a "strong association" between child gender non-conforming behavior and homosexuality, but it's far short of predictive.)

And even fewer of those who defy gender expectations as kids will end up wishing to switch genders.

Children who wish to change genders, a second study found, have high rates of psychological distress (about 44% of one study sample had a history of mental health issues) and are at high risk of self-harm (with just over one-in-five self-mutilating and about 9% having attempted suicide).

[Kalidurga]

1. Interesting.

I often defied or rather I often defy gender expectations. I didn't end up being gay, but still sometimes wish that I had been a boy. It isn't really a strong wish more or less a wondering how my life would have been different. Who knows if I had been I might have actually been gay. Generally speaking people outside of my family were a lot more tolerant and understanding. I didn't get teased much for my behavior at school, it did happen occasionally boys would try to take "their" playground equipment and I would promptly trounce them(got in trouble for that once), but for the most part I was not teased about it. My family on the other hand never has accepted it and my mother would constantly scream at me, beg me, try to bribe me into behaving more like a girl. I got a whole lot of dresses, makeup, and accessories that were worse than useless to me.

[William769]

2. Recommended.