ABSTRACT
Gender nonconformity is the term often used to describe childhood cross-gender behavior. However, it is not defined in all studies of boys as “feminine-type” behaviors. Some studies refer to gender nonconformity as the absence of “masculine-type” behaviors. Twin studies addressing both sexual orientation and childhood gender-typed behaviors can be very informative. A colossal study of 4900 twins found a genetic basis for both cross-gender behavior in childhood and homosexual behavior in adulthood. Socialization forces are also offered in explanation for the association between childhood cross-gender and adult homosexuality. Some gender-behaving children evolve as homosexual and some gender nonconformists evolve as heterosexual. Similarly, in adulthood, some persons primarily attracted to same-sex partners function heterosexually in response to family, peer and other societal forces. However, transsexualism remains an enigma even if the children were concealing their early “natural” tendency for cross-gender behavior. Adult transsexuals recall extensive cross-gender behavior in childhood, accompanied by discomfort in being a child of their birth sex.
