ABSTRACT

This chapter summarizes what has been learned about the empirical relation between sex-typed behavior in childhood and sexual orientation in adulthood. It addresses some of the more common criticisms of the research, particularly with regard to the retrospective studies, and discusses various research gaps in the literature. The chapter considers, albeit briefly, some of the biological and psychosocial mechanisms that have been advanced to account for the linkage, and presents a summary of clinical implications of sex-typed behavior. In many respects, the association between childhood sex-typed behavior and sexual orientation is embedded in complex sexual politics. Apart from purely clinical considerations, there are also legitimate clinical-research questions that can benefit from recognizing the linkage between childhood sex-typed behavior and sexual orientation. One example of this pertains to the role that social ostracism plays in the mental health problems of gender nonconforming children.