ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the range of ways in which gender development may be said to be “nonconforming.” It reviews models to characterize the pathways by which gender differentiation normally occurs. These models are rooted in constructivist accounts of gender differentiation, and posit that children are active in the process of developing gender-related beliefs and behaviors. The models propose two pathways (attitudinal and personal) that are hypothesized to operate simultaneously in directing the development of sex typing. The chapter speculates about where along those pathways there may be opportunities for the development of gender nonconformity, and offers some suggestions about some of the long-term consequences that nonconformity at particular points might have. It concludes that gender nonconformity does not cause homosexuality, nor are specific forms of gender nonconformity (i.e., cross-sextyped toy play) inevitably associated with the development of a specific form of sexual orientation (i.e., homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality).
