Who are tomboys and why should we study them?

Tomboys are girls who behave like boys and, as such, challenge some theories of sex-typing. We recruited tomboys (N = 60) ages 4–9 through the media and compared them with their sisters (N = 15) and brothers (N = 20) on measures of playmate preference, sex-typed activities and interests, and gender identity. On nearly all measures, tomboys were substantially and significantly more masculine than their sisters, but they were generally less masculine than their brothers. We outline some scientific benefits of studying tomboys and describe some goals and initial findings of the Tomboy Project.     

A Parent-Report Gender Identity Questionnaire for Children

This paper reports on the psychometric properties of a 16-item parent-report Gender Identity Questionnaire, originally developed by P. H. Elizabeth and R. Green (1984), to aid in the assessment of children with potential problems in their gender identity development. The questionnaire, which covered aspects of the core phenomenology of gender identity disorder (GID), was completed by parents of gender-referred children (N = 325) and controls (siblings, clinic-referred, and nonreferred; N = 504), who ranged in age from 2.5-12 years (mean age, 7.6 years). Factor-analysis indicated that a one-factor solution, containing 14 of the 16 items with factor loadings > or =.30, best fit the data, accounting for 43.7% of the variance. The gender-referred children had a significantly more deviant total score than did the controls, with a large effect size of 3.70. The GIQ total score had negligible age effects, indicating that the questionnaire has utility for assessing change over time. The gender-referred children who met the complete DSM criteria for GID had a significantly more deviant total score than did the children who were subthreshold for GID, although the latter group had a mean score that was closer to the threshold cases than to the controls. With a specificity rate set at 95% for the controls, the sensitivity rate for the probands was 86.8%. It is concluded that this parent-report gender identity questionnaire has excellent psychometric properties and can serve as a useful screening device for front-line clinicians, for whom more extensive, expensive, and time-consuming assessment procedures may be precluded.     

Measurement of Psychosexual Differentiation

Since the early 1990s, there has been a surge in interest in the study of infants, children, adolescents, and adults with physical intersex conditions or other congenital conditions that affect, among other things, the configuration of the external genitalia. Regarding psychologic evaluation, an important aspect of both short-term and long-term outcome concerns gender differentiation. This article provides an overview of various measures pertaining to gender identity, gender role, and sexual orientation that have been used in assessment studies of samples of either children and adults with gender identity disorder and/or children and adults with various physical intersex conditions. All of the measures have good psychometric quality although some have been studied more systematically than others. It is hoped that this overview will provide a template for the new generation of studies that are looking at both gender development and sexual orientation in people born with physical intersex conditions.     

The Inexorable Rise of Gender and the Decline of Sex: Social Change in Academic Titles, 1945–2001

More than 30 million titles of "academic" articles, from the years 1945-2001, were surveyed for occurrences of the words sex and gender. At the beginning of this period, uses of gender were much rarer than uses of sex, and often used in the sense of a grammatical category. By the end of this period, uses of gender outnumbered uses of sex in the social sciences, arts, and humanities. Within the natural sciences, there was now more than 1 use of gender for every 2 uses of sex. The beginnings of this change in usage can be traced to Money's introduction of the concept of "gender role" in 1955 (J. Money, 1955). However, the major expansion in the use of gender followed its adoption by feminists to distinguish the social and cultural aspects of differences between men and women (gender) from biological differences (sex). Since then, the use of gender has tended to expand to encompass the biological, and a sex/gender distinction is now only fitfully observed.     

Gender Dysphoria and Gender Change in Chromosomal Females with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia

This article reviews the literature on studies and case reports on gender identity and gender identity problems, gender dysphoria, and gender change in chromosomal females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, raised male or female. The large majority (94.8%) of the patients raised female (N= 250) later developed a gender identity as girls and women and did not feel gender dysphoric. But 13 (5.2%) patients had serious problems with their gender identity. This percentage is higher than the prevalence of female-to-male transsexuals in the general population of chromosomal females. Among patients raised male, serious gender identity problems were reported in 4 (12.1%) out of 33 patients. From these observations, we conclude that the assignment to the female gender as a general policy for 46,XX patients with CAH appears justified, even in severely masculinized 46,XX newborns with CAH (Prader stage IV or V).     

Sexual orientation and boyhood gender conformity: Development of the Boyhood Gender Conformity Scale (BGCS)

Two hundred twenty-eight respondents (110 heterosexuals and 118 homosexuals) completed a survey containing a 20-item Boyhood Gender Conformity Scale (BGCS). This scale was largely composed of edited and abridged gender items from Part A of Freund et al.'s Feminine Gender Identity Scale (FGISA) and Whitam's childhood indicators. The combined scale was developed in an attempt to obtain a reliable, valid, and potent discriminating instrument for accurately classifying adult male respondents for sexual orientation on the basis of their reported boyhood gender conformity or nonconforming behavior and identity. In addition, 33% of these respondents were administered the original FGIS-A and Whitam inventory during a 2-week test-retest analysis conducted to determine the validity and reliability of the new instrument. All the original items significantly discriminated between heterosexual and homosexual respondents. From these a 13-item function and a 5-item function proved to be the most powerful discriminators between the two groups. Significant correlations between each of the three scales and a very high test-retest correlation coefficient supported the reliability and validity assumption for the BGCS. The conclusion was made that the five-item function (playing with boys, prefering boys' games, imagining self as sports figure, reading adventure and sports stories, considered a sissy) was the most potent and parsimonious discriminator among adult males for sexual orientation. It was similarly noted that the absence of masculine behaviors and traits appeared to be a more powerful predictor of later homosexual orientation than the traditionally feminine or cross-sexed traits and behaviors.     

计算机焦虑的性别差异及其研究综述

计算机焦虑是当个人在使用或学习计算机时,因为内心感受到存在的威胁、恐惧、紧张与不安,并对计算机怀有的敌对态度.性别差异是影响计算机焦虑的重要变量.随着计算机的普及,计算机焦虑在性别差异领域的研究成为研究热点之一.在现有研究的基础上,对计算机焦虑的性别差异进行综述.     

计算机焦虑的性别差异及其研究综述

计算机焦虑是当个人在使用或学习计算机时,因为内心感受到存在的威胁、恐惧、紧张与不安,并对计算机怀有的敌对态度。性别差异是影响计算机焦虑的重要变量。随着计算机的普及,计算机焦虑在性别差异领域的研究成为研究热点之一。在现有研究的基础上,对计算机焦虑的性别差异进行综述。     

Macro‐level gender equality and depression in men and women in Europe

A recurrent finding in international literature is a greater prevalence of depression in women than in men. While explanations for this gender gap have been studied extensively at the individual level, few researchers have studied macro‐level determinants of depression in men and women. In the current study we aim to examine the micro–macro linkage of the relationship between gender equality and depression by gender in Europe, using data from the European Social Survey, 2006–2007 (N = 39,891). Using a multilevel framework we find that a high degree of macro‐level gender equality is related to lower levels of depression in both women and men. It is also related to a smaller gender difference in depression, but only for certain social subgroups and only for specific dimensions of gender equality.     

Is gender dysphoria dysphoric? Elevated depression and anxiety in gender dysphoric and nondysphoric homosexual and bisexual men in an HIV sample

Few if any studies before the AIDS epidemic suggested that male homosexuals may on average have higher levels of depression than male heterosexuals. However, several samples of homosexual and bisexual men in HIV studies suggest that depression and anxiety are high in these populations, and that this psychiatric morbidity began before the AIDS epidemic. We tested the hypothesis that high childhood gender nonconformity (CGN) is associated with depression and anxiety, and so might account for differences in these variables among samples of homosexuals. A total of 254 homosexual or bisexual male subjects were assessed for depression, anxiety, and associated symptoms using various self-report and interview measures, as well as for CGN (using the Freund Feminine Gender Identity scale, FGI). For comparison purposes only, we also evaluated the subjects for the DSM-III diagnosis of Ego-Dystonic Homosexuality. Highly gender nonconforming men (high FGI scores) were more likely to have current symptoms of anxiety and depression by self-report, and to have had a lifetime history of depression by clinical interview. This association was more often due to FGI items dealing with childhood than adulthood. When the FGI was broken into subscales by a prior factor analysis, stepwise regression suggested that the subscale measuring core gender identity nonconformity (so-called gender dysphoria) was more reliably associated with depression and anxiety than were the factors measuring nonconformity in the areas of masculine and feminine gender roles, or genitoerotic (sexual) roles. This subscale was also the only FGI measure correlating with Ego-Dystonic Homosexuality. AIDS (CDC stage and HIV serostatus) and age did not account for these findings. We conclude that the often-reported higher levels of depression, anxiety, and associated symptoms among homosexual and bisexual men in AIDS studies are more common in the subgroup of such men who are gender dysphoric. Theoretical and clinical implications of these data are discussed.The principal support for the HNRC is provided by NIMH Center grant 5 P50 MH45294 (HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center). Additional support is provided by 5 R01 MH43298, 5 R01 MH45688, 1 R01 MH46255, 1 R01 NS27810, and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense, or the United States Government.The HNRC Group includes: Igor Grant, M.D., Director; J. Hampton Atkinson, M.D., Co-Director; Robert A. Velin, Ph.D., Center Manager; Edward C. Oldfield III, M.D., James L. Chandler, M.D., Mark R. Wallace, M.D., and Joseph Malone, M.D., Co-Investigators Naval Hospital San Diego; J. Allen McCutchan, M.D., P.I. Medical Core; Stephen A. Spector, MD., P.I. Virology Core; Leon Thal, M.D., P.I. Neurology Core; Robert K. Heaton, Ph.D., P.I. Neuropsychology Core; John Hesselink, M.D. and Terry Jernigan, Ph.D., Co-P.I.s Imaging Core; J. Hampton Atkinson, M.D., P.I. Psychiatry Core; Clayton A. Wiley, M.D., Ph.D., P.I. Neuropathology Core; Richard Olshen, Ph.D. and Ian Abramson, Ph.D., Co-P.I.s Biostatistics Core; Nelson Butters, Ph.D., P.I. Memory Project; Renée Dupont, M.D., P.I. SPECT Project; Thomas Patterson, Ph.D., P.I. Life Events Project; Sidney Zisook, M.D., P.I. Mood Project; Dilip Jeste, M.D., P.I. Psychosis Project; Hans Sieburg, Ph.D., P.I. Dynamical Systems Project; and James D. Weinrich, Ph.D., P.I. Sexology Project.     

For data’s sake: dilemmas in the measurement of gender minorities

Abstract

Gender-minority health disparity research is limited by binary gender measurement practices. This study seeks to broaden current discourse on gender identity measurement in the USA, including measurement adoption challenges and mitigation strategies, thereby allowing for better data collection to understand and address health disparities for people of all genders. Three data sources were used to triangulate findings: expert interviews with gender and sexuality research leaders; key-informant interviews with gender minorities in New Orleans, LA; and document analysis of relevant surveys, guides and commentaries. Ten key dilemmas were identified: 1) moving beyond binary gender construction; 2) conflation of gender, sex and sexual orientation; 3) emerging nature of gender-related language; 4) concerns about item sensitivity; 5) research fatigue among gender minorities; 6) design and analytical limitations; 7) categorical and procedural consistency; 8) pre-populated vs. open-field survey items; 9) potential misclassification; and 10) competing data collection needs. Researchers must continue working toward consensus concerning better practices is gender measurement and be explicit about their methodological choices. The existence of these dilemmas must not impede research on important health issues affecting gender minorities.     

Varieties of autogynephilia and their relationship to gender dysphoria

The relationship between gender dysphoria and autogynephilia (erotic arousal in men associated with the thought or image of themselves as women) was investigated. Subjects were 238 nonhomosexual male outpatients divided into three groups: 94 reporting they were most aroused sexually by images of themselves as nude women, 67 most aroused by images of themselves as women in underwear, and 77 most aroused by images of themselves as fully clothed women. These were compared on questionnaire measures of gender dysphoria and other psychosexual variables. The Nude group was significantly more gender dysphoric than the Clothed group, which, in turn, was significantly more gender dysphoric than the Underwear group. These results support the hypothesis that those nonhomosexual men most aroused sexually by the thought of having a woman's body are also those most interested in acquiring a woman's body through some permanent, physical transformation. A secondary finding was that the Nude group was the same age as the Underwear group and significantly younger than the Clothed group. This outcome makes it unlikely that erotic fantasies of having a woman's body are the end result of some progression that necessarily begins with erotic fantasies of wearing women's clothes.     

Transsexuals in the military: Flight into hypermasculinity

A sample of 11 male gender-dysphoric patients meeting DSM-III criteria for transsexualism was seen over a 3-year period by a military psychiatrist. Eight patients had extensive military experience, including combat duty in some cases. At the time of evaluation three were on active duty, one was a Department of Defense employee, and four were veterans. Evidence is presented for a hypermasculine phase of development that coincides with the age of enlistment in nearly all cases. The psychodynamic underpinnings of the choice to enlist in transsexual males are discussed. Outcome of military service was premature discharge in over 60%. The military's management of genderdysphoric servicemen is described. Current military policies, in association with the proposed hypermasculine phase of transsexual development, may actually result in a higher prevalence of transsexualism in the military than in the civilian population.The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Defense or the United States Air Force.     

Gendering of day center occupations as perceived by people with psychiatric disabilities in Sweden

Abstract

Background: The aim was to explore the experiences and views of people attending day centers for people with psychiatric disabilities concerning the occurrence and nature of gendering of the occupations performed there.

Methods: Twenty-five day center attendees were interviewed regarding occupational choices at the day centers, whether they would describe day center occupations as gendered, and if so what the consequences were of the gendering of occupations. The transcribed texts were analyzed by thematic analysis.

Results: Three main themes were identified: Thinking and doing gender; Understandings of gendering of day center occupations; and Consequences of gendered occupation. The participants were more open-minded in their reasoning than in what they were doing. They understood gendering to be a result of traditions, role models from childhood, ideas about typically male and female innate capacities, lack of knowledge and low self-confidence. Doing seemed to reproduce gender, but being in a group of the same sex could shape unity and a relaxed atmosphere.

Conclusions: The findings could be understood as a set of gender frames, which might prevent either of the sexes from developing their full potentials and transgress into e.g. the employment market. Gendering should be highlighted and debated in psychosocial rehabilitation.     

Engendering the bureaucracy? Challenges and opportunities for mainstreaming gender in Ministries of Health under sector-wide approaches

The increasing ascendancy of 'gender mainstreaming' as the central approach to improving gender equity has largely determined strategies to integrate a gender focus in sector-wide approaches (SWAps). This paper explores the impetus for and process of gender mainstreaming in SWAps in the Ministries of Health in Uganda, Ghana, Malawi and Mozambique, and outlines some achievements and challenges. The shifting and contested relationships between the Ministry of Health, donors and other government ministries (such as Ministries of Finance and Ministries of Women's Affairs/Gender) are important in shaping the opportunities and constraints faced in gender mainstreaming. The refocusing of resource allocation to different sectors has led to changes in the balance of power between the various actors at the national level, with diverse implications for promoting gender equity in health. Some of the achievements to date and ongoing challenges are explored through concrete examples from different countries. These include: the development of structures for mainstreaming, including the dilemmas of the 'focal points' approach and the role of national gender mainstreaming machinery; the need for training and building capacity to identify and address gender issues, which involves engaging with new languages and concepts, and developing new skills; building alliances, consensus and momentum; integrating gender concerns into policy and planning documents; and promoting gender equity in human resources in the health sector. Cross-cutting themes underlying these challenges are the need for gender-specific information and ways to finance mainstreaming strategies. Implications are drawn for ways forward, without losing sight of the challenge of translating discourses of gender mainstreaming, and its central ideal of social transformation, into pragmatic strategies in the bureaucratic environment.     

Unemployment,gender and mental health: the role of the gender regime

Existing research suggests that gender differences in the effect of unemployment on mental health are related to the different positions and roles that are available for men and women in society and the family; roles that are connected with their different psychosocial and economic need for employment. The aim of this article is to analyse the role of gender in the relationship between unemployment and mental wellbeing in Sweden, representing a gender regime with a similar need for employment among women and men, and Ireland, representing a gender regime in which the need for employment differs between women and men. The results, based on longitudinal data from the two countries, show that unemployment was more negatively related to mental health among men than among women in Ireland, while men and women were equally affected by unemployment in Sweden. Factors related to the family and economic situation, as well as gendered selection into the unemployment population, explains the difference in mental health between unemployed men and women in Ireland. The overall conclusion is that the context has a major influence on the relationship between unemployment, gender and mental health.     

Draw-a-person test: Implications for gender identification

Human figure drawings were collected from 50 gender dysphoric adults and compared with the drawings of 84 adult evening-school students and college sophomores. The gender dysphoric males drew a person of the opposite sex first more often than the control group males (p< 0.001). The gender dysphoric females drew a person of the opposite sex first more often than the control group females (p< 0.05). Results are discussed in light of existing literature on the DAP and gender identity formation.     

Gender Attitudes and Health Risk Behaviors in Urban African American and Latino Early Adolescents

Objectives: This study examines the association of beliefs about gender differences (frequently termed gender attitudes or attitudes about women in other research) and of beliefs specifically about masculinity to health risk behaviors in minority, urban, early adolescents, in light of the gender conventionality hypothesis. Methods: Data from a self-administered questionnaire assessing gender attitudes and violence-related, substance use, and heterosexual health risk behaviors administered to 587 African American and Latino early adolescents are analyzed. Results: With sociodemographic and family variables controlled, in males violence-related behaviors and substance use are associated with traditional beliefs about masculinity, and heterosexual activity is associated with traditional beliefs about gender differences. In females, being sexually active is positively associated with traditional beliefs about masculinity. Conclusions: Interventions to reduce health risk behaviors in minority, urban, early adolescents may be more effective if they include greater attention to ways in which gender-related attitudes may play a role in health risk taking.     

Anorexia nervosa and gender dysphoria in two adolescents

Little has been published about the co‐occurrence of gender dysphoria (GD) and eating disorders (ED) in adults, with no cases described in the adolescent population. The emphasis on body shape in both conditions suggests that there may be some overlap in symptomatology. We report two adolescent cases initially diagnosed with anorexia nervosa who later met criteria for GD. The drive for thinness for the 16‐year‐old male was associated with a wish to achieve a feminine physique whereas there was an emphasis for stunted breast growth and a desire for muscularity in the 13‐year‐old female. Complexities in presentation, evolution of symptoms over time, and the treatment of the two cases are discussed. Clinicians should inquire about sexual issues in the presentation of ED and should monitor for symptoms of GD, not only at initial presentation, but throughout treatment, especially as weight gain progresses. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2015; 48:151–155)     

International year of the family 1994: Family and gender equity in education

“Building the smallest democracy at the heart of society,” is the motto of the International Year of the Family being celebrated during 1994. The year 1994 has been designated by the United Nations to highlight issues concerning families locally, nationally, and globally during the year and to suggest recommendations for changes in policies and programs.

Since 1975, when the world celebrated International Women's Year, and again, in 1979 during International Year of the Child, evidence has been accruing regarding gender disparities in all countries. It is discouraging, yet perhaps not surprising, that in 1994 the world still awaits gender equity, even though a considerable amount of progress has been made since 1975.