Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

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Window into why girls will be boys and vice versa


Swinging feelings … research has started into gender identity disorder.
Photo: Darren Pateman

Danielle Teutsch
February 8, 2009

A SYDNEY researcher has begun the first study of its kind on what are known as
gender-variant children - boys who act like girls and girls who act like boys.

Sydney University doctoral student Elizabeth Riley is conducting an online survey, which will take in the views of families,
health professionals and transgender people, and is setting up a support group. She has already had about 25 inquiries.

Ms Riley said in the past, professionals working in the field of gender identity disorder would not see patients until they
were older teens or adults. But now, a new generation of more enlightened parents were seeking advice on the best
way to deal with a young son who has a clear preference for long hair and dresses; or a girl who says she wants a boy's body.

"There's a real unmet need for help," Ms Riley said. "Parents want to do the right thing by their children.
There's a fear their child could be teased or bullied and anxiety about what other parents will think."

She said little was known about gender-variant children, except about
80per cent turned out to be gay, with a small number becoming transsexual.

The chairwoman of perinatal and infant psychiatry at the University of Newcastle, Professor Louise Newman,
welcomed research on such a poorly understood topic. "There are some children from very early on who have an
absolutely clear sense of being trapped in the wrong body," she said. "The youngest I've seen is 2½years old."

There is still debate about whether biological factors - possibly caused by a hormonal
imbalance during pregnancy - or psychological factors are responsible, although Professor
Newman believed it a combination. "There's likely to be more than one reason," she said.

When Alex was five he decided he wanted to be called Courtney. He would grab the venetian blind cords and put
them behind his ears to make "earrings". Now aged nine, he is still as uninterested as ever in sport, cars and
all things masculine. He's obsessed with Disney princesses and often sashays around the house in a feather
boa and tiara. With his $20 of Christmas money, Alex bought a sparkly purple butterfly necklace and bracelet.

"The stuff that thrills him is uber-feminine. The glitzier, the frillier the better," his mother, Melissa, told The Sun-Herald.

Sarah is the mother of a five-year-old daughter who has gone through phases of wanting to be called "Nathan",
loves cricket, utes and football and says she feels like a boy on the inside. She loves clothes featuring
Spider-Man - "the more boy-like, the better" - and wears her hair in a closely-cropped style. Lately,
she has told her mother she no longer wants to wear a top at the pool so she can be like the boys. "Ever
since she could speak, she has wanted to be a boy. She's really clear and sure about it," Sarah said.

Both Sarah and Melissa have spoken of their confusion at how best to parent their
children - whether to accept and indulge their desire to behave like the opposite
sex, or gently steer them within social norms. They did not want themselves or their
children identified because of a desire to protect them. Alex is already ostracised at school.

"It's hard to get clear-cut guidance," Melissa said. "For the first few years I tried buying gender-
neutral toys, but it didn't really work. This Christmas, I just abandoned all that and bought what I
knew would make him happy - a Barbie bride doll. If you could have seen his eyes, it was just magical."

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/window-into-why-girls-will-be-boys-and-vice-versa/2009/02/07/1233423559180.html

No doubt a biological and psychological combination of factors. Some things you know.

Beautiful picture.