Gender in Youth: Biology and Behavior

Perhaps you are a teacher with a gender-nonconforming child in your classroom, a parent concerned about your child’s behavior, or a person wanting to better understand the basics of gender and gender dysphoria.

This book makes no assumptions about your previous knowledge or experience. The first two chapters introduce terminology and describe the timing and stages of gender development for most boys and girls. The following chapters deal with gender in youth with gender dysphoria or who are affected by a disorder of sex development. These chapters provide a foundation for understanding the fundamentals and variations of gender development. The final chapter lists additional resources to explore these specific areas in greater depth.

This book grew out of more than two decades of working in the fields of pediatric endocrinology and psychology. During this time, there have been tremendous changes in the understanding of gender development in children and adolescents, in the approach to supporting youth when questions of gender arise, and in society’s view of gender- nonconforming individuals. The content is based on the authors’ review of published research and shared experiences with patients over these years.