Home › Terms › Gender-variant

Gender-variant

'Gender-variant' refers to behaviour, expression or preferences that deviate from common expectations for one's own sex — for example a boy who prefers to play with dolls and wear dresses, or a girl who never presents herself in a feminine way. The term is mainly used in research and child psychology.

What is meant by it?

Gender-variant behaviour in children has been around for as long as there have been children and is relatively common. Some children grow out of gender-variant behaviour, others become gender-variant adults, and a small minority develop persistent gender dysphoria. The term is broader than transgender or non-binary: a gender-variant child need not claim a gender identity that deviates from the birth sex.

Distinction and overlap

Gender-variant describes behaviour and expression, not identity. A gender-variant girl (for example a 'tomboy') is not a transgender boy unless she also identifies as a boy. In children, this distinction is essential: confusing gender-variant behaviour with gender dysphoria has practical consequences for the consideration around medical intervention.

Social and practical context

Research (Steensma et al., 2013; Singh et al., 2021) shows that the majority of gender-variant children — even with clinical dysphoria — grow up to be cisgender (often homosexual) adults when no social or medical transition takes place. That stands in sharp contrast with figures from recent Western gender clinics on social or medical transition, where persistence is much higher. That difference has direct consequences for policy on puberty blockers and social transition in children.

Critical perspectives

The linkage 'gender-variant child = transgender' that is implicitly made in parts of contemporary discourse has no scientific basis. Most gender-variant children are not future trans adults. Supporting the child in his or her expression without premature identity claims or medical steps is what the available research generally recommends.