2 June: Michael Bailey, Northwestern University Psychology

The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism

Stereotypes of homosexual people contain several aspects of sex atypical behavior and psychology, that have been collectively named "gender nonconformity." These include patterns of childhood behavior (i.e., femininity in males and masculinity in females); patterns of articulation and movement; patterns of occupational and recreational interests; and physical appearance. I will review studies from my lab that strongly confirm the validity of most stereotypes, on average. I will then review some implications of this research for the psychology of homosexual people. I will speculate about the origins of gender nonconformity in light of recent dramatic studies of males reassigned as females shortly after birth.