Emerging research suggests overrepresentation of gender diversity among autistic youth. Previous gender diversity research with autistic children has relied on parent-report based on a single question. The "Gender Diversity Screening Questionnaire--Self-Report and Parent-Report" assessed gender diversity experiences from 244 children…

In June 2021, a member of the Belgian conservative political party (N-VA) sparked online controversy regarding inclusive sexuality education by criticising the Genderbread Person, an educational tool used to explain gender identity and sexual orientation. This study analyses the notion of childhood innocence in online debate about the Genderbread…

This study quantified changes in self-reported sexual orientation from adolescence to early adulthood, and whether childhood gender nonconformity (GNC) predicted sexual orientation changes. Youth (2,678 boys and 3,359 girls; 96.09% ethnically White) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) were included. Self-reported…

In recent years, opponents of the gender-affirmative approach to trans youth have argued that it bears homophobic roots and may be tantamount to conversion therapy. This argument is mistaken. In this article, I first argue that there is no evidence that social and/or medical transition is motivated by homophobia. Contrary to the critique's tacit…

Clinical impressions indicate that there is an overrepresentation of gender-dysphoria within the autism spectrum disorder. However, little is presently known about the demographics of gender-identity issues in autism spectrum disorder. Based upon what little is known, we hypothesized that there would be an increased prevalence of gender-dysphoria…

Childhood gender nonconformity (femininity in males, masculinity in females) predicts a nonstraight (gay, lesbian, or bisexual) sexual orientation in adulthood. In previous work, nonstraight twins reported more childhood gender nonconformity than their genetically identical, but straight, cotwins. However, self-reports could be biased. We…

This longitudinal study examined coparenting and child adjustment during early and middle childhood (Ms = 3 and 8 years, respectively) among 106 lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parent adoptive families. When children were in middle childhood, no differences emerged as a function of parental sexual orientation in observations or self-reports of…

This conceptual article synthesizes the empirical research on punitive environmental norms of schools and the disproportionate effects on certain child and adolescent groups, particularly within urban schools. This involvement has come to be known as the school-to-prison pipeline. The young people affected by harsh school discipline protocols and…

Overall, people whose gender identity and/or expression do not correspond to traditional norms are increasingly sharing their life experiences publicly. These narratives are offered by adults as well as children and their families. Within the last year, almost every major television network and news outlet has featured at least one such story.…

Many sexuality educators and professionals, even those involved in program development and planning, are not aware of the biological and social factors involved in gender identity development in youth. As such, this topic is often not as well addressed in whole life educational curricula as better understood topics, such as reproductive anatomy,…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases a list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The "2020 Summary of Advances in Autism Research" provides short, plain language summaries of the top research breakthroughs selected by the IACC from a pool of research articles…

In this essay Erica R. Meiners argues that those committed to dismantling our nation's deep and racialized investments in policing and imprisoning must analyze how the flexible category of "the child," and its figurative powers, operate in complex ways to punish communities and naturalize and expand criminalization and surveillance.…

In this essay I respond to Cristyn Davies and Kerry Robinson's research on queer families by remarking on the distance GLBTQI people have travelled in the last half century. I raise critical questions about the potential gains and possible losses that may result from bringing heretofore subjugated knowledges into the school curriculum. Drawing on…

This article offers a consideration of the ways that the politics of normative childhoods are shaped by discourses of happiness predicated on heteronormativity. Responding to the work of Cristyn Davies and Kerry Robinson (2013, this issue), the authors argue that non-normative families and in particular, non-normative parenting, are obliged to…

Objective: Childhood gender nonconformity has been associated with increased risk of caregiver abuse and bullying victimization outside the home, but it is unknown whether as a consequence children who are nonconforming are at higher risk of depressive symptoms. Method: Using data from a large national cohort (N = 10,655), we examined differences…