Gender Identification

Gender identification refers to the process by which children develop a fundamental sense of belonging to one sex and not the other (Zucker 2002). In this experience, individuals determine which characteristics of their gender prove applicable to their own sense of self. This experience includes individuals’ decisions about which elements associated with the other sex prove separate from their own selves and gender identities. Early research had assumed that parents had the greatest influence on the process and that it was generally completed before children entered school. More recent studies have expanded the spectrum of these factors, both in terms of the time frame and in terms of influencing factors (and now include, e.g., siblings, peers, teachers, and media characters) (see, e.g., Katz and Ksansnak 1994). This later research also has challenged the inherent desirability of traditional sex-typed patterns of behavior. As such, patterns might not prove adaptive or beneficial in a...