Published May 24th, 2012

by Barbara J King

Kathryn’s Dad thought she was going through a tomboy phase. Kathryn’s Mom suspected it might be something more. From the age of two onwards, Kathryn herself was utterly certain: “I am a boy,” the child insisted.

Kathryn’s story was told on the front page of The Washington Post last Sunday, and I found it a gripping tale. It explores Kathryn’s sense, expressed consistently through her toddler years, that she is a boy, and her parents’ “upheaval” in trying to do the right thing by their child. When Kathryn was four, after seeking professional counseling, the parents decided to let her live as a boy.

Tyler (the pseudonym chosen by the Post for Kathryn’s new name) now dresses as a boy and attends preschool as a boy. Is Tyler a transgender child, with a natal sex (female) that does not match his gender identity (male)? Can children so young really know their own gender identity? How can families best support these children?

In a course I teach at William and Mary, Evolutionary Perspectives on Gender, my students and I grapple with questions of this nature. One of our primary texts is Sexing the Body by Anne Fausto-Sterling, a biologist and gender-studies expert at Brown University. Three days ago, I spoke with Fausto-Sterling by telephone about some of these issues.

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