The last pink straw: Children's and parents' judgements about gender nonconformity

Gender nonconforming (GNC) boys often elicit negative reactions from peers and adults. However, it is unclear which aspects of nonconformity evoke negative social consequences. Are appearance characteristics, activity interests, or traits most impactful for peers' evaluations? Sixty-seven 6- to 11-year-old children and their parents interacted with a magnetic paper doll of a GNC boy who was displayed with feminine appearance characteristics, activity interests, and traits. Participants were allowed to physically remove feminine attributes and/or add masculine and neutral attributes to help the GNC boy make friends with boys. Participants were (1) more likely to change appearance and activities and less likely to change traits and (2) more likely to remove feminine attributes than add masculine and neutral attributes. Interactions between attribute type and gender differed across parents and children. Results suggest that interventions to reduce discrimination towards GNC boys should focus on reducing prejudice towards appearance- and activity-based nonconformity.