Co-presented by Gender Research Centre, Gender Development Lab, Gender Studies Programme, Sexualities Research Programme, Department of Psychology, CUHK

Childhood Gender Diversity in the Community and Across Cultures

Date: 20 May 2019 (Mon)
Time: 12:30 - 2:00pm
Venue: Room 505, Esther Lee Building, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Speaker: Dr. Doug VanderLaan, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto Mississauga

Abstract: Research regarding children who exhibit non-stereotypical or diverse gender presentation has relied almost entirely on samples drawn from specialty gender clinics in Western countries. This talk will detail research on childhood gender diversity that takes us beyond clinical samples. Specifically, it will cover recent studies that describe the prevalence of childhood gender diversity and its association with mental health risk in the wider community, investigate how to target key social relationships such as those with peers to promote resilience, and consider how a cross-cultural perspective on childhood gender variance can expand our understanding.

Speaker's Biography: Doug P. VanderLaan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto Mississauga, and a Collaborator Scientist in Child and Youth Psychiatry at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. He has conducted community-based and clinical research on the development of gender expression as well as cross-cultural field studies on third gender individuals and sexual orientation in Samoa and Thailand. His other cross-cultural work on these topics has included collaborations with researchers in the Netherlands, Brazil, Japan, mainland China, and Hong Kong. His work emphasizes biological, psychological, and socio-cultural processes and integrates developmental, cross-cultural and evolutionary perspectives.

In addition, his research program integrates a variety of methodological approaches, including lab-based experiments and behavioral observations, cross-cultural field research, clinical research, neuroimaging, survey and questionnaire studies, and archival studies. He is the awardee of the 2015 Ira and Harriet Reiss Theory Award by the Foundation for the Scientific Study of Sexuality and several Canadian national grants.

Registration: https://bit.ly/2LsS4sc