Leisure and recreational “girl‐boy” activities—studying the unique challenges provided by transgendered young people

Abstract

Transgendered young people—transsexuals, cross‐dressers, gender benders/ blenders—challenge recreation and leisure professionals because their gender identity and expressions differ from society's role expectations of what it means to be male or female. These young people confront traditional “girl‐boy” activities associated with gender stereotyping. An exploratory study of 22 male‐to‐female transgendered young people discovered they knew that they were transgendered and acted on their gender‐non‐conforming behaviours at an early age; and they behaved in gender atypical ways, e.g., liking dolls, preferring female playmates, never preferring boys’ games and never imaging themselves as sports figures. Outcomes of this exploratory study are used to generate directions for research that would enhance research‐based programming conducive to transgendered young people's participation in recreation and leisure activities.