gender variance

noun

: gender nonconformity

While there have been many changes in legislation, the realities of young trans people are that they can experience highly negative responses for either being trans or expressing gender variance.

—Jay Stewart, quoted in The Guardian (London), 19 Nov. 2014

gender-variant adjective

or gender variant

What's more challenging for parents is when a child consistently pursues a range of behaviors strongly associated with the opposite sex … . Often called gender variant or gender nonconforming …

—Nara Schoenberg, The Chicago Tribune, 22 Aug. 2010

Word History

First Known Use

1987, in the meaning defined above

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Rhymes for gender variance

• covariance
• invariance