Gender dissonance can manifest extremely early. By age three or four, sometimes even younger, children may notice an incongruity between who they are told they are and who they sense they are. That discrepancy has been called gender identity disorder, or GID. In early childhood, gender nonconformity is often tolerated, but by seven or so, children are pushed hard into gender stereotypes. Trans children may respond to such pressure by becoming anxious and depressed.
