Centering voices from 25+ years of interview-based research, Gender Functions reveals enduring patterns that convey what gender entails and why LGBTQ+ genders matter. Throughout, people earnestly share how their gender identities are shaped and enacted, from across drag, butch, femme, bear, leather, transgender, nonbinary, and house/family communities. It illuminates how genders create new possibilities to be authentic in relationships, rather than viewing gender development as a project of adopting social norms. Chapters make evident the connections between gender norms, internal felt sense, gender identity, gender expression, and gendered sexuality-articulating the cyclical process through which genders continually evolve. The constructive functions of gender are showcased, making clear why gender serves people's needs and is vital across societies. Gender Functions takes readers on an interdisciplinary voyage through the evolution of LGBTQ+ genders, across diverse communities. This book considers pressing questions and politics. It pioneers a new pathway for developing transformative gender theory.

‘The most compelling and captivating account of gender of the twenty-first century, this book is a breakthrough in gender theory at a time of extraordinary challenge for gender diversity. Rooted in decades of rigorous research, Heidi Levitt has formulated a novel metatheory showing how gender and sexuality are inextricably linked and how gender functions at both the level of the individual and the culture. Gender Functions is essential reading for all those who want to understand the psychology of gender and sexuality through a decidedly twenty-first century lens.’

Phillip L. Hammack - Professor of Psychology and Director of the Sexual and Gender Diversity Laboratory, University of California, Santa Cruz

‘A personally and intellectually generous account of the dazzling array of genders and gender communities that comprise the human experience. Using her 25+ years of qualitative research on the functions of gender, Levitt calls us in to experience this richness and contemplate a future where gender diversity is valued and celebrated. It is highly readable (compulsively so!) in part because it draws readers into the felt sense of gender in all of its vibrant and rich complexity.’

Alexandra Rutherford - Professor in the Historical, Theoretical, and Critical Studies of Psychology program, York University, Canada