In this presentation I illustrate my background and training in socio-cognitive development and critical feminist theory by describing two of my previous published works. The first project is a qualitative analysis of the influence of gender and gender typicality on adolescent friendship dissolution. The second project is a qualitative analysis of young men’s narratives of resisting masculine gender norms. I finish the presentation with a brief description of the biological and contextual directions I am tackling here at the University of Michigan.