Māori research is increasingly recognising the diversity of Māori, and no area displays this internal variation more than academic considerations of Māori gender diversity and takatāpui, which are slowly but significantly rising. While researchers have focused significantly on unearthing the diversity and realities of Māori sexuality, gender diversity has been largely overlooked. This research proposes that there is a tikanga-informed basis for current Māori expressions of gender diversity and explores the early imposition of colonial gender roles onto Māori, the principles that informed gender diversity and fluidity for Māori before these colonial roles, and the traditional narratives that may have gender diversity woven into them. By collating a series of considerations regarding Māori gender diversity, this research lays a foundation for future researchers in this area to build from, and opens up new considerations of how tikanga and gender are connected to one another in modern Māori cultures.