Glioma-associated oncogene (GLI) transcription factors function downstream of the hedgehog signal transduction pathway to regulate the development of many animals. Although the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans lacks a hedgehog pathway, it does have a GLI protein that represses male development in favor of hermaphrodite development. As we discuss here, recent findings implicate two conserved transcription-repressor complexes in the repression of male-specific genes. This research indicates a possible conserved role for these complexes in either GLI-directed gene repression or sex determination.