http://www.care2.com/greenliving/boys-and-girls-as-different-as-cats-and-dogs.html
Boys and Girls: As Different as Cats and Dogs?
By Cate Nelson, Eco Child’s Play
Are gender differences inborn? Does my son like trucks because he’s as different from girls as cats are from dogs? Boys come out of the womb clutching footballs, girls cuddling dolls?
Probably not, but young kids seem to believe that.
In a U.S. study of 450 kids aged 5-college aged, researchers found that the young ones were more likely to believe that gender differences were nature, not nurture. As in: differences are there because they’re born into you, as species is. The differences are innate, they think.
Interestingly, over time children’s beliefs on gender differences fade, not grow stronger.
By age 10, the participants–diverse across racial and socioeconomic groups–believed closer to what their parents might. That is, that gender and species differences were distinct from one another, and environment plays a role in human sex-based differences.
No Men Are From Mars, then. Marianne Taylor, assistant professor of psychology at Pacific Lutheran University, led the study. She said that parents and teachers could help children by encouraging interest in subjects that were previously thought to be “girls” or “boys” only.
These results have important implications for how children think about activities that are culturally associated with the other gender, for example, how girls think about science or math. By confronting this belief directly, parents and teachers can help encourage girls and boys to explore a wider range of school activities.
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32 comments
add your comment »I had 3 daughters and now 2 grandsons, it really seems to me that the outward things like playing with trucks or dolls just developes. My girls all built model cars with their Dad and went to the races, rode dirt bikes etc. but are very girly also. My grandsons ride dirt bikes and help me bake. I see a difference then I don't my daughter and I happened to be talking about this, this morning. It really seems like it is more the child than the sex with all of the important stuff. Girls are more sensitive, boys maybe more daring. My grandsons are being raised just as I raised my daughters and they all seem to be pretty decent. Maybe we should put more into what we teach about humanity and less about what toy they choose to play with.
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kids should be allowed to climb trees, play football, or whatever they prefer without a label being put on their gender.
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its interesting howmany different things people do research on
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There are some differences dictated by nature, but such are negligible indeed: we all have the potentials to learn, to excel in many fields and develop many talents, we all have similar emotional needs for love and fulfillment and to express our feelings, and we, by the way, all have a psyche that is both male and female (anima/animus).
The Mars/Venus popular book feeds cultural stereotypes which seems to reassure many who are comfortable with these stereotypes and would rather conform and not think too deeply. But these "differences" are created by culture, role models and expectations.
In the extreme, we see these "differences" becoming caricatures, as in 1940's movies when women were considered hysterical, childlike and helpless by our society, and today in the extreme "feminization" of some women (gigantic fake breasts, etc) and the extreme masculine appearance some men seek, which makes each gender conform to the ridiculous images of the barbie doll and her GI Joe.
But the pernicious influence of conditioning goes beyond careers or appearances, to the way each gender relate to the other through learned behavior. We can see that in this area many men and women reduce their idea of personhood to cultural cliches, they literally become greatly simplified and streamlined versions of themselves to fit cultural expectations, and end up all thinking, behaving the exact same way, using the same rationalizations, and having the exact same expectations. That's sad.
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I'm now looking for the book 'Pink brain, blue brain'. It was published in 2009 and presents the latest research. (I've read a review in Newsweek). It proves that biological differences between boys and girls are practically negligible, but all differences stem from upbringing. For example, some parents think girls are too weak to engage in any physical activity, so they restrain their moves, that's why those girls develop worse spatial orientation.
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I've just noticed a misprint: As a child, I preferred climbing trees or fencing with sticks with my cousins (boys) to playing with dolls.
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There are a lot of harmful stereotypes, some of them based on biased research. For example, the book on brain sex was based on research carried out in the 1950's, when girls weren't encouraged to study, but were only taught to cook, to sew, to knit, etc., which made them seem more stupid than boys, who were taught more serious subjects and encouraged to think.
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No, it's a matter of upbringing and temperament, I think. As a child, preferred climbing trees or fencing with sticks with my cousins (boys) to playing with dolls.
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it is well known that a viable educational system should and would encourage boys and girls in the same way to explore a wide range of activities for the other gender. as is very true that there are gender diferences worth to be honoured! but in life there are so many aspects that are not pure black and white! for example in the corporate world not only one would see that women become more assertive and know -how -to into domains that belonged not long ago exclusively to men as the opposite is true too !
just for curiosity go check www.understandmen.com it would open your eyes into development stages for men since early childhood to late adult as well for the women!
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There are some differences, but when you get right down to it we are more alike than different.
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