What I find interesting is that the article seems to draw the exact opposite conclusion from the study than what I, personally, think it shows. This is only my opinion, obviously. But I think that the fact that very young children - children who still have their instincts and have not yet learned that if it can't be proven in a lab then it's not real - believe that there are inherent differences between boys and girls means that maybe there really are. The article somehow comes to the conclusion that the study can be used to confront the children's beliefs that boys and girls are inherently different and to use the study to get children to ignore gender stereotypes. But I can't help asking myself: we KNOW that we're different, we LEARN that we're not - which is true? My money is on instinct.

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thankyou...
Kabin
Konteyner
mega kabin

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This topic is a topic that most people fail to understand. It truly is sad, because the effects carry over to everyone all over the world. The talk of activities, toys, and interests is really silly. We as people are programed from birth to accept everything that we do and reject everything that we do whether directly or indirectly. The reality is that women and men are made differently, but the most apparent differences are man-made. If we do have behavioral differences based on sex we could never know. There are too many variables most of which we are in control of, but are too blind to accept people for people. And not try to formulate people to fulfill social or gender roles.

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Just silly. Anyone with their eyes open can see that there are big differences in behavior between boys and girls. It's true of the great majority of animal species, it's true of all human cultures, and it's always roughly the same differences between the genders. In my opinion, clinging to the belief that gender differences are nurture is not only checking your brain at the door to surrender to political biases, it also does a lot of harm. We need to know who we are. I've personally encountered a great deal of harm in my life caused by these false ideas about gender, the false expectation that men and women will behave and think in the same ways under the same circumstances. They don't, and reasoning like they will hurts everyone.

What I think is so funny about this debate is that the people who argue the strongest for nurture are those most influenced by political and cultural biases. And such people are often very inconsistent. For instance, they'll argue strongly for the innateness of sexual orientation, and the authenticity of trans-gender identification, in the face of plenty of contrary evidence. Even when citing supposed scientific evidence, these people are highly critical of the overwhelming body of evidence for nature, and totally uncritical of the occasional scrap of weak evidence for nurture. For instance, take the study cited. What else would you expect from 10 year olds? They are half way to adulthood. Why is it surprising that their attitudes are half way t

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Years ago I read a study that found that from the first days of life, we treat our boys and girls differently. Girls get held more, and when they are spoken to, they are closer physically. Boys are spoken to from further distances and are picked up less. I don't know a parent who notice or admit that, but I suspect that the researchers were right on in uncovering a huge piece of the "natural differences" that we exhibit. I do think that our hormonal differences must also come into play. We feel and act how our chemical messengers tell us to. That said, I think we need to understand that there are these differences and work towards minimizing them, also we need to be more accepting of the folks who don't fit comfortably into these social roles.

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Years ago I read a study that found that from the first days of life, we treat our boys and girls differently. Girls get held more, and when they are spoken to, they are closer physically. Boys are spoken to from further distances and are picked up less. I don't know a parent who notice or admit that, but I suspect that the researchers were right on in uncovering a huge piece of the "natural differences" that we exhibit. I do think that our hormonal differences must also come into play. We feel and act how our chemical messengers tell us to. That said, I think we need to understand that there are these differences and work towards minimizing them, also we need to be more accepting of the folks who don't fit comfortably into these social roles.

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Oh yeah, but gender is not always apparent based on outer genitalia. There's also gender-identifying hormones. In some people these 2 manifestations of gender are contradictory.

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I recall the same study -- there was a special on The Discovery Channel. I'm sorry I can't remember what it was called.

In a Nutshell: Children are born with differences based on gender. Children of different ages are different. Children form cliques on their own, and harm those labeled as "outsiders". They compete in their groups to "out survive" the "others".

As we get older and learn better, we can overcome our boundaries, widen our circles and mature as people. The more we mature, the wider our boundaries.

It was a phenomenal study. I loved the way the behaviors of children at different ages could so easily be classified; and how the animosity between genders changes with sexual maturity.

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I wish that a few kindergarden & grade school teachers & childcare professionals would jump into this discussion.

As a parent of one girl - who is more of a tomboy, than a girly-girl type, I have observed that generally speaking: Boys from a young age, at her school, have usually been very high energy & more physically agressive than the girls. They will more often fight with one another, & tease the girls. The girls all seem to hold their own - but appear to think through their actions more & are usually more considerate toward others. That said, there are also boys who are equally ready to defend or take care of their friends & younger children too. A great deal depends on their parenting & how the school system directs their energy. My daughter's teacher frequently had the boys do a couple laps either in the gym or around the building in the morning just to chill out their wild energy so that they would settle into class without bouncing off the walls!

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Boys and girls are definitely different, some differences are inborn (behavior wise, not what kind of toys they prefer), but many are influenced by their environment and people around them. My son likes to play with dolls, figurines, etc... he also likes cooking (as do all of the friends who are boys who come over), but he and his male friends also love sword fighting more than his friends who are girls who come over.

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