Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Boys and Girls

I was always under the impression that gender roles were forced upon us by society. I thought that little boys and little girls were born essentially the same, and that the way we treated them determined how they behaved. I am no longer sure that this is an accurate view.

Since birth, Izzy has been the exact opposite of Porgie. She is gentle, he is rough. She is picky with her food, he will eat almost anything. She prefers quiet activities (like puzzles and coloring), he prefers active activities (like playing ball or rolling cars on the table). At first I thought it was just a difference in personality, but now I am not so sure. The qualities that define my children seem to be innate. Without poking or prodding from outside forces, Izzy consistently acts like a typical boy and Porgie consistently acts like a sweet little girl. Maybe mother nature plays a bigger role in the whole thing than I had first assumed?




7 comments:

Unknown said...

My little girl's a mix of those traits. I still think the differences are in large part societally-influenced--parents unconsciously but definitely treat newborns of different sexes differently, and they do have influence from what they see of their parents' actions and TV and peers etc. Even the clothes they wear encourage different kinds of activities, and help define their roles to themselves. But there are definitely some biological differences as well. It's just that they add up differently in different societies.

Laura Marchant said...

Very true! I couldn't agree more.

amanda said...

it really is crazy isn't it??

boys vs girls :)

ps - they are adorable!

Marni's Organized Mess said...

I thought and have found the SAME things.

Rachel said...

Yeah there are so many differences but I swear if the girl is second she has to be tough. Bottom line, your kids are so damn adorable.

Amber said...

I agree! My house was full of boy toys, lots of cars and trains! But then Taylor got a baby when she was 7 months old and voila she instantly became obbessed and was so nuturing towards this baby! It was crazy to watch it happening!

Kris said...

LOL - I really think its a combination of both. Kalila is becoming more girly without us pushing it (a lot more so) but she's still very rough and a bit of a tomboy. Loves cars, trains, stuff like that...

As for the people treating newborns differently comment, I have seen that, but not everyone does. My inlaws get all up in arms because my husband tosses Kalila around like he does the boys in the family lol. She absolutely loves it though & I know he's not being unsafe about it so I encourage it. I want her to have that same bond our boys will (if we have boys lol).