Week 3 Blog 3

1.             Both articles this week were very interesting reads, but the article “What’s The Difference Between Boys and Girls?” really got my blood pumping.  I had never really thought about the differences between boys and girls, other than boys are aggressive, girls are sweet.  This article discusses the biological and cultural involvement in behavior of boys and girls, though there were not many direct examples given.  If I could meet with the author and ask her anything, I would ask her if she didn’t buy her son the doll because she didn’t want to waste money on him destroying it, or if she just didn’t want to buy him the doll due to society’s expectations of what is gender appropriate. 
               Even before they are born, boys are more active in the womb than girls, and within a year of birth they prefer mechanical type toys whereas girls prefer dolls or things they can snuggle.  The biology plays a big role in the first months of life, and it turns out boys are so active and boisterous due to having about 5 times more testosterone than girls.  If testosterone were reduced or removed from boys, they would become more sweet, and if it were raised in girls, they would become more rambunctious or competitive.
              
2.            Tomboy.  I learned that word in fifth grade after overhearing a group of boys when I was walking by.  I was mortified.  I didn’t even know what it was, I just knew, me being a girl and being called a (tom)boy was not a good thing.          I remember wondering why I had to have the next Barbie or Barbie accessory, and wondered what my brothers could possibly see in G.I. Joe figurines.  Even though I had Barbie dolls, I still took to other less girly toys such as Slinky’s and silly putty.  I also liked to play with my brothers’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles collection, with connectable sewers and the works.  I’m guessing this is because the movie was popular at the time.  I never really played with other “boy” toys.
               I may have loved my Barbie dolls and even at one point in time, My Little Pony was something I was into, but I hated to wear girly colors or clothes.  I preferred blue and green, maybe purple if I was in to it that day, and certainly no dresses or skirts.  My point is I really didn’t fit the societal expectations of what it is to be girly.  So I was called a tomboy.  Awesome right?  No.  There was nothing more humiliating for a young girl to be called at the time, other than perhaps fat.  But this was the late 80’s, and nowadays I’m sure there are a plethora of mean names children are called.  I also tend to embrace the term Tomboy now.
               I don’t recall getting any grief from my parents about playing with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figures, nor did my little brother when he played “house” with me.  I was always a little rough around the edges, and my little brother was always very sweet and shy.  After reading this article I was amazed at how I grew up and how it varied quite a bit from the expectations of society.  I am thankful my parents let me be who I wanted to be for the most part.  To this day I still don’t like pinks, pastels or florals, and I still really like blues and greens. 
    
3.             I would like to know more about individual children studied.  I think that would bring a little more interest to this article, and give it some much needed substance.  I would also like to learn more about when a child starts to think about the differences between boys and girls.  They might group themselves accordingly, but are they doing it consciously or unconsciously?