Blog 3

I really enjoyed reading the article, "What's The Difference Between Boys And Girls." Being a mother of two boys and the only female in my home, I could relate to the authors comparison of living in a Toy's R Us warehouse. My house also is filled with toys guns, swords, and action figures. The line about the boy biting his toast into a shape of gun reminded me of my 7 year old. When my son isn't playing with a gun, he is making one out of Legos, or anything else that could somewhat resemble a gun. I've always wondered why little boys have that natural instinct to like guns and pretend to shoot people? I didn't introduce toy guns until he was about 4. I'm not a big gun person, and was hesitant when his dad wanted to get him a BB gun for his birthday. But of coarse, I gave in and he is more responsible when shooting his gun then I gave him credit for. I thought the Barbie vs Godzilla effect was interesting. My son has never asked for a "gender inappropriate" toy, but he definitely has played with "girl" toys when he has had a play date at a girl's house. I never thought anything of it or tried to discourage him from playing with them. I just assumed he was interested in playing with them because they're different. They're new toys that he never would see or get a chance to play with at home. I do remember one time he came out of the room with his friend who was a girl, they both were wearing princess dresses. He was about 5 years old I think. I looked at my friend and just smiled; trying to hold in our laughter we told them they looked great! It's not a big deal at that age, I honestly don't think it means anything if a boy plays with girl toys or a girl plays with boy toys. I knew males had higher testosterone levels than females, I didn't realize males produced 7 to 10 times more testosterone. Also, the other interesting thing I learned was higher testosterone levels are responsible and almost predictable for competitiveness. So does that mean my son's testosterone levels are shooting up before each soccer game? His personality changes quite a bit, and he becomes this focused, aggressive, competitive little boy when he is out on the field. When reading about girls having sharper hearing than boys, I wasn't surprised. I didn't realize it was because of the tiny hair cells that register sound waves and vibrate more forcefully. I always thought it was more of a gender or personality trait and not actually hearing involved. I always tell my boyfriend and son they have "selective hearing," which I still believe is partly true. Although my son is a play in the mud--ride my quad--shoot my gun kind of boy, he has always been sensitive, caring, sweet, and cuddly. Both my boys are momma's boys, even though my oldest would never admit it. After reading about this article it explains that there is a whole range of personalities that don't fall into any of the obvious stereotypes. "The complex of genes and hormones and neurotransmitters and internal chemistry that may influence our behaviors varies from person to person and is designed to flexible." A particular line that stood out to me was, "Any stereotypes we impose on our children--and, by extension, adults--are purely cultural, not biological. We tend to associate little boys with being noisy and rambunctious and "emotionally tough." According to science, it is the exact opposite, they need a lot of emotional support, affection, and one-on-one attention.