[southbymidwest]

Originally Posted by DTD Alum

Torn. There are huge biological differences between the way male and female children's brains are set up and how they affect behavior ranging from adherence to "rules", the way toys are played with, communication skills, bonding with other children and coincidentally how susceptible they are to gender roles (male children are much more likely to dismiss activities purely because of gender roles than females are).

That being said, social constructs (boys like sports, girls like dance) are ludicrous. The way the brains are set up means that boys and girls will approach the same activities with very different goals and ways they derive enjoyment from them, but the fact that one gender will enjoy something more is socially constructed. As a child and teenager I was extremely passionate about dance, something with which I was heavily ridiculed by my peers (to the point I dropped it in college, only to pick it up after I graduated when I became more comfortable with who I am and gained self esteem). My family was always beyond supportive, but it did hurt to be told by peers that I wasn't a "boy" because of something I liked.

At the end of the day though, I think I side with those who are saying it is more important to breed an attitude of "even though you are [X] gender, you can enjoy [X] activity." By eliminating the fact that we are born either male or female, I think you are losing a lot of the progress that needs to be made. I think it's more powerful to say, "I'm a boy and want to dance ballet" or "I'm a girl and want to play rugby" than to say "I don't associate with a gender so I can do anything I want". By making that sort of statement I think you are subtly implying that if you WERE to choose a gender then things would be off limits. I can see both sides though.

Very, very well said. I'm the the mom of two very sports-involved girls, and I think you have hit the nail on the head. You were able to articulate what was rolling around in my head much more clearly than what I could have said.