While reading the article " What's the difference between boys and girls?" I instantly thought of my teenage son. Though I didn't allow him to play with toy guns until he was four of five, he automatically knew what to do with them and always followed the rules. Now that he is older he is the same boy with a collection of BB guns and a thirst for hunting and fishing competitively. my son being the competitive child he is, I learned could be from higher levels of testosterone. Which also explains the way he is when it comes to playing sports, in your face ruthless and out for a win at any cost. My daughter on the other hand, does enjoy playing with BB guns but loves her stuffed huskies. My daughter being a tom-boy wears nothing but basketball shorts and hoodies and loves to get dirty. I wonder if maybe she has higher levels of testosterone caused by the adrenal gland? "Both the Berkeley study and a more recent federal daycare study find a different pattern in girls; they're emotionally sturdier". I find that to be true. I find my daughter to be less sensitive than my son though he tries to not show it. I learned that they're healthy development seems most harmed by being restricted and its confinement that brings down IQ in girls.
Something that piqued my curiosity while reading this article, is what about the testosterone levels in homosexuals? If a gay/ Trans-gender men prefer to dress as a woman, does that mean they have lower testosterone than the average male or the "pink gene" as quoted by a British journalist. Same goes for lesbians, do they have more testosterone than the average woman or do the majority suffer from congenital adrenal hyperplasia? If I had unlimited funds to do more research, I would like to research more on this particular topic.
By current research homo and or transexuality is not linked with hormone levels. There is some research that find links that may relate, but levels of testosterone and such are normal typically. There is beleived to potentially be more of a genetic, prenatal hormone, or brain structure difference. But research is on going for this and it is of much stipulation for now. Good question and post.
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted a little girl, but 2 boys it is! It makes me wonder if I did have one if she would be a girly girly like me or be playing with her brothers guns and quads. While pregnant for the second time not yet knowing he was a boy, I think the idea of having a little baby girl was more fun to me. Dressing her up in little dresses and hair bows. But like you said that usually only last a short time then they become their own person with the unique personality.
ReplyDeleteI too thought of my kids. My son is very into nerf guns, fishing, hunting, and mechanical things. Hes not your regular rough and tumble boy though. He would rather build some contraption from his imagination out of all the random things in the house he can find than wrestle with a bunch of boys. He is by far way more sensative than my daughter and needs a lot of compassion and gentle guidance. My daughter on the other hand is a ball of fire! She loves to walk around in her plastic clip on earrings (which she got for Easter) and pink purse but then she will barrell down the slide without looking to even see if she is aiming herself in the right direction! She needs to have her independence and to feel like we trust in her to be able to do it on her own.
ReplyDeleteAmy- When we were pregnant with my daughter and had just found out we were having a baby girl we were so scared! We had been so used to having a boy and doing boy things we weren't really sure what to do with all that girly stuff : ) we were sitting on the couch just yesterday talking about how different the two kids were and how much fun it has been to have both a boy and a girl. She has been so much fun to dress up and watch her grow into her own person! But there are times I wonder if the kids would be closer to each other if they were the same gender. They might be more into the same things and be more apt to play with each other more. As it is Ava tries to include herself in Carters games but hes not really willing to include her himself unless I ask him to. There are advantages to both a boy girl combo and a same gender combo I think.