The Need to Know

I read something interesting today. Apparently, people have an inherent need to know the gender of the baby they are interacting with. If someone is asked to hold a baby, in general they will first ask if it is a boy or a girl. If they are not told, they may even go as far as peeking (you-know-where) to find out. If they are told not to peek, they will generally make up a gender for that child.

Are we naturally predisposed to treating boys and girls differently, or is it due to how deeply ingrained traditional gender roles are ingrained into us?

I suppose I can relate. Whenever I talk to parents about their babies/toddler, I actually tend to treat the child neutrally and never refer to the child as him/her. Up to the age where they can walk/talk anyway.

It's different with dogs though. Because I have 2 very charming dogs, people, mostly young women (hee!) and older couples, tend to stop and talk to me while we're on our daily walks. Especially other people with dogs. And I'm always embarassed because I always find myself looking for their "bits" (the dogs'. Get your mind out of the gutter!) so I can refer to the dog as a boy or girl before talking about it. Thank goodness it mostly seems like I'm simply admiring the dog's health or observing its temperament.

Posted in gender