The Myths About Mr. and Ms.
December 23, 2009
Discover Magazine
by Boonsri Dickinson
http://discovermagazine.com/2009/the-brain-2/23-the-myths-about-mr-and-msMen's and women's brains are different, but those distinctions are much smaller than we typically think, and few of them are innate. Rather, the slight asymmetries present at birth, shaped and molded by interests, predilections, and the cues of parents and teachers, grow into more significant gender gaps in adulthood.
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...Eliot dispels many myths about male and female brain development. "In parenting literature, there's a lot of stuff that's made up," she says. When the toddler son of peaceniks pines for a toy army truck, she argues, he is expressing an inborn tendency toward active, physical play that has been shaped by social influences, not by the effects of a "gun gene" on the Y chromosome. Until about 1 year of age, boys and girls are equally drawn to dolls; it is only later, when boys become more active, that they strongly prefer balls and cars.
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Gender identity is a strong impulse. Children figure out their gender in the second year, typically around 18 to 24 months. This knowledge helps them decide which toys and clothes are appropriate.
(NB: Dr. Eliot's views were also discussed in a Newsweek article, back in September)
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