"Sugar and spice and everything nice,
That's what little girls are made of.
Snips of snails and puppy dog tails,
That's what little boys are made of."
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| 'Child in Nature' by chrisroll via FreeDigitalImages.net |
Take a look at the following statements. Which ones are true, which are a myth, and which are sometimes true, or partly true?
"Girls - there's always drama. There's always someone in tears, or they're all hugging. Thank goodness, boys are not like that!"
"Boys are straightforward. If they're mad at each other they'll have it out and move on.
There's no bitchiness or backstabbing."
"Boys like rough and tumble games."
"Boys are so full of energy; they just can't sit still!"
"Boys are pretty simple really. Very straightforward, what you see is what you get."
"Men/boys are visual creatures."
"Men/boys are not good at expressing their feelings."
While there is truth to some of these, and I do agree there are differences between boys and girls, I think we do our boys (and girls) a huge disservice by perpetuating the "boys are simple and straightforward" myth.
Mars Vs Venus has been discredited.
To suggest that boys are somehow wired less psychologically complex than girls is not only insulting, it is ridiculous. It makes no sense biologically or psychologically, or even logically.
I've known some sensitive "still waters" little boys, and some energetic rough and tumble girls, and I find all humans equally complex, no matter how simple their views or approach to life.
Gendered cordial by Cottees - via @Pink_Soprano on Twitter:
What bugs you about pop psychology?
Hi Jackie,
ReplyDeleteAs you may know, I;ve been wrestling with this particular conundrum for quite a while now.
I'm still none the wiser.
:0)
Cheers
PM
PM, I'm not either. I still don't know whether those statements are true or not !
DeleteI think that the Cottees 'Boys vs Girls' campaign was a fizzer right from the start - even non-Australians have heard about the stupidity of it via Facebook.
ReplyDeleteI think so - it was a strange idea in this day and age. I think they've pulled it as there is no gendered cordial at our local supermarkets.
Delete