Thursday, March 31, 2011

Gender Roles

Anyone who thinks that boys and girls aren't very different in temperament and interests at a very early age need only consider A.'s punching bag.

See, A. has this punching bag hanging from a tree outside the house. It's right next to the gate leading to the pasture the sheep are in. So yesterday, when the preschool kids were here to see the lambs, they were all clustered by that gate. After about ten minutes, the little girls were all still standing there looking at the lambs, but the little boys had all formed a circle around the punching bag and were . . . well, punching it. Kind of. Mostly they were pushing it, because it's pretty heavy. But the point remains, the gang of little boys naturally gravitated to the punching bag, and the gang of little girls totally ignored it.

And, lest we think that at three years old these boys have already been influenced by social gender constructs that inform their preferences and interests, we need look no further than my own son for more observation. Cubby's favorite thing IN THE WORLD is seeing A. punch that bag. A. hits that thing and Cubby straight-up lights up. He grins, he laughs, he squeals, he talks excitedly (not that we can understand what he's saying, but still), he is electrified. At all of a year old.

He also enjoys watching me blow a feather in the air, but that's nothing to the thrill of punching. I am not so enthused about this interest, of course, as I fear it can lead to nothing positive during his school years. Mothers are lame that way. But there is no denying his natural fascination with pugilism.

God help me.
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8 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 31, 2011 at 4:54 AM

    I'm afraid as a kid I would have gravitated to the punching bag. In fact, I probably still would.

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  2. tu mereMarch 31, 2011 at 7:58 AM

    Good to see you haven't lost any of your outstanding English language skills. I now have to look up pugilism. Daunting task over my first cup of coffee.

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  3. Tree Huggin MommaMarch 31, 2011 at 8:03 AM

    But I have a punching bag, had one when I was a girl too. Loved my bag. It was a great way to work out frustrations, and a well a pretty darn good work out. Nice when I didn't have time for a long run with the dog, but then again I was a tomboy.....

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  4. AliciaMarch 31, 2011 at 9:00 AM

    You just make sure he can wrestle sheep just as well as he can punch. ;)

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  5. AnonymousMarch 31, 2011 at 10:28 AM

    I was gonna say...there are surely worse isms out there to worry about...but that is before I looked it up and no ..you are right....not what a momma would want to see her boy doing.
    Stick to sheep wrestling cubby.:)
    B.
    word verification- stergw

    oaf stew -not made of oafs...but what oafs eat

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  6. AnnMarch 31, 2011 at 11:19 AM

    Some of the gender differences simply must be hard wired. My son announced at 2 years old that
    "boys don't use pink soap." He didn't learn that from his parents and wasn't out in the world much at all.

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  7. Sister’s SailorMarch 31, 2011 at 4:27 PM

    Wrestling is where it is at! OK, maybe I'm a little biased with the sport, but it can really teach a kid a lot about themselves. Oh, and they (colleges) are still giving away free educations for the sport…

    Of course knowing how to throw a good left hook can come in handy when in a pinch! Or so I’ve heard.

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  8. Just MeMarch 31, 2011 at 10:40 PM

    Actually, even at a very young age, him learning to punch the punching bag may help avoid conflict. Burning off energy and frustration on a punching bag can help a kid NOT want to do it on a person.

    That said, I would have bounced back and forth between the 2. I was a total tomboy, and punching bags always held interest for me. But baby critters are too darn cute not to gawk at.

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