Nursery World - His and hers (1)

Children's awareness of male and female develops in stages, well before they begin to attribute roles to the sexes, writes Penny Tassoni 'What are little boys made of?' goes the refrain of a traditional nursery rhyme. These questions about gender are still with us in the 21st century, as the gap between the achievement of boys and girls widens. Gender is currently a hot topic, with conflicting viewpoints often falling into one of the two camps, nature or nurture. Are boys and girls biologically predisposed to behaving in certain ways, or does this happen as a result of the way in which they are being treated and the role models they are being presented with?

'What are little boys made of?' goes the refrain of a traditional nursery rhyme. These questions about gender are still with us in the 21st century, as the gap between the achievement of boys and girls widens. Gender is currently a hot topic, with conflicting viewpoints often falling into one of the two camps, nature or nurture. Are boys and girls biologically predisposed to behaving in certain ways, or does this happen as a result of the way in which they are being treated and the role models they are being presented with?

Whatever the answer, one thing is clear: gender is a focal point for much of our everyday lives. It is a major part of our self-concept, our thinking about ourselves. It is also one of the first things that we notice about other people when we meet. Gender also dominates other aspects of our lives. Data is collected about gender on all the forms that ask whether you are male or female, or what your title is.

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