Once Upon a Time There Was an Infant Boy and Girl

Men are raised differently than women are—yes, even in this day and age when we are supposed to be more sophisticated and aware. We clearly see this difference in people as early as infancy. For example, in a study at an Ivy League university, men and women were put into a room with infant boys and girls. Before entering the
room, the men and women were told that the infants were all little girls. As they entered and stayed in the room, both men and women spoke in a soft voice, making delicate cooing sounds and saying comments to the infants such as “You’re so pretty.” “Look at how beautiful you are.” “You are a little princess.” There was
hardly any physical contact.
Next, these same men and women were lead into another infant nursery, where—they were told—all the babies were little boys. Upon entering the room and subsequently spending some time there, the behavior of the adults changed greatly. The decibel level rose. The infants were actually taken out of their cribs and held under their
arms as they kicked the air beneath them. The adults used phrases such as “What a big strong boy,” “You’re gonna grow up to be a football player,” and “Hey, you little pumpkin head.”
More often than not, a parent will tolerate a boy’s impoliteness—“Gimme that”—over a girl’s impoliteness, insisting that “little girls don’t talk that way and have to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’”