GENDER-IDENTITY

Posted on March 11th, 2009, by admin

The problem in accepting any of the theories of sexual differentiation is that the differences in behaviour are so subtle and so different at different ages that no clear picture can be obtained to answer the question: how does a child become aware of its gender-identity?

There is also the problem that if children model their behaviour on that of the same-sex parent (or some other same-sex individual) why do they do so? In some cultures, it may be because the child (at least after the age of 2) has a greater contact with the same-sex parent and relatives. In Indian villages, girl children stay with the women of the extended family and do ‘women’s jobs’! Boys, once weaned, stay mainly with male members of the family and do ‘men’s things’. Both learn how to behave by observation and by copying, and this is encouraged by older people. In our more mobile society these conditions do not apply so exactly. Both boy and girl children are principally cared for by their mother. The father is only seen briefly when he comes home from work and at week-ends. If the child copies the most available person, both boys and girls should have similar behaviour. If the child copies the most powerful parent, then girls would copy the father, as he is perceived in our society as being dominant in a family group. Children would only copy the same-sex parent if changes in power or in caring occurred within the family as time passed, and there is no evidence that this happens.

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