X and Y

I once read this article in which the author was making her case on the sameness of opposite sex children. She contended that males and females were born exactly the same, and that the kind of culture they were in decreed how and if their personality traits would tend to be more 'boy' or 'girl'. I understood her to be saying that developing male or female characteristics depended solely upon what the child's environment was.

I can see where this could happen a little bit. I grew up in neighborhoods that were mostly populated by little boys. I think this had an impact on my love for sports. It's not a rabid love, but I truly enjoy playing ball, especially baseball. I liked to toss my hair up in a ponytail and troop around with the guys wearing a baseball cap and chasing snakes and things of that nature. BUT, even though I may struggle with wearing dresses, I am still a very feminine creature. I love jewelry, pedicures, having the door opened for me, trying to make a cozy and inviting home, taking care of my family, and chocolate. I like to cook (though sometimes even after I cook and prep, I would rather serve peanut butter to my family!), enjoy journalling, and love to chat for hours on end with my girlfriends. Despite the number of boys I grew up running around with, I am still a woman. I love being a woman, and as the years pass by, I am trying to become more and more a lady. You will probably still catch me playing ball in the back yard with my son, but look at my toes while I do this. I guarantee they look good! I will have earrings on, probably a bracelet and necklace, and perhaps even a bit of make up.

Suffice it to say, I disagree wholeheartedly with this poor author. As if my own life weren't enough, my daughter, Sarah Grace, started toting around a handbag just before her first birthday. This, I can honestly say, I did not instill in her. I rarely carry a purse anymore. It's either the diaper bag, or my wallet. (Although, admittedly, I have quite a collection of purses from back in the pre-baby days where I would switch out frequently to make sure the purse did not clash with my outfit...post potty training, I can't wait to pull 'em back out!) Sarah also enjoys brushing her hair, and although she is possibly too young for me to say this, I think she prisses more when wearing a dress than she does in a romper or shorts. Gracie also enjoys 'helping' to put away dishes, helping with laundry (I fold, she unfolds) and wearing bracelets. She is partial to lip shiner (chapstick). This cracks me up to no end, as my son has NO tolerance for chapstick, even when he needs it!

More proof?

My two year old son, Thomas, loves to wrestle with his Daddy. He also enjoys jumping up and then landing right on his hindquarters (and oh, how painful it looks) then laughing and starting the procedure over again. He collects acorns, rocks, leaves, sticks, blades of grass, the occasional bug, and once, dog droppings. If there is a ball within eyesight, he is beelining for it. He laughs maniacally when someone stomps on a bug, loves to drive his dump trucks around the yard adding to his treasures, enjoys following along with his bubble mower (which we STILL can't make work) as Joshua mows the yard, and has an inexplicable attraction to all things car. He adores taking things apart, and then working to put them back together, playing in his Daddy's tools (the tape measure is his absolute favorite...we measure everything when he pulls it out), and airplanes, how he loves airplanes.

So, just in case I was in any doubt before having children, I am a firm believer that the double X chromosome possesses innate qualities that those born with the Y chromosome just do not get. Ask your husband what he thinks on that... he will probably agree. Don't put words into my mouth, I am not making the argument that one is better than the other. Simply that boys and girls are different by Creator's design. Sure, society and parenting and beliefs can impact these behaviors, but left to their own vices, boys will be boys and girls will be girls. Praise God for this, and that He had the foresight to bring about both the male and the female, for reasons other than reproduction. I mean, did you ever read 'Lord of the Flies'?