Gender means Something

I have really enjoyed the things I have learned about gender through the readings and discussions that we've had in my Family Relations class this past week. One of the things that we learned about is that boys are different than girls and each gender has traits that are typical for their gender. For example girls tend to be better communicators, better at connecting relationships, and usually more attentive to detail. Boys on the other hand tend to be able to see and think in 3D, accel in math, and are more aggressive. However, this doesn't mean that because you are a boy you will have all the "boy characteristics" and it also doesn't mean that if you don't have the male typical traits that you aren't a male.

As parents, we need to help our children develop those talents that they have been naturally gifted with, rather than worry about if it is male or female typical. If they do have abilities that aren't necessarily typical for their gender, this doesn't mean that they are gay or lesbian. Those things are not gay and we as parents and a society need to change the current trend of labeling these things as such! These false labels are one of the factors that have in fact lead many boys and girls down the wrong path to experiment in homosexuality. How we as individuals perceive ourselves largely depends on how others view us.