By: Michael Wimsatt and Aaron Wiley

Under the ideal circumstances everyone would be treated in a similar fashion. Race, religion, cultural differences, and even gender would be discarded from our individual perception and treatment of those surrounding us, ideally. Conversely, the world we live in does not revolve under such circumstances. By our nature we respond differently to conferring stimuli and we exhibit different behavior in different situations. This difference in treatment is reflected in the upbringing of children around the globe, and the effects of such behavior have been shaping the image of society for quite some time.

To begin we should establish the fact that boys and girls are, in fact, quite different. Certain physiological aspects of the two allow for these differences. In addition to these differences, as boys and girls grow they go through different stages. Not only do these stages involve different circumstances, but they occur at varying times in their development. For instance, at a certain phase in growth, boys have difficulty in reading, they are unable to sit still, they persist in breaking things, and they are disruptive. Boys also seem more susceptible to certain problems. For example, male infants suffer a 25% higher rate of mortality than females. They are also twice as likely to suffer autism and six times as likely to suffer hyperkinesis. The majority of retarded, schizophrenic, emotionally disturbed, and learning disabled children are boys. Girls on the other hand, tend to whine more, manipulate more, and act in a sneakier manner than boys, however, girls are much less likely to develop a childhood disorder than their counterparts, boys.

An expert on the subject Michael Gurian says that, "Absolutely boys and girls should be raised together. Boys and girls both have the same self-esteem needs, but at the same time there are some significant differences." Mr. Gurian goes on to say that when faced with a traumatic, situation girls tend to turn on themselves in the form of depression, anorexia, or teen pregnancy. Contrarily, boys tend to turn on society and join gangs, which explains the high crime rate among their age group, during a traumatic situation. This further illustrates the extent to which boys and girls can reach if not raised properly.

Not surprisingly a large portion of the population interviewed felt that there were differences in the way children were raised based on gender. Through researching this subject we even found stereotypes among parents regarding children. Dr. Fagot found in his study on the issue, that when parents were asked to describe their daughters, they viewed them as pretty, soft-skinned, and they noted the definite feminine features. Parents described their sons as having strong hands, a handsome face, and they also noted definite masculine features. All this at an age when gender is the only main objective difference between the two. This illustrates the fact that boys and girls are viewed as different even before they develop their own characteristics.