Irritating article in the Guardian . . .

[Takver]

here. All these 'boys aren't at all like girls, they're just so different and physical etc etc' articles annoy the hell out of me. I just wonder WTAF these parents of boys think small girls actually are like.

Surely I'm not the only mother of a daughter who (a) likes dinosaurs (b) collects sticks (c) needs plenty of exercise every day otherwise causes utter havoc and (d) whittles swords for her playmobil children and dresses them in 'chainmail'. To be fair, some of these are starting to wear off now she's nearly 11 - she prefers dragons to dinosaurs, can exercise herself perfectly well, and makes bows & arrows rather than just collecting sticks.

Is it just me, or is it reasonable to think that this kind of attitude then leads on to the excuses for grown up men failing to do their fair share ('they just don't see it, they're different') and generally behaving in ways unsuitable for a civilised human being?

Yep, unashamed stereotyping. I'm surprised at The Guardian really.

Oh I read that article - what a pile of smug drivel. I hate all that "boys are like dogs" schtick too which is so popular. So patronising to boys.

My DD and her friend spent yesterday afternoon chasing each other round my friend's house waving plastic spatulas (interlinking rooms and loads of space - DD was in heaven). They also sat down for a bit and played with playdough like "proper little girls". This "boys are like this and girls are like that" stuff is all rubbish. They are all children and sometimes they run around madly and sometimes they don't.

I wish these stupid journalists would stop pigeonholing everyone! I am nothing like "most women" either (apparently) and get fed up reading about what I should and shouldn't think about things, but it is far worse with children.

'and I really hate the shit some people talk about how schools are horrible to boys because they expect children to sit down and concentrate.'

Yes to this - a colleague of mine (we work with under 5s) has said that schools teach in a way that 'favours girls'. Chrissake!

This stereotyping drives me up the wall too. And it is so so prevalent, I hear it all the time at work. Just the other day, a mum of a 3 year old girl who was jumping around said to her 'will you sit down - you're not a boy you know!' And the mum of a 2 year old boy who loves to help her with the cleaning said that all her family and friends warn her that she's going to 'turn him gay'

Are people really so unimaginative? Or just thick prejudiced?

God yes, isn't it awful? It even has the "boys are like dogs" thing in, which I thought was a parody of this kind of thinking.

God, this article gives me the rage. The woman in question is, of course, promoting a book. There is a similar article in the Times.

It is such bullshit. I have, apparently, given birth to two boys. Although their genitals would strongly suggest otherwise. Toddlers are obsessed by sticks, not boys. I had to stop DD1 (3.5) bringing home half a soggy tree this morning.

I also cannot stand the smug insistence from this type of mother that it must all be innate because of how her boys have turned out. The conditioning is there in almost every line of her article. So whilst I haven't ruled out biological differences in the sexes, I'll not be accepting your anecdotes as evidence, ta very much.

I do sometimes say the 'children are like dogs' thing though, in the context of finding mine need outside time each day if at all possible . Children though, not boys.

Children are like dogs, fine. Boys are like dogs, not fine.

And this writer doesn't even have any girls, does she? So what is she comparing her "dog-like" boys with, exactly, in order to pick up on all of these subtle differences?

Yes, i am getting the RAGE too.

What with that and the serialisation of the new Biddulph book on raising girls, I am a total ball of feminist RAGE this week

Oh my god. MN are having Biddulph on for a webchat. Anyone want to think of some good questions for him?

I actually think a more powerful message would be for nobody to ask him anything at all, whatsoever. There will be no criticism of him allowed anyway, if we express any doubt we will all have to go away and 'deal'.

Is that what he says? I've never read his books as I have girls. And I'm damn well not reading the new one after my feminist awakenings.

Sadly I'm not sure outside the feminist boards people would go with your strategy, although I like it . Maybe I should just avoid, avoid.

I didn't dare to read it, in case I get in a rage. People are so unimaginative. And do they get paid for things like this!?

Why will Biddulph get no criticism? Previous webchatters have had buckets of criticism! I especially enjoyed Maria Miller, but let's not forget Naomi Wolf's most entertaining webchat either.

Read article and what a load of shite it is! FFS!

Happy to report that Biddulph did get his share of criticism last night for his "boys are fundamentally different from girls" approach (as well as his bizarre approach to the webchat)!

I suspect there might actually be a quite useful idea for books on "raising boys" and "raising girls" which contain ideas on how to combat the different socially constructed gender roles which boys and girls are expected to follow - because boys and girls clearly do face different social pressures to conform to different stereotypes. Sadly that doesn't seem to have been the books Biddulph has written.

I posted this on another thread so very glad to see others were furious too. It was so stupid, so twee, so full of stupid non points. What does she think girl children wear when they go to a park? Wellingtons. And what does she think happens when girl children jump in the mud? Muddy wellingtons.

I have a boy and a girl and my girl is much more active than my boy. My boy is cuddly and lovely and able to sit down and concentrate for quite a long time. He is not very much like a dog (although he does like chocolate treats).

My daughter's absolutely favourite story atm is Robin Hood. She is a bit disappointed at the role Maid Marion gets in the stories (not enough archery) so she usually plays Robin and makes her younger brother be the Sheriff of Nottingham. Meanwhile my son's favourite game is to pretend to be a pussy cat, sitting on my lap, purring.

The kind of rubbish in that article gives me the absolute rage. I actually thought it said more about her than anything. She looked like the kind of woman who wanted to see herself as marooned in a sea of boys so she could laugh femininely at their boyish ways and make a big deal of being the only female.

oh and yes can't bear Biddulph. I think he popularised that "boys are like dogs" thing and the only thing in his book I agreed with was the revolutionary notion that boys should be cuddled. Duh.

"She looked like the kind of woman who wanted to see herself as marooned in a sea of boys so she could laugh femininely at their boyish ways and make a big deal of being the only female."

Yes. Makes me feel a bit sick.

Biddulph's book is one of the very few books I simply had to get rid of because it was so annoying.

Oh yes, I really get pissed off with Biddulph. Want to ask him when I should start looking out for the criminal tendencies in my son as I will be going back to work...

I didnt say he wouldn't get criticism, just that he wouldn't allow it (ie take it on board) but haven't read the chat and am v v pleased if he got a pasting, the twunt.

He DID get a pasting. And he came across very weirdly, I thought - his whole approach to the web chat was very odd. I think he tried to neutralise any criticism and it came across as quite patronising. Have a look! Not as amusing as the Oliver James web chat though!

I'm sure these articles are written just to get a reaction and get people discussing them. Not because the author really does believe what he/she has written. I wouldn't pay any attention to anything written in the Guardian.

Used to take DD to an under 1s baby group. Also (shocking, I know) used to dress her in colours other than pink.

Woman at babygroup: It's amazing, isn't it, even when they're so little, the boys are so much stronger and more determined than the girls.

Me: You're looking at my daughter.

My little 7 yr old DS is neither a boy nor a girl, apparently. He loves Spiderman and cars and climbing trees, but he also loves kittens, puppies, drawing pictures quietly, writing stories and cuddling.

He is not at all competitive - when we play games he cheers whenever anyone wins regardless of whether it's him or not. He is placid and doesn't fight back if another child snatches his toys or wrongs him in any way.

I am so proud of him, his kind and gentle nature and his active childishness.

I don't want anyone trying to change his 'girl' behaviours by labelling them 'girl' behaviours! He is deaf and manages to avoid hearing a lot of this stuff, but now he has a baby sister and he sees how she is pinked up and given dolls by everyone, he must be starting to see the stereotypes. It's so sad.

I like your story fleacircus - perfect example. I was told off in a shop for dressing my DD 'like a boy' because she was wearing a blue coat.