Cthuloid TV Show Image: Anders Sandberg Girls born today in affluent areas can expect to live to the age of 105. Their boy peers in poorer areas will be lucky to see 67, even those born in fancy places are predicted only to make a paltry 98 years. However the extra years girls have on boys might simply be filled with too many emotions and manipulative actions while listening to popular music and donning new fashions. Which sounds kind of fun but also not very self-sufficient. These women will have to rely on the whippersnapper men a generation or so below who have grown up from activity and task focused boys who enjoy achieving goals and completing physical challenges. Like changing light bulbs I expect.
What? Wait, where am I getting this information from? Why am I condemning girls to an assigned life of bitching to the sounds of autotuned chart music and boys to some kind of Just William ideal. You boys! Always task focusing! Well I don't know much about kids. I don't have any in my life, no primary school going family members. Therefore all I have to go by are kids on public transport, in pubs (why?) and CBBC guidance notes put together by the BBC's Marketing, Communications and Audiences research department after researching what CBBC audiences: "care about, how they see life, what entertains them and the changes they go through growing up".
Now, it's hard when you're dealing in facts. Like the fact that this document has been available online for years and the BBC has announced it out of date - giving them a perfectly logical reason to take it down so that no more screen shots or quotes can be taken.
It's still interesting to note the focus on the negative interpretation of girls' likes over boys'. The BBC's research found that "Girls are more socially adept and motivated than boys. They will chat enthusiastically, try to support the people they care about and form profound friendships and relationships and develop an interest in boys from age 10. They have a tendency towards manipulation and can be over emotional. Girls have a keen interest in fashion and enjoy listening to popular music."
Now, it's hard when you're dealing in facts. Like the fact that this document has been available online for years and the BBC has announced it out of date - giving them a perfectly logical reason to take it down so that no more screen shots or quotes can be taken.
It's still interesting to note the focus on the negative interpretation of girls' likes over boys'. The BBC's research found that "Girls are more socially adept and motivated than boys. They will chat enthusiastically, try to support the people they care about and form profound friendships and relationships and develop an interest in boys from age 10. They have a tendency towards manipulation and can be over emotional. Girls have a keen interest in fashion and enjoy listening to popular music."
| "Boys are activity and task focused. Most enjoy achieving goals and completing physical challenges. There is a focus on doing, confrontation and physical strength and for many their football team is a top priority. Boys tend to have a steady group of good friends they knock about with rather than exclusive best friends. They often think girls of their age are annoying but like to talk about their body parts and sex." | these are huge sweeping heteronormative statements that don't necessarily apply to all children. |
It would be more helpful if when such guidance is written that it is made clear that these are huge sweeping heteronormative statements that don't necessarily apply to all children. It is also interesting to see how such findings are used.
While it would be wrong to look at this and say 'well, that's it then, that's how boys and girls are', it is equally wrong to look at these findings and immediately say you need to correct the mis-matches (of course they are different, in that all persons are different from others) between boys and girls or see traits such as being emotional as purely negative and too much - note the use of the phrase "over emotional" rather than, for instance, 'in touch with their emotions.'
However all in all the BBC results do seem to find that boys are more balanced and jovial - perfect to nurture an understanding when it comes to consent and standing aside when it is required. While girls spend too much time with machiavellian whispers behind each others backs. In which case why aren't we channelling these traits to get more young women or girls interested in politics where sneaky is best (to get ahead I mean, benevolence is best in a leader, probs, who knows we haven't seen it yet) and one on one relationships valuable professionally? You can get the job and get the guy. And the TV show, for that matter.
Squeamish Kate
While it would be wrong to look at this and say 'well, that's it then, that's how boys and girls are', it is equally wrong to look at these findings and immediately say you need to correct the mis-matches (of course they are different, in that all persons are different from others) between boys and girls or see traits such as being emotional as purely negative and too much - note the use of the phrase "over emotional" rather than, for instance, 'in touch with their emotions.'
However all in all the BBC results do seem to find that boys are more balanced and jovial - perfect to nurture an understanding when it comes to consent and standing aside when it is required. While girls spend too much time with machiavellian whispers behind each others backs. In which case why aren't we channelling these traits to get more young women or girls interested in politics where sneaky is best (to get ahead I mean, benevolence is best in a leader, probs, who knows we haven't seen it yet) and one on one relationships valuable professionally? You can get the job and get the guy. And the TV show, for that matter.
Squeamish Kate
RSS Feed
