Comparing Katha Pollitt's Why Boys Don T Play With Dolls

In the essay “Why Boys Don’t Play with Dolls”, Katha Pollitt explores the reasons behind why boys and girls behave differently. She builds a disdainful attitude toward the recent arguments that account for gender differences by innate biological tendencies. She argues that reasons behind the gender differences are the child’s family and culture in which they matured in. As she insists that the society, media and culture makes up a child’s mind, she also claim that parents use the arguments which explains innate differences as an excuse for directing the children to behave or think according to their gender. She evens illuminates about what the feminist movement had failed to achieve which is gender neutrality in the family where boys and girls are equal. Although gender differences are mainly influenced by the culture and society, yet we can’t deny the importance of the innate biological tendencies. First of all, I agree with Pollitt’s argument that gender differences are influenced by the society and culture. It is happening right in front of our eyes especially in the media, the toys we play with as kids, stereotypes and the way our parents direct us. But we can’t completely ignore the innate biological mechanisms of the sexes as they play a big role in causing differences of behaviors. Boys and girls will still behave differently even if they were placed in a neutral environment without any influential forces. One of the innate biological differences is the physical one. It is related to the amount …show more content…
I believe that a boy shouldn’t be judged for crying, playing with dolls or even preferring feminine stuff, also girls shouldn’t be judged for liking sports or dressing like a