Could it really be genetic?

What are little boys made of?

Snips of snails, and puppy dogs tails

That's what little boys are made of!

What are little girls made of?

Sugar and spice and all things nice

That's what little girls are made of!

I have heard it said (heck, I've even said it myself)! 

Ben is definitely rough and tumble, loves trucks, cars, trains, is obsessed with dinosaurs, is more inclined to wrestle (and throw in an elbow to the stomach for good measure), and is just generally more physical than Cailey ever was. Cailey is girly girl ~ pink, bows, ribbons, glitter, pink, pink, and more pink, etc. She covets her dolls and Barbies and dreams of being a dancer (or chef, or fashion designer... depends on the minute you ask her :o). But, the point is, that in our two children, we are seeing typical sexual stereotypes emerge.  But why? Is it inherent or nurtured? Do we treat Ben differently than Cailey? I say, generally, no ~ with evidence to back it up (addressing only their play/toy habits at this point): Cailey had mostly hand-me-down toys from Matt and Zach. That is to say, they were mostly "boy toys" or gender neutral, yet she still gravitated toward dolls, dresses, and typical female role play (cooking, cleaning, "mothering", etc.). Even at daycare, where the toys are almost exclusively gender neutral, and where she was given free will to play with whatever toys she wanted, she almost always played with the baby dolls and participated in traditional feminine role play as the mom or sister ~ if a little boy wouldn't join the pack of girls, then the dad was merely deemed "at work". Her grandma Kathryn even bought her a dump truck when she was about 2 ~ only to have Cailey put her doll in it and "stroller" it around the house. We started to buy her typical girl stuff, at an early age, because that is what she wanted! In fact, her first doll was a hand-me-down and she played with the doll almost exclusively thereafter. Now, Ben is exposed to mostly "girl toys" in the way of Cailey's dolls, Barbies, and kitchen role play toys (most of the hand-me-down toys have been well used and are now gone from the toy room). Even movie choices have been made by Cailey and, therefore, resulted in Barbie, Cinderella, Care Bears...you get the idea.  Ben likes these things just fine, and in most cases Cailey can convince Ben that that is what he really wanted all along. We notice that Ben will almost always choose the cars and dinosaurs when he is free to choose without big sister's intervention :o) And we have begun to stock the toy room to his liking as well as Cailey's! 

Today we ventured to Target to spend some of the Christmas money ~ thank you Grandpa/Grandma Adams and Grandpa/Grandma Anderson!  We went down several aisles where Ben and Cailey gasp in delight at almost every choice on the shelf. Finally, we came to the aisle that is exclusively dolls and Barbies...lots of pink and purple, if you know what I mean.  Ben took one look down the aisle and yelled, "NO! NOT THAT ONE!" Scott and I looked at each other in dismay...could he really be protesting the aisle because it was "girl" stuff? Sure enough, the next aisle was trains, truck, cars (the "boy" stuff) and Ben yells, "YES, YES" and goes down the aisle to discover his next acquisition on the quest to spend every last cent from the gift card! 

So I ask again, why is he more inclined toward the "boy" stuff and Cailey is more inclined toward the "girl" stuff...could it really be that boys will be boys and girls will be girls??? Are we wired differently or are we just taught from the very day we are born (pink for girls, blue for boys) to behave in a certain sexual stereotype. Hhhhmmmm... the debate rages on!