We begin sending boys the message that they have fewer emotional needs than girls in the very first moments of life. One research team studied parents’ responses to newborns in the first twenty-four hours after delivery. The researchers selected newborns that matched in weight, length, alertness, and strength, so that there were no significant differences between boys and girls. Nevertheless, both mothers and fathers perceived newborn sons as: “more alert, stronger, larger featured, more coordinated, and firmer.” They saw baby daughters as “less attentive, weaker, finer featured, less
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