ABSTRACT
In 1998, my daughter was born and so was my own personal experience with the psychology of gender. As an advocate of equal opportunities and equal treatment for men and women, I thought this practice should begin with infancy. To start, my husband and I tried not to let gender be the overriding principle by which we chose Katja’s toys and clothes. This proved to be far more difficult than we thought. In infancy, there are a fair number of “genderneutral” clothes and toys. But by 1 year of age, the boys’ toys and clothes are in one section, the girls’ in another, and there is little common ground. I finally figured out why there are gender-neutral clothes for infants: Many parents-to-be and gift givers make purchases before the baby is born and don’t know the sex of the newborn. By age 1, everyone knows.
