Eszter at Crooked Timber writes,
Our world is so gender-based that it is hard for people to think about a person without knowing the person’s gender. But what is it exactly about a baby that makes it necessary for us to know its gender? In what ways is it going to be important? Is it so we can say whether the baby is beautiful versus handsome?

Before Jonah was born, I was very adament about not cramming traditional gender roles down my kid’s throat. I told Steve that I really wanted Jonah to take ballet lessons. Steve squirmed. “What would the other kids say? You’re going get the kid beaten up, Laura.” Then Jonah came out and if boyness is on a scale, he’s at the far end. If I made him take ballet lessons, I would be cramming untraditional gender roles down his throat.

(I had to pause mid-post to take the boys out on their bikes with red flames through the muddy streets.)

Prior to kids, I poo-pooed gender differences. Any differences were sociologically programmed. Since I have had kids, I am convinced that some gender differences are biological. I once accidentally bought a set of girly pull ups for Jonah, he rejected them immediately. From an early age, he seemed to take great joy in banging his cars into each other. The louder the crash the better. Like other boys his age, he ran before he could talk. Ian, who is two, has followed the same pattern, but is slightly less active. He walked at 10 months, while Jonah walked at 8 months.

We’ve worked to moderate the kid’s boyness. They have a pretend highchair for their dolls and a set of pots and pans. They do play with those toys, but not as often as their trains and cars.

Comparing the kids in the playground, there are definitely some kids who fit the stereotypes, like my kids, but there are also a few girls hanging from the monkey bars and a few boys sitting quietly on a bench.

But back to Ezster’s original post. I do agree with her. It is funny how gender is the primary way of identifying newborn babies. I guess because other than their gender, newborns are pretty identical at that point. All just red faced monkeys.