Experiments prove girls are sugar and spice and boys are puppy dog tails
TWIN studies are viewed as an excellent method to examine environmental influences on behaviour.
Both children are raised at the same time in the same conditions with the same people so it’s easier to see if they’re a nightmare because of you or if they’re born that way.
Obviously, Thomas and Emma are not genetically identical, the main difference being one’s a boy and one’s a girl, but it makes them perfect fodder for a study of gender stereotypes. Firstly, I can honestly say there is no gender bias regarding care, clothing or play.
In fact, for the first six months, I got them muddled up, often mistaking Thomas for Emma and vice versa.
Secondly, clothes and toys are very much shared as they’re usually in a pile in the corner of the room.
So, are the twins fulfilling gender stereotypes?
In terms of play, Thomas ticks all the right boy boxes by throwing a ball then scuttling after it across the floor.
His repertoire now involves two balls and to be frank, he’s a lot better at it than I am.
A limitation of this observation is I do occasionally throw the ball for him in the hope he’ll be a highly paid footballer one day, but one of the nice ones, like Gareth Southgate.
On the other hand, Emma just chases him, which may suggest a career as a defender.
Thomas also jumps around the home with little or no concept of danger.
If he wants something, he’ll balance precariously on an object then just launch himself in that general direction. Emma is not a risk taker, but she will watch him and laugh.
DOUBLE TROUBLE FOR A FIRST-TIME DAD OF TWINS
In terms of personality, Emma is manipulative, bossy and can be a bully towards Thomas. Occasionally, he’ll cry but try to ignore it and just carry on enjoying himself.
Although it’s very difficult to attribute this behaviour to a certain sex.
I mean it’s not like women are bossy, demanding and interfere in men’s lives.
Thomas will also drag a toy into the corner of a room and quietly figure out how it works, very much like a man in his shed, pretending he’s doing something important.
On the other hand, Emma likes you to interact with her and the toys, often in a dictatorial way leaving you little choice but to do what she wants, which again, is impossible to attribute to women. The only real conclusion of this study is boys will be boys and girls will be girls no matter what you do.