(H) 180-191: Thorne & Luria, Sexuality and gender….

A study was conducted on how the relation of gender and sexuallity were seen through a middle school student. Thorne and Luria research shows that segregation between girls and boys is extremely prevalent at an early age. Girls and boys behave differently among each other, and this is normal because they socialize differently. Boy interactions contain aggressive playing and intensity for example it is found that they take more risks, a boy is more surrounded by large groups. But when girls’ interactions are less team oriented they are more likely to divide in small groups or in pairs such as two best friends. Girls are a lot more intimate than boys among each other. A girl will partake in things such as hugging, as a form of saying “hey” This is an absent behavior within boys. With gender separation, girls and boys learn different patterns of behaviors when engaging with others. It is common for girls and boys at this middle school age to develop heterosexual teasing mechanisms like for the most heard one is “liking” someone. These teases elevate to sexual driven rituals such as chasing a girl on recess, playing tag, or simply taking one of their belongings and teasing them. This is a form of “flirting” for kids at this age. In conclusion, the study shows that girls and boys possess different behavior patterns when interacting with one another or even when interacting with the same gender. Both genders share different capacities and needs. We find certain traits possessed amongst boys such as intensity, as for girls it might be something such as intimacy. It is common for children to create the social divides according to the activities, biological sex and the way the identify. From an early age both of these genders are also learning about the sexual orientation that they must conform to or identify. In order to properly fit in into our society. This is where a lot of these children begin to pick up on certain terms that can be hurtful to those who identify with something else other than heterosexuality.