Monday, August 22, 2005

An Observation

Why is it that when in doubt people automatically refer to a child as "he"?

Devyn (who is 1) is at taht stage many children reach where it is hard to tell at first glance whether she is male or female. Yesterday morning after church Patty was wondering why, when she was wearing a pink shirt that said "Princess" on it, people kept referring to her as "he". I suspect it was due to the habit mentioned in the above question.

And it isn't just children. I know I tend to do the same with pets as well. What is this reflex that has us assume one is male without evidence to the contrary?

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