Nature vs. Nurture: A Year Later

It's been nearly a year since I posted my reflections about Nature vs Nurture, but something happened recently that got me thinking about it again. Norah's not a particularly girly-girl, at least not at this point. She doesn't seem to care one way or the other about dresses, she's not afraid of bugs or worms (in fact, she seems to enjoy picking them up and squishing them), she loves getting dirty and playing in puddles (ahem, no idea where she gets that...) , she can't stand any kinds of do-dads in her hair, and she has an affinity for any kind of toy with wheels or buckles.

However, she does like to cuddle and nurture her toy dolls and stuffed animals, she adores an old necklace of mind, and is fond of modeling odd socks as if they were a fancy shawl.

We have a neighbour, Jack, who is just a couple of months older than Norah. He's a real cutie, and they seem to play well together. If Norah is on the aggressive end of the scale for girls, then Jack is on the gentle end of the scale for boys - in short, he is a real mild mannered sweety. Norah and Jack both adore the two dogs across the street - Lannie and Tessa.

So I don't know if it's the weather or what, but Lannie and Tess have been 'playing ' a little rough with each other from time to time these days - wrestling, if you will, with each other. There is a tumble here, a growl there - nothing serious, but a bit different from what we're used to. Norah gets visibly upset when this happens, cries, grabs on for dear life etc. I generally just have her look away until things settle down (usually a manner of seconds) and then she is fine. Apparently Jack's reaction is the polar opposite - clapping of hands!

Now I have no idea what this means, if anything. Their reactions fall along very stereotypical gender lines, but is not generally reflective of their behavior. Do girls really have more nurturing tendencies? Have we taught her this with our interactions and expectations of her? Does it have anything at all to do with gender? Who knows!