In this article, it discusses the gender preferences of a certain chimpanzee community. A group of scientists studying a certain chimp community within the Ugandan forest for 14 years has discovered the young females attraction to ‘dolls;’ whereas, young males showed little to no interest. In referring to dolls, the scientists meant sticks. The young female would often pick up sticks and carry them anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours cradling it and holding it in a maternal fashion.
This article suggests that chimpanzees and humans alike may be innately drawn to ‘toys’ associated with one’s respective gender, revealing that it isn’t just society that pushes dolls on girls and trucks on boys. While, indeed society does influence major gender assignments, this study of the chimpanzees proves that females, especially as infants, have a natural inclination towards ‘dolls.’
This article was well written and clear. It effectively communicated its point without extraneous information. It also clearly revealed the relationship between human and chimpanzee gender preferences. I chose this article because it was a clear example of nature v. nurture and whether girls are raised to like dolls or it’s their innate inclination.
Bower, Bruce. "Female chimps play with 'dolls' Youngsters mimic mothering by cradling sticks." Science News 20 Dec. 2010. Google. Web. 21 Dec. 2010.
posted for A. Corbat
2 comments:
In the Ugandan forest, young female chimps in one group of chimpanzees is playing with sticks and treating them like infants. Similar to human girls, the chimps nurture the dolls and pretend the dolls are children. Females are more receptive to mothering the sticks, indicating that evolutionary lineage may predetermine one’s toy preference. It is interesting that our genes may actually determine our preference for certain toys. I have always believed that society and not our gender determine our inclination for dolls or trucks. This article demonstrates that some of our preferences are out of our control.
The review of this article was rather short, making the significance of the article unclear. I also would have liked to know more information about the preferences of the male chimpanzees.
This article is important because if we are genetically predisposed to certain toys, then there is little point for companies to pursue the marketing of male-oriented toys to females. It also may mean that the preference for toys based on gender may be older than society itself. I hope to learn more information about this discovery and its relevance. This concept is important in many other respects. Many things are either genetically predetermined or learned from the environment. It is difficult to separate these two important influences in many circumstances.
1. I liked how she clarified what the article was referring to as “dolls”.
2. I like how she explained how the chimps would cradle sticks to symbolize dolls.
3. I like how she explained that there is a science behind females being drawn to dolls and males being drawn to trucks.
1. I thought that she could have given more details about the chimps behavior with the dolls.
2. It was a little short and she could have elaborated more.
1. I did not know that girls were actually scientifically drawn to liking dolls.
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