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The Two Sexes: Growing Up Apart, Coming Together. By Eleanor E. Maccoby. Cambridge, MA, and London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1998. Hardback, 26.50. ISBN 0-674-91481-3
When average differences between boys and girls are measured, distinctions on various personality and behavioural attributes are often negligible (Maccoby & Jacklin, 1974). However, when viewed in the context of dyads or social groups, sex differences take on a new significance. Eleanor E. Maccoby assumes the latter perspective in her important book The Two Sexes: Growing Up Apart, Coming Together and concludes that, in fact, gender does matter. Moreover, gender distinctions that arise in the context of sex-segregated childhood peer groups often translate into sexist practices in adulthood.
The Two Sexes: Growing Up Apart, Coming Together makes a significant contribution to the developmental literature, extending the discussion of emergent childhood gender differences beyond simple description, in order to predict their implications for adult relationships later in life. It is a thorough and well-researched book, providing an excellent review of existing research, particularly with respect to children's peer groups. The book is divided into three main parts: the first two focus on gender divergence between sex-segregated childhood peer groups and the third considers how this early divergence influences later adult relationships. Maccoby concludes with an 'Overview' that includes a discussion of possibilities for adult intervention in children's activities, designed to forestall the development of sexist attitudes.
Part I, `Divergence in Childhood', consists of three descriptive chapters. It begins by tracing the tendency of young children to form sex-segregated peer groups, a trend which continues through middle childhood. Describing differences between the groups, Maccoby notes that boys' groups typically differ from girls' in terms of size, nature of activities, and interaction styles. For instance, boys' groups tend to be relatively large, with members who engage in rough-and-tumble play and direct confrontation. Girls' groups, on the other hand, tend to be smaller, with members who avoid open conflict and focus on maintaining social relationships.
The Two Sexes moves from a descriptive mode in Part I to an explicative mode in Part II, `The Explanatory Web'. After a short introductory chapter, it devotes one chapter each to biological, socialisation, and...