Is comfort with "buggy" things gender-related?

Question

Do we train children to like spiders and worms just as we offer trucks to boys and Barbies to girls?

Or is there something in our makeup that makes girls say, "ewww!"

Answer 1

I believe it is a combination of training and fear of the unknown.  We are trained as children to fear all things our mothers fear.  As we grow we reach a point that the boys begin to emulate their father to rid the house of those creatures the mother fears or is disgusted with.  In households with both parents accepting insects the fear is limited to those the young do not recognize or are known to be dangerous.  Some girls and boys acquire or reinforce fear by peer pressure.  Education usually erases the fears for both boys and girls although many still cringe at some particular "yucky" bugs.

Answer 2

I do tend to see it more pronounced in women, but it is not something to assume.  That would be stereotyping.  I know women who like "buggy" things and men who scream "like a girl" at the sight of them.

I believe it is based on misunderstanding and lack of knowledge.  The arthropod world is a very different and much smaller world than the world the average person is more aware of.

It is definitely taught to children though.  I remember being at the insectarium at the zoo and hearing a woman with a toddler point to a Nephila spider on display and tell the kid "eww, those are disgusting", teaching the kid to be repulsed by it.  It didn't seem to be bothering the kid until after she said that.

Actually, I used to be a little arachnophobic.  I started to hear interesting facts about spiders, and then wanted to learn more.  The more I learned, the less I feared them.  Ultimately, understanding and knowledge destroys fear.

Answer 3

It's definitely something we train our children to.  Most toddlers will happily grab any bug and probably eat it too.  Parents teach them to fear whatever the parent isn't okay with.  Phobias that weren't trained in certainly exist and I'm afraid of spiders but only because I can't identify most of them.  Tarantulas, for example, don't really freak me out because I know they aren't dangerous.

Different cultures also have different relationships with insects.  For example, European cultures (that includes American culture) are about the only people in the world that don't include insects as a regular part of their diets.  

Reactions to "creepy crawlies" aren't something the average person is born with and certainly isn't related to a person's s*x.  It's mostly a result of cultural and parental training.

Answer 4

I think your question is too dependent on stereotypes.  My brother is well over 6 feet tall, big muscles, the works.  I'm female.  But if there are critters to get rid of, I do it.  They just freak him out too much.

But then, maybe it's just me who is odd......

Answer 5

well insects and arthropods are prob are rival from the past because arthropods ate the fish that we ust to be I think all humans are born with a natural fear of (spider,scorpions,chiggers,ticks,ect.) but thats just me any maybe because girls think insects are nasty deadly virus holding animals that will eat you but who knows

Answer 6

I believe its cultural. I am very ok with buggy things, and snakes and frogs, and squid and just about anything else you can think of. I was influenced by a beloved older brother who was intensely interested in nature. Conversely, my oldest brother was terrified by snakes and almost wrapped a golf club around my neck when I walked up behind him with a tiny garter snake.  

Answer 7

It's definitely taught. One of my favorite childhood hobbies was flipping over rocks and logs (in the yard and elsewhere) and seeing what I could find underneath... I think my mom started me on this, and I plan on starting my daughter on it as well. I've watched kids go from calm as can be looking at a bug/spider/snake/whatever until mom comes up and freaks out... It's not nature, it's nurture... we learn to fear things either through ignorance or negative experiences... and mom or dad freaking out over a bug is a negative experience as much as being stung or bitten is... if not more so...