Infant and Child Sexuality: A Sociological Perspective - Ipce

year olds in Elmtown about 15 percent of the boys and 20 percent of the
girls had begun to date. (Hollingshead, 1949, p. 224-225). Later studies
by Smith (1952), Lowrie (1956), and Cameron and Kenkel (1960) indicate
a higher incidence of dating at early ages. The 1958 Office of
Education Survey indicated that in most schools some dating may begin
as early as fourth grade. This national survey, involving data gathered
from fourth, fifth, and sixth grade teachers, supports the observation
that in some schools boys and girls do not appear to feel a need
to separate from each other during preadolescence. (Lewis, 1958, p. 30-
31). In fact, as low as the fourth grade and continuing through the
sixth, they frequently asked for activities such as folk dancing and
table games together. Boys groomed themselves (some beginning in the
fourth grade), carried a comb and used it, washed their hands voluntarily,
and occasionally wore a tie. Girls wore lipstick and nail polish
and groomed their hair. A few children wore “steady rings.” In sixth
grade they showed that they like each other in a friendly way.
Cross-sex friendship is clearly demonstrated in the study by Broderick
and Fowler (1961). In the fifth grade (ten and eleven year olds)
45 percent of the boys and 36 percent of the girls claimed to have had
dating experience. By the seventh grade (twelve and thirteen year olds)
nearly 70 percent of the boys and 53 percent of the girls claimed to
have had at least one date. Some experience with kissing is common at
these ages. There is no comparable data from earlier decades.
When preadolescents were asked whom they liked best of all the
children they knew (four choices were permitted), the choices across
sex lines ranged from 19.7 percent in the fifth grade to 14.6 percent
in the seventh grade. Percentages of those who chose at least one of
four friends across sex lines give more dramatic evidence of a new look
in boy-girl relations during preadolescence. 51.9 percent of the children
in the fifth grade and 37.7 percent of the children in the seventh
grade chose one or more friends of the opposite sex. It would seem
from this that although most boys and girls still prefer the companionship
of their own sex, many have bridged this friendship gap between
the sexes.
Cross-sex antagonism during preadolescence has been explained as
partly due to the efforts of individuals to identify themselves more
closely with their own sex and as a result of parents and others instilling
into children the difference between boys’ and girls’ roles.
These differences are diminishing. In the last generation the sex roles
have become more flexible and now overlap in many areas. The contents
of the two sets of expectations are becoming more similar as women have
achieved many prerogatives previously regarded as exclusively masculine
and men have begun to share many traditionally feminine responsibilities.
As these roles converge and the experiences and values of the
two sexes become more similar, cross-sex hostility becomes less appropriate.
Rejection of the values of the opposite sex loses much of its
purpose when values are similar. Similarly, as the social status of the
two sexes approaches equality, many boys appear to feel less need to
defend a shaky claim to superiority.
Some of the most convincing evidence that times have changed comes
from the Broderick and Fowler study. (1961). Children were asked to
rank the desirability of a companion of the same sex, a companion of
the opposite sex, or no companion at all in three different situa-
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