| Abstract: | 60 first-time parents recorded the questions they were asked when they called 273 acquaintances (aged 20–70 yrs) to announce their baby's birth. 80% of the initial questions concerned the baby's gender, most often whether the baby was male. Questions about the health of the mother or baby or about the characteristics of the baby were less frequent. It is suggested that a newborn's sex functions to assign the infant to a gender category with definitive social, evaluative, and normative properties. (2 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
