Do you believe the difference between the age when boys and girls usually begin puberty has a signifigant effect on the differences between the genders?

Too many variables.

But, in short, no.

Lots of variables as robmandu answered. Maturity varies immensely, and while hormones play into that, they are far from the only variable. I have met some 7 year olds who are more mature than some full grown adults. And as my relationship experience can tell you, a girls age does not always imply maturity.

In other words… I’m sure it factors in… but it’s far from a significant source imo.

I don’t think so, rather it is an effect of a common cause. The differences between genders are the result of different genetics and different societal bias towards each gender. Differences in pubescent age are a result of genetics, which dictate when and how much of each hormone is to be produced.

I think the biggest difference between the genders is the marked departure, in similarity, of the genitalia.

Of course. During puberty, our brain is under constant threat and attack of hormones.

@Blondesjon You may be interested to learn of the Pacific Islanders (I can’t remember which island, unfortunately) that are all born apparently female, but begin to appear male during puberty. Male and female genitalia is initially very similar, but takes on the form it does as a result of hormones.

Just trivia, but I thought you would find it interesting.

@FireMadeFlesh . . .I did. Thank you.

@ firemadeflesh I never heard of anything like that. Could you supply a link or book title. Any refrance would be appreciated.

@gooch I can’t for the life of me figure out which island, and I don’t know the appropriate keywords to put into Google to find out. I watched a video in my biology class in high school that was based on a longitudinal study of the islanders. I really wish I could find it, but for now there’s no references sorry.

no.

I think the age difference makes the most difference during puberty, but for the most part evens out during the teenage years. Many people will say that girls are still more mature afterward, and I’m glad that girls often get an extra push of encouragement during their teenage years. Girls now make up about 60% of American college students, so maybe it’s time to start re-thinking that and encourage teenage boys to succeed a little more, too. (I know that women still aren’t the majority in top-level positions, but I think the current generation might majorly change things. This is good… but it’s discouraging to see that girl power! is now causing boys to lag behind.)

“You may be interested to learn of the Pacific Islanders (I can’t remember which island, unfortunately) that are all born apparently female, but begin to appear male during puberty. Male and female genitalia is initially very similar, but takes on the form it does as a result of hormones.”

We were talking about this in my Anthropology class.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fa'afafine

Is this what you meant? Or did you mean something else? I thought you were talking about an entire population of people that has this condition, which would be more intriguing.

@Ishkabible No, it was more like a type of Swyer Syndrome that somehow resolved itself at puberty. I am trying to remember this from my biology class two years ago. These boys’ testes remained in the abdominal cavity until puberty, when they descended to the normal male level.

@FireMadeFlesh Was it in Papua New Guinea or the Dominican Republic? 5 Alpha reductase Deficiency sounds similar to what you were talking about and it has occured there.

@Ishkabible Its possible, but I doubt it. This deficiency would not resolve itself at puberty, because it reduces the ability to produce testosterone. The case I mentioned resolved itself at puberty, which to me says that it was the increase in testosterone production that triggered the normal decent of the gonads. I really should email my old biology teacher. Thanks for the information though, it is very interesting!