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April 16, 1979. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT AND FEMALE PSYCHOLOGY. Martin A. Silverman, M.D.
Dr. Silverman stated that the core gender identity of the girl begins to form as soon as her parents recognize her as female. Parents handle, react, and speak differently to their male and female offspring, who show demonstrable sensory, motor, responsive, and other sex-related differences at birth. As a result of on-going interaction with their parents, little girls build up a concept of their gender identity that is stable by three years of age or sooner. Vaginal awareness does not appear to be a significant factor in the evolution of a girl's core gender identity in early life. The mother's feelings toward the girl and her femaleness, as well as toward herself and her own femaleness, contribute to the child's initial views of and feelings about herself and to transformations which occur in those views and feelings. A little girl's self concept about being a girl is also greatly influenced by what her father conveys to her about the way he views her and what he expects of her.