h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So now I know: My second grandchild is probably going to be a girl.

Strange beings, girls, a mystery to me. I never felt much affinity to the other girls at school, and to this day, I am suspicious of all things "girlie" and "feminine".

Having one to observe at close quarters will be very interesting.

My sister and I were brought up to climb trees, mend our own bikes, take an interest in woodwork and things electrical and basically were treated not unlike boys.

Prejudiced, bigoted, bloody-minded and Victorian as he was, our father moved in circles which included and, in part, were run by women - both in his private and professional life, and he had no prejudices against, or stereotypical expectations of, the gender at all.

I am sure that my son will be similar in his attitudes to his future daughter, as he has very many things in common with his grandfather, my Dad, his namesake. Time will tell.

Congratulations.

I've two daughters. I never brought them up to be particularly "feminine", but they have ended up different from boys anyway. They love things often associated with boys, such as Doctor Who, Lego and Assassin's Creed, but they don't have the fanatical single-mindedness of boys. I think this makes them more well-rounded. Let's hope your granddaughter is the same.

That sounds like the ideal combination. My daughter-in-law (can I call her that - they're not married?) is very sensible and down-to-earth and not at all girlified. She's a damn good cook and cake-maker - Can't ask for more, really.

Also, what with No 1 Son moving to the States next year, with the littl'un only a few months old, I hope at least to see more of No. 2's young lady as she passes the first milestones before starting school.

This is going to be really interesting.

I don't think fanatical single mindedness is the preserve of boys, I know plenty of girls like that too.

I'm not girly in the "traditional" sense, but I do like shoes, clothes and cats, which means I do spend a lot of time (sigh) saying "but, yes, I am a feminist").

The key with girls (and boys, I guess, I don't have any) is to bring them up to be human beings with empathy and a sense of being social animals. The pinkification of girls is now spreading to Germany so it might be something worth fighting against before it goes too far.

But generally: congrats, TC, girls are great!

Gender is fascinating, and can't be generalised, which is good, as it is all part of human variety.

It is interesting that you had no affinity for girls at school and are now a mother. I preferred the company of girls when I was at school, as I was masculine in comparison with most of them, whereas I wasn't as masculine as most of the boys... I wasn't limited in the toys I could choose, and chose a mixture as I like designing outfits for pretty dolls as well as playing with racing cars and construction kits. These days I'm more confident with my appearance and have a variety of friends too, which is good, so I am more comfortable in myself. I still enjoy learning gender theory, but also many other things, so I'm not particularly single-minded.

I come from a military family, but from age 10 went to all girls schools - an all-girls boarding school for the most part - until I was 18. Moving around a fair bit meant that in the holidays at home I never really knew anyone - and being a bookworm that was fine by me.

But it meant that i never had contact with boys of my own age except my brother (he was in the same boat, boys school and no friends at home). The first real contact I've had with teenage boys is as The Gruesome Twosome have hit that age.

and what I've found is that I like them, they are fascinating, hilarious - and they have MASSIVE feet. (yes, I know. Generalisations)

I wish I'd discovered them sooner!

I went to a co-ed school, but the transition from primary to grammar school threw some invisible switch which stopped you from talking to the boys. We shared everything except the loos and the changing rooms, but ne'er a word was spoken between the two genders. If for some reason, you chanced to hold a cross-gender conversation regarding, say, homework, the whole class would turn round and stare to see what happened.

This changed in the sixth form and we all became friends again.

My three boys have brought me lots of joy in the form of gorgeous, intelligent and funny male teenagers hanging around. No intergender inhibitions in that generation - the groups were usually mixed, and the girls were (oobviously) just as much fun as the boys.

Yeah, I didn't know any actual boys from the age of 11 until 16, when the 6th Form mixed for a social event. I was pleased to have not discovered boys sooner, but at university I joined a group of gay boys, which was good as there weren't many girls on the course and they didn't often interact with me anyway.

There were intergender inhibitions when I was at school, so I wasn't the most popular, being masculine and different, and it was only when I met my partner that I was able to get over those inhibitions - I wish I'd discovered her sooner, but anyway the time we had together is a perfect capsule...