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I hear this type of comment made regularly. Too many educators still become fixed in the energy-consuming and tedious" nature versus nurture" debate. We need to move beyond this either/or positioning and acknowledge a diversity of degrees of influence and expression of both biology and social construction.

A sole focus on biological determinism may lead to homogenising practices, such as" all boys"," all cultures", whereby only the differences between boys and girls are emphasised, and the differences within groups of boys are ignored. Essentialism also leads to universalist assumptions based/made on specific cultural, historical, geographical processes, power relations and practices, and imposed upon all other specific cultures, groups and locations. Hence, it perpetuates, fosters and expects uniformity within a group and conformity among subordinate groups to a more powerful group's gender norms. Simplistic binaries such as boys versus girls, mother-bond versus father-bond, hormones versus environment overlook and prevent the understanding of the existence of continuum between two polarities, the more subtle degrees and shifts of difference and similarity based on a multitude of factors alongside gender. It also dismisses the significance of individual and group agency, negotiation and resistance, in shaping attitudes and action.