And if my 2.5 year old nephew is any indication, they pick up on the differences pretty damned early. And LOVE to point them out. Or ask you about them.

It's rather unfortunate that my nephew latched on to the work "broken" to describe different though. They don't know where he got that, but they are trying to break him of it because a) it sounds so bad and b) his mother is really tired of being described as "broken."

When my nephew had just started walking, he would walk in on his father when the latter was urinating. He didn't seem too interested in comparative physiology, but did try to play with the stream of funny water. My BiL started locking the bathroom door.

My nephew seems to have grown up het. He's geeky and inclined to make robots instead of play football, but I don't think views of his dad's bits had much of an influence there.

::prepares an expedition to find the secret lost waterfall of the Chicago financial district::

Go stand in the tunnel system, and get a bridge repair crew on the river to punch a hole in the tunnel roof with some wood piles, and voila! Instant waterfall. Of course, you'll also get to flood out the entire Loop, but that's just a bonus.

I don't think it's harmful for children to see their same-gender parents naked and be able to identify with them body-image wise

I'll agree as a general rule, and there may even be valid reasons to do so (demonstrating proper hygiene and potty training come to mind). But "take your son into the shower so he can see your genitalia" is squickmaking at best.

I'm slightly traumatised by the idea of being invited into the shower to see parental genitalia.

Haitian-born woman next Canadian Governor General.

Haitian-born woman next Canadian Governor General.

Apparently the secret of becoming Governor General is to work for the CBC.

growing up straight isn’t something that happens. It requires good parenting.

Because in the wild, you see, everything is gay. Cavemen? Gay. Ancient Egyptians? Please. Honestly, everyone up until the birth of Christ -- gay, because no Christian family values! Oh, maybe the girls weren't gay (due to the immense drawing power of the penis), but let's be honest here, who cares?

not for nuthin, but if they are gonna say that gay is a choice, they have to also say straight is a choice, right?

they have to also say straight is a choice, right?

Not if gay is something that straight people can choose to be. Like how my blonde hair is more of a choice than not bleaching it is.

Fact is, Captain Logic has been sent to walk the plank on that particular tugboat. They will do nothing that doesn't serve their precise ends.

I'm not sure I think it's that, but I'm kind of mystified how they think this is supposed to work.

It's based on an old psychoanalytic idea about identification with the same-sex parent. Noticing superficial physical similarities to the same-sex parent is supposed to lead the child to identify with and take on the more complicated sex-specific values and behaviors of the same-sex parent.

As is the case for most old psychoanalytic ideas, it is difficult to find any evidence to support this one.