性行为的发展

性行为的发展阶段: 婴幼儿期的发展阶段

性别角色行为的发展

就性别角色的含义方面来说，“性行为”的措辞可以限定性地用于婴幼儿期。性别角色行为即表达（儿童的）女性特征或男性特征的行为。

婴儿刚一出生，即刻要么被当作女孩要么被当作男孩，而且这种区分有深远的重大意义。宝宝的名字和衣物颜色会确立（他们的）性别角色，而且由监护的成人所示范的习惯性的行为然而就会确认、稳定和纯化。（不同的文化体系使用不同的性别角色象征的名字和衣物颜色，随着时间的推移，在同一个文化体系里，也会有所改变。无论如何，这种区别的细节并不比区别本身来得紧要。）在生命的早期几年里，所期待的和所暗示的性别角色差异可能仍然微乎其微和并不显著，但是，随着孩子的不断长大，这些差异便会逐渐显现和明晰可辨。（至于婴儿出生时即刻的性别确定例外的情形，请参见中间性。)

女婴（baby girl）              男婴（baby boy）

Stages of Development: Infancy

Gender Role Behavior

The expression “sexual behavior” can definitely be applied to infants in the sense of gender role behavior, i.e. behavior that expresses the child’s feminine or masculine character.
At birth, every child is immediately identified as either a girl or a boy, and this has far-reaching consequences. The baby’s first name and color of clothing establish the gender role, and the reactions shown by the attending adults then confirm, stabilize, and refine it. (Different cultures use different gender-typical names and colors, and, over time, there may also be changes within the same culture. In any case, the details of the distinction do not matter as much as the distinction itself.) In the first years of life, the expected and suggested gender role differences may still be subtle and unobtrusive, but they are there and will become more pronounced as the child grows older. (For exceptions to an immediate determination of sex at birth, see “Intersexuality”.)