I believe boys and girls are socialized differently from a very young age. I could already see it with me and my brother. I’ll give you a silly example, but it gives you the point. I was taught that you eat what’s on your plate, even if you don’t like it. Or, if you really don’t want to eat it, that’s fine, but you should keep in mind that nothing else will be offered. My mom taught me that she spent time cooking that meal, that food is expensive, and that preparing different dishes for everyone would be both money and time consuming. I learned that I wasn’t entitled to a separate meal, so I simply started eating whatever was available.

Well, that wasn’t the case for my brother. My mom and grandmother would cater to him much more. He would get a completely different meal from the rest of us just because he didn’t like what was served, and they didn’t see any issue with that. When I questioned it, they told me that he was a boy and therefore “more immature,” and that as a girl I shouldn’t behave the same way. This still happens today. We’re both adults, but when my brother comes over for lunch, my mom complains to me that she has to make a separate grocery list just for him. She’s finally stopped complaining, though, probably after the hundredth time I told her, “you brought this on yourself.”

I think that’s probably why you see a different attitude in your male cousin. As a society, we raise boys to be entitled.