This study examined aspects of sex differentiation among children and adolescents engaged in play activities in the street. The participants included 668 individuals between the ages of one and 18 years (245 girls and 423 boys), residing near three streets in a peri-urban area of Belém, during a one-year period. Scan sampling was utilized and the following variables were recorded: the identity and number of participants, group composition, type of play activity, age and play locale. There were gender differences related to the frequency of participation and types of activity. Although males were more numerous than females in the street, and play activities were largely sex-typified and segregated, females tended to participate in masculine dominant activities. The data on group composition, segregation, typology, game and toy preference lead us to infer the presence of gender-related unilateral approximation.
Play; children; gender; sex differences
