Growing up Without Men around...

I was thinking, what happens when females are kept separate from males from a young age--I don't think that this is healthy.
Now, one of the reason that the Orthodox (modest) side of Judaism may appeal to me is that, although I was brought up without religion, we lived far from the city, and my contact with people outside of my family was limited to a couple of times a week--this includes rare contact with children other than my two siblings...
Now, it's one thing for high school students to be separated: I've noticed that those who were attended separate-sex high schools tend to be more respectful of the opposite sex--especially the men are more respectful of women. But anything beyond that age, before or after, might be harmful, causing the females to take on more masculine characteristics than otherwise necessary.
What do you think about this?