Analyzing Developmental Factors- Literature Review and Interview Evaluation
The divergence in thought processes around gender identity, gender roles, and gender development across multivariate cultures has always presented a controversy on gender perceptions, with some being labeled retrogressive. Mazzuca et al. (2023) note that changes in gender relations accustomed to modernity remain highly contested in many cultures. These changes are symbolic of cultural continuity and change that results from modernization. Notwithstanding, gender development epitomizes an inherent process, not defined by but influenced by the environment, in which individuals develop a sense of identity and assume the societal roles ascribed to the gender. This paper details gender identity and roles across cultures.
Literature Review
There is a consensus on the variations of gender identity and gender roles across cultures. Silva and Alves (2020) note that gender is an axe that defines an individual’s position within a society. The salience of gender in contemporary society is attributed to the rise in feministic activism, with females being called upon to occupy spaces traditionally preserved for males. Notwithstanding, gender is conceptualized variedly across cultures. These variations mainly touch on gender roles and gender identity. In many Westernized cultures, gender identities outside of male and female are recognized. This is not the case in the African and some Asian cultures, which constrict their beliefs on the male and female genders. In these restrictive cultures, there is significant deterrence in interpersonal relationships, especially male-female relationships, and gender identity at workplaces tends to be dampened. Silva and Alves’s (2020) article recognized differences in gender identities and definitions across cultures. While some cultures recognize the expanded space of women and the female gender as a whole, some still have restrictive behaviors toward them. Restrictive cultures often deter interpersonal relationships, especially male-female relationships, and may diminish the space of women at their workplaces.
Other scholars have also documented apparent issues attributed to differences in gender identity across cultures. Rimjhim and Dandapat (2022) note that the perceptual differences in the roles and space of women in society have given rise to gender-related concerns such as gender-based violence. Cultures that traditionally restrict the roles and position of women in society demonstrate higher rates of gender-based violence and other gender-related issues targeting women. These findings are affirmed by Naz et al. (2021). A comparison of gender-based violence and other gender-related issues across cultures revealed that the Westernized cultures that recognize the expanded space of women in society report relatively lower rates of gender-based violence compared to cultures, such as African-American or some Asian cultures, where the position of women is still restricted.
Findings from these articles affirm the cross-cultural differences in gender definitions and roles and view the differences through the lens of gender-related concerns. As evident in the articles, gender inequality is a consequence of the differences in perceptual gender roles and identity (Rimjhim & Dandapat, 2022; Naz et al., 2021). Communities with restrictive behaviors toward women generally register higher rates of gender-related issues against women (Naz et al., 2021). This calls for widespread activism on the space of women within these communities.
Gender theories attempt to describe factors that interplay in the perceptional differences in gender definition, identity, and roles. The socialization theories define gender as a byproduct of societal treatment of boys and girls. This differential treatment skews their gender development towards roles that currently resonate with the acceptable stratifies of males or females. These findings resonated with all the persons interviewed. Their perceptions and definition of gender tended towards the socialization viewpoint of gender. My responses were also informed by the theory, as my beliefs in gender roles and identity were based on how I was treated growing up and how I got to learn and identify my gender.
Methodology
The interview drew participants from diverse age groups. The first participant was in the 20-35 age bracket and mainly captured the modern perception of gender roles. The second interviewee was in the 35-45 group, while the third participant was in the 60-70 age gap. The questions used were multivariate and captured diverse aspects of the interviewee’s perceptions of gender. The questions used are included in Appendix 1. One-on-one interviews were conducted.
Results
The interviews were conducted at the participants’ workplaces. The participants consented to the interview and to their responses being used for educational purposes. A Caucasian, an African American, and an Asian American were interviewed. The first interview was with a 25-year-old Caucasian male, the second with a 39-year-old African American female, and the third with a 60-year-old Asian-American male. There were similarities in some aspects of their culture, such as beliefs on social relationships. They, however, differed on how they perceived gender roles, apparent gender-related concerns, and gender identity. This was evident in their responses. For instance, the 25-year-old noted that “males are masculine, while females are dependent, feminine, and submissive.” The 65-year-old, on the other hand, projected his beliefs on the potion of women in society by stating, “I believe that women’s roles are confined to household chores.” These sentiments reflected their perceptions of gender.
Discussion
The interviewee’s responses on gender varied. The first interviewed person’s opinion on the diversity of the gender construct and the inherent distinctive traits that identify one as either male or female per the biological theory. He, however, affirmed that gender roles are conceived during growth and development. The second interviewed person pointed out the existing perceptual difference in the interpretation of gender roles and added that this difference is to blame for various gender inequalities. The third interviewed person pointed to the fading of the male positions in society due to feministic activism and added that the traditional beliefs restricted females to households. Notably, perceptions of gender identity, gender roles, and gender development differ across cultures. While some cultures demonstrate restrictive behaviors toward women, others are responsive toward their expanding space. As evident in the responses, some cultures believe that female roles are confined to household chores and accord them lesser authority in the social space.
Gender development is the process of developing a sense of gender identity. Central themes in gender development evident in the interview included cultural influences on gender identity and the biological perspective of gender. From the interviews, there was a consensus on what constitutes a male or female gender, with the male gender being assigned to boys and the female gender to girls per the biological theory of gender development. There were, however, variations in perceptions of gender roles. These variations had a cultural predilection, with some cultures restricting female roles per the socialization theory. Conclusively, gender development remains a cultural factor. Different cultures will interpret gender roles and identities variedly. These differences are aligned with the socialization theory of gender development.
References
Mazzuca, C., Borghi, A. M., van Putten, S., Lugli, L., Nicoletti, R., & Majid, A. (2023). Gender is conceptualized in different ways across cultures. Language and Cognition, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1017/langcog.2023.40
Naz, F., de Visser, R. O., & Mushtaq, M. (2021). Gender social roles: A cross-cultural comparison. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 32(2), 189–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2021.1878971
Rimjhim, & Dandapat, S. (2022). Is gender-based violence a confluence of culture? Empirical evidence from social media. PeerJ Computer Science, 8. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj-cs.1051
Silva, R. L., & Alves, S. G. (2020). Contemporary theories of gender identity. The Wiley Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences, 215–219. https://doi.org/10.1002/
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Question 
Instructions
Course Project Part II
The interviews that you completed in Week 3 provide background information for your course project to be submitted in this assignment. To support your work, you will also include a literature review. You will need at least three scholarly journal articles. You can use the articles that you referenced in previous weeks’ readings and assignments, or you can search for articles from the South University Online Library for your literature review. A literature review can be just a simple summary of the sources, but it usually has an organizational pattern and combines both a summary and a synthesis.
Analyzing Developmental Factors- Literature Review and Interview Evaluation
In your literature review:
Write a summary (one to two paragraphs) for each article.
Write a brief analysis (one to two paragraphs) for each article and relate each analysis to your course and text readings.
Make a connection, if possible, to the interview process and your evaluation of each interviewee.
When researching information for your literature review, you also will need to incorporate one or more of the following factors to relate to the interviewees’ evaluations:
Similarities and differences between development according to gender, ethnicity, and socially derived groups
Age-appropriate and socially constructed milestones
Impact of interpersonal factors (e.g., social roles and relationships) during early and middle adulthood
The nature of stress, coping, and resistance in the context of gender
The importance of gender identity in the context of work
Develop your final project in a 4- to 5-page Microsoft Word document written in APA format, including the following sections: