Gender Roles and Cultures in Regard to Personality and Self - Literature review Example

Gender Roles and Cultures in Regard to Personality and Self Lecturer Gender Roles and Cultures in Regard to Personality and Self Introduction With elements of modernization increasing, the quest for the knowledge of how gender roles vary across culture has been on the rise. One may argue that this is as a result of the increased interaction between people from different cultural backgrounds. For instance, in the past few decades, there has been a significant rise of people migrating from one nation to another, or one region to another. As such, there has been observable diversity in regard to personality and the self as depicted by culture. In recent times, psychologists have undertaken studies dealing with personality, self and culture. From their various reviews, it has been noted with much interest that the issue of culture and personality has been controversial. Indeed, one critique argues that this is one of those areas in psychology that can be described as ‘magnificent failure’. The above is also related to self as an aspect that is gradually taking shape in the field of psychology. Notably, gender roles in relation to personality and self have been presented in different aspects of the society, and in areas such as health care, economic status, and education. The aforementioned aspects, indeed, have been observed between the eastern and western society. Is there a relationship between culture and gender roles in relation to self and personality? Are the said differences seen in various aspects in the society? Indeed, answers for such questions are required in order to deal with the various issues that may be affecting how people from different cultures interact. With this, this paper seeks to prove that indeed culture has a hand on observable variation of the gender roles that depict different personalities and self-traits. The paper seeks to do so by reviewing various literatures as presented by different authors. Gender Roles and Culture In their studies, Costa et al. (2001) argue that to some extent it has been proven that there are some cultural patterns that are similar in relation to gender. For instance, it is well accepted in most cultures that men are stronger than women. It is on this basis that they are better preferred to hold leadership roles in most communities, societies, as well as institutions. However, the authors note that some variations may be exaggerated while others masked. For instance, in relation to sex roles, some cultures confirmed that there are differences between the two genders, while some cultures, especially the modern ones argue otherwise. Most importantly, is the fact that these differences in prescribed behaviours and values results to the difference in self and personality traits. On the same, Peiro et al. (2006) carried out a test on the above hypothesis whereby they reasoned out that there is a greater difference in personality and self-traits in some less modernized countries. This according to the authors resulted from the differences in sex roles. They attributed the above differences to inequality between sexes, which are also common in the eastern countries. It is also well argued that the magnitude of this difference is more related to Hofstedes dimension of culture, which is more towards the masculine culture (Hofstede & Hofstede, 2005). This dimension is primarily derived from the observable contrasting working values in the society. In the masculine culture, more emphasis is placed on earning and occupational advancement as compared to other roles in society. In a feminine culture, however, like in the case of Sweden, job security and teamwork are highly valued. The expectations by the society on the two genders are also different. In a masculine society, for example, men are expected to express facts while women are expected to express feelings. Additionally, boys are not allowed to cry in a masculine culture while in a feminine one, both are allowed. Of major importance is the fact that such observations play a major role in shaping personality traits and the self. Indeed, the above discussion forms a solid argument on other related roles of gender in relation to culture on personality and self-traits. More studies have continued to reveal that in a culture where men are considered to be stronger than women; a more masculine culture, most men are not able to cope with stress and depression in the work place. Similarly, they offer less coping strategies. On the other hand, women are reported to have better coping strategies and as such, offer the best coping support in the society. Additionally, their coping strategies involve more of interpersonal relationships as compared to men. Nonetheless, it is imperative to note that some critiques argue otherwise. For instance, Peiro et al. (2006) argue that despite the fact that women are considered to have better coping strategies in some cultures, inconsistencies can be identified in the various studies that have reported such findings. This is in most cases based on the fact that there are a number of factors involved in determining ones coping ability. These include power, status and the job type held by the men and women. Regardless of this, it is generally accepted that in some cultures such as those in the east, men are expected to express calmness, assertiveness and risk taking traits, and are not allowed to express their vulnerability. Women, on the other hand, are expected to express care and emotions and as such, seek for social support. However, in some countries, men are not entirely expected only to express their action skills but also show their vulnerability at the same time (Hofstede & Hofstede, 2005). In their research on culture and migration Curran & Saguy (2001) noted that gender roles contribute a lot to the personality and self of both men and women in the society. In China, for instance, a male oriented country, it is culturally expected that men migrate or move away from their homes in search for resources for their families, whereas women are expected to stay or work near home to support the family. In Thailand, it is expected that men free themselves from the household, and go for adventures, as a form of migration. This is observed as a way of encouraging men to associate themselves with a source of power and influence in the society. On the other hand, women are assigned heavily kin based and domestic roles that are expected to tie them to household chores. As such, in men, this brings out personality traits that are considered masculine, for example responsibility, while in women, it characterises care and emotional attachment to the household. Indeed, the above is quite or somehow different from that observed in the western countries. In these countries, both parents may move to a distance destination from home in the name of feeding the family. In addition, every person is expected to be responsibile for whatever happens in the household (Curran & Saguy, 2001). Summary Indeed, it is obvious that gender roles vary with culture, a factor which results to differences in personality and self traits. Despite the fact that there are some personal and self-traits that are common in some cultures, most of them vary widely. Of important to note is the fact that culture has a great and important influence on gender roles, which eventually affect or contribute to individual personality and traits. As discussed above, as a result of culture, sex roles vary among different people. This has contributed to how people behave and their perception towards sexuality, as well as the shaping of their self and personality. Masculinity in the workplace setup and in the society, especially in relation to the expected characteristic traits among women and men, has equally played a major role in defining male and female personality and self. Additionally, various aspects such as education and working conditions in relation to culture have highly contributed to the variation in gender roles that have in turn played a role in shaping the various personalities among men and women in the society. References Costa, P., Terracciano, A., & McCrae, R. (2001). Gender differences in personality traits across culture; robust and surprising findings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 81 (2), 322-331. Curran, S., & Saguy, A. (2001). Migration and culture change: a role for gender and social networks? Journal of International womens Studies, 2 (3) 2-46. Hofstede, G., & Hofstede, J. (2005). Culture and organizations. Software of the mind. New York: McGraw-Hill. Peiro, J., Rodriguez, I., & Greenglass, E. (2006). Coping and distress in organizations: the role of gender in work stres. International Journal of Stress Management: 13 (2), 228-248. Read More