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Influence of Culture on Gender Identity

Mary Garcia

PSY 5420 Principles of Social Psychology Instructor: Alyssa Gilston

May 20, 2019

Influence of Culture on Gender Identity

Overview

Culture refers to the part of the society that shapes the community. It is the description of how things are done and reasons behind particular beliefs and practices; more so those that related to the traditions and religion of the community. Often, it is considered as the whole complex of distinguishing divine, measurable, intelligent, as well as the emotional structures that describe a particular communal group (Graef & Sieber, 2018). The culture of a community also includes the essential rights of human beings, the value systems, as well as the mode of life.

Gender determined the behavioral and attribute expectation of people in society. It establishes what is acceptable for men and women based on the culture of the community. Aspects like gender identity and relation in the city are critical because they shape people’s way of life both in the family and the community at large (Yeganeh & May, 2011) Usually, gender is also an organizing principle for society due to the cultural meaning if being a male or female. In every culture, there are patterns on how male and female ought to function and the explanation behind the practices.

The study aims to establish how the individualist and collectivist cultures influence the formation of gender identity. The study theorizes that the two forms of learning affect the one’s improvement of their gender identity, as the culture formulation, and set expected standards from both genders (Yeganeh & May, 2011). It also assumes that collectivist culture has compact constructs of gender roles together with prospects as compared to the individualist culture because they are less expected to receive the unusual gender behaviors due to the religious beliefs and systems.

Literature Review

There are two kinds of culture through which gender is influenced. Usually, the culture of social change the role, expectation, as well as the normative behaviors which are often taught and learned within particular cultural institutions (Yi, 2018). For social learning, it determined the interaction of people and how they organize themselves in society. On the other hand, the ideological culture refers to what people tend to think of, value, and even believe in as a cultural ideal.

Different cultures are categorized as either individualism or collectivism; both of which play a critical role in the study of significant attention, behavioral patterns, as well as the belief systems in various cultures. Usually, individualism is where people are more concerned about themselves and the family while on the collectivist perspective, they tend to feel like they belong to a larger group; thus their concern and care for them (LeFebvre & Franke, 2013). For the individualist culture, they are independent, separate while collectivism is communal, interdependent, and relational.

The cultural construct also involves horizontal and vertical categories. For the societies that are vertically-individualists, people tend to be in the competition thus concerned with their status and standing out. In contrast, horizontal individualism people view themselves as equal to others. Culture plays the most significant role in the socialization of individuals where they are men and women are distinguished by practicing the norms in society (Ogihara, Y., & Uchida, 2014). Women and engaged in the community differently as well as given diverse perspectives on themselves thus separating the genders. The way people tend to behave and act in society is highly defined by the culture adopted in the community.

Research Questions

Are people who practice the collectivist culture more likely to develop gender identity dysphoria than those in individualist cultures?

Outline of Investigation Plan

The research data of the study will be collected through the participant observation method. As a researcher, I will take part in the various communities of research but without any given interaction with the participants. I will observe and identify the different cultural factors that influence gender identity including religion and beliefs and the difference in the elements from one community to the other.

The data and the relevant information will be recorded through mote taking documentation, and photographs. The aim will be gaining insight into the various cultural factors that influenced the formation of gender identity.

Sampling: The research aims at gathering data from 100 male and female students from different countries representing the individualism and collectivist cultures. These include Australia, Canada, Japan, and India. These students will be randomly identified and studies depending on their behavioral differences.

Materials: Various characteristics of the collectivist and individualist cultures will be outlined in a piece of paper to help the researcher with the insight of the things to look for among the participants. All the observed characteristics and behavioral information will be recorded in notebooks. Besides, I will take the relevant pictures to help in analyzing the collected data and for reference in the future. Therefore, besides a laptop, notebook and a pen, a camera will also be an essential part tool for data collection. This will be used in taking photos as well as the video that relates to the relevant study.

Ethical Consideration: before the investigation, I will seek the approval of the instructor before proceeding to different schools according to the community in which they operate. Besides, I still find permission from the school administration to allow me to observe how the students conduct themselves as a result of culture.

References

Graef, F., & Sieber, S. (2018). Social background, gender, and institutional status affect the evaluation of multi-disciplinary participatory action research. PloS one, 13(5), e0196790.

LeFebvre, R., & Franke, V. (2013). Culture matters Individualism vs. collectivism in conflict decision-making. Societies, 3(1), 128-146.

Ogihara, Y., & Uchida, Y. (2014). Does individualism bring happiness? Adverse effects of individualism on interpersonal relationships and satisfaction. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 135.

Yeganeh, H., & May, D. (2011). Cultural values and the gender gap: a cross-national analysis. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 26(2), 106-121.

Yi, J. S. (2018). Revisiting Individualism-Collectivism. Journal of Intercultural Communication, (47), 1-1.