Sample+Literature+Review

In the previous chapter, I have explained the fundamentals of the present study including current arguments on the notions of femininity and masculinity. To provide a clearer understanding of this study, I will thus discuss a few issues that consistently envelope the discussion of gender studies. I will explain the concepts of sex and gender, construction of gender through social learning theory, cognitive-developmental theory and cultural influences, notion of masculinity and influence of popular media in shaping one’s gender ideology.
 * (SAMPLE OF LITERATURE REVIEW)**
 * 2.0 Literature Review**

In the study of gender, we cannot escape but to discuss the concept of sex. Sex is generally defined as biological assignment of a person thus a person is a either a male or female based on the reproductive organ they are born with. Although, the terms sex and gender are sometimes used interchangeably; the meaning of sex is clearly defined. If you are born with a male reproductive organ (penis); you are male and if you are born with a female reproductive organ (vagina); you are female. However, the term gender is not as clearly or easily defined as sex. The definition of gender relies heavily on social and psychological factors (Wood, 1994). It depends on the particular society on how they want to define masculine and feminine. It is a misconception to simply equate male with masculine and female with feminine. A person is sexually a man when he is born with a male reproductive organ but that does not necessarily mean he is also masculine gender wise. The man may be regarded as feminine if he displays qualities which are associated with being feminine in his culture and this applies to women as well. Wood aptly summarized the differences between sex and gender, ‘We are born male or female- a classification based on biology- but we learn to be masculine and feminine’ (1994). Researchers over the years have tried to explain the complexities of learning gender. Renzetti and Curran (1989), Ivy and Backlund (1994) and Wood (1994) offered social learning theory, cognitive development theory, and cultural influences in their effort to explain the phenomenon of gender development.
 * //Sex and Gender//**

Renzetti and Curran (1989), Ivy and Backlund (1994) and Wood (1994) offered the theory of social learning. This theory is based on the idea that one learns to be either masculine or feminine through communication and observation. Children are believed to imitate adults in the way they behave and through this act of imitating adults, they discover that certain behaviours are rewarded and some behaviours are given punishment (Wood, 1994). Children soon learn which behaviour would earn them reward and which behaviour to avoid. Renzetti and Curran described this as reinforcement where ‘a behaviour that consistently followed by a reward will likely to occur again, whereas a behaviour followed by a punishment will rarely occur’ (1989). For example, girls who display ‘deferential, considerate, quiet, loving, emotionally expressive, and obedient’ qualities would be rewarded and praised (Wood, 1994). Nonetheless, the theory is not without flaws. The weakness of this theory lies in the fact that it concentrates on sex-role stereotypes (Ivy & Backlund, 1994). Ivy and Backlund, argued that if a boy grows up in an environment made up of the opposite sex and the boy models after his environment, he may be ridiculed and outcast from the rest of the society. To rectify the problem in social learning theory; cognitive-developmental theory developed by Kohlberg (1966 cited in Ivy & Backlund, 1994) was adopted.
 * //Social learning theory//**

In cognitive-developmental theory, it is believed that children develop their own identities through four stages in their lives. The first stage is when ‘very young children are beginning to recognize sex distinctions, but they cannot attach a sex identity to a person’ (Ivy & Backlund, 1994). In the second stage, ‘children learn their own sexual identity, as well as how to correctly attach sex-identifying labels to others (Ivy & Backlund, 1994). At this stage, they are beginning to understand that their sexes are fixed. In the third stage, ‘children learn that there are sex-role “ground rules”, or guidelines for sex-typed appropriate behaviour, that stem from one’s culture’ (Ivy & Backlund, 1994). Around this stage, children will start to behave as what their sexes are supposed to behave in the particular culture. For instance, girls who eat too much too fast might be chided for not behaving ladylike whereas boys who do the same might be praised as strong and having a hearty appetite. It seems that this theory is flawless but critiques question ‘the age at which children develop their own gender identities’ (Renzetti & Curran, 1989). The age of development is still debatable as some researchers placed the age between three and five and some found that children as young as two years old are already able to identify with gender stereotypes (Renzetti & Curran, 1989).
 * //Cognitive-Developmental Theory//**