 In this module, you will see gender is also defined a kind of learning. This idea may easily be derived from the things which we have discussed in the previous modules, that every time we enter in a new phase of life, in a new context, in new role, and in new activities, we learn something. When we say we learn something, that is the norms, social order. So that's why we are calling here that gender is a kind of learning. How? Gender development continues beyond adolescence. It is a process of learning new roles in new contexts with different norms. We enter in jobs, for example. We are part of a new place of interaction, that is a new market, in a new institution, where we have to learn new norms and expectations, that is new social order. In every market, in every context of interaction, the expectations and norms are different from the previous phase of development and previous context. So we have to act and behave, for example, as secretary, as liars, managers, teachers. These are different roles in different places, and there are different patterns of interactions. So definitely our behavior, our ways of talk, etc. Everything is monitored by new set of norms and expectations. These new roles add more gender expectations. So every time we enter in a new context, so we add a new set of expectations with it. We enter into new relations if we talk about social institutions. First, we talked about workplaces and now social institutions. For example, our relations as husbands, wives, mothers, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters. In every social role, definitely we have to learn according to the role a new set of expectations. Now we become men and women with new identity. All these are our identities, person is the same. The same person is functioning sometime as mother, sometime as wife, sometime as friend. So we have different roles and when we adopt a new role, so indirectly we have to adopt a new set of norms. The social expectations for these roles will be different from the previous phases or the places of interaction. Gender development, if we take it up, it is a set of different places, different experiences, different roles and norms at different stages of life. So this is how we can define what is gender development. It is this interaction of different contexts, norms and roles which make it a complex process. This is not a straightforward concept. This is not something that linearly develops in a straight line. So there are so many factors which are involved, which influence each other, which overlap and which make up what we call gender development. We as child, boy, girl, friend, husband, wife, professional, do not remain the same individual. It shows that it is a dynamic process as well. But the social order and norms alone do not define our gender. When we use this term gender in this context, remember we are talking about cultural gender. It never means natural gender or biological sex. It does not mean that we are male, but after these experiences with the passage of time, our gender development makes us a female or we were female and become a male. No, not like that. It is cultural gender. Our individual response to norms is different. So how a person does not remain the same when he passes through different phases of gender development? Because our response to different phases and contexts is different. Our experiences are different. They also play a role with it. To understand how a person remains the same or how a person changes, his or her personality changes, thinking changes, behavior changes with the passage of time when that person socially develops, culturally develops, to understand this idea that we have discussed in this module. I would suggest you to take a fiction short novel or short story, not a full novel if you do not like it. Here you would see different characters of the fiction. You will find some character that remains the same from the beginning to the end of the fiction. But there would be some other characters who change with different contexts and phases and stages of the story. The person or the character which remains the same, we call it flat. The other is called dynamic character. So to understand this idea, you will do this. Recall any novel or short story you have read and write a portrait of such character.