It may be noted that behaviour and personality of a person, whether man or woman, is the outcome of nature (hereditary endowment) and nurture (socialization, social roles and expectations). This brings a high degree of heterogeneity as there are numerous factors influencing heredity and social environment. Scientists claim that no two persons in the world are ‘exactly alike’, not even fraternal twins.

 It is therefore, not uncommon to come across a woman who is assertive and aggressive and a man who is submissive and receptive. In fact, feminine andmasculine qualities are present in all of us, though at a varying rate. It is the social expectations that are translated into our behaviour through the socialization process. A child born in a conformist family learns to imbibe socially appropriate gender roles and another one born in an egalitarian familymay have flexible gender role identities. It is often held that a newborn child is like a clean slate — whatever the socializing agents (parents, family, school, community, etc.) write on it, form the personality and behaviour of the child. Most often than not, collectively and specifically, consciously and unconsciously, these socializing agents inculcate their own biases and prejudices and values and beliefs into the child.

They shape the identity and personality of the child. The new-born helpless child is fully dependent on these socializing agents for meeting his/her survival and developmental needs and is too powerless to question the relevance and authenticity of the knowledge imparted to him/her. Whatever information is passed on to the child becomes his/her functional reality, that is, his/her truth that he/she is socialized to believe in. For instance,