Gender Ideologies in Contemporary Pakistani Novels: A Psychological Exploration of Gender Role Attitudes and Identity Formation

This research explores the intersection of gender psychology and literary narratives in Pakistani novels to understand how fictional representations shape and reflect gender role attitudes among young adults. Using a mixed-method design, the study integrates content analysis of selected Urdu and English novels with a survey of 200 university students (100 male, 100 female) aged 18–25 from major cities of Pakistan. Thematic analysis of five contemporary Pakistani novels reveals recurring patterns of patriarchal reinforcement and emerging feminist discourses. Quantitative findings indicate a gender difference in role perception between male and female readers, implying that reading narrative has an impact on gender attitudes. The research points to the power of literature to challenge or reinforce psychological gender schemas. Suggestions involve incorporating gender-sensitive literature into the curriculum and encouraging critical reading for identity construction.