Humanity is changing. Changes affect even those things that, it would seem, have been and will remain unchanged from time immemorial. The gender role of men and women is also changing. To be even more precise, in our time, the boundaries between the traditionally “male” and “female” are already difficult to distinguish.

The gender role and everything connected with it is a relatively new phenomenon and remains a rather ambiguous and not fully understood category for our society. Therefore, before delving into the study of this topic, it is necessary to define the basic concepts.

biological sex- a set of genetically and hormonally determined characteristics of an organism, summarizing all its reproductive (sexual) features that distinguish it from representatives of another biological sex and determine its role in the process of fertilization during sexual reproduction.

It is customary to talk about the existence of two types of biological sex: male and female.

Gender – social the gender of the person; characterization of a person in terms of masculinity (a complex of bodily, mental and behavioral characteristics considered as masculine) or femininity (a set of qualities traditionally attributed to women or expected from women).

The modern world is dominated binary gender system- dividing people into two opposing groups men and women.

Interestingly, not in all cultures gender is a significant social category, as in ours. There are societies where there are three or more genders, as well as many gender roles.

gender role- view social roles representing behavior, normative expected from male and female individuals. This is behavior, which traditionally regarded as appropriate for men and women.

social role- socially normalized behavior of a person occupying a certain position in society and having certain rights and obligations in connection with this.

Thus, gender role of men and women- these are the forms of behavior expected by society from men and women.

But gender roles are not only expected, they are also:

• prescribed,
• are inculcated (through upbringing and education),
• are being mastered
• are being fulfilled
• violated
• accepted or rejected by the individual.

There is another concept related to gender – gender identity.

Gender Identity- a person's inner self-perception of being a representative of a particular gender, that is, a man, a woman, or a representative of another category.

How is the gender role of men and women formed?

Man is born male or female only in the biological sense, in the social sense he becomes man or woman. There are no differences in the behavior of baby girls and boys. There is no significant gender difference between men and women!

Initially, representatives of both sexes are just people. The set of human characteristics and qualities is one, the division into male and female qualities conditionally accepted in society.

A boy becomes a man because he bring up as a man, they develop traditionally masculine traits, qualities, instill appropriate principles and goals, teach male patterns of behavior. Likewise, a girl learns to be a woman.

Boys and girls raised differently, different models of behavior are expected from them, manifestations of different character traits are reinforced, different requirements are made.

Is it any wonder then that growing up, men and women look at each other as beings from different planets? How can they understand each other if they are different and no one taught them mutual understanding? Only through self-education and the acquisition of personal communication experience.

Gender roles of women and men are changing in the course of history, were and remain different in different cultures and societies, differ depending on the economy, politics, religion and other social factors of the life of a particular society. However, one can still talk about some traditionalism gender roles that have been passed down through the ages from generation to generation.

In our society, the gender roles of men are traditionally referred to as "Getter", "Master", "Defender". They persist, but it is impossible not to notice that for a couple of decades, “soft”, even feminine masculinity has been in fashion. More and more valued in men is not physical strength, activity, courage, the ability to take risks, but intelligence, condescension, restraint, the ability to communicate, empathize and care.

Traditional gender roles for women: "Keeper of the hearth", "Mother", "Wife". Society expects a woman to be kind, patient, modest, gentle, caring, understanding, "homely". But how many women in our time are socially active, active, work on an equal footing with men, often earning more than men?! The earner is no longer He, but She. In a woman, not only beauty, kindness and thriftiness are valued, but also the ability to earn money, efficiency, purposefulness, stress resistance, courage.

The most common gender role of women in our society has no name. This role, characteristic of women who are representatives of the working class, appeared in our society and was entrenched in it in the twentieth century. You can call this role Universal Soldier". A woman is required to be a wife, mother, mistress, worker, breadwinner, protector - ideal always and in everything and at the same time everywhere prosperous!

Consequences of the struggle for equal rights

The struggle of women for gender equality, which began at the end of the century before last, ended with the fact that many women now work both for themselves and for men, and men relieve themselves of part of the responsibility for raising funds for the maintenance of the family, while not considering themselves obliged to help women home and raising children.

A modern woman takes on too much and, “turning” into a man, complains: “There are simply no normal men left!”.

The gender role of men is also undergoing significant changes today. She is getting closer to the traditional gender role of women, just as the gender role of women to men. gender roles merge together.

Another trend is also observed. Men and women change roles! For example, today it is becoming more and more popular (especially in Western Europe) to take maternity leave not for women, but for men (and they do it voluntarily, according to own will).

It was after women received equal rights with men that not equality began to be observed, but a reversal of roles.

Men and women are legally equal, but in fact remain unequal. The modern woman is more often both the Keeper of the Hearth (the traditional role of the woman) and the Earner (the traditional role of the man), and the man is more often either the Earner or the Keeper of the Hearth. This is what the movement and struggle for gender equality has led to - to new inequality.

But the fact is that a man and a woman cannot be equal, because nature made them different! No matter how strong the mind of a person and no matter how developed his personality, he is also biological being, nature also determines the gender role.

Even if a woman chooses a traditionally male gender role and her man chooses a female one, there will come a point when their system will fail. That moment will be the birth of the child. No matter how feminine a man is, no matter how able he is to run a household and take care of children, there is something that will never allow him to fully realize himself in a female role - he cannot become pregnant and give birth to a child.

If both spouses have the same rights and obligations, they will be completely equal, there will be no family! Who will take care of the children if both work? Who will bring money into the house if both are unemployed?

Women solve this problem by shouldering a double burden of responsibility, but by the number of unhappy women, unhappy families, divorces and children growing up without a father, it is not difficult to guess that this approach to solving the problem inefficient.

Freedom to be yourself

It would seem, why in our time, when a man and a woman are equal in rights, can freely, voluntarily, without the obligatory consent of relatives, choose each other and create a family for love, so many unhappy couples? Is it because, deviating from traditions and nature, people simply do not understand as them to live on.

When people do not know what to do with freedom, it becomes a greater evil for them than the need to live under someone's strict guidance. But freedom- this is the highest value, this is the opportunity to be yourself! A person today is free to choose who to be and how to live. He is not obliged to adhere to the gender role that is imposed and expected. Regardless of gender, it is important to be yourself!

If a girl likes to fight, why shouldn't she become a professional boxer? If a boy likes to take care of younger children, why shouldn't he become an educator or teacher? But the phrases "You're a boy!" or "You're a girl!" wean children understand yourself. As a result, the child speaks, acts and feels as it should be, and not as he really experiences it.

The "I don't know what to do with my freedom of choice" problem grows out of the "I don't know myself" problem.

Too traditional and strict, requiring strict adherence to social norms and stereotypical thinking, upbringing in childhood in adulthood leads to what is called gender role stress.

Gender-role stress - this is a state of mental tension that occurs in the event of an inability to adhere to one's gender role or, on the contrary, the need to adhere to behavior characteristic of the opposite gender role.

The trends observed today in developed countries are such that emphasizing gender differences is recognized as incorrect, since the traditional gender role has come to be understood as imposition needs of society to the individual without taking into account his personal desires and goals. Society, imposing certain patterns of behavior on a person, deprives him of the opportunity to be himself, and therefore, to be happy.

On the other hand, if all people behave only as they want, not guided by social norms and requirements for themselves as a representative of a certain gender, the world risks losing such important institutions for the continuation of the human race as marriage and the family! After all, it was the emergence of the traditional gender roles of men and women that long ago gave rise to monogamy, the traditional family and the obligation to take care of their children until they grow up!

Poll for women. Do you adhere to the traditional gender role norms of a woman's behavior?

A gender role is a type of social role that defines acceptable and desirable behavior for men and women.

Almost all women in the North Caucasus are economically active

Everything related to development tends to change, so there is nothing permanent in the world, including the changing expectations of the behavior of men and women. But how gender roles are fixed and what they are caused by, we will understand in our article.

Consider the concept of gender role in order to clearly understand the meaning of this phenomenon.

Gender roles represent traditional behavioral responses expected from males and females in society. They can be expected, attributed, imposed, required by society, but any person has the right to decide for himself whether he needs stereotypical behavior.

They are instilled by society by educating from childhood a certain manner of behavior inherent in one sex or another. Let's find out what the gender role of a representative of one sex or another means on specific examples.

Examples of gender roles

Examples of gender roles of an individual have changed over time and the change of humanity. Not only that, they keep changing. So, the gender roles of a person are imposed and prevent him from manifesting himself the way nature created him. These stereotypes of behavior lead to misunderstanding between the sexes, conflicts, and therefore make people unhappy.

Consider now some examples of gender roles. Since ancient times, a man has been a hunter, leader, warrior with such character traits as self-confidence, a tendency to risk, aggression, and quick reaction. The woman, on the other hand, was always distinguished by gentleness, compassion, care and was engaged only in maintaining the hearth and educating the future generation.

Naturally, time leaves its mark on the stereotypes of behavior, so it is rare to find truly feminine or masculine behavior in its purest form.

Women's gender role

Recently, representatives of the beautiful half of humanity are increasingly claiming equality and almost duplicating the male line of behavior, earning money, holding leadership positions and serving in the army.

What are the features of the female gender role?

The female gender role in the former understanding implies the keeper of the hearth, mother and wife. Since modernity dictates its own laws, the gender role of women is changing and expanding.

The modern gender role of women has expanded. Now the lady is often not only the keeper of the hearth, but also the worker.

To do this, you will have to figure out what are the features of the female gender role. It lies in the fact that a woman strives to be successful, active, hardy in the conditions of the rules prevailing in society, equalizing both sexes. Thus, a lady should have time to manage the house, give birth to children, build a career, and also look amazing.

male gender role

Men's actions are characterized by the presence of fortitude, will, courage at all times, but this does not mean that the changes have not affected men as well.

Traditional upbringing of a boy as a bearer of a male gender role (masculinity)

The essence of the male gender role

In the modern world, not only strength and courage are expected from the representatives of the stronger sex. Men are required to win status and respect, mental and emotional stability, physical endurance and avoidance of women's activities. If a man does not achieve success in any one aspect, he seeks to compensate for this by showing himself more actively in another.

A lot of other qualities are gradually added to this list, such as intelligence, caring, restraint, the ability to communicate, empathize.

At the same time, such signs of male behavior as clarity of thinking, stability and the transfer of the gene to the future generation remain unshakable.

What is the difference between the gender roles of men and women?

With the development of society, the representatives of the beautiful half of humanity no longer want to put up with the fate of a housewife, which makes them reconsider social stereotypes about women's behavior. This is explained by the fact that society lives according to male laws, where there is a winner and a loser, and there is also no sympathy and compassion.

This is often followed by a role reversal where the lady is the breadwinner and her husband is in charge of the household. There are a lot of such couples lately, and the woman herself is not satisfied with the situation, as well as the man, because the actions laid down by nature are absent in both.

It should only be noted that the husband will cope with any household chores no worse than his beloved, but only in one he will not be able to replace her, because only a woman is destined to endure and give birth to a child. As you can see, the boundaries between the generally accepted behavior of both sexes are blurred, bringing with it a lot of consequences.

The equalization of representatives of different sexes leads to the fact that the family has no time to have a child, because there are still so many things that this can interfere with. Girls are getting married later, because they first need to make a career, which also aggravates the demographic situation and devalues ​​the institution of the family.

How are gender roles fixed?

Children of both sexes are born and have standard behavior. Social reactions are acquired by girls and boys already under the influence of upbringing and social expectations. Girls are set up for self-sacrifice, tenderness, devotion, they are persuaded to be calm and allowed to show emotions. Boys, on the other hand, are shown traditional male behavior, goals and principles, they require restraint in emotions and impatience with injustice.

It is worth noting that some stereotypes are already being criticized. And although it is considered shameful for a girl to be the first to get acquainted, while shy boys are not at all held in high esteem, this situation no longer surprises anyone, while even 100 years ago it would have led to disastrous consequences.

So, if a girl starts to fight, then she is stopped instead of being enrolled in the appropriate section, and for a boy this is considered the norm. And vice versa, a boy who is engaged in dancing causes ridicule or an ironic smile in many.

As a result, men and women, when creating a family, do not understand each other, get used to opposite views on life for a long time, quarrel and gradually learn mutual understanding.

Do not forget that every modern person has the freedom to choose those reactions in which he does not lose his essence, remaining himself, ignoring all sorts of stereotypes and imposed expectations.

Now it has become clear what gender is, how gender roles are fixed, so each person can objectively assess his destiny in the family and behave as the inner voice of conscience prompts.

We wish you to always be yourself and be happy!

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The baby has not been born yet, but we, having learned his gender, buy clothes, a stroller, furnish the nursery ... For a boy, we choose blue and blue tones, for a girl - pink. This is how “gender education” begins. Then the boy receives cars as a gift, and the girl receives dolls. We want to see the son as courageous, brave and strong, and the daughter as affectionate, soft and compliant. Doctor and psychologist Igor Dobryakov talks about how our gender expectations affect children.

The word "gender" was coined to separate the social meanings of "masculinity" and "femininity" from biological sex differences. Gender is determined by anatomical and physiological features that make it possible to divide all people into men and women and classify oneself as one of the groups. Sometimes, with a chromosomal failure or as a result of deviations in the development of the embryo, a person is born who combines the sexual characteristics of both men and women (hermaphrodite). But this happens extremely rarely.

One psychologist jokingly said that gender is what is between the legs, and gender is what is between the ears. If a person's gender is determined at birth, then gender identity is formed in the process of upbringing and socialization. To be a woman or a man in society means not just to have a certain anatomical structure, but also to have appearance, manners, behavior, habits that meet expectations. These expectations set certain patterns of behavior (gender roles) for men and women, depending on gender stereotypes - what is considered “typically masculine” or “typically feminine” in society.

The emergence of gender identity is closely related to both biological development and the development of self-awareness. At the age of two, but they do not fully understand what this means, however, under the influence of the example and expectations of adults, they are already beginning to actively form their gender attitudes, they learn to distinguish the sex of others by clothing, hairstyle, and facial features. By the age of seven, the child is aware of the immutability of his biological sex. In adolescence, the formation of gender identity takes place: rapid puberty, manifested by changes in the body, romantic experiences, erotic desires, stimulates it. This has a strong influence on the further formation of gender identity. There is an active assimilation of forms of behavior and the formation of character in accordance with the ideas of parents, the immediate environment, society as a whole about femininity (from Latin femininus - "female") and masculinity (from Latin masculinus - "male").

Gender equality

Over the past 30 years, the idea of ​​gender equality has become widespread in the world, formed the basis of many international documents, and was reflected in national laws. Gender equality implies equal opportunities, rights and responsibilities for women and men in all spheres of life, including equal access to education and health care, equal opportunities to work, participate in public administration, create a family and raise children. Gender inequality creates fertile ground for gender-based violence. Stereotypes preserved from archaic times attribute different scenarios of sexual behavior to women and men: men are allowed to be more sexually active and aggressive, women are expected to be passively obedient and submissive to men, which easily turns them into an object of sexual exploitation.

Equal in difference

And a woman has always existed, but differed in different eras and among different peoples. Moreover, in different families living in the same country and belonging to the same class, ideas about the “real” man and woman can vary significantly.

In the modern countries of Western civilization, the ideas of gender equality between men and women have gradually prevailed, and this gradually equalizes their roles in society and the family. Voting rights for women were legislated quite recently (by historical standards): in the USA in 1920, in Greece in 1975, in Portugal and Spain in 1974 and 1976, and one of the Swiss cantons equalized women and men in voting rights only in 1991. Some states, such as Denmark, have a separate ministry dedicated to gender equality.

At the same time, in countries where the influence of religion and traditions is strong, there are more often views that recognize the right of men to dominate, control women, rule over them (for example, in Saudi Arabia, women were promised the right to vote only from 2015).

Male and female qualities are manifested in the pattern of behavior, in appearance, in the preference for certain hobbies and activities. There are also differences in values. It is believed that women value human relationships, love, family more, while men value social success and independence. However, in real life, the people around us demonstrate a combination of both feminine and masculine personality traits, and the values ​​that are significant to them can vary significantly. In addition, masculine or feminine traits that are clearly manifested in some situations may be invisible in others. Such observations led the Austrian scientist Otto Weininger to the idea that every normal woman and every normal man has features of both his own and the opposite sex, the individuality of a person is determined by the predominance of male over female, or vice versa *. He used the term "androgyny" (Greek ανδρεία - male; Greek γυνής - woman) to refer to the combination of male and female traits. The Russian philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev called Weininger's ideas "brilliant intuitions"**. Shortly after the publication of Weininger's Sex and Character, male and female sex hormones were discovered. In the body of a man, along with male sex hormones, female hormones are produced, and in the female body, along with female hormones, male hormones are also produced. Their combination and concentration affect the appearance and sexual behavior of a person, form his hormonal sex.

Therefore, in life we ​​meet with such a variety of manifestations of male and female. In some men and women, respectively, masculine and feminine qualities predominate, in others there is a balance of both. Psychologists believe that androgynous personalities, who combine high rates of both masculinity and femininity, have greater flexibility in behavior, and therefore are the most adaptive and psychologically well-off. Therefore, raising children in the rigid framework of traditional gender roles can do them a disservice.

Igor Dobryakov– Candidate of Medical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Child Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Medical Psychology, North-Western State Medical University. I. I. Mechnikov. Member of the editorial boards of the journals "Perinatal Psychology", "Issues of Mental Health of Children and Adolescents", "Children's Medicine of the North-West". Author of dozens of scientific papers, as well as co-author of the books "Development of a Child's Personality from Birth to a Year" (Rama Publishing, 2010), "Child Psychiatry" (Peter, 2005), "Psychology of Health".

Trapped in stereotypes

Most people believe that a woman has such properties as sensitivity, tenderness, caring, sensitivity, tolerance, modesty, compliance, gullibility, etc. Girls are taught to be obedient, accurate, responsive.

Courage, perseverance, reliability, responsibility, etc. are considered real masculine qualities. Boys are taught to rely on their own strengths, to achieve their own, to be independent. The penalties for misdemeanors for boys tend to be more severe than for girls.

Many parents encourage their children to behave and play traditionally for their gender, and get very upset when they notice the opposite. Buying cars and pistols for boys, and dolls and strollers for girls, parents, often without realizing it, strive to educate strong men - earners and protectors, and real women - keepers of the hearth. But there is nothing wrong with the fact that a boy cooks dinner on a toy stove and feeds a teddy bear, and a girl assembles a designer and plays chess, there is nothing wrong. Such activities contribute to the multilateral development of the child, form important traits in him (caring in a boy, logical thinking in a girl), prepare him for life in a modern society, where women and men have long been equally successful in mastering the same professions and in many ways play the same roles. social roles.

Saying to a boy: “Hit back, you’re a boy” or “Don’t cry, you’re not a girl,” parents reproduce gender and unwittingly, or even consciously, lay the foundation for the boy’s future aggressive behavior and a sense of superiority over girls. When adults or friends condemn "veal tenderness", they thereby forbid the boy, and then the man, to show attention, care, affection. Phrases like “Don’t get dirty, you’re a girl”, “Don’t fight, only boys fight” form a girl’s sense of superiority over the dirty and fighters, and the call “Be quieter, be more modest, you’re a girl” orients to play secondary roles, yielding palm to men.

Myths about boys and girls

Which widely held beliefs are based on hard facts, and which are not based on solid experimental evidence?

In 1974, Eleanor Maccoby and Carol Jacklin dispelled many myths by showing that people of different sexes have more similarities than differences. To find out how close your stereotypes are to the truth, consider which of the following statements are true.

1. Girls are more sociable than boys.

2. Self-esteem in boys is more developed than in girls.

3. Girls perform better than boys on simple, routine tasks.

4. Boys have more pronounced mathematical abilities and spatial thinking than girls.

5. Boys have a more analytical mind than girls.

6. Girls have better speech than boys.

7. Boys are more motivated to succeed.

8. Girls are not as aggressive as boys.

9. Girls are easier to persuade than boys.

10. Girls are more sensitive to sound stimuli, while boys are more sensitive to visual stimuli.

The answers emerging from Maccoby and Jacklyn's study are surprising.

1. There is no reason to believe that girls are more sociable than boys. In early childhood, both of them are equally often united in groups for joint play. Neither boys nor girls show an increased desire to play alone. Boys do not prefer playing with inanimate objects over playing with peers. At a certain age, boys spend even more time playing together than girls.

2. The results of psychological tests show that boys and girls in childhood and adolescence do not differ significantly in terms of self-esteem, but indicate different areas of life in which they feel more confident than in others. Girls consider themselves more competent in the field of mutual communication, and boys are proud of their strength.

3 and 4. Boys and girls equally effectively cope with simple, typical tasks. Mathematical abilities in boys appear around the age of 12, when they quickly develop spatial thinking. In particular, they can more easily depict the invisible side of an object. Since the difference in spatial thinking abilities becomes noticeable only in adolescence, the reason for this should be sought either in the environment of the child (probably, boys are more often given the opportunity to improve this skill), or in the characteristics of his hormonal status.

5. Analytical abilities in boys and girls are the same. Boys and girls discover the ability to separate the important from the unimportant, to recognize the most important in the flow of information.

6. Speech in girls develops faster than in boys. Until adolescence, children of both sexes do not differ in this indicator, but in the upper grades, girls begin to outpace boys. They perform better on language comprehension tests, are more fluent in figurative speech, and write more literate and better in terms of style. As in the case of boys' mathematical abilities, girls' increased verbal abilities may be the result of socialization that motivates them to improve their language skills.

7. Girls are less aggressive than boys, and this difference is noticeable already at the age of two, when children begin to take part in group games. The increased aggressiveness of boys is manifested both in physical actions and in demonstrating their readiness to join the fight or in the form of verbal threats. Usually aggressiveness is directed at other boys and less often at girls. There is no evidence that parents encourage boys to be more aggressive than girls; rather, they do not encourage manifestations of aggressiveness in either one or the other.

8. Boys and girls are equally amenable to persuasion and imitate the behavior of adults equally often. Both are under the influence of social factors and understand the need to follow generally accepted norms of behavior. The only significant difference is that girls adapt their judgments somewhat more easily to the judgments of others, while boys can accept the values ​​of a given peer group without compromising their own views, even if there is not the slightest similarity between the two.

9. In infancy, boys and girls respond in the same way to various environmental objects that are perceived through hearing and vision. Both those and others distinguish speech features of others, different sounds, the shape of objects and the distances between them. This similarity persists in adults of different sexes.

The most objective approach to identifying differences between the sexes is to study the brain. With the help of electroencephalography, it is possible to evaluate the response of the brain to various kinds of stimulation. Such studies make it possible to avoid the dependence of the results obtained on the personal opinions or predilections of the experimenter, since the interpretation of the observed behavior in this case is based on objective indicators. It turned out that women have a sharper sense of taste, touch and hearing. In particular, their long-wave hearing is so sharper than that of men that a sound with a power of 85 decibels seems to them twice as loud. Women have higher mobility of hands and fingers and finer coordination of movements, they are more interested in the people around them, and in infancy they listen with great attention to various sounds. With the accumulation of data on the anatomical and physiological features of the male and female brain, the need for new neuropsychological studies that could dispel existing myths or confirm their reality increases.

* Fragments from the book by W. Masters, W. Johnson, R. Collodny "Fundamentals of Sexology" (Mir, 1998).

How is social gender formed?

The formation of gender identity begins at an early age and is manifested by a subjective sense of belonging to boys or girls. Already at the age of three, boys prefer to play with boys, and girls prefer to play with girls. Cooperative games are also present, and they are very important for acquiring the skills to communicate with each other. Preschoolers try to comply with the ideas about the “correct” behavior for a boy and a girl that are “transmitted” to them by educators and the children's team. But the main authority in all matters, including gender, for young children are parents. For girls, the image of not only a woman is very important, the main example of which is the mother, but also the image of a man, just as for boys, models of both male and female behavior are important. And of course, parents give their children the first example of the relationship between a man and a woman, which largely determines their behavior when communicating with people of the opposite sex, their ideas about relationships in a couple.

Until the age of 9-10, children are especially susceptible to external influences. Close communication with peers of the opposite sex at school and in other activities helps the child learn the behavioral gender stereotypes accepted in society. Role-playing games that started back in kindergarten become more and more difficult over time. Participation in them is very important for children: they have the opportunity to choose the gender of the character in accordance with their own, learn to match their gender role. Depicting men or women, they first of all reflect the stereotypes of gender behavior accepted in the family and at school, show those qualities that are considered feminine or masculine in their environment.

It is interesting how differently parents and teachers react to the departure from stereotypes. A tomboy girl who loves to play "war" with boys is usually not blamed by both adults and peers. But a boy who plays with dolls is teased, called a “girl” or “sissy”. Obviously, there is a difference in the volume of requirements for the "proper" behavior of boys and girls. It is hard to imagine that any activity that is uncharacteristic for a girl (laser battles, car racing, football) will cause as strong condemnation as, for example, a boy’s love of toy dishes, sewing and clothes (this is well shown in the 2000 film directed by Stephen Daldry "Billy Elliot"). Thus, in modern society there are practically no purely male occupations and hobbies, but there are still typically female ones.

In children's communities, feminine boys are ridiculed, they are called "weaklings", "slobbers". Often, ridicule is accompanied by physical violence. In such situations, the timely intervention of teachers is necessary, the moral support of the child from the parents is needed.

In the prepubertal period (approximately 7 to 12 years), children with a variety of personality traits tend to unite in social groups, while avoiding members of the opposite sex. Research by the Belarusian psychologist Yakov Kolominsky*** showed that if it is necessary to give preference to three classmates, boys choose boys, and girls choose girls. However, our experiment convincingly proved that if children are sure that their choice will remain a secret, then many of them choose persons of the opposite sex ****. This indicates the importance of the gender stereotypes learned by the child: he fears that friendship or even communication with a representative of the opposite sex can make others doubt the correct assimilation of his gender role.

During puberty, adolescents, as a rule, try to emphasize their gender qualities, the list of which begins to include communication with the opposite sex. A teenage boy, trying to show his masculinity, not only goes in for sports, shows determination, strength, but also actively demonstrates interest in girls and sex issues. If he avoids this and notices "girlish" qualities in him, then he inevitably becomes a target for ridicule. Girls during this period worry about how attractive they are to the opposite sex. At the same time, under the influence of traditional ones, they notice that their “weakness” and “helplessness” attract boys who want to show their skills and strength, to act as a protector and patron.

During this period, the authority of adults is no longer as high as in childhood. Adolescents begin to focus on the stereotypes of behavior accepted in their environment and actively promoted by mass culture. The ideal girl can be a strong, successful and independent woman. Less and less dominance of men in love, in the family and in the team is perceived as the norm. Heterosexual normativity, that is, the “correctness” and admissibility of attraction only to a representative of the opposite sex, is questioned. “Non-standard” gender self-identification finds more and more understanding. Today's teenagers and young adults are more liberal in their views on sexuality and sexual relationships.

The assimilation of gender roles and the formation of gender identification occurs as a result of a complex interaction of natural inclinations, the individual characteristics of the child and his environment, micro- and macro-society. If parents, knowing the laws of this process, do not impose their stereotypes on the child, but help him to reveal his individuality, then in adolescence and older he will have fewer problems associated with puberty, awareness and acceptance of his gender and gender.

No double standards

Double standards are manifested in various areas of life. When it comes to men and women, they are primarily concerned with sexual behavior. Traditionally, a man is recognized as having a right to sexual experience before marriage, and a woman is required to have it before marriage. With the formal requirement of mutual fidelity of both spouses, extramarital affairs of a man are not condemned as strictly as infidelity of a woman. The double standard assigns a man the role of an experienced and leading partner in sexual relations, and a woman - a passive, driven side.

If we want to raise a child in the spirit of gender equality, it is necessary to set an example for him to treat people equally regardless of their gender. In conversations with a child, do not associate this or that occupation or housework or profession with gender - dad can wash the dishes, and mom can drive a car for groceries; There are female engineers and male chefs. Do not allow double standards in relation to men and women and be intolerant of any violence, no matter who it comes from: a girl bullying a boy deserves the same reprimand as a boy taking a toy from her. Gender equality does not abolish sexual and gender differences and does not identify women and men, girls and boys, but allows each person to find his own way of self-realization, to determine his life choice, regardless of the usual gender stereotypes.

* O. Weinenger "Gender and Character" (Latard, 1997).

** N. Berdyaev "The Meaning of Creativity" (AST, 2007).

*** Ya. Kolominsky “Psychology of the children's team. The system of personal relationships” (Narodnaya Asveta, 1984).

**** I. Dobryakov "Experience in the Study of Heterosexual Relations in Prepubertal Children" (in the book "Psyche and Gender in Children and Adolescents in Health and Pathology", LPMI, 1986).

Possible options

Do not make a “real man” out of a boy, sociologist and sexologist Igor Kon* advises parents.

All real men are different, the only fake men are those who pretend to be "real". Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov bears as little resemblance to Arnold Schwarzenegger as Carmen does to the heroine's mother. Help the boy choose the option of masculinity that is closer to him and in which he will be more successful, so that he can accept himself and not regret missed, most often only imaginary, opportunities.

Do not bring up militancy in him.

The historical destinies of the modern world are decided not on the battlefields, but in the sphere of scientific, technical and cultural achievements. If your boy grows up to be a worthy person and a citizen who knows how to defend his rights and fulfill the duties associated with them, he will also cope with the defense of the Fatherland. If he gets used to seeing enemies around and resolving all disputes from a position of strength, nothing but trouble will shine in his life.

Don't teach a boy to treat a woman from a position of power.

Being a knight is beautiful, but if your boy finds himself in a relationship with a woman who is not the leader, but the follower, this will become a trauma for him. It is more reasonable to see in “a woman in general” an equal partner and potential friend, and to build relationships with specific girls and women individually, depending on their and their own roles and characteristics.

Do not try to shape children in your own image and likeness.

For a parent who does not suffer from delusions of grandeur, a much more important task is to help the child become himself.

Do not try to impose a certain occupation and profession on your child.

By the time he makes his responsible choice, your preferences may be morally and socially obsolete. The only way is to enrich the interests of the child from early childhood so that he has the widest possible choice of options and opportunities.

Do not force children to realize your unfulfilled dreams and illusions.

You do not know what kind of devils guard the path from which you once turned, and whether it exists at all. The only thing in your power is to help the child choose the best development option for him, but the choice belongs to him.

Do not try to pretend to be a strict father or affectionate mother if these traits are not characteristic of you.

First, it is impossible to deceive a child. Secondly, it is not an abstract “sex-role model” that influences it, but the individual properties of the parent, his moral example and the way he treats the child.

Do not believe that disabled children grow up in incomplete families.

This statement is factually false, but acts as a self-fulfilling prophecy. “Incomplete families” are not those in which there is no father or mother, but those where there is a lack of parental love. The mother family has its own additional problems and difficulties, but it is better than a family with an alcoholic father or where the parents live like cat and dog.

Do not try to replace the child's peer society,

avoid confrontation with their environment, even if you don't like it. The only thing you can and should do is to mitigate the inevitable trauma and hardship associated with it. Against "bad comrades" the trusting atmosphere in the family helps best of all.

Do not abuse the prohibitions and, if possible, avoid confrontation with the child.

If strength is on your side, then time is on his side. A short-term gain can easily turn into a long-term loss. And if you break his will, both sides will lose out.

Never use corporal punishment.

The one who beats the child does not demonstrate strength, but weakness. The apparent pedagogical effect is completely offset by long-term alienation and hostility.

Do not rely too much on the experience of the ancestors.

We do not know the real history of everyday life well, normative prescriptions and pedagogical practices have never and nowhere coincided. In addition, living conditions have changed a lot, and some methods of education that were considered useful before (the same spanking) are unacceptable and ineffective today.

The information and materials contained in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of UNESCO. The authors are responsible for the information provided.

gender roles

gender roles- these are the roles due to the differentiation of people in society on the basis of gender. Gender role - differentiation of activities, statuses, rights and obligations of individuals depending on their gender. Gender roles are a type of social roles, they are normative, they express certain social expectations (expectations), they are manifested in behavior. At the cultural level, they exist in the context of a certain system of gender symbolism and stereotypes of masculinity and femininity. Gender roles are always associated with a certain normative system that a person learns and refracts in his mind and behavior.

Thus, gender roles can be seen as external manifestations of patterns of behavior and attitudes that allow other people to judge whether an individual is male or female. In other words, a gender role is a social manifestation of an individual's gender identity.

Gender roles refer to a type of prescribed roles. The status of a future man or a future woman is acquired by a child at birth, and then, in the process of gender socialization, the child learns to fulfill one or another gender role. Gender stereotypes existing in society have a great influence on the process of socialization of children, largely determining its direction. Under gender stereotypes standardized ideas about behavior patterns and character traits that correspond to the concepts of "male" and "female" are understood.

gender stereotype, regarding the consolidation of family and professional roles in accordance with gender, is one of the most common stereotypes that prescribe standard models of role behavior for men and women. According to this stereotype for women main social roles are family roles(mother, mistress) for men - professional roles(worker, laborer, earner, breadwinner). Men are usually evaluated by professional success, women by the presence of a family and children. Folk wisdom says that a "normal" woman wants to get married and have children and that all other interests she may have are secondary to these family roles. It is believed that in order to fulfill the traditional role of a housewife, a woman must develop her abilities to be sensitive, compassionate and caring. While men are required to be achievement-oriented, women are required to be people-oriented and seek close interpersonal relationships.

One of the bases for the formation of traditional gender roles is the division of labor based on gender. The main criterion in this division is the biological ability of women to bear children. In modern societies, the social necessity of the division of labor based on the reproductive ability of women, which existed in archaic societies, has long since disappeared. Most women work in the manufacturing sector outside the home, and men have long ceased to be only “warriors and hunters” who protect and feed their families. Nevertheless, stereotypes about traditional gender roles are very stable: women are required to concentrate on the private (home) sphere of activity, and men - in the professional, public sphere.

An important role in the approval of the gender stereotype about the consolidation of social roles in accordance with gender was played by the concept of "natural" complementarity of the sexes by Talcott Parsons and Robert Bales, who considered the differentiation of male and female roles in structural and functional terms. According to their point of view, spouses should play two different roles in the modern family. instrumental role consists in maintaining communication between the family and the outside world - this is a professional activity that brings material income and social status; expressive role involves, first of all, caring for children and regulating relationships within the family. How is the distribution of responsibilities between spouses based on these two roles? Parsons and Bales believe that a wife's ability to bear children and care for children determine her expressive role unambiguously, and a husband who cannot perform these biological functions becomes an instrumental role performer.

This theory contributed to the integration into a single scheme of socio-anthropological and psychological data. However, feminist criticism has shown that the dichotomy of instrumentality and expressiveness, for all its empirical and worldly persuasiveness, is based not so much on natural gender differences as on social norms, adherence to which hampers the individual self-development and self-expression of women and men.

Traditional gender roles hinder the development of the individual and the realization of the existing potential. This idea was the impetus for the development of S. Bem androgyny concepts, according to which a person, regardless of his biological sex, can have both masculine and femininity features, combining both traditionally feminine and traditionally masculine qualities. This allows you to highlight the masculine, feminine, androgynous models of gender roles. This idea was developed further, and J. Plec in his works began to talk about the splitting or fragmentation of gender roles. There is no single male or female role. Each person performs a number of different roles (wife, mother, business woman, etc.), often these roles may not be combined, which leads to an intrapersonal role conflict.

Gender roles can be studied at three different levels. At the macro-social level we are talking about the differentiation of social functions by gender and the corresponding cultural norms. To describe the “female role” at this level means to reveal the specifics of the social position of a woman (typical activities, social status, mass ideas about a woman) by correlating it with the position of a man within a given society, system.

At the level of interpersonal relationships the gender role is derived not only from general social norms and conditions, but also from the particular system of joint activity being studied. The role of a mother or wife always depends on how the responsibilities are specifically distributed in a given family, how the roles of father, husband, children, etc. are defined in it.

At the intra-individual level internalized gender role is derived from the characteristics of a particular personality: an individual builds his behavior as a husband or father, taking into account his ideas about what, in his opinion, a man should be in general, based on all his conscious and unconscious attitudes and life experience.

From the book Gender Psychology author author unknown

Section III Gender Characteristics of the Personality

From the book Brainbuilding [or How professionals pump their brains] author Komarov Evgeny Ivanovich

Gender conflicts Gender conflict is caused by a contradiction between normative ideas about personality traits and behavioral characteristics of men and women and the impossibility or unwillingness of an individual and a group of people to meet these ideas-requirements.

From the book Our Unspoken Rules. Why do we do what we do by Wace Jordan

Gender representations Gender representations are understood as concepts, views, statements and explanations determined by the social context regarding the distribution of roles and status positions of men and women in society. Gender representations as meaningful

From the book Gender and Gender author Ilyin Evgeny Pavlovich

Gender stereotypes A stereotype is a set of traits attributed to members of a particular social group [cit. according to: 7, p. 147]. In domestic literature, the definition of gender stereotypes was proposed in the article by O. A. Voronina and T. A. Klimenkova “Gender and

From the book Differential Psychology of Professional Activity author Ilyin Evgeny Pavlovich

Gender Prejudice Prejudice in social psychology is considered as a kind of social attitudes. Prejudice (prejudice) differs from the usual social attitude, first of all, by the content of its cognitive component. Prejudice -

From the book Conflict Management author Sheinov Viktor Pavlovich

Chapter 21 Gender Roles and Sexuality by E. V. Ioffe

From the book What gender is your brain? the author Lemberg Boris

Chapter 28 Gender Stereotypes in Sports N. S. Tsikunova

From the book How We Spoil Our Children [Collection of Parental Delusions] author Tsarenko Natalia

Chapter 15 Gender Features in Informational Bodybuilding Features of the Male and Female Brain Scientists have long shown interest in the peculiarities of the thinking of men and women and study the structure and functioning of their brain from this point of view.

From the author's book

Chapter 3 Gender Roles When I was growing up in the 1950s, life seemed simpler. In those days, everyone had their established traditional roles: mothers stayed at home with children, and fathers worked. My mother could go to work if she wanted to, but my father was supposed to

From the author's book

Chapter 4. Sex and gender stereotypes 4.1. Images of men and women in the mass consciousnessFor centuries, people have developed stereotypical ideas about the image of a man and a woman, which still apply to all representatives of one sex or another, regardless of their

From the author's book

Section four. Gender specifics of behavior

From the author's book

Chapter 17. Gender characteristics of crises in the family 17.1. Decreased satisfaction with marriage. E. Aleshina (1985) notes that both domestic and foreign studies show that after the birth of a child, the satisfaction with the marriage of spouses begins to decrease. Till

From the author's book

CHAPTER 4 Gender aspects of professional activity The employment of women in professional work has grown rapidly throughout the 20th century. This trend has clearly manifested itself in the developed capitalist countries, not to mention our country, where the slogan: "Who does not

From the author's book

Gender conflicts in the school class As practice has shown, many conflicts between classmates arise because of their belonging to different sexes. To get rid of this phenomenon, as we understand it, is impossible, but knowledge of the psychological characteristics of boys and girls,

From the author's book

Gender Differences in the Sequence of Brain Development The most profound difference between men and women lies not in any particular brain structure, but rather in the sequence of development of different brain regions. Different areas of the brain in both sexes

From the author's book

Instilling gender stereotypes - Do I look like a boy? - Not. But you don't look like a girl either. "Cheburashka goes to school." Edward Uspensky. Ask any 20 of your acquaintances about what truly masculine and truly feminine qualities they can name, what social

In modern sociology, the concept of "gender role" has acquired two meanings.

In the first case, the gender role understood as the way in which a person expresses his gender identity. In other words, how much he is a real man or an ideal woman. In some cases, a person finds it difficult to identify himself with which gender, alternately playing the role of a man, then the role of a woman. Then they use the term "third sex" or talk about transsexuals and transgender people.

In the second sense, gender role implies role repertoire , i.e. a set of different behaviors, occupations or functions that a person has to perform who has already decided on his gender identity. Let's say a modern woman (social role) should be a housewife, mother, wife, worker (role repertoire).

It is known that in addition to biological differences between people belonging to the two sexes, there are also social differences due to the division of labor, the delimitation of social roles, the distribution of activities and occupations. Anthropologists, ethnographers and historians have long established the relativity of ideas about "typically male" or "typically female". What in one society is considered a male occupation (behavior, character trait), in another may be defined as female. To be a man or a woman in society means not just to have certain anatomical features. This means to fulfill certain prescribed to us gender roles- models of behavior that society prescribes for men and women, as well as a set of expectations that others place on people who perform these roles. The external signs that make it possible to distinguish subjects of one, female, from another, male, role are biological differences between the two sexes, as well as features of speech (tone, pitch, volume, intonation of voice) and language (a set of words used), demeanor, compliance with norms. etiquette, culture of gestures, clothing, orientation of interests, attitudes, inclinations and hobbies.

Male and female gender roles are, according to experts, mutually exclusive, and in some societies role patterns may even be polarized.

Gender roles determine, for example, that it is appropriate for human beings with female sexual characteristics to paint their lips and cook cabbage soup, and not endowed with such, to wear a tie and earn money. On the contrary, in modern culture, the so-called universal style of dress and behavior is being formed - unisex(English unisex - [about fashion] asexual), which is equally characteristic of men and women, and therefore is not able to clearly distinguish between representatives of different sexes.

Today, the relationship between the sexes, the definition of the roles of each of them are changing radically. New conditions, on the one hand, ensure greater equality of the sexes, and on the other hand, blur the differences between them. Passivity, patience, loyalty, and altruism are no longer considered to be just feminine traits. They are very beneficial for men who have learned to exploit these qualities, but who do not always show equal masculine virtues in response - chivalry or nobility. Ambition, activity and independence are increasingly becoming feminine traits as well. And the introduction of men to the process of childbearing and the responsibilities of motherhood forms in them features that have traditionally been considered purely feminine: tenderness, affection, the desire to take care of babies.

It is much easier for women today to enter public life than it is for their mothers and grandmothers. Now they have more freedom of movement: gone are the days when a woman could leave the house only with a companion, friend or relative. But it looks like they have to pay for that too. Statistics show that young women often become victims of sexual aggression by men.

According to the Russian sociologist I. S. Kon, the gender role refers to the normative prescriptions and expectations that the corresponding culture imposes on the “correct” male or female behavior and which serve as a criterion for assessing the masculinity / femininity of a child or adult. The prescriptions accepted by society in relation to each role are determined by the age and sex division and the different participation of women and men in economic life. That's how it used to be.

In particular, everything related to the religious and magical side of the life of the community was considered exclusively male activity in a traditional society: the performance of religious rites and rituals, the assimilation and transmission to other generations of sacred myths, magic spells, religious chants. All sacred rituals are performed by men in secret from women and severely punished (up to killing) those men who cannot keep a secret, and those women who show excessive curiosity. Women are forbidden to approach the places of sacred rituals, look at cult emblems, touch objects involved in rituals, know sacred myths, songs, and the history of the tribe. According to the ideas of primitive people, men during their religious activities communicate with the spirits of their ancestors, sacred animals, creatures - the patrons of a tribe or clan, in a word, mediate between the world of people and the sacred world, seeking to ensure the well-being of all members of the team. Witchcraft, black magic are also run by men. With their help, both ensuring success in various endeavors and revenge on enemies are carried out.

Predominantly male business is the organization of intra-communal life. In men's homes, separate from women, men make decisions related to the most important issues in the life of the team. This is the distribution of food, and the use of communal territory, and the organization of festivities, the resolution of marriage issues, the settlement of internal disputes and conflicts, the control of members of the team and the punishment of the guilty, etc.

Since ancient times, men have monopolized the sphere of intercommunal and then international relations, turning a purely female (by name) field of activity - diplomacy - into their fiefdom. Whether it was the establishment of friendly intertribal relations and the subsequent multi-day feast, where, again, only males were allowed, or a declaration of war and distant conquests, all the burdens of which could only be endured by the stronger sex. Primitive men searched and explored new territories, were the first to master the places of future parking, and were the first to plow land. Men, to a greater extent than women, are bound by external obligations: they are involved in a complex of kinship and community relations that involve the exchange of food, things, or certain services. Women, as a rule, are not involved in these cases.

It is not surprising that men have occupied all the most important occupations for the community - from politics, religion, economics to solving purely social problems. That's why they made core primitive society, which performed a cementing function, organizing the primitive team from the inside. The whole life of women is concentrated within the community, and they cement it from the inside not with organizational decisions and control, but with numerous interpersonal contacts and connections.

Women's sphere peripheral and is limited mainly to family, home, care of children and husband. If the position of a man is dual: he is, as it were, between the community and the family, then the position of a woman is definite - she belongs to the family, being its center. The purpose of all her activity is the well-being of this "female" world. It is achieved by maintaining the economic support of one's own family, as well as establishing proper interaction with similar groups (women's cells) within the community, in particular through the exchange of food, mutual assistance in caring for children, participation in joint work with other women to deliver water and fuel, and other collective activities.

Clothing, gestures, manner of speech are also elements of the gender role. The wardrobe, as well as the system of rules, can change for one person throughout the day: in the morning she is a housewife (robe, curlers, nervous preparations for work), in the afternoon she is a business woman (strict suit, bossy tone, make-up), in the evening she is a theater spectator (evening dress, free manners, a different image) or a caring mother (Fig. 8.2).

In marriage, a woman performs a number of roles that a man needs: the role of a friend with whom you can consult on important life issues and “pour out your soul”, spend your free time or vacation together, with whom you can share everyday problems, trust her; the role of a quasi-mother who gives him attention and care, the role of a hostess who takes care of order, comfort, cleanliness. One of the important roles of a woman is the role of a mistress.

The topic of gender roles will be incompletely disclosed if we limit ourselves to two sexes and begin to consider the role

Rice. 8.2.

only as a model of behavior set by the biological boundaries of one sex. The phenomenon has been known since ancient times. sex change, which can occur both surgically (through operations on the genitals) and symbolically (by changing clothes and changing the cultural image). In the anthropological and sociological literature, this phenomenon has received the generic name of the "third sex".

Ritual dressing of men in women's clothes has been preserved to this day in various tribes that inherited the customs of ancient cultures. So, for example, in the Namshi tribe, young men wear skirts for the rite of initiation, and in the tribes of the Maasai people, boys wear skirts from the moment of the circumcision ritual until the wounds are completely healed. Katakali dancers in Ceylon put on precious jewelry and make up, trying in this way to invoke the mercy of the gods, the Zulus in such robes cause rain, and the Indian bhots dance in women's to scare away the scarlet spirits.

Female performers in Japanese kabuki theater put on very elaborate make-up, speak in falsetto, and move in imitation of women's walking and gestures. The culture of Kabuki men is so high that many Japanese women, paradoxically, still come to the theater to learn from men the art of being a woman. They try to adopt their manner of holding their back, copy gestures and much more.

Around the 16th century in many European countries there was a tradition of dressing boys in dresses and calling them by their maiden names until they were seven years old. In this way, apparently, the parents tried to protect their sons from evil spirits. Only after the age of seven, the boys were allowed to change their dresses for pantaloons and become members of the male society. This tradition extended to all classes of society. So, in family portraits depicting children, it was possible to distinguish who it was, a boy or a girl, only by the toys that the children held in their hands. For boys it was either a whip or a wooden horse, for girls it was a chrysalis. This tradition was so stable that in some places it survived until the middle of the 20th century.

• Cm.: Badinter E. Decree. op. S. 56.
• For more details, see: History of Primitive Society. The era of the primitive tribal community. M., 1986; Manager L. N. Gender as a cultural and historical phenomenon: the era of primitiveness. URL: irbis.asu.ru
• maya.cltn.ru