Gender relations: social roles for men and women

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June 29, 2020

What is gender
History of the word
Interpretation of the term in different areas
What is gender
Gender and identity
What is gender equality

Hello, dear readers of the KtoNaNovenkogo.ru blog.

Recently, the international community has increasingly raised gender issues.

However, many people are often confused about its subject due to a lack of understanding of the basic terms of this topic.

One of these is the concept of “gender”: what it is and whether you understand this word correctly, we will understand in our article, not forgetting about related definitions of gender and equality.

What is gender

From time immemorial, people have been divided into men and women not only according to their sexual and physiological characteristics, but also according to socio-psychological differences.
In the customs of various nationalities and even in myths, one can trace the idea of contrasting the feminine and masculine principles. But this is not based only on constitutional dissimilarity. The basis is rather the sociocultural side. That is, what in a certain society at a certain time is characteristic of representatives of the strong and weak half of humanity. For example, from antiquity to the Renaissance, in European culture there was an opinion that a woman’s body is an inferior man’s body. Therefore, the main difference was precisely in social quality: what status a person occupies and what roles he performs. Only from the 17th century did the worldview change, and the basis was based on biological status, based on the fact that organisms are different primarily by their nature. In today's world, there is a controversial situation regarding the true number of genders. And, as you know, some developed countries have now officially legalized the concept of “third gender” for individuals born with indeterminate gender characteristics. Therefore, modern science has come to the conclusion that it is necessary to clearly distinguish between physiological and sociocultural aspects and connect them with the concepts of “sex” and “gender”:

The term “sex” is based on biological differences determined by genetics, anatomical characteristics and physiological properties, including reproductive functions. Gender is divided into male and female.
The concept of “gender” (from the Latin genus – genus, sex) reveals the socio-psychological characteristics of the individual and her social status. That is, those characteristics that arise through interaction with society. It is divided into masculine (from the Latin masculinus - male) and feminine (from the Latin femininus - female) and determines the psychological qualities of the individual, activities, abilities, professions, ethical and legal norms, etc.

Thus, masculine gender is associated with traits such as:

courage;
aggressiveness;
determination;
authoritarianism;
independence;
initiative;
ambition;
ambition;
desire for leadership and dominance;
adventurism;
rationality;
egocentrism, etc.

Feminine gender is determined by the following qualities:

softness;
tolerance;
calm;
responsibility;
humanity;
caring;
altruism;
desire for compromise;
emotionality, etc.

As a rule, if an individual of the opposite kind displays similar traits, this will be critically assessed by the outside world and will often cause a negative reaction.

The gender model determines the position in society and various institutions - family, educational and cultural institutions, economy, political movements, etc.

In modern society, such a concept as gender relations has taken root - this is the interaction of masculine and feminine individuals or social groups, leading to the fact that each individual plays established roles. For example, a man in a family will act as a father, husband, son; among friends - a friend; at the university - a student; at the enterprise - director, employee, colleague, etc.

Gender relations pass through the entire social and government structure and influence customs, language, production, art, etc.

History of the word "gender"

The English word “gender” has Latin roots. It comes from “genus”, that is, “ genus ” translated into Russian. It is noteworthy that it was primarily used in linguistics rather than in sociology.

The term was used to designate the grammatical category “gender”. Partially, this topic began to be covered in the 30s, but is vigorously discussed in various areas to this day:

1935 Margaret Mead first expressed her ideas about the distinction between biological and social sex .
1955 The first mention of the word “gender” is in the works of the American sexologist John Money, who uses it to denote the terminological distinction between biological sex and social role.
1968. The next stage in development was the works of Stoller, who, one might say, introduced this term into mass use.

Levels of gender relationships

Men and women function in diverse areas, which can be combined into several levels:

Macro level - appears in the form of social relations, that is, the interaction of the state and society with gender groups or with an individual. It is based on the politics and ideology of society and the role of each of its members in it.
Meso level – intergroup relations, including various groups and corporations. Characterized by a holistic perception of people and gender stereotypes. Thanks to this, individual differences are equalized, behavior acquires common standards, and the representative of the group is practically depersonalized.
The micro level is the interpersonal interaction of individuals of different sexes. Such relationships are characterized by a strong emotional component. The personal qualities of each participant and the communication process are significant.
The intrapersonal level is the so-called self-attitude, that is, awareness of one’s individuality, presentation of oneself as a subject of a certain group.

Negative effect of stereotypes

Many modern psychologists believe that emphasizing gender differences is incorrect. Gender role is primarily an imposition of the needs of society without taking into account the desires and goals of the individual. In other words, the differences between women and men are exaggerated, and society’s view of the situation is not subjective. Thus, considering the same act, a woman and a man will be treated differently. And this is incorrect, since stereotypical ideas do not correspond to the actual development of the individual, her character and behavior. In addition, they influence the development of certain qualities, and by distinguishing the gender roles of men and women, one character trait is developed more, while another is inhibited and suppressed.

For example, if you force a boy to hide his emotions, with age he may forget how to perceive them and begin to deny their presence in other people, not understanding their manifestations. It is worth understanding that each person is individual, regardless of their gender. This will allow you to normalize your psychological state, do your work more productively and be harmonious. Unfortunately, despite the flexibility of modern stereotypes, many people still struggle within themselves, not only with social stereotypes, but also with their own perceptions.

Men's and women's groups

At the meso level, the most relevant connections are in the professional field, where masculine and feminine subjects show themselves both as workers in a specific profession and as representatives of different groups. Let us highlight the indicative features of this area:

To this day, gender inequality can be noted in work (and other) teams almost all over the planet. This can be seen, first of all, in the higher statuses that men tend to occupy and greater rewards for work. Accordingly, mostly ladies are in subordinate positions. Their needs for self-realization are less satisfied, and, like many years ago, they continue to be at the mercy of the stronger sex. This, in turn, contributes to the formation of such qualities as passivity, weakness of will, suggestibility, uncertainty, etc.
Taking into account standards and gender stereotypes, there are traditionally male and female professions and positions. For example, construction professions are mainly mastered by the strong half of humanity, pedagogy - by the weak.
As research shows, if a team is led by a woman, she pays more attention to interpersonal relationships and shows more sensitivity to the problems and psychophysiological state of each employee.

If we consider the average features of masculine and feminine groups, we can trace the following points:

Men are focused on material well-being, restrained in relationships and emotions, distrustful and wary, ego.
Women put job and relationship satisfaction first, and only then earnings; emotional in relationships; sensitive, trusting; attentive to details; responsive to praise, sympathy, and reward.

To successfully manage a team, it will be useful for a manager (regardless of his gender) to know these features.

What is gender

Again, it should be separated from the term "sexual characteristics" .

The latter include:

genetic characteristics of women and men (set of chromosomes - XX and XY, respectively);
structure of the genital organs;
the predominance of certain sex hormones;
secondary sexual characteristics: hair on the body and face, development of the mammary glands, etc.

However, these signs do not necessarily classify a person as one gender or another. For example, a woman may have a pathological predominance of “male” hormones (androgens instead of estrogens). Not to mention cases of hermaphroditism in people who have a full set of characteristics that apply to both sexes.

In turn, gender characteristics are considered to be characteristics characteristic of a man or woman that are inherent in them during socialization. This is a more vague concept that is difficult to explain in one sentence.

In this case, we are not talking about psychology and character traits, but rather about a model of behavior in society . However, this term is very close to another established concept - gender stereotype.

For a baby boy - blue clothes and a car, for a baby girl - everything in pink and a doll. He is a strong and brave man who doesn’t care about anything. She is a modest and sweet girl who was well brought up and did not allow herself too much. Gender or stereotype? Scientists are still arguing.

In simple terms, gender is masculinity and femininity in their social meaning, that is, without reference to a person’s appearance and biological characteristics, but what society considers “typically male” or “typically female” is about gender stereotypes .

Relationships between a man and a woman

Since the times of ancient Greek culture, a tradition has been established of the superiority of the strong half of humanity over the weak. Male representatives occupied leading positions in political, economic, and cultural aspects. This phenomenon is called patriarchy. Nevertheless, ladies at all times also played quite a significant role, and often it was they who pushed gentlemen to make important decisions.

At the current stage, respectful treatment of women in most countries is one of the main requirements. This can be traced from the simple rules of etiquette: young people stand up when a young lady enters, take off their hat, let them pass forward, kiss their hands, and her wishes are taken into account first of all. And in these moments the dominance of femininity can be traced.

Thus, gender relations between a man and a woman cannot be interpreted unambiguously. Such ambiguity in the prevalence of one or the other gender can be explained by the law established since ancient times, according to which a lady was the property of a man, was submissive and humble. In response, the “owner” pledged to honor and respect her.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the female half began to strive for equality between the sexes and began to imitate strong representatives, first in clothing, then in behavior. This could be seen not only in the West, but also in our country. During the war, many women went to the front and performed, in fact, traditional male duties. Then they took places in the professional sphere - factories, construction, etc. This ultimately led to a new type of gender relations - free, comradely - and to gender equality. Girls received the right to vote, were able to occupy leading positions, and achieve self-realization.

Color and gender4

Which color is feminine and which is masculine? It just so happened that from childhood girls are dressed in clothes of pink colors, and boys are dressed in clothes of light blue and dark blue shades.

But initially all babies were dressed in white clothes. This whole epic with “girlish” and “boyish” colors began only with the advent of colored children's clothing in the nineteenth century.

In other words, sex is genetics, and gender is self-identification.

Self-perception of a person as a representative of a certain gender

Relationship psychology highlights the concept of gender identity - an individual’s awareness of himself from the point of view of femininity and masculinity. Biological sex does not always correspond to social sex. This can be seen not only in the popularization of homosexuality, transgenderism, etc. Many people simply feel more comfortable in the opposite gender, remaining in their body with their sexual characteristics. And they assert their position in appearance and behavior. For example, if a young lady considers masculine traits more useful in life and desirable for society, she will demonstrate them: confidence, a tendency to aggression, egocentrism, desire for leadership, etc. Similar polar manifestations are also characteristic of young people who consider trying on a comfortable position for themselves feminine characteristics: softness, emotionality, increased care of appearance, etc.

If we turn to modern fashion, we can note a trend toward the spread of unisex in the clothing and appearance of young people. Metrosexual guys can often resemble girls in appearance, but at the same time be completely heterosexual. As well as young ladies, visually similar to young people.

This desire for equalization takes its origins from the advent of feminism (at the end of the 19th century), proclaimed by ladies in connection with the defense of their rights and freedoms, based on ideas about sexual equality. Feminists protested against the dominance of men over women, discrimination in various spheres of life, etc. But many sociologists came to the conclusion that this is a rather aggressive trend that harms the representatives of the fair half of humanity themselves. And in the 1980s, a new concept came to replace it - postfeminism, which proclaims that gender equality has been achieved, and now the main emphasis should be on the differences between the sexes. This trend sees in a girl not a victim, but a winner with such characteristics as determination, confidence, sex appeal, the ability to defend her point of view, etc. It is with these qualities that many young ladies of our time identify themselves.

Interpretation of the term in different areas

In fact, the term “gender” began to appear in Western science only in the 1970s, and in Russian science only in the 1990s. In most dictionaries it is equated with the concept of “social sex” , but in modern feminist and gender studies this understanding is already considered outdated.

Today there are many interpretations of this term, the most common of which we will consider below:

Classic interpretation. According to it, as we said earlier, the concept is based on biological and evolutionary ideas about human sexuality.
Modernist. Strictly separates the concepts of “sex” and “gender”. The second is the so-called subjective image, the content of which is determined by sociocultural factors that influence how a person will develop personally.
Postmodern. Sex and gender are two fundamentally different approaches to the social construction of sexuality in interpersonal communication.

If the classical interpretation at one time implied that gender was one of the varieties of the broader term “sex,” now scientists are of the opposite opinion.

It is believed that this could be any cluster of people whose criteria do not depend on biological differences.

In this case, sex can be a special case of gender, in which different criteria can be provided:

biological sex differences (male - female - hermaphrodite);
psycho-sexual orientation (homosexual - heterosexual - bisexual);
cultural gender orientation (metrosexual - retrosexual - asexual).

How do such relationships manifest themselves in marriage?

The most striking example of masculine and feminine relationships at the interpersonal level are marital relationships, which can be found in two key models:

Affiliate. Represents equality of family members, respect for the individual, taking into account the principles and interests of spouses. Main features:
the authority of both spouses;
flexible division of duties;
family roles are interchangeable;
the desire to find a compromise in possible conflicts;
absence of encroachment on the individuality of the chosen one;
discussing problems and failures on a confidential level, without reproaches, with support;
taking into account the rights and wishes of children, accepting their opinions;
the family is perceived as an island based on love, security, peace, and confidence in the future.
Dominant-dependent. Represents the dominance of one spouse and the subordination of the other. At the same time, the dominant demonstrates independence, composure, authority, confidence, and self-worth. Key Features:
division of power based on force;
clear division of family responsibilities;
conflicts are usually resolved in a destructive way;
condemnation and ridicule of problems, failures, mistakes;
total control;
isolation of the family from society;
authoritarian parenting of children, built on the principles of hypercontrol and submission;
family is perceived as an unwanted debt obligation based on feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and insecurity.

In modern industrial society, gender relations in the family presuppose the presence of two main roles:

Expressive – given to the spouse. It consists of maintaining a comfortable climate in the house.
Instrumental – corresponds to the spouse. It consists of providing financial support for the family.

Often these roles are interchangeable and, as a rule, correspond to a partnership model of relationships.

Gender stereotypes in modern society

Over the long period of people’s existence, normative patterns of behavior and characteristics of a masculine and feminine character have developed and become firmly entrenched in the public consciousness. These are the so-called gender stereotypes, which manifest themselves in all spheres of human life: in interpersonal and intergroup interaction, as well as in the self-awareness of the individual. Being quite stable, they determine:

Intergender status and dominant roles (man is the breadwinner, woman is the keeper of the hearth; he is smart, she is beautiful).
Gender traits of personality and behavior (masculine - activity, confidence, dominance, egocentrism, rationality, aggressiveness, etc.; feminine - passivity, dependence, anxiety, emotionality, caring, etc.).
Ideas about family and professional roles (woman – housewife, mother, performer of labor; man – worker, social activist, organizer, leader).

People living in a certain society compare themselves with its inherent stereotypes. Someone is trying to match these patterns as closely as possible, which is based on the mechanism of obligation. Others prefer to contrast their behavior with accepted norms.

The positive aspects of using stereotypes include the fact that they make it easier to classify people and standardize their behavior patterns. But, in fact, unconscious adherence to gender stereotyping leads to negative results:

limits the self-realization and self-expression of the individual (especially the female gender);
acts as a barrier to the development of individuality;
ignores personal interests;
creates dependence and obedience;
worsens quality of life.

We can conclude that independence from such prejudices of society gives the individual the opportunity to gain freedom, spiritual health and the ability to live a full life.