Basic concepts of gender research. Everything you need to know about gender studies. — What research would be especially important in Russia now

COLLECTIVE:

2008-2011 - "Women's rights in 10 regions of Russia (legal, political, socio-economic, demographic aspects) within the framework of the project" Creation of a network of experts on gender equality, with the support of the MacArthur Foundation "

2005-2008 - "Comparative analysis of National mechanisms for gender equality in 50 countries of the world"

2002-2005 - "Gender analysis of Russian legislation and statistics in the field of health" (within the framework of the project "Information and analytical resource center for the community of experts on gender equality", with the support of the MacArthur Foundation)

2002-2005 - "Statistical monitoring and development of indicators of gender equality" (within the framework of the project "Information and analytical resource center for the community of experts on gender equality", with the support of the MacArthur Foundation)

2002-2004 - "Gender examination of state standards and textbooks on social and humanitarian disciplines for universities"

2002 - "Socio-economic indicators of gender equality (by order and financial support of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development of the Russian Federation).
1999-2000 - "Social policy to ensure the rights of women working in small businesses" (supported by WLDI).

1996-1998 sociological study "Women's rights in Russia: the real practice of their observance and mass consciousness (on the example of the city of Rybinsk)" (qualitative and quantitative research methods were used, a representative sample).

1997-1998 - "Personnel policy of enterprises in the transitive economy of Russia". Joint Russian-American project.

1996-1999 - "The impact of reforms on marital relations" (Russian-American project in collaboration with the University of Cincinnati, USA).

1997-1998 - "Gender expertise of Russian legislation in the field of employment, mass media, reproductive rights and migration" (supported by PROWID)

1993-1994 - "Women's unemployment in Russia" (commissioned by the Federal Employment Service of the Russian Federation)

INDIVIDUAL:

Employment and Unemployment of Women in Modern Russia" (M.E. Baskakova, E.B. Mezentseva, Z.A. Khotkina);

"Political Participation of Women, Women's Leadership" (V.N. Konstantinova and E.V. Kochkina);

"Sexual harassment at work: stereotypes, reality, legislation" (ZA Khotkina);

"The image of a woman in the media" (O.A. Voronina);

"Oral History of Elderly Women" (A.I. Posadskaya);

"Strategies for the survival of families of single mothers in the period of transformation in Russia (on the example of a medium-sized city and metropolis)" (L.G. Lunyakova),

"Pensions for men and women" (M.E. Baskakova),

"Reproductive rights: international and Russian experience" (E.A. Ballaeva),

"Gender aspects of investment in human capital" (M.E. Baskakova),

"Women's rights: correlation of gender identity and gender differences" (O.A. Voronina),

"Violence against women" (L.G. Lunyakova, Z.A. Khotkina).

The paper presents the results of the analysis of gender studies in modern Kazakh society. Gender, being a complex and multifaceted area, occupies a certain niche in Kazakhstan. The study of gender in a multicultural society seems to be very relevant and promising. Since a society is considered multicultural, in which two or more nationalities live, and the Republic of Kazakhstan, as you know, is a multinational state with representatives of more than 100 peoples and ethnic groups. Historically, Kazakhstan has been involved in the global cultural process. The geographical location of Kazakhstan could not but affect the cultural exchange and ethnic composition of the country. Of interest are works devoted to the ethnic aspect of gender, studies of gender linguistics from the point of view of philosophy, psychology, sociolinguistics, cultural studies, ethnography, etiquette, etc., as well as comparative studies of the national and cultural characteristics of representatives of various ethnic groups living in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan .

gender linguistics.

speech behavior

gender stereotypes

1. Zhalimbetova R.B. Gender studies: past and present // GROSS VITA. - No. 4.

2. Kondratieva O.N. Concepts of the inner world of a person in Russian chronicles (on the example of the concepts of soul, heart, mind): dis. … cand. philol. Sciences. - Kemerovo, 2004.

3. Pimenova M.V. Gender signs of the concepts of the human inner world // Mentalitat. Konzept. gender. – Landau, 2000.

4. Semenova D.V. Gender aspect of the conceptual analysis of the lexemes "man" and "woman" (based on the phraseology of the English, Russian and Kabardian languages): dis. ... cand. philol. Sciences: 10.02.19. - Nalchik, 2006. - 181 p. - RSL OD, 61:06-10/781.

5. Solovieva G. Gender policy and sustainable development // Materials of the Internet discussion “Gender Aspects of Sustainable Development and Protection environment» / Electronic information network in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development in Central Asia and Russia CARNET.

6. Teliya V.N. Semantics of idioms in the functional-parametric representation // Phraseography in the Machine Fund of the Russian Language. - M., 1990.

7. Phraseology in the context of culture. - M .: Languages of Russian culture, 1999.

8. Yunusova M.S., Taishikova K.Zh. Gender studies in KazGosZheNPu // Proceedings of the II International Correspondence Scientific and Practical Conference "Gender Aspects of the Humanities" (Russia, Novosibirsk, November 21, 2012).

Introduction

At present, we can say that in the modern Kazakhstani society, the formation of a community of gender studies has taken place. Many universities of the republic introduced courses on gender. The range of gender research in the Republic of Kazakhstan is quite wide. Gender has become an object of study in sociology, philosophy, political science, psychology, pedagogy and philology, etc. modern world, assessment of their contribution to the achievements of mankind. We believe that in modern society it is necessary to be more actively engaged in gender studies, for which it is necessary to develop the concept of gender education, which will determine the exact place of gender studies in the knowledge system, while taking into account their true theoretical and practical significance for transition societies, which are the countries of the Eurasian Economic Community” .

We agree with the opinion of the famous Kazakh philosopher G. Solovieva that there are two most important social strategies of the modern world - sustainable development and gender policy. Today they should be understood in a single socio-cultural context.
The idea of gender equality and cooperation between the sexes, their consent and mutual understanding acquires planetary significance, becomes a condition and prerequisite for sustainable development. We are talking about the possibility of including in the full-fledged socio-economic and political life of that half of the human race, which for thousands of years was considered second-rate. The modern plural world, striving for democracy and the development of forms of civil life, can no longer put up with such a situation. On the agenda of the millennium is a fundamental transformation of gender structures based on the ideology of equal rights and opportunities, the involvement in the processes of sustainable development of the enormous untapped potential of the female population of the planet. Societies in which women are excluded from public life and decision-making cannot be considered democratic. The concept of democracy will have a real and dynamic meaning when political decisions are made by both women and men, taking into account the opinions and interests of both sexes. Indeed, can a social structure be considered “democracy” if there is open and covert discrimination against more than half of the citizens? Democracy must be aware of and feel the peculiarities of gender, the equal distribution of decision-making power between women and men strengthens and enriches democracy. The international community associates with the gender perspective not only the formation of "democracy for all", but also inscribes the problem in the global context: this is the future of human civilization.
The gender problem, therefore, is characterized as a global one and is associated with the context of development, since gender inconsistencies, infringing on the rights and opportunities of half of humanity, impede a sustainable and holistic development of the entire human race: gender asymmetry affects not only its victims, but also those who carry it out. Although politicians often address gender issues in relation to women only, ample evidence now indicates that gender is a broader issue, that it is development.
Gender imbalance prevents the formation of full-fledged types of social activities that take into account the experience of both sexes, so the limited participation of women in political life, the removal of women from power at any level will limit the effectiveness of the state and its policies. After all, women are able to bring a different set of criteria into politics, open up new perspectives in political dialogue, change the traditional style of management from the point of view of greater mutual understanding, coordination of actions and humanistic guidelines. And finally, the most important. a woman, as a mother, shapes the future generation - what kind of humanity will be in the near future depends on her education, social status and health.

The purpose of our study is gender linguistics. The study of gender in a multicultural society seems to be very relevant and promising. Since a society is considered multicultural, in which two or more nationalities live, and the Republic of Kazakhstan, as you know, is a multinational state with representatives of more than 100 peoples and ethnic groups. Historically, Kazakhstan has been involved in the global cultural process. The geographical location of Kazakhstan could not but affect the cultural exchange and ethnic composition of the country.

In Kazakhstan, gender education policy is given great importance. Since the first days of independence, Kazakhstan has included gender issues as an important component of state policy, and every year, as the socio-economic structure and democratic institutions improve, gender issues become more and more relevant and significant. This is largely due to the fact that gender has been under the close attention of the head of state N.A. Nazarbayev. It was on his initiative that the National Commission on Women's Affairs and Family and Demographic Policy under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan was created. This was a very important step, which meant that gender issues would be addressed in a thoughtful, conceptually sound manner, with the help of socially proven effective mechanisms. The Commission developed the National Action Plan, which included measures for the economic and political advancement of women, the protection of the reproductive health of men and women, the fight against violence against women, and gender education. First of all, the necessary legal and regulatory framework has been created. Kazakhstan has signed the main international human rights documents, including the "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women", the provisions of which have become integral part national legislation.

Traditionally, the object of gender research in the Republic of Kazakhstan was the national and cultural characteristics of Kazakhs and Russians. However, as experience shows, the analysis of the national and cultural characteristics of representatives of other nationalities is quite interesting.

In the last decade, anthropocentrism has been the basis of most linguistic research. The anthropocentric principle in linguistics is a particular manifestation of the global process of humanization of science. The object of research is the human factor in the language. Certain questions in linguistics are solved using the concepts of "anthropocentrism", "anthropocentric principle". First of all, it should be noted the emergence of a cognitive approach in the studies of linguists.

Modern gender studies in linguistics are focused on three problematic blocks: the social nature of male and female languages, the features of male and female speech behavior, the study of concepts in the gender aspect. First of all, the concepts are described man And woman how they are represented in different cultures and languages. At the same time, the object of research is mainly the concept woman, which is marked, different from the norm, the standard of which is a man.

The formation of gender linguistics, which studies the manifestation of the gender factor in units of language and speech, was a logical consequence of understanding the fact that the differences between the sexes, which sufficiently manifest themselves in various aspects of society, are also realized in a rather peculiar way in the process of language communication. It is worth noting that if at the very beginning the object of study of gender linguistics was the problem of reflecting gender mainly in the aspect of analyzing live speech of representatives of different sexes, then at this stage its interests include a variety of issues related to the connection of language with all types of human activity.

The position that the language captures cultural differences and conceptualizes the same phenomena in different ways is especially consistently verified in the study of the phraseological composition of the language, which stores and reproduces the cultural attitudes of the people. Involvement in such studies of gender knowledge, that is, the cultural component of the concept of "gender", will reveal the cultural specificity of gender stereotypes and asymmetries that are present in any society that has developed on the basis of a patriarchal culture.

From the point of view of M.V. Pimenova, “in the naive language picture of the world, the differentiation of the concepts of the inner world on the basis of gender is fixed. The transfer of conceptual metaphors to the area of the inner world also takes into account the special qualitative features of concepts that are attributed only to women or only to men. There are two types of gender characteristics of the concepts of the inner world of a person - primary (direct) and secondary (indirect).

At the same time, as the results of a large number of studies confirming the fact of androcentricity of any language show, in the works of recent years a point of view is put forward about the severity of androcentrism different languages and cultures. In different languages and cultures, the degree of androcentrism can be to a greater or lesser extent. Therefore, the study of the concepts "Man", "Woman", "masculinity" and "femininity" is closely connected with the formation of criteria for the degree of androcentrism of languages. It should also be noted the importance of a comparative analysis of the concepts "Man", "Woman", "masculinity" and "femininity".

In addition, all existing gender relations, in our opinion, are based, first of all, on gender stereotypes that exist in a given society and have national and cultural aspects. Gender stereotypes of male and female behavior have a diametrically opposite meaning. All existing gender stereotypes are supported through the process of socialization, whether it is upbringing in the family, school, team, through the media, etc. The main component of gender stereotypes is the culture, traditions, customs of a particular people.

Modern genderology, which studies the manifestation of the gender factor in units of language and speech, was a logical consequence of understanding the fact that the differences between the sexes, which sufficiently manifest themselves in various aspects of society, are also realized in a rather peculiar way in the process of language communication. As you know, the human factor in the language becomes the object of research in modern linguistics. Certain issues in linguistics are solved using such concepts as anthropocentrism, the anthropocentric principle. Let us repeat that if at the very beginning the object of study of gender linguistics was the problem of reflecting gender mainly in the aspect of analyzing live speech of representatives of different sexes, then at this stage its interests include a variety of issues related to the connection of language with all types of human activity.

The study of the relationship of language, culture, consciousness in linguoculturology led to the emergence of a new direction in linguocultural conceptology. “The formation of linguoconceptology as a scientific discipline that studies cultural concepts defined in the language, and intercultural communication, dealing with the problems of communication of linguistic personalities belonging to different cultural societies, apparently does not coincide by chance with the general anthropocentric reorientation of the paradigm of humanitarian consciousness. The subject areas of linguoconceptology and intercultural communication partially intersect, since the object of their study is the ethnic mentality as a set of group behavioral and cognitive stereotypes. At the same time, it should be noted that the first is aimed at identifying the linguo-specific characteristics of this mentality through the analysis of its semantic components - concepts, and the second deals with the analysis of ways to overcome linguo-cultural specifics and its possible misunderstanding in the process of interlingual communication.

Thus, we can conclude that the study of the cultural concepts "Man", "Woman", "masculinity" and "femininity" is one of the most promising areas of gender linguistics. The main goal of research of this nature is to determine the presented universal and culturally specific features of masculinity and femininity in different languages and cultures. An important role is played by comparative studies devoted to the cultural concepts of "Man", "Woman", "masculinity" and "femininity".

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, gender, being one of the important parameters of a person's self-identification, has an impact on the processes of perception and processing of the information received in the linguistic consciousness of individuals, which, of course, has an impact on the verbal and non-verbal behavior of representatives of different languages and cultures.

It is hard not to agree that gender, being a complex and multifaceted area, occupies a certain niche in Kazakhstan. Of interest are works devoted to the ethnic aspect of gender, studies of gender linguistics from the point of view of philosophy, psychology, sociolinguistics, cultural studies, ethnography, etiquette, etc., as well as comparative studies of the national and cultural characteristics of representatives of various ethnic groups living in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan .

So, for example, for us it seems relevant the degree of tabooing of the communicative behavior of men and women among representatives of different nationalities. Manifestation of gender stereotypes, stages of socialization of children, features of verbal and non-verbal speech, gender features manifested in traditions and customs among representatives of various peoples and ethnic groups living in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Recognition of the importance and uniqueness of man led to a change in priorities in science (from studies of large-scale phenomena to individual manifestations and special options), associated with the widespread introduction of the anthropological principle. Thus, there is a tendency to study the diversity of gender characteristics among representatives of a particular nationality, manifested in behavior, language, upbringing, traditions and customs in a multicultural society.

Reviewers:

Zhumagulova B.S., Doctor of Philology, Associate Professor, Kazakh National Pedagogical University named after Abay, Almaty.

Onalbayeva A.T., Doctor of Philology, Professor, Kazakh National Pedagogical University named after Abay, Almaty.

Bibliographic link

Toktarova T.Zh. GENDER STUDIES IN MODERN KAZAKHSTAN SOCIETY // Contemporary Issues science and education. - 2014. - No. 2.;
URL: http://science-education.ru/ru/article/view?id=12885 (date of access: 01.02.2020). We bring to your attention the journals published by the publishing house "Academy of Natural History"

Gender Studies in Russia

Khotkina Zoya Alexandrovna, Candidate of Economic Sciences

Institute of Socio-Economic Problems of Population of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Gender Research Laboratory

The genre of this article can be defined as a research essay, since it is written on the basis of understanding the personal experience of active participation in many cases and events that took place in the Russian women's movement and gender studies in the last decade of the 20th century. The article attempts to make a retrospective review of the process of formation and institutionalization of gender studies as a new direction in Russian humanities.

The term "gender" was first introduced into scientific circulation in the West in the late 60s to analyze social relations and overcome naive judgments that biological differences are decisive for the behavior and social roles of men and women in society. The development of gender theory and the results of research based on a gender approach have gradually led to the realization that to consider any social problem (no matter what it concerns - history or culture, politics or economics, psychology or sociology) without taking into account the gender component, to put it mildly, incomplete and one-sided.

It is generally accepted that gender studies began to develop in Russia in the late 80s and early 90s, when the first feminist groups and independent women's organizations began to emerge, and the first publications and translations of articles on gender issues appeared in journals. The article by A. Posadskaya, N. Rimashevskaya and N. Zakharova, “How We Solved the Women’s Issue,” published in 1989 in the Kommunist magazine, became a kind of policy document for the initial stage of a new direction in science and the public women’s movement, which later, in 1994 , with the light hand of the English publishers of the book "Women in Russia", was called the "New Era of Feminism in Russia".

It is customary for historians to date historical events by mentioning them in written sources. If you look at the history of the emergence and development of gender studies in Russia (the former USSR) from these positions, then the “countdown” should start from 1990, when a laboratory was created within the framework of the Academy of Sciences, at the Institute for Socio-Economic Problems of Population, with the official name who first used the term "gender". Later, this scientific unit became better known as the Moscow Center for Gender Studies (MCGS). Therefore, the year 2000 can be considered a jubilee year - today Russian gender studies are ten years old. From a historical point of view, ten years, of course, is a very short period, but for our country and science, these were years of tremendous changes associated, among other things, with the emergence and development of new democratic institutions, one of which can rightfully be considered gender studies.

Anniversaries involuntarily set you up for memories, a desire to somehow summarize the path you have traveled, or at least “stop and look back”. That is what I will try to do in this article. I am aware that my vision and reconstruction of the history of the development and institutionalization of Russian gender studies may differ from other positions, but this text does not pretend to be the “ultimate truth”, since this topic is still waiting for its researchers. I act here, rather, in the role of a chronicler.

The emergence of new scientific paradigms and theories, as a rule, is caused by the need to rethink the changed reality, when the old categories and methods for studying social phenomena are already of little use. The main causes and factors that led to the beginning of gender studies in Russia were associated both with social changes in Russian society and with the development of the humanities itself, and therefore can be conditionally divided into two categories: social and academic. A lot has already been said and written about the relationship of gender studies with such social transformations of society as a radical restructuring of social and economic relations in the country, which changed the context of the position and status of women in Russian society, as well as with the emergence of an independent women's movement. The role of significant changes in the field of Russian social sciences, caused by the emergence and development of new/alternative theoretical directions and concepts, as well as the possibility of criticizing androcentric and positivist approaches in science, was less frequently discussed.

Without dwelling on these factors in detail, I would only like to note that the birth of a new scientific direction, which certainly is gender studies, took place against the backdrop of a significant reduction in the number of people employed in the scientific field. According to the Ministry of Science of the Russian Federation, the total number of researchers over the last decade of the 20th century in Russia has more than halved and in 1998 amounted to only 42.7% of the 1990 level. This period in the history of Russian science cannot be unequivocally assessed: on the one hand, this is a time of active “brain drain”, when academic science was put on the brink of survival and a significant part of researchers were forced to either leave the country or change the nature of their activities. But, on the other hand, it was during this period that Russian science was liberated from many dogmatic and ideological shackles, which led to the emergence and rapid development of new scientific directions, schools and disciplines for Russia, as well as interdisciplinary studies, such as political science, cultural studies, social anthropology, gender studies and others.

These changes in Russian science were, one might say, revolutionary. Conventionally, they can be called the process of “humanization and democratization” of Russian science, since they reflect the reorientation of science from the predominant service of militaristic and ideological requests/orders of an authoritarian state to theoretical and empirical research related to the emergence and development of democratic institutions and civil society in Russia. Not the last role in this process was played by such external factors as the expansion of contacts with foreign colleagues and the activities of foreign and Russian scientific foundations aimed at supporting research, information and communication channels and technologies, as well as financial assistance to researchers (individual grants allocated on a competitive basis ).

Despite the relatively short, only ten-year history of Russian gender studies, we can talk about four stages in the formation and development of this scientific direction. And although such a division is very arbitrary, it helps to more clearly understand the uniqueness of the tasks solved in different periods of the development of Russian gender studies.

The first stage can be characterized as a period of introduction of a new scientific paradigm, when the enthusiasm of the pioneers of domestic gender studies was greater than theoretical knowledge and practical experience. This stage lasted from the late 1980s until 1992, and its main tasks were more organizational and educational than research.

In November 1990, the first international conference on gender studies organized by UNESCO was held in Moscow. And although the main scientific reports were made by Western scientists, the topics of the reports of Russian scientists at the sections already felt the need and the possibility of new scientific approaches to studying the status and position of women and men in society. Here it is appropriate to note that gender studies are traditionally quite closely associated with the women's movement and are aimed not only at the production of knowledge, but also at social changes in society.

In 1991 and 1992, the First and Second Independent Women's Forums were organized and held in Dubna. In addition to practical tasks aimed at creating a network of new women's organizations, the forums widely presented the new scientific paradigm and the first results of gender studies that had already been carried out by that time in some Russian cities (Taganrog, Naberezhnye Chelny, Moscow).

Among the emerging independent women's movement, the feminist ideas of gender studies met with a positive response, which cannot be said about the attitude towards these theories in academic and educational circles. At that time, it was quite difficult to publish an article on gender in a scientific or journalistic journal. Although the corresponding sections appeared in the journals Social Sciences and Modernity and Sociological Research in 1991 and 1992, these were rather exceptions to the general rule. A vivid example of the negative attitude towards gender issues at that time is the history of the publication of the book "Women in Russia", written in 1991 by scientists and activists of the women's movement, most of whom were the organizers of the First Independent Women's Forum. No one in Russia wanted to publish this book, we were told:

“Who is interested in reading about women's issues today? This book will not be bought. As a result, the very first book by Russian feminist scholars on the problems of women in the rapidly transforming Russian society was published only in the West and only in English. The difficulties of introducing new terms, concepts and approaches related to gender issues and methodology into Russian science and public institutions were the most difficult problems of the first stage.

The second stage can be characterized as the period of institutionalization of Russian gender studies, which most actively began in 1993-1995. It was a time of growth in the number of gender centers and the official registration of both new and previously established scientific teams and organizations. During these years, the Moscow and St. Petersburg gender centers were officially registered, the Karelian, Ivanovo and other gender centers were opened and began to work. The process of institutionalization was facilitated by the emergence of the legislation of the Russian Federation on public organizations and associations, as well as the start of active work in Russia of Western charitable foundations.

In addition, this period was marked by active preparations for the Fourth World Conference on the Status of Women in Beijing, which set the "tone" for discussions at conferences and seminars of that time, which were more devoted to socio-political rather than scientific topics. The implementation of the Beijing strategies is associated with the introduction in 1996, in accordance with the decision of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, in the program of some Russian universities of a new academic discipline - feminology.

The creation of university programs in feminology is somewhat akin to the history of the revival of women's councils by M. Gorbachev in 1985. Planted by order "from above", both will go through a difficult and painful path of adaptation to modern realities and the requirements of the time. And although since 1998 the program has become known as Feminology and Gender Studies, changing the name was only the first step. It took years of difficult and not always successful dialogue for two scientific areas - feminology and gender studies - to be able to interact constructively, despite the fact that their positions are still somewhat different in a number of theoretical and methodological aspects.

Now it seems strange, but scientific work in the gender centers of different cities took place almost in isolation, there was practically no exchange of ideas and experience, no joint programs at that time. We met and had discussions with Western colleagues more often than with each other. The data of the survey conducted by us at the 1996 conference showed that a third of the publications prepared by Russian gender researchers in the first half of the 1990s were published in the West, and not in Russia. Information hunger associated with the lack of scientific publications in Russian and based on domestic material, as well as the lack of live communication between scientists and teachers were the most acute problems of the second stage.

The third stage - the consolidation of scientists and teachers of Russian gender studies - falls on 1996-1998. The first step towards establishing closer scientific contacts and links between gender researchers from Russia and the CIS countries was a scientific conference organized by the Moscow Center for Geological Research in January 1996 "Gender Research in Russia: Problems of Interaction and Prospects for Development". discussion of institutional, methodological, social and other issues related to gender/women's studies and their teaching in Russian higher education.At the conference, scientists and teachers from Russia and Ukraine discussed important issues for all the participants in the formation and development of gender studies in the post-Soviet space, as well as the atmosphere that has developed around them not only in academic and university circles, but also in the women's movement.

An important role in the exchange of experience and ideas, as well as in the discussion of the results of scientific research and the problems of teaching gender studies at universities, was played by the scientific and educational project Russian Summer Schools on Women and Gender Studies (RSGGI), which in 1996-1998 was implemented by the MCGI and universities from Russian regions with the financial support of the Ford Foundation. Since 1997, following our example, summer schools have also been held in Foros by the Kharkiv Center for Gender Studies.

Over the course of three years, about 200 scholars, university lecturers and graduate students involved in professional work in the field of gender studies have visited the Russian Summer Schools. The novelty of the idea of the scientific and educational project of the RLSGI was that this program was aimed not only at the exchange of experience and the transfer of knowledge on gender issues, but also at the process of knowing “the world, oneself, each other, science, methodology” through the prism of a gender approach, and the democratic form of collective dialogue allowed the researchers who gathered in the summer gender schools to reach a new level of creative consciousness and thinking.

The third stage was probably the most important and responsible period from which the development of “Russian” gender studies proper began, since at that time there was a kind of breakthrough into a new quality in two directions at once. On the one hand, the summer school project gave a powerful impetus to a qualitatively new stage in the development of women's and gender studies in Russia, the essence of which was the transition from work in separate research and teaching teams to the interaction and cooperation of scientists and teachers from different cities and universities. On the other hand, the summer schools promptly created favorable conditions for a deep and comprehensive discussion of the theoretical problems of the new scientific direction. This period coincided with a kind of “mirror stage” of Russian gender studies, when the most acute issue for us was self-identification and reflective comprehension of our own experience, the need to develop our own Russian gender discourse, the theory and methodology of gender studies based on the diversity of Russian “experiences”. women and peculiarities of Russian gender relations.

An important result of the processes that took place at this stage, which we conditionally designated as the stage of consolidation, was the creation of an information network that brought together gender scientists and teachers from Russia and the CIS countries and to this day allows you to exchange information, create joint projects, invite teachers to give lectures in universities in different cities.

The fourth stage in the development of Russian gender studies began in the last two years of this century and is probably still going on. A characteristic feature of this stage is the activation of work aimed at the legitimation and wider dissemination of gender education in Russian universities.

Despite the problems associated with the fact that gender studies - interdisciplinary in nature - are difficult to fit into the framework of university curricula built on a disciplinary basis, the development of gender education is gaining momentum. Already now, many Russian universities offer specialized training courses on gender or this topic is included in the general curricula in sociology, anthropology, philosophy, linguistics, history, psychology, etc. As an illustration, here are some of the original training courses: “Gender theories in modern world: an interdisciplinary approach” (O. Voronina, Lomonosov Moscow State University-Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences); “Gender Practices and Gender Stereotypes” (T. Barchunova, Novosibirsk State University); "The nature of a woman as a philosophical problem" (G. Brandt, Ural State Technical University); "Psychology of Gender Relations" (I. Kletsina, Russian State Pedagogical University named after A. I. Herzen); "Woman and the Media" (N. Azhgikhina, Lomonosov Moscow State University); “Russian Philosophy of Femininity of the 11th-20th Centuries” (O. Ryabov, Ivanovo State University); "Gender Aspects of Economic Behavior" (E. Mezentseva, Higher School of Economics), "Elements of Gender Analysis in Literature and Linguistics" (T. Grechushnikova, Tver State University), "Russian Gender Relations and Qualitative Methods in Gender Studies" (E. Zdravomyslova and A. Tmkin, European University at St. Petersburg), etc.

These same years witnessed a real boom in publications on gender issues. As the saying goes, "Russians are slow to harness, but they drive fast." Today there are no more problems with publications - gender topics are accepted by our publishers and are even becoming popular. The problems of books and articles published in recent years indicate that the gender approach has allowed Russian scientists to discover not only new topics, but also take a fresh look at already familiar problems. This is evidenced by both the content and the title of the articles that I would like to cite here as an example: “Gender Approach to National History” (N. Pushkarva); “Society through the prism of gender representations” (O. Zdravomyslova); "Postmodern outcome of feminism" (A. Kostikova); "Feminist Criticism of Family Theories" (T. Gurko); "The appearance of masculinity" (S. Ushakin); "Gender factor in the reproduction of human capital" (I. Kalabikhina); “Women in Russian Authorities” (E. Kochkina); "Ethical aspects of feminism and emancipation" (O. Domanov); "Theoretical discourse of family and sexuality" (E. Yarskaya-Smirnova); “Feminist Epistemology” (A. Tmkina), etc. And the content of collections and monographs of recent years testifies to the sufficient scientific maturity and depth of Russian gender studies. We list at least some of them: S. Aivazova "Russian women in the labyrinth of equality" (RIK Rusanova. M., 1998); "Women's Rights in Russia" (MTsGI. M., 1998);

"Floor Ceiling" (ed. T. Barchunova. Novosibirsk, 1998); "Woman. gender. Culture” (under the editorship of 3. Khotkina, N. Pushkarva and E. Trofimova. MTsGI-ISEPN. M., 1999); N. Rimashevskaya, D. Vanoy, M. Malysheva, E. Meshcherkina and others. “Window to Russian Private Life” (Academia. M., 1999), etc.

Unfortunately, in Russia (unlike Ukraine, where the journal Tendernye Issledovaniya has been published in Kharkiv for the second year already), a regular publication of a domestic gender journal has not yet been established, although in recent years such attempts have been made in St. Petersburg, where the first number and the next issue of "Tender Notebooks" is being prepared.

Thus, despite the significant difficulties and problems, which were especially numerous at the first steps in the development of gender studies, in ten years they were able to institutionalize as a new direction in Russian humanities, which received some recognition in the academic and educational fields. This is reflected, for example, by the fact that diplomas and dissertations on gender topics are already being defended in Russia, and a normal process of reproduction of this scientific direction has begun, when Russian teachers at Russian universities train students and graduate students as specialists in Russian gender studies. Until quite recently, in the mid-1990s, this could only be dreamed of.

Looking back at the path traversed by Russian scientists and teachers who are involved and passionate about gender studies, we can say without false modesty that we have managed to do a lot in ten years: develop our own Russian feminist discourse and introduce it both into scientific circulation and into official government documents. ; learn and teach a new generation of graduate students and students to use modern methodology and methods of gender studies in research; publish about a hundred books and a thousand scientific and journalistic articles on gender and thereby change the attitude towards gender studies in scientific, publishing and public circles. For ten years, the "geography" of gender studies has expanded significantly, and today gender studies are conducted and taught in more than 60 cities of Russia and the CIS countries.

And although we still have a lot to learn and do, the very first and most difficult steps are behind us. Gender studies still remain quite an “exotic” and marginal segment of the scientific landscape, and the stage of their introduction into the curricula of Russian higher education has not yet ended. I see our main perspective in the transition from reading author's gender special courses to the widespread introduction of this discipline in most faculties and departments of Russian universities. And, judging by the lively interest shown by university students in different cities in courses on gender issues, this prospect seems quite optimistic.

Bibliography

For the preparation of this work, materials from the site http://invest.antax.ru/ were used.

Gender studies (eng. - gender studies) - an interdisciplinary research practice that uses the cognitive capabilities of the theory of social sex (gender) to analyze social phenomena and their changes Pushkareva N.L. Why is he needed, this "gender"? // social history 1998/1999. M., 1999. - S. 155 ..

Gender research is a branch of knowledge that studies how a particular society determines, forms, consolidates and distributes the social roles of women and men in the public mind and in the mind of an individual, as well as what consequences this distribution has for them Trofimova E. AND. On the issue of gender terminology. // http://www.gender-cent.ryazan.ru/content.htm..

Gender studies, which emerged in the West as an interdisciplinary branch of knowledge in the late 60s - early 70s, and in Russia in the late 80s, play a significant role in various areas of the humanities.

The specificity of gender studies is determined by the object, subject, goals and objectives of the study, as well as the methodology and methodology for studying gender manifestations.

Let's consider the object, subject, goals and objectives of gender studies.

The object of gender research is phenomena, phenomena, processes of social reality, which are considered in historical retrospective, in the present time and the predicted future.

The subject of gender research is the gender aspects of these phenomena, events, processes of social reality. The study of gender aspects always involves the study of discriminatory manifestations based on sex. Accordingly, the objectives of the study, one way or another, are centered around the study of explicit and latent discrimination based on sex.

Among the priority tasks of gender research is the study of the mechanism of constructing gender in such important areas of human life as upbringing, education, family, labor, politics, economics, culture.

Depending on the subject, goals and objectives of the study, several blocks can be distinguished, which reveal the specifics of gender studies.

The first block is aimed at studying gender aspects in various fields of activity. These include, for example, the following areas of gender research: gender aspects of labor and employment; gender aspect of unemployment dynamics, etc.

The second block focuses on gender expertise. Of particular interest, for example, is the gender expertise of textbooks for higher education, the results of which have been published in scientific periodicals and in the form of the collection “Gender expertise of textbooks for higher education” Gender expertise of textbooks for higher education / Ed. O.A. Voronina. - M.: ROO MTsGI - Solteks LLC, 2005. - S. 19 ..

The third block is focused on the empirical identification of the specifics of gender relations that unfold in different aspects of life. This block examines social and labor, legal, psychological, cultural, linguistic, historical and many other aspects of gender relations.

The fourth block is aimed at men's studies. The specificity of gender studies lies in the fact that they include not only discriminatory aspects against women, but also a subject area of knowledge covering everything that concerns men, including the biology of the male body, male health, etc. The purpose of "male studies" is to study male life experiences as "socio-historical-cultural constructs", to critically discuss issues related to men and masculinities, and to disseminate knowledge about male lives, to rethink the male gender role, to understand its limitations. , in the need to destroy sex-role stereotypes Ilinykh S.A. Specifics of Gender Studies: Important Details: Monograph / S.A. Ilyinykh. Novosibirsk State University of Economics and Management (NINH). - Novosibirsk: NSUEU, 2009. - 234p..

Within this term paper the specifics of gender studies in social psychology are considered, i.e. psychological aspects of gender relations. Then the subject of gender studies in social psychology are gender relations, differences and similarities between the sexes.

The first works in the field of gender studies were carried out in line with the gender-role approach. The main theory on which modern gender studies are based is the theory of the social construction of gender.

In the system of socio-psychological knowledge, the most significant (in comparison with other psychological disciplines) scientific prerequisites for studying the psychological component of gender relations were created.

This is explained as follows:

First, in social psychology, the subject field of science has long been included and is being actively developed the category of “relationships”, which is the basic one in the system of gender knowledge.

Secondly, in such traditional sections of social psychology as “the psychology of large groups”, “the psychology of intergroup relations, the psychology of communication and interpersonal relations”, a certain amount of empirical knowledge and conceptualizations has been accumulated, which can be productively used to analyze the problems of gender relations.

Thirdly, social psychology implements a holistic integrated approach to the study of the three main elements of socio-psychological reality - the inner world of the individual, interpersonal interaction in a particular situation, the social structure of society, which are key for gender research and gender relations.

Thus, the subject field of social psychology turns out to be the basis on which gender issues can develop more intensively in comparison with other psychological branches of knowledge. Social Psychology- this is that convenient “door” through which gender topics can quite easily enter the system of psychological science Kletsina I.S. From the psychology of sex - to gender studies // Questions of psychology. - 2003. - No. 1 ..

The central category of gender studies is the multidimensional, developing concept of “gender”, which is interpreted differently by numerous researchers. This term belongs English language and Western civilization, in Russian it is skalked from English and does not have an adequate translation. It can be said that "gender" is an integral part of the modern process of globalization, understood as the involvement of the whole world in single universal processes. It was Western civilization that historically and theoretically approached such a stage of its development when the need for gender changes and gender analysis became a necessity. Blokhin N.A. The concept of gender: formation, basic concepts and ideas // http://www.gender-cent.ryazan.ru/content.htm..

The term "gender" originally belonged only to linguistics. In the English-Russian dictionary by W. Muller, "gender" has two meanings: the first to designate grammatical gender, the second to designate gender in its playful sense. The term "gender" in its new, non-grammatical sense was first used by psychologist Robert Stoller in 1968. He did this to distinguish between "masculinity" (masculinity) and "femininity" (femininity) as sociocultural characteristics of "male" and "female". "Male" and "female" at the same time acted as the biological basis for the natural distinction between men and women.

There is a lot of controversy regarding the issue of delimiting the concepts of "sex" and "gender". A number of scientists use these terms as synonyms, while other researchers seek to find a fine line between the concepts under study.

In particular, S. Kessler and W. McKenna, believing that gender is only one of the varieties of gender as a system of social relations, suggest leaving behind the concept of “sex” only the sphere of meanings directly related to reproductive activity Vorontsov D. V. What is gender // Gender psychology / ed. I. S. Kletsina. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2009. - S. 9-20 ..

In contrast to the opinion of the above researchers, who seek to introduce an element of sociality into the category of biological sex, Joan Scott proposes to solve the problem of the relationship between the terms "sex" and "gender", denying the exclusive sociality of gender and including in it the natural, biological specificity Malysheva N. G. Gender stereotypes in youth mass media: Dis. ... cand. psychol. Sciences. - M.: 2008. - 178 p.

Some researchers believe that there is not only biological sex, but also other levels of sex:

Cerebral (defines "male" or "female" thinking styles);

Morphological sex (male or female genital organs);

Psychological gender ("male" or "female" psychological characteristics).

However, it is still not worth opposing sex levels to each other: they are closely interconnected. Ilyin E.P. Differential psychophysiology of man and woman. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2006. - P.7-11 ..

Ageev V.S. in the article "The influence of cultural factors on the perception and evaluation of a person by a person" explains that gender is related precisely to the "spiritual" side of a person, in contrast to sex. Gender is a social superstructure that arises as a result of the socialization of a person, whatever gender he may be: male or female Ageev V.S. Influence of cultural factors on the perception and evaluation of a person by a person.//Questions of psychology. - 1985. No. 3. - S. 135-140 ..

There are a number of general points characteristic of the disclosure of the concept of "gender".

Second, the social essence of gender is defined by different norms for male and female action and interaction, norms prescribed and recreated by society. However, it is hardly possible now to give an exact and specific definition of this phenomenon, which has become the subject of interdisciplinary research in the absence of a comparable common, unified and differentiated conceptual apparatus.

Conclusions:

The considered object, subject, goals and objectives of gender studies allow us to state that there are specific features of gender studies in social psychology:

1. Gender studies - a new field of knowledge and education. Gender studies are the study of socio-cultural differentiation and gender stratification as reproduced in society.

2. Currently, gender studies are presented in two aspects: the first aspect involves the implementation of the gender approach as a scientific theory and research practice, the second - as an educational practice, including the development and teaching of gender-oriented academic disciplines Kon I.S. Gender differences and differentiation of social roles: correlation of biological and social in man. - M.: Medicine, 1975. - S.326 ..

3. In gender studies, practically all issues of interaction between men and women are studied both at the level of society, as well as in the family and in personal life. A key issue in gender studies is the distinction between the concepts of "sex" and "gender".

5. The term "gender" cannot be equated with the concept of "gender". Gender refers to biological characteristics, according to which people are divided into categories "men" and "women", and gender corresponds to social and socio-psychological attributes that divide people into these categories ("men" and "women").

Introduction

Chapter I. Theory and practice of gender studies

1 Subject and object of gender studies. The concept of gender in gender studies

2 History of the development of gender studies in domestic social psychology

Chapter II. Gender studies in social psychology: an urgent problem of our time

1 Problems of gender socialization in modern socio-psychological research

2 Gender studies in the study of the socio-psychological status of women

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

People have long been interested in identifying and explaining the differences between men and women. The reasons for the increased interest of people in gender relations are significant differences in the status position of representatives of different sexes in public life. The fact of social inequality today causes a lot of inconvenience not only to women, but also to men. The new era requires humanity to radically break the prevailing stereotypes, and therefore gender psychology is becoming more and more popular - a science that studies the similarities and differences between men and women. The structure of the new field of knowledge is given by the subject area of social psychology. Gender relations are multi-level relations, they are "embedded" in a wide class of social, intergroup and interpersonal relations. It is social psychology that is the most prepared area of scientific knowledge, on the basis of which the psychological component of gender issues can develop most intensively and productively. At the same time, social psychology, exploring gender relations, also implements its own promising development trends as a scientific discipline associated with a comprehensive study of all the main elements of sociopsychological reality: the inner world of the individual, interpersonal interaction in a particular situation, and the social structure of society.

The relevance of the research topic is due to the fact that the social, economic, political transformations taking place in Russian Federation in recent decades, influenced all spheres of society, the system of social relations, led to a change in the life and professional strategies of various social groups. Increased social differentiation in society, increased the number of socially disadvantaged categories of the population. The peculiarity of the current stage of development of the entire Russian society, the dynamism of social processes, the aggravation of social contradictions could not but affect the relations between the sexes, determined the interest in gender issues.

The purpose of the course work is the study of gender relations as a subject area of modern domestic social psychology.

Research objectives:

Consider the specifics of gender studies in social psychology, with the definition of the object, subject, goals, objectives of gender studies and the disclosure of the concept of "gender" as the central category of gender studies.

To analyze the development of gender studies by conducting a retrospective review of views on the issue of gender before the advent of gender studies and identify their differences from the views of gender studies.

To designate topical problems of gender research in social psychology by revealing the problems of gender socialization in socio-psychological research Yu.E. Aleshina and A.S. Volovich "Problems of mastering the roles of men and women" (Questions of Psychology, 1991, No. 4); Volovich A.S. "Features of the process of socialization of high school graduates" (Diss. Candidate of Psychology. Sciences. M., 1990); Stepanova L.G. “Intrapersonal Gender Conflict in the Context of family relations"(Magazine" Family in Russia. - 2007. - No. 4); Gavrilitsa O.A. "Guilt in a working woman" (Journal "Questions of Psychology" 1998. No. 4); Aleshina Yu.E., Lektorskoy E.V. "The role conflict of a working woman" (Journal "Questions of Psychology" 1989. No. 5).

Reveal the specifics of gender studies in the study of the socio-psychological status of women, show their difference from traditional feminism through the analysis of scientific articles by L. V. Popova "The problem of self-realization of gifted women" (Journal "Questions of Psychology" - 1996. - No. 2); Ivanova N.L., Kulaeva E.V. "Self-determination of women with different types of gender identity" (Journal Questions of Psychology. 2011. No. 1). Zhalimbetova R.B. "Gender studies: history and modernity" (Electronic resource: #"justify">. Summarize the results of research in the field of studying gender studies in social psychology.

The object of the study is the main theoretical concepts of gender studies and those areas that have had a significant impact on them.

The subject of the study is gender relations in the social structure of society.

Gender studies are the subject of wide interest of domestic researchers. The psychology of gender relations is based on the theoretical developments of social psychologists on the problems of the psychology of large groups, intergroup interaction and interpersonal communication: B.C. Ageeva, G.M. Andreeva, G.G. Diligensky; for research in the field of psychology of gender differences: V.V. Abramenkova, I.S. Kona, V.E. Kagan, T.A. Repina, I.I. Lunina, G.V. Turkish, T.I. Yufereva; for work in the field of gender psychology: S. Bern. A direct contribution to the development of gender issues was made by the works of I. Yukina; E. Zdravomyslova, A. Temkina, T. Gurko, I.S. Kletsina, A. Kletsina, E. Meshcherkina; The works of A. Kostikova, T. Klimenkova and S. Zherebkin and others are devoted to the philosophical aspects of gender issues.

Research methods: theoretical analysis of literary sources in social psychology, gender studies in psychology, sociology, system analysis and synthesis, as well as the method of contextual analysis of concepts. When identifying trends in the development of gender relations in the historical context, a comparative historical method was used.

The theoretical and methodological foundations of the work are systematic and interdisciplinary approaches that affect a number of branches of knowledge: social psychology, psychology of gender relations, philosophy, sociology, history, feminology, etc.

The practical significance of the study is determined, first of all, by the systematization of theoretical and methodological knowledge in a new direction of scientific knowledge - gender studies, which will make it possible to assimilate and correctly use the term "gender" in ongoing studies, to determine their methodology depending on methodological positions. The work also expands the scope for changing mindsets that justify gender inequality.

gender social psychological research

Chapter I. Theory and practice of gender studies

1 Subject and object of gender studies. The concept of gender in gender studies

Gender studies is an interdisciplinary research practice that uses the cognitive possibilities of the theory of social sex (gender) to analyze social phenomena and their changes.

Gender research is a branch of knowledge that studies how a particular society determines, forms, consolidates and distributes in the public mind and in the mind of an individual the social roles of women and men, as well as what consequences this distribution has for them.

The specificity of gender studies is determined by the object, subject, goals and objectives of the study, as well as the methodology and methodology for studying gender manifestations.

Let's consider the object, subject, goals and objectives of gender studies.

The object of gender research is phenomena, phenomena, processes of social reality, which are considered in historical retrospective, in the present time and the predicted future.

Depending on the subject, goals and objectives of the study, several blocks can be distinguished, which reveal the specifics of gender studies.

The second block focuses on gender expertise. Of particular interest is, for example, the gender expertise of textbooks for higher education institutions, the results of which have been published in scientific periodicals and in the form of the collection “Gender expertise of textbooks for higher education”.

Within the framework of this course work, the specifics of gender studies in social psychology are considered, i.e. psychological aspects of gender relations. Then the subject of gender studies in social psychology are gender relations, differences and similarities between the sexes.

This is explained as follows:

Thus, the subject field of social psychology turns out to be the basis on which gender issues can develop more intensively in comparison with other psychological branches of knowledge. Social psychology is that convenient “door” through which gender topics can quite easily enter the system of psychological science.

The central category of gender studies is the multidimensional, developing concept of “gender”, which is interpreted differently by numerous researchers. This term belongs to the English language and Western civilization, in Russian it is skalked from English and does not have an adequate translation. It can be said that "gender" is an integral part of the modern process of globalization, understood as the involvement of the whole world in single universal processes. It was Western civilization that historically and theoretically approached a stage in its development when the need for gender change and gender analysis became a necessity.

In particular, S. Kessler and W. McKenna, believing that gender is only one of the varieties of gender as a system of social relations, suggest leaving behind the concept of "sex" only the sphere of meanings directly related to reproductive activity.

In contrast to the opinion of the above-mentioned researchers, who seek to introduce an element of sociality into the category of biological sex, Joan Scott proposes to solve the problem of the relationship between the terms "sex" and "gender", denying the exclusive sociality of gender and including natural, biological specificity in it.

Some researchers believe that there is not only biological sex, but also other levels of sex:

cerebral (defines "male" or "female" thinking styles);

morphological sex (male or female genital organs);

psychological gender (“male” or “female” psychological characteristics).

However, it is still not worth opposing gender levels to each other: they are closely interconnected.

There are a number of general points characteristic of the disclosure of the concept of "gender".

The considered object, subject, goals and objectives of gender studies allow us to state that there are specific features of gender studies in social psychology:

Gender studies are a new field of knowledge and education. Gender studies are the study of socio-cultural differentiation and gender stratification as reproduced in society.

Currently, gender studies are presented in two aspects: the first aspect involves the implementation of the gender approach as a scientific theory and research practice, the second - as an educational practice, including the development and teaching of gender-oriented academic disciplines.

In gender studies, practically all issues of interaction between men and women are studied both at the level of society, as well as in the family and in personal life. A key issue in gender studies is the distinction between the concepts of "sex" and "gender".

The term "gender" cannot be equated with the concept of "gender". Gender refers to biological characteristics, according to which people are divided into categories "men" and "women", and gender corresponds to social and socio-psychological attributes that divide people into these categories ("men" and "women").

Gender issues in psychology in our country is becoming increasingly popular. Interest in gender issues stimulates scientific research both at the level of theory and practice. If a few years ago, domestic psychologists got acquainted with gender issues only through the publications of foreign authors, then in recent years, domestic researchers have also begun to study gender problems in psychology.

In the works of domestic psychologists, as a rule, a small range of issues related to gender problems is considered, namely: the emergence and development of gender studies in psychology, the features of organizing and conducting gender studies, and the content characteristics of gender stereotypes.

There are practically no works presenting systematized and generalizing gender knowledge in any of the areas of psychological science, as well as publications of a generalizing nature.

Let us now consider how gender studies have developed in Russian psychology. This issue began to be developed quite recently, approximately since the mid-1990s. Until that moment, there was a period in Soviet psychology that, according to I. Kohn, can be defined as a period of "asexual sexism." In the educational and scientific psychological literature there were not even such concepts as "sex", "sex differences". Despite the careful avoidance of studying and analyzing the problems of the psychology of sex and intersexual relations, sometimes psychological works did appear in which these problems were touched upon, most often in the context of the analysis of sex differences. These are the works of B. Ananiev, Kohn, T. Repina, V. Abramenkova, V. Kagan, I. Lunin.

In general, there are 4 stages in the development of gender issues in psychology.

At the first stage (60s of the 20th century), gender was substantiated as a sociocultural phenomenon, considered as the principle of social stratification, on the basis of which the dominance of the “male” in society and the suppression of the “female” are constituted.

At the next stage (70s of the 20th century), gender studies were focused on the study of female psychology, its specifics, the establishment of balance, the equivalence of gender systems, their rights, their rights to differ from each other.

In the 1990s, as an alternative to the feminist bias in gender studies, works focused on the study of the psychology of men appeared. The problematics that had developed within the framework of feminist theories was overturned onto a new subject field - male psychology. The focus of attention was the social construction of masculinity, the diversity of its types, specific invariants of the gender identity of men in modern society. Artificial, rigid, often exorbitant for ordinary men traditional models of masculinity, which often act as a cause of neuroticization of boys, difficulties in their gender socialization, are subjected to critical analysis and deconstruction.

During this period, the number of psychological works devoted to gender topics increased significantly. The theoretical foundations for these works were mainly: the psychology of sex, as a section of differential psychology and the issues of gender and relationships between men and women, considered in the classical psychological concepts of Freud, Jung, Adler, Horney.

At the current stage of development of gender studies, the emphasis is on the mechanisms of formation of gender identity, its culturally determined invariants, the impact of changes occurring in modern society on the gender socialization of the individual, analysis of violations in gender identification, consideration of the interaction of organismic, social and psychological factors in the course of its formation.

Particular attention is paid to the study of the psychological sex and its variants, the study of the semantic mechanisms for the realization of the gender identity of the individual, the analysis of the regulatory and sense-forming role of the individual in the process of the formation of gender identity. Gender identity is considered as a complex systemic construct and element of personality, interconnected with all personally accepted images of the “I”.

The thesarium of gender studies is still being refined, the range of concepts used in gender studies is expanding: biological sex, gender, gender identity, gender stereotypes, gender roles, gender display, gender policy, gender contract, etc.

The following theoretical directions can be singled out, within the framework of which domestic researchers conduct gender-oriented research:

psychology of sex differences;

female psychology;

social constructivist direction.

The psychology of sex differences is a branch of differential psychology that studies the differences between individuals, due to or mediated by their gender or associated with it. The emphasis in the works of this direction is on identifying differences between people of different sexes in psychological characteristics and behavioral characteristics. At the same time, such issues as: the significance of the psychology of sex differences and their assessment, the causes and stability of psychological differences due to sex, gender differences and sex-role behavior are studied.

On the basis of a huge empirical material, certain differences were recorded in the psychological characteristics of male and female representatives. When evaluating the results obtained, those variants of explanations were criticized, in which the male psychological advantage was asserted. Much attention has been paid to the study of procedural aspects in studies that can predetermine the expected results. The result of the study of gender differences in Western psychology was the realization of the fact that there are psychological differences between people of different sexes, not as a static, but as a procedural phenomenon. Moreover, it is not the very fact of the presence or absence of psychological differences between the sexes that is important, but the analysis of the context of their creation and the consequences of inequality arising from this fact.

Domestic researchers also turned to the study of the entire spectrum of problems generated by gender differences in the psychological sphere.

The works of Russian scientists devoted to the problem of the psychology of gender differences can be divided into two groups: the first includes those that present the results of research by Western psychologists, highlighting differences in one of the areas of personality or in a separate psychological characteristic (T. Vinogradova and V. Semenov 1993 , T. Bendas 2000 and the section on gender differences in Libin's textbook 1999). In these works, the results of foreign studies on sexual differentiation in childhood and adulthood are considered. Particular attention is paid to gender differences in the intellectual sphere and the sphere of behavior.

Domestic authors, as well as their foreign colleagues, believe that, with the exception of parameters determined by the genetic program of the organism's maturation, most of the observed psychological differences between the sexes are determined by the influence of the social context.

The second group includes articles based on the results of their own empirical research on the study of psychological differences between the sexes (Arutyunyan, 1992; Aleshina, Volovich, 1991; Znakov, 1999; Kudinov, 1998; Romanov, 1997; Khasan, Tyumeneva, 1997). The main weakness of these works is the lack of explicit reflection of those theoretical approaches and conceptualizations within which the study was conducted. Most authors proceed from the position that the anatomical and physiological differences between the sexes will naturally determine the differences in the psychological sphere. So, for example, S. Kudinov, referring to the work carried out in the school of B. Ananiev, argues that "... sex as the most important anatomical and physiological factor, of course, affects the manifestation of a person's personality traits."

The authors of the study, devoted to the peculiarities of the appropriation of social norms by children of different sexes, proceed from the signs of the feminine and masculine principles, expressed in the opposition of the concepts of "male" and "female". Therefore, they either do not explain in any way the revealed differences in the psychological characteristics of representatives of different sexes, or explain them by the influence of traditional gender-role representations.

It can be noted that authors familiar with Western gender-oriented psychological literature adhere to the sociocultural paradigm of gender differences (Arutyunyan, Aleshina and Volovich); authors who do not use references to foreign sources tend to the sociobiological paradigm (Znakov, Kudinov, Khasan and Tyumeneva).

The second direction in the development of gender studies in psychology can be defined as women's studies in psychology. In these works, the emphasis is on the study of the psychology of women. Basically, this direction is developed within the framework of practical psychology, in the context of psychological assistance to women suffering from intrapersonal conflicts, psychological and physical violence and influence, and sexual harassment. Proponents of this branch of research come from ideas about the existing global oppression of women; they work mainly in psychological crisis centers to help women. There are very few scientific works prepared within the framework of this area of gender research in psychology. These include the works of L. Popova, O. Mitina and V. Petrenko. The explanation for the weak development of this trend in domestic psychology can be the rejection of feminist ideas in our country.

The third area of gender research in psychology is actually gender research, which is carried out within the framework of the social constructivist direction. The theoretical basis for these studies is a gender approach that focuses on how specific behaviors and roles become gendered, how gender differences appear in work, and how social structures reflect gender values and advantages.

The gender approach in psychology is focused on the analysis of the consequences of gender differentiation and hierarchy (male dominance and female subordination), the possibilities of personal self-realization in the family and professional spheres.

The most common within the framework of the gender approach is the social constructivist paradigm, which sets the framework for studying the mechanisms of formation and reproduction of masculinity and femininity, gender culture, “creating gender” in everyday life, in public and private spheres, as well as ways to form knowledge about them. At the same time, this approach leaves room for the conceptualization of social changes in gender relations, which are the result of the problematization of specific experience.

Despite the problems associated with the fact that gender studies - interdisciplinary in nature - are difficult to fit into the framework of university curricula built on a disciplinary basis, the development of gender education is gaining momentum. Already now, many Russian universities offer specialized training courses on gender or this topic is included in the general curricula in sociology, anthropology, philosophy, linguistics, history, psychology, etc. As an illustration, here are some of the original training courses: “Gender theories in modern world: an interdisciplinary approach” (O. Voronina, Lomonosov Moscow State University-Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences); “Gender Practices and Gender Stereotypes” (T. Barchunova, Novosibirsk State University); "The nature of a woman as a philosophical problem" (G. Brandt, Ural State Technical University); "Psychology of Gender Relations" (I. Kletsina, Russian State Pedagogical University named after A. I. Herzen); "Woman and the Media" (N. Azhgikhina, Lomonosov Moscow State University); “Russian Philosophy of Femininity of the 11th-20th Centuries” (O. Ryabov, Ivanovo State University); "Gender Aspects of Economic Behavior" (E. Mezentseva, Higher School of Economics); "Elements of Gender Analysis in Literature and Linguistics" (T. Grechushnikova, Tver State University); "Russian Gender Relations and Qualitative Methods in Gender Studies" (E. Zdravomyslova and A. Temkina, European University at St. Petersburg), etc.

The first information about the development of gender studies penetrated into Russia at the end of the 80s. Very slowly, but persistently, gender studies are also being established in Russian science. At the same time, gender education of society begins.

2. All research work on the psychology of sex, carried out in the early and middle of the 20th century, can be considered as scientific prerequisites for the development of gender research in domestic psychology, creating the basis for the formation of gender psychology.

3. Women's and gender studies are educational and research areas in which, as a rule, attention is focused on the limitations of the methodology, methods and results of traditional human science, gender relations in various areas of social life are analyzed, the idea of biodeterminism in explaining the differences between people of different sexes in connection with the peculiarities of their behavior in society.

Chapter II. Gender studies in social psychology: an urgent problem of our time

1 Problems of gender socialization in modern socio-psychological research

The actualization of interest in the problem of gender socialization, both in psychology and in related disciplines, is primarily due to the fact that social and economic changes taking place in society affect the position of women and men both in the labor market and in the family sphere. The significance of this issue is also connected with gender studies carried out in the humanities and of an interdisciplinary nature. The specific interest of psychologists in this problem was influenced by the need to solve many psychological problems associated with the characteristics of gender, the position of men and women in the social world, in the system of relations "power-subordination", their interaction in various social groups.

The social psychology of gender is faced with the task of explaining exactly how, at the psychological level, the gender structure of society and culture is reflected in the mind and reproduced in the practices of interaction between men and women. Cognition of the social world, including from the point of view of gender, is carried out in the process of human socialization. Therefore, in answering the question of how gender is constructed, we must consider the process of gender socialization. The result of gender socialization is the creation by a person of the image of the social world, part of which is social identity - a person's idea of himself - as an element of this world.

In the textbook "Gender Socialization" Kletsina I.S. gives a classification of types of gender socialization in accordance with the stages life cycle a person: childhood, adolescence and adolescence, maturity and old age, i.e. gender problems of socialization are analyzed at three levels.

At the macro-social level we are talking on the differentiation of social functions by gender and on the corresponding cultural norms. The description of gender problems at this level involves the disclosure of the specifics of the social status of men and women: typical activities, social statuses, mass representations, etc.

At the level of interpersonal relations, gender problems are generated not only by general social norms and practices, but also by a specific system of joint activities and social attitudes typical of a certain small group.

At the intra-individual level, the internalized gender role is derived from the characteristics of a particular personality; the individual builds his gender-role behavior on the basis of conscious or unconscious attitudes, stereotypes, and life experience.

Consequently, gender socialization (sex-role socialization) is the process of assimilation by an individual of the cultural system of the gender of the society in which he lives, a kind of social construction of differences between the sexes. Social psychologists also use the term differentiated socialization, thereby emphasizing that in the general process of socialization, men and women are formed in different socio-psychological conditions. Gender socialization includes two interrelated aspects:

a) mastering the accepted models of male and female behavior, attitudes, norms, values and gender stereotypes;

b) the impact of society, the social environment on the individual in order to instill in him certain rules and standards of behavior that are socially acceptable for men and women. First of all, collective, universally valid norms are assimilated, they become part of the personality and subconsciously guide its behavior.

The main socializing factors (agents) are social groups and contexts: family, peers, educational institution, mass media, work, interest clubs, church.

Society, as a rule, in the formation of a sexual role and sexual self-awareness, clearly focusing in education on the standards of “femininity-masculinity”, is tolerant of the masculine behavior of a girl, but condemns the feminine behavior of a boy. The origins of gender conflict lie in childhood. Thus, female athletes involved in courageous sports are 7 times more likely to have a masculine orientation in children's games than non-athletes, and 15 times more likely to be leaders in the company of boys.

Yu.E. Aleshina and A.S. Volovich in the article “Problems of mastering the roles of a man and a woman” (Journal Questions of Psychology, 1991, No. 4) notes that boys, compared with girls, experience stronger pressure from society in the direction of the formation of gender-specific behavior, and the male stereotypes themselves are much narrower and categorical. Girls are more lucky. The absence of a rigid stereotype of a “real woman” in culture, a variety of ideas about truly feminine qualities allow a girl to correspond to a gender stereotype, remaining herself.

The modern social situation is such that there are a lot of women and women around children. Considering in detail the specifics of the socialization situation for each gender, Yu. E. Aleshina and A. S. Volovich note that in our country the child has relatively few opportunities for proper masculine manifestations, since adults (primarily women) treat them rather ambivalently (Ambivalence (from Latin ambo - both and valentia - strength), the duality of sensory experience, expressed in the fact that the same object evokes two opposite feelings in a person at the same time, for example, pleasure and displeasure, male ways of responding to offense or not offered by parents, or discounted by them.

Evidence of the prevalence of such an attitude is psychotherapeutic practice, in which hyperactivity and aggressiveness, regardless of the sex of the child, are much more common reasons for parents to seek help than lethargy and lethargy. Therefore, stimulation from adults is also predominantly negative: not the encouragement of "male" manifestations, but the punishment for "non-male" ones. As an example, we can cite a typical parental statement “it’s shameful to cry, you’re a boy”, and male ways of responding to insult are either not offered or depreciated (“you can’t fight”). Thus, the child is required to do something that is not clear enough for him, and based on reasons that he does not understand, with the help of threats and the anger of those who are close to him. This state of affairs leads to an increase in anxiety, which often manifests itself in an excessive effort to be masculine and a panic fear of doing something feminine. As a result, male identity is formed primarily as a result of identifying oneself with a certain status position, or a social myth “what a man should be like”. Not surprisingly, the identity created on this basis is diffuse, easily vulnerable and at the same time very rigid.

A particularly sad phenomenon in terms of the formation of models of masculinity is the school. Thus, a study conducted by A.S. Volovich, showed that among those senior students who best meet school requirements, the vast majority (85%) are girls. Yes, and the young men who fell into this category differed from others rather in traditionally feminine qualities (exemplary behavior, perseverance, diligence, etc.), while the qualities that characterize intelligence or social activity were practically not represented. The one-sidedness of the influence of the school, which encourages, first of all, feminine qualities, is also noted by Yu.E. Aleshina, A. S. Volovich.

Thus, in terms of the formation of gender identity, the boy will have to solve a more difficult task: to change the initial female identification to a male one along the lines of significant adult men and cultural standards of masculinity. However, the solution of this problem is complicated by the fact that almost everyone with whom the child comes into close contact, especially in modern Russian society (educators kindergarten, doctors, teachers), - women. Not surprisingly, boys end up being much less aware of male gender role behavior than female gender.

After analyzing the features of the assimilation of the female sex role, Yu. E. Aleshina and A. S. Volovich come to the conclusion that the achievement of gender identity is easier for a girl than for a boy, the formation of gender role preferences (a higher appreciation of everything feminine) turns out to be significantly difficult. However, a positive solution to this problem can be found based on previous experience in which she has already succeeded (if she succeeded, the nature of her relationship with her father in childhood plays a huge role here) to achieve recognition by showing her own activity. At the same time, it is of great importance that the girl has many opportunities for the manifestation of female types of activity and a sufficient number of patterns that she can follow. Already in the relationship of a girl with her mother, there are specific problems that have serious consequences for her sex-role socialization.

In their article, Yu. E. Aleshina and A. S. Volovich see the problem of gender socialization in the violation of the sexual stereotype, which is not accidental and has deep roots in the peculiarities of our culture. The proclaimed focus on social equality of men and women leads to the fact that they are being prepared for a very similar life path: regardless of gender, everyone needs to get an education and work, the family for a woman acts only as an “additional” sphere of realization. At the same time, traditional views on gender relations as hierarchical remain very influential in our society, therefore, both the surrounding people and various circumstances (the preferred admission of boys to higher educational institutions, to work, etc.) constantly remind of the advantages of men. This situation stimulates the development of masculine qualities in women: competitiveness, striving for dominance, hyperactivity.

Thus, sex-role socialization in its modern form leads to paradoxical results: boys are, as it were, pushed into passivity or extra-social activity, while girls, on the contrary, are pushed into hyperactivity and dominance. At the same time, they will have to live in a society largely oriented towards traditional gender-role standards.

Another problem of gender socialization is the gender conflict associated with the role behavior of spouses. The generally accepted view of the roles of men and women largely determines their marital relations and marriage, professional activities, social relations, the way they spend their leisure time, the choice of social circle, etc. The discrepancy between expectations and life realities leads to mutual disappointment of men and women, breakup of families, etc.

Scientists note certain difficulties in self-realization observed in both men and women, largely due to the peculiarities of gender socialization. The causes of difficulties can be found in the cognitive, emotional spheres of the personality, in its behavioral manifestations. In particular, ideas, knowledge of the individual about gender roles may be insufficient or may not correspond to the real situation. At the level of interpersonal relationships, gender conflicts are most common in the family and professional spheres.

Stepanova L.G. in the article "Intrapersonal gender conflict in the context of family relations" (Journal "Semya v Rossii" - 2007. - No. 4) identifies the following types of gender intrapersonal conflicts: role conflict of a working woman, conflict of fear of success, existential-gender conflict.

The most striking manifestation of the collision of traditional normative requirements for the role behavior of women and the real situation of their life is the phenomenon that is described in the socio-psychological literature as “the role conflict of a working woman” (O.A. Gavrilitsa, 1998; Yu.E. Aleshina, E. V. Lektorskaya, 1989, V. V. Bodrova, 1997). This intrapersonal conflict arises due to the large number of social roles that a woman performs, and the lack of physical resources for the full performance of these roles. The conflict between roles occurs more often if a woman is equally focused on professional growth and her family. In this case, the prescriptions of various social roles performed by the individual hinder their successful implementation.

Gavrilitsa O.A. in the article “Guilt in a Working Woman” (Journal “Problems of Psychology”, 1998, No. 4) considers the role conflict of a working woman as a complex of subjective negative experiences that a woman has when she negatively assesses how she copes with combining roles in professional and family spheres.

Aleshina Yu.E., Lektorskaya E.V. in the article “Role Conflict of a Working Woman” (Journal “Problems of Psychology”, 1989, No. 5) they note that the most pronounced destructive indicator of role conflict is a feeling of guilt, which is born from a woman’s model of perception of her roles. Often this is associated with the super woman syndrome: having everything in life (marriage, children, career) and performing your duties perfectly.

The feeling of guilt is characterized by high stability and many areas of manifestation, this is the attitude of a woman towards children, her husband, work, and herself. Guilt-driven behavior is compensatory, driven by a deep need to justify that something was wrong and needs to be corrected. In relation to children, compensatory behavior manifests itself, for example, in such forms as buying a large number of toys for a child, fulfilling all the desires of a child. In relations with her husband, the feeling of guilt manifests itself in the fact that the woman herself takes on most of the housework, trying to compensate for the inconsistency with the idealized image of the "mistress of the house." In relation to work, guilt is manifested in the rejection of professional achievements and career, a woman does not take actions that will help her move up the career ladder. The feeling of guilt is also manifested in the woman's attitude towards herself. A working woman feels guilty towards her family when she spends time on herself, and claims that she "doesn't get her hands on herself." She cannot afford to go in for sports, spend time chatting with her friends, going to the beautician, etc. She is convinced that personal matters are matters that should be sacrificed in the first place.

Another example of an intrapersonal conflict generated by the gender stereotype of assigning social roles to a certain gender is an existential crisis situation.

Kletsina I.S. in his monograph “Psychology of gender relations. Theory and Practice" notes that this is a situation that affects the foundations of a person's existence and turns him to the problem of his relationship with the world, the search for and finding the meaning of his being. Thus, men who perceive professional activity and career as the only and most important purpose of their lives find themselves in a situation of existential conflict in the event of a job loss or retirement. The “shock of resignation” associated with the loss of a significant place in society, the rupture of ties with the reference group, the loss of a significant social role in the minds of such men is reflected as “loss of the main meaning of life”, and on emotional level marked by all signs of acute stress disorder. Women, realizing "a truly feminine destiny to be a mother and a homemaker", often experience an existential crisis during the period of psychological separation of grown-up children from the family. If earlier the whole life of women was saturated with emotional and everyday care for children, now, when such a habitual course of life is violated, there is a feeling of emptiness, uselessness, meaninglessness of life. Living the life of children, many women completely forget about their own lives.

Among the problems of gender socialization, one can identify the crisis of gender identity, which is generated by a situation in which groups of men and women, realizing their discrepancy in the main characteristics of the generally accepted and normatively given model of masculinity/femininity, actualize this problem in public discourse as personally and socially significant. G. M. Andreeva emphasizes that "... social identity thus acts as an element in the construction of the surrounding world ... The social world appears in this case not as opposed to the subject, but as built (constructed) by him."

Stepanova L.G. in the article "Intrapersonal Gender Conflict in the Context of Family Relations" (Journal "Semya v Rossii". - 2007. - No. 4) says that the crisis of gender identity is not a problem of an individual, but a state of psychological distress, characteristic of a significant part of men and women as representatives of gender groups.

Consistent gender identity determines the positive self-relationship of the individual as a representative of a certain gender and the subject of gender relations. The pronounced contradictions in the structure of gender identity predetermine the negative attitude of the individual towards himself, which provokes a state of intrapersonal conflict and crisis manifestations.

Overcoming this crisis requires the individual to develop special psychological flexibility and the ability to consciously approach the implementation of the gender role repertoire that is set by the environment. In other words, a person must find those ways and mechanisms that will allow her not only to decide one day for herself the question of gender identity, but to realize gender identity in accordance with her needs, goals, interests and meanings in the everyday and often unpredictable practice of interaction with others and the world.

Thus, the problem of the implementation of the gender identity of the individual in the social world arises. It, in turn, actualizes and defines the research problem, which consists in a new theoretical understanding of the gender identity of the individual, which ensures the transformation of external gender norms, patterns and roles into an individualized experience of the individual and determines the features and directions for the implementation of gender identity in various vital areas, including family.

An analysis of various scientific approaches in studying the problems of gender socialization allows us to conclude that gender socialization is based on two main provisions: firstly, the individual's assimilation of social experience, psychosocial attitudes and value orientations, certain ways of behavior and activities inherent in representatives of one or the other sex; secondly, the formation of sexual self-awareness or gender identity, including the process of knowing one's own or the opposite sex, emotional assessment and self-affirmation of oneself as a representative of a certain sex in communication and activity.

violation of the sex stereotype. Here, some features of gender socialization are highlighted, during which a person gets an idea of his own and others' gender roles. The role of fairly rigid gender-role stereotypes, which contribute to an unambiguous understanding of the possibilities of masculinity and femininity, is especially emphasized (Yu.E. Aleshina and A.S. Volovich “Problems of mastering the roles of men and women”. Journal of Psychology Issues, 1991, No. 4);

gender conflict associated with the role behavior of spouses. Scientists note certain difficulties in self-realization observed in both men and women, largely due to the peculiarities of gender socialization. Among them, Stepanova L.G. in the article "Intrapersonal gender conflict in the context of family relations"; “the role conflict of a working woman” is considered by O.A. Gavrilitsa, 1998; Yu.E. Aleshina, E.V. Lektorskaya, 1989, V.V. Bodrova, 1997);

the crisis of gender identity, where the problem arises of the implementation of the gender identity of the individual in the social world, i.e. in various vital areas, including the family.

There are a huge number of factors that affect the gender role socialization of a person, starting from birth and throughout life. Modern approaches to the problem of socialization and individualization make it possible to link into a single whole a person’s aspirations for socialization, rootedness in a certain group, and individualization, maintaining one’s own style of activity and communication, allowing one to achieve the most complete self-realization of a person. At the same time, the process of a person’s entry into society (and the entry of a child into the world of adults, and migrants into a new social and cultural environment) is considered as a ratio of categorization of different groups that make up the social world, and self-categorization, which implies awareness of one’s “I” and the search for the most adequate for a given person of identity groups.

2 Gender studies in the study of the socio-psychological status of women

In modern society, there is an increased interest in the social psychology of women, due to the dynamics of the transformation of existing gender relations and related economic transformations. Modern social psychology, studying social ideas about women (politics, businessmen, teachers, doctors), analyzing social ideas about the purpose of women and men in society, pays more attention to the very object of ideas - a woman.

Zhalimbetova R.B. in the article "Gender Studies: History and Modernity" (Electronic resource: # "justify"> Women's issues have been actively developed within the framework of the feminist social theory of gender. Gender studies are a radical rethinking of women's lives from the standpoint of their own experience. The main goal of the research is to clarify , critical analysis and change of those practices that lead to discrimination against women - in the family, in professional activity, in sexual or spiritual life. These studies are aimed at transforming unjust laws, norms and even customs. In studying the problems of women in all the variety of styles and conditions of life, not only racial and class differences are brought to the fore, but also differences in sexual orientation.

Thus, the activity of women in many spheres of public life, including those completely closed to them two centuries ago, has become universal. The objective social position of women has changed little: discrimination from open to covert. It is found at the level of gender analysis of areas of employment, distribution, power and social status of the sexes, as can be seen from various reports on gender studies.

It is possible to reveal female specificity (however, as well as male) only by comparing them with representatives of the opposite sex, and not by studying women (or men) in isolation.

L.V. Popova in the article “The Problem of Self-Realization of Gifted Women” (Journal “Problems of Psychology” - 1996. - No. 2) notes that the prerequisites for a different perception of their abilities and achievements by girls and boys are laid in the family under the influence of sex-role stereotypes of parents.

This article is a study of gender-role stereotypes that have developed in society and their influence on the self-realization of gifted women. With a comprehensive consideration of the problem, it becomes obvious that the discrepancy between the school successes of girls and their achievements in adulthood, the presence of the so-called "disappearing giftedness", is explained by the presence of gender stereotypes in the public mind, which clearly do not contribute to the self-realization of women.

Comparison of educational practices in our country and abroad shows that "quiet" discrimination against girls in school classes and university classrooms is a universal phenomenon. Due to the lack of relevant laws, the long-term campaign to discredit feminist movements and the almost complete lack of information in this area, discrimination against women in our country sometimes takes the form of public statements and corresponding actions. Vocational counseling and psychotherapeutic assistance are built without taking into account the specific needs of women when choosing a professional career and when applying for psychotherapeutic assistance.

Studies have shown that parents of gifted girls have more stereotypes that distort the assessment of their daughters' abilities and affect their expectations of success. It is important to note that parents' beliefs about their children's abilities turn out to be more significant for the child's self-perception than their own successes. In the case of gifted girls, especially those with mathematical abilities, the stereotyped beliefs of parents that their daughter's ability level will not allow her to achieve success cause her to abandon appropriate education very early.

Even before the start of training, girls are prepared for “good” behavior, following the rules, suppressing their own initiative (conformity). This process continues at school - numerous foreign studies have shown that school teachers pay more attention to boys in the classroom. Teachers first of all answer their questions, and classmates are not encouraged to ask questions. It is understood that the girl should know, and not explore and doubt the truth or completeness of knowledge. In addition to the fact that teachers more often respond to different types of activity of boys, they also give qualitatively different feedback to boys and girls. Any answer of the girl is accepted (with one mark or another), the boys are required to do more, they insist on finding the right or more rational solution. Their answers are also given a more detailed assessment, on the basis of which you can go further. Thus, boys are more oriented towards achievement, towards overcoming difficulties, towards a higher level of aspirations. The amount and quality of attention paid by teachers to girls makes them feel that they are on the sidelines, that there are more important people in the class.

As a result, some gifted girls build their life plans on the basis of expressed expectations, uncritically assimilated hidden messages of the environment, without taking into account their abilities, interests, desires, personal qualities. The situation is aggravated by the fact that gifted girls are highly sensitive to the expectations of the social environment, have a highly developed ability for social adaptation, and a tendency to self-deprecation. The consequences are often unmet needs, unrealized abilities, choice of profession and lifestyle that do not correspond to reality.

A natural question arises: is it worth studying women's problems? Observations and surveys of modern student youth have shown that the social situation is changing - girls (including highly gifted ones) began to talk more often about giving up their own career in favor of a successful marriage and the opportunity not to work. The reasons for changes in value orientations can be: the difficult experience of mothers associated with a double load, changes in the image of a woman created by modern media, statements by political leaders about the traditional women's mission. Girls have the right to choose a career as a housewife, but this choice should be based on a reflective assessment options life path, on understanding and experiencing its future consequences. Evaluation of the results of a large-scale "experiment" to reorient women to the household is already available in world practice.

Thus, we can say that the problem of self-realization of gifted women is one of the socio-psychological and social problems of modern society. The specificity of the problem of self-realization of gifted women is determined by a rare combination of features of socialization of girls (education of empathy, responsiveness, orientation towards altruism and sacrifice, adaptability) with characteristics inherent in gifted children in general (increased sense of responsibility, justice, perfectionism, idealism), which in itself is exceptional fertile ground for staying in the shade.

In social psychology, there is a growing interest in the theoretical understanding of the problems of self-determination of the individual. The study of self-determination of women with different types of gender identity is shown in the studies of Ivanova N.L., Kulaeva E.V. "Self-determination of women with different types of gender identity" (Journal Questions of Psychology. 2011. No. 1).

Despite the increase in the degree of freedom of women in the social and business world, there are contradictions that manifest themselves in the behavior and activities, women's ideas about themselves, their self-consciousness.

In many organizations, more than half of the employees are now women. Women occupy leadership positions, play an important role in the economic, political and social life of the country, make a significant contribution to the upbringing of children in the family, i.e. a significant number of women are great attention building your life path and professional career as an integral part of it. Ambition, independence, activity, striving for achievements - all these qualities, unacceptable for women in a patriarchal environment, are becoming quite common today in the nature of their behavior.

Therefore, issues related to gender identity, i.e. belonging to the concepts of "femininity - masculinity - androgyny" have recently been among the most discussed in society and science, because The roles of women today are undergoing significant changes. However, scientific research devoted to the study of women's self-determination in adulthood is not enough, because. the studies mainly consider the features of professional

or personal self-determination in adolescence or youth (K.A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, M.R. Ginzburg, E.I. Golovakha, E.A. Klimov, I.S. Kon, A.A. Kronik, N.S. Pryazhnikov, Z.I. Ryabikina, D. Super), and the division of respondents by gender rather than by type of gender identity is more often taken into account (Sh. Bern, T.V. Ignatieva, E.P. Ilyin, I. Kalabikhina, A. I. Penkov, E. F. Rybalko and N. G. Krogius, I. N. Seregina).

In their work, Ivanova N.L., Kulaeva E.V. "Self-determination of women with different types of gender identity" (Journal Questions of Psychology. 2011. No. 1) considers the self-determination of women as their conscious activity in determining their place in life, which manifests itself in self-relationship, motivational-needs sphere and choice of life activity and distinguishes four types of gender women's identities: masculine, feminine, androgynous, undifferentiated. The data obtained, in their opinion, reflect the current situation in society, which is manifested in the fact that many women, due to the modern division of labor, the emergence of new requirements for their level of education, self-expression in professional activities, demonstrate both feminine and masculine signs. Let's consider this in more detail.

The basic characteristics of self-determination are different: for women of the feminine type - "material comfort and security", "independence" and "warm relations with people", for women of the undifferentiated type - "risk behavior", "low significance of society" and "independence", for women masculine type - "low harmony of personality", "material comfort and security" and "self-respect", in women of androgynous type - "self-respect", "material comfort and security" and "harmony of personality".

Age features of self-determination are different for women of each type of gender identity. With age, a feminine woman strives less for communication, but more for self-realization. For a masculine woman, social status and group affiliation come to the fore with age, but the importance of her psychophysical data (appearance, etc.) and self-care decreases. With age, for androgynous women, concern for the safety and autonomy of their future life comes to the fore. The older a woman of an undifferentiated type of gender identity becomes, the more she strives for self-respect.

The revealed differences in the family behavior of women with different types of gender identity show that women of androgynous and feminine types of identity most often marry, less often - undifferentiated and masculine women, but more often women and masculine women have children (although they are currently and are not married), children are absent more often in undifferentiated women and in androgynous women (although they are currently married).

The revealed differences among women in the structuring of working time show that part-time employment is mainly characteristic of the undifferentiated type of women, feminine and androgynous women are more often employed full-time, and masculine women often have irregular working hours.

Thus, the study conducted by Ivanova N.L., Kulaeva E.V. showed that all types have an impact on the life of women and are due to the peculiarities of their self-determination.

There are many restrictions imposed by the female or male role. Women's problems include: low wages, low status and little power opportunities, as well as being overburdened with household chores. Men can include: deprivation of meaningful relationships, insufficient social support, physical problems caused by overwork at work and risky behavior. These restrictions indicate that the roles must change. In my opinion, one should not strive for absolute gender equality. In certain situations, it is still worth leaving the privilege for men to be strong and courageous, and for women to be gentle, weak, feminine. It is simply necessary to reduce the negative consequences that our gender role, and this is possible only with some degree of inclination towards gender equality.

The purpose of studying gender studies was and remains an in-depth understanding of the social role of women in history and the modern world, an assessment of their contribution to the achievements of mankind. In the course of intensive systematic studies of the socio-psychological status of women, problems that are significant both for women themselves and for the development of new ways of analyzing the relationship between women and men began to be studied. As a result of these changes, psychology has been enriched with a new vision of the characteristics of the development of girls and boys, women and men, has expanded the range of its methods, has developed new approaches to psychotherapy and counseling.

I believe that in modern society it is necessary to be more actively involved in gender studies, for which it is necessary to develop the concept of gender education, which will determine the exact place of gender studies in the knowledge system, while taking into account their true theoretical and practical significance for Russian society.

Conclusion

Until recently, social psychology studied predominantly stable, constant phenomena; at the moment, the discipline is at a new stage of development: the field of science is expanding, and there is a special interest in the problem of studying socio-psychological phenomena in the context of social change. Social psychology is the most prepared area of scientific knowledge, on the basis of which the psychological component of gender issues can develop most intensively and productively. At the same time, social psychology, exploring gender relations, also implements its own promising development trends as a scientific discipline associated with a comprehensive study of all the main elements of socio-psychological reality: the inner world of the individual, interpersonal interaction in a particular situation and the social structure of society.

The study of the most important aspects of gender in social psychology conducted in the work allows us to draw the following conclusions:

Despite the ongoing discussions, the question “what should be considered a “real” gender study” remains relevant.

The goals of gender research in social psychology can be considered: 1) the study of the patterns of behavior and activities of people, due to their belonging to various social groups formed according to the criteria of gender and sexuality; 2) analysis of the psychological characteristics (“personality”) of the representatives of these groups in connection with their social status both within the gender group and within the broader social structure.

Within the framework of socio-psychological research, it is important not only to note the differences in the personal characteristics of representatives of different gender communities or dwell on the analysis of the mechanisms for the formation of specific personality traits. It is necessary to establish why the representatives of this or that gender group have formed precisely such and not other specific features, to what extent they depend on the characteristics of the group to which these people belong, and the conditions in which their group of affiliation is located.

A key issue in gender studies is the distinction between the concepts of "sex" and "gender", regarding which there are many disagreements. Gender refers to biological characteristics, according to which people are divided into categories "men" and "women", and gender corresponds to social and socio-psychological attributes that divide people into these categories ("men" and "women").

4. In the development of gender issues in social psychology, many researchers distinguish 4 stages. All research work on the psychology of sex, carried out in the early and middle of the 20th century, can be considered as scientific prerequisites for the development of gender research in domestic psychology, creating the basis for the formation of gender psychology.

5. An analysis of various scientific approaches in the study of the problems of gender socialization allows us to conclude that gender socialization is based on two main provisions: firstly, the assimilation of social experience by an individual, psychosocial attitudes and value orientations, certain ways of behavior and activities inherent in representatives of one or another gender; secondly, the formation of sexual self-awareness or gender identity, including the process of knowing one's own or the opposite sex, emotional assessment and self-affirmation of oneself as a representative of a certain sex in communication and activity.

In science, there are two points of view on the duration of socialization: some believe that an individual learns all the norms necessary for existence in society in childhood, others are convinced that this process lasts a lifetime. From my point of view, the individual receives most of the information in childhood, however, acquiring additional social statuses, he correlates new requirements with the ideas he already has, which leads either to their greater consolidation or to their correction.

According to the results of the analysis of scientific articles from psychological journals, manuals and monographs, among the numerous problems of gender socialization, the following are highlighted:

violation of the sex stereotype. (Yu.E. Aleshina and A.S. Volovich “Problems of mastering the roles of men and women”. Journal of Psychology Issues, 1991, No. 4);

gender conflict associated with the role behavior of spouses. (Stepanova L.G. “Intrapersonal gender conflict in the context of family relations” Journal “Family in Russia”. - 2007. - No. 4; “the role conflict of a working woman” was considered by O.A. Gavrilitsa, 1998; Yu.E. Aleshina, E. V. Lektorskaya, 1989, V. V. Bodrova, 1997);

the crisis of gender identity, where the problem arises of the implementation of the gender identity of the individual in the social world, i.e. in various vital areas, including the family (Andreeva G.M. In search of a new paradigm: traditions and starts of the XXI century // Social psychology in modern society: Textbook for universities; Kletsina I.S. Psychology of gender relations, theory and practice, etc.).

Thus, modern approaches to the problem of socialization and individualization make it possible to link into a single whole a person's aspirations for socialization, rootedness in a certain group, and individualization, maintaining one's own style of activity and communication, allowing one to achieve the most complete self-realization of a person.

One of the directions of development of gender studies in psychology can be defined as women's studies in psychology. In these works, the emphasis is on the study of the psychology of women, the clarification, critical analysis and change of those practices that lead to discrimination against women - in the family, in professional activities, in sexual or spiritual life.

Basically, this direction is developed within the framework of practical psychology, in the context of psychological assistance to women suffering from intrapersonal conflicts, psychological and physical violence and influence, and sexual harassment. Proponents of this branch of research come from ideas about the existing global oppression of women; they work mainly in psychological crisis centers to help women. There are very few scientific works prepared within the framework of this area of gender research in psychology. These include the works of L. V. Popova “The problem of self-realization of gifted women (Questions of Psychology, 1996, No. 2), O.V. Mitina and V.F. Petrenko "Cross-cultural study of stereotypes of female behavior in Russia and the USA" (Questions of Psychology, 2000, No. 1). The explanation for the weak development of this trend in domestic psychology can be the rejection of feminist ideas in our country.

Thus, the intensive development and results of gender studies in foreign and domestic science have made it possible to answer many questions related to how a particular society determines, forms, consolidates in the public consciousness and in the consciousness of the individual the social roles of women and men and what consequences it has. this distribution. A significant contribution to the development of gender studies was made by gender psychology as a new branch of psychological knowledge. Gender psychology is currently developing as a scientific direction within the framework of social psychology. The agents and institutions of gender socialization, gender technologies and gender relations at the individual, interpersonal and social levels are studied and described, various aspects of gender inequality are considered. That is, to a greater extent, gender psychology focuses its attention on the problem of the influence of society on the individual, on the study of the causes and technologies of gender socialization.

Bibliography

1.Abibunova N.I. What is gender? // Social sciences and modernity. - 1996. No. 6. - S. 123-125

.Ageev V.S. Influence of cultural factors on the perception and evaluation of a person by a person.//Questions of psychology. - 1985. No. 3. - S. 135-140

.Aleshina Yu.E., Lektorskaya E.V. Role conflict of a working woman // Questions of psychology. - 1989. - No. 5.

.Andreeva G. M. In search of a new paradigm: traditions and starts of the XXI century // Social psychology in modern society: Uch. allowance for universities / Ed. G. M. Andreeva, A. I. Dontsova. M., 2002. - S. 9-26.

.Blokhina N.A. The concept of gender: formation, basic concepts and ideas // #"justify">. Introduction to Gender Studies. Part 1. Textbook // ed. I. Zherebkina - Kharkiv: KhTsGI; St. Petersburg: Aleteyya, 2001. - 708 p.

.Introduction to Gender Studies. Part 2. Reader // ed. S. Zherebkina - Kharkiv: KhTsGI; St. Petersburg: Aleteyya, 2001. - 991 p.

.Introduction to Gender Studies. Part 3. Programs of training courses of North American and Western European universities // ed. S. Zherebkina - Kharkiv: KhTsGI; 2001. - 412 p.

.Volovich A.S. Features of the process of socialization of high school graduates. Diss. cand. psychology M., 1990. - S. 127-130.

.Voronina O.A. The philosophy of sex. - M.: Russian Word, 1998. - 407 p.

.Vorontsov DV What is gender // Gender psychology / ed. I. S. Kletsina. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2009. - S. 9-20.

.Gavrilitsa O.A. Feeling of guilt in a working woman // Questions of psychology. - 1998. - No. 4.

.Gender expertise of textbooks for higher education / Ed. O.A. Voronina. - M.: ROO MTsGI - Solteks LLC, 2005. - S. 19.

.Zhalimbetova R. B. Gender studies: history and modernity // #"justify">. Ivanova N.L., Kulaeva E.V. Self-determination of women with different types of gender identity // Questions of psychology. - 2011. No. 1. - S. 106 - 116.

.Ilyin E.P. Differential psychophysiology of man and woman. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2006. - 544 p.

.Ilinykh S.A. Specifics of Gender Studies: Important Details: Monograph / S.A. Ilyinykh. Novosibirsk State University of Economics and Management (NINH). - Novosibirsk: NSUEU, 2009. - 234 p.

.Kletsina I.S. Gender studies in domestic psychology: history of development and theoretical approaches // Woman. Education. Democracy. Materials of the 3rd International Interdisciplinary Scientific and Practical Conference (December 8-9, 2000). Minsk, 2001. - S. 168-177.

.Kletsina I. S. Development of gender studies in psychology // Social sciences and modernity. 2002. No. 3. - S. 27.

.Kletsina I.S. From the psychology of sex - to gender studies // Questions of psychology. - 2003. - No. 1.

.Kletsina I.S. Psychology of gender relations. Theory and practice. St. Petersburg: Aleteyya, 2004. - 408 p.

.Malysheva N. G. Gender stereotypes in youth media: Dis.... cand. psychol. Sciences. - M.: 2008. - 178 p.

.O.V. Mitina, V.F. Petrenko. Cross-cultural study of stereotypes of female behavior (in Russia and the USA) // Questions of Psychology. - 2000. - No. 1.

.Orekhova A.V. On the issue of post-professional adaptation of female athletes after the end of a sports career in the USSR and the Russian Federation // #"justify">. Pushkareva N.L. Why is he needed, this "gender"? // Social history 1998/1999. M., 1999. - S. 155.

.Social Psychology: Reader / Comp. E.P. Belinskaya, O.A. Tikhomandritskaya. - M.: Aspect Press, 2008. - S. 6-11; 23-31.

.Stepanova L.G. Intrapersonal gender conflict in the context of family relations // Family in Russia. - 2007. - No. 4.

.Trofimova E.I. On the issue of gender terminology. // #"justify">. Khasan B.I., Tyumeneva YL. Features of the appropriation of social norms by children of different sexes // Questions of psychology. - 1997. - No. 3.

.Yu.E. Aleshina and A.S. Volovich Problems of assimilation of the roles of men and women // Questions of Psychology - 1991. - No. 4. - P. 74-82.