Most women experience unpleasant sensations during menstruation, such as nausea and indigestion. In medicine, this phenomenon is called dysmenorrhea or algomenorrhea. According to statistics, such problems are typical mainly for adolescents and nulliparous women.
Causes of dysmenorrhea
Pain in the lower abdomen can have both natural and pathological causes. In most cases, discomfort is caused by increased level prostaglandin. This hormone is produced by the tissues of the uterus and causes it to contract.
Primary dysmenorrhea occurs in adolescence during the period of hormonal changes in the body and can last up to 35 years. Along with intense pain in the lower abdomen, it is characterized by the following symptoms:
- nagging pain in the lumbar region;
- nausea, vomiting;
- headache;
- indigestion (diarrhea, less commonly constipation);
- dizziness, fainting.
In addition, during menstruation there is increased irritability, nervousness. You can relieve cramps and reduce the severity of symptoms during menstruation with the help of medications and traditional medicine methods.
With age, the intensity of painful sensations during menstruation decreases significantly and in most cases completely disappears after the first birth. If this does not happen, you should consult a doctor. Perhaps pain during menstruation is associated with pathological processes in the body (fibroids, endometriosis, pelvic neuritis, fibromatous nodes, polyps).
Often the cause of discomfort is the intrauterine device. In this case, in addition to pain, there is significant blood loss during menstruation (bleeding). In women who have undergone abdominal surgery, discomfort may be due to the presence of adhesions.
Sometimes menstrual pain is a consequence of improper positioning of the uterus, deficiency of potassium and magnesium in the body, and disorders of the thyroid gland.
Women with a low sensitivity threshold and unstable nervous system. They experience sexual dissatisfaction and decreased libido.
Install exact reason painful periods are possible after a comprehensive examination, which should be prescribed by a gynecologist. There is no point in putting off going to the doctor and trying to relieve the pain on your own without knowing what exactly is causing it.
It is important to remember that primary dysmenorrhea is often a contraindication to abortion. The likelihood of infertility and increased symptoms after the first abortion in the case of painful periods is much higher.
How to relieve pain during menstruation
If pain during menstruation has natural causes, you can try to reduce its intensity without resorting to taking pills. ethnoscience recommends that women experiencing discomfort during menstruation take decoctions and infusions of the following plants:
- raspberry leaves;
- white acacia flowers;
- Melissa;
- nettle;
- cherry leaves.
Decoctions should be prepared immediately before use and taken hot. If desired, you can add a little honey to the drink. To prepare one serving of medicinal drink, it is enough to take 1 tbsp. l. dry raw materials of any of the listed plants or a similar amount of their mixture and pour a glass of boiling water.
- An infusion of elecampane root (1 teaspoon per glass of boiling water) is taken 3 times a day, a tablespoon.
- Horsetail (1 tablespoon per glass of boiling water) is infused and drunk a few sips every hour. When the pain begins to decrease, the intervals between doses of the infusion are increased.
- It is recommended to drink hogweed herb for painful periods in the amount of 200-300 ml per day from the first to the last day of menstruation. At the pharmacy you can buy bags filled with dry raw materials. medicinal plant. The herb is brewed in the morning and drunk several sips throughout the day at intervals of 2-3 hours.
Warm
The most effective method that quickly 
will relieve discomfort, is warmth. A heating pad placed in the lower abdomen or lumbar region can relieve pain just as well as medications.
A warm bath or shower will also do the job easily. The main thing is not to expose the body to heat for more than 10-15 minutes and monitor the water temperature. It should not be too hot, as this may increase bleeding.
Massage
Massage will help to slightly reduce pain during menstruation. To perform it, you need to take a horizontal position and relax as much as possible. You can put a Kuznetsov applicator under your lower back, and a blanket or pillow under your feet.
Massage the lower abdomen with stroking movements directed clockwise. The pressure is alternately increased and decreased. After performing the massage, you should take cover warm blanket and take the fetal position or just lie on your back in a relaxed state.
Breath
Some women find belly breathing to relieve or reduce pain during menstruation. It works as follows.
- Slowly take a deep breath. In this case, you should stick out your stomach as much as possible.
- Then the breath is held for several seconds.
- Slow exhalation is accompanied by retraction of the abdomen.
Breathe In a similar way required within 5 minutes. It is more convenient to do this lying down, placing a book on your stomach. After a few minutes, the exercise can be repeated.
Intensive physical exercise during menstruation are contraindicated. Walking can improve your well-being and calm your nerves. fresh air. Moderate physical activity promotes the production of endorphins, which have an analgesic effect.
Diet for painful menstruation
Painful sensations during menstruation can be triggered by a deficiency of substances (potassium, magnesium), which the body does not receive as a result of poor nutrition. It is possible to reduce pain during this period with the help of a special diet.
A week before the onset of menstruation, it is recommended to reduce the amount of dairy, meat and flour products in the diet. 
It is worth giving up spicy, fatty, sweet foods, spices and coffee. On the eve of your period, it is advisable to take a fasting day.
During the critical period, you need to drink more fluid. It is better if it is natural juices and warm tea from recommended medicinal plants.
The basis of the diet should be fresh vegetables and fruits. They contain a large number of antioxidants that the body needs during inflammatory processes.
Seafood, dried fruits, legumes and grains are rich in magnesium. It helps relax smooth muscles, normalize muscle tone and relieve pain. It is advisable to include nuts, seeds, and pumpkin in your diet.
To reduce pain, you should temporarily give up cigarettes and alcoholic beverages. Nicotine constricts blood vessels and provokes spasms. Alcohol promotes fluid retention and causes bloating. To avoid inflammatory processes, it is necessary to protect yourself from hypothermia and infection.
Healthy eating, physical activity, regular sex, adequate sleep and lack of stressful situations can significantly reduce the risk of dysmenorrhea. Persistent or increasing pain in the lower abdomen during menstruation is a reason to contact a gynecologist and undergo a comprehensive examination.
Today, many women face literally unbearable pain during their periods. Some people prefer to take special medications in this case, while others, on the contrary, turn to help alternative medicine. In this article we will talk about the main ways to reduce pain during menstruation.
Warm
On currently According to experts, heat is the most effective method how to deal with unpleasant sensations during menstruation. So, a warm shower is considered an excellent option, but it does not help everyone. This is where special ones come to the rescue. But not every woman has the opportunity to stay at home and lie in bed with a heating pad during her period. In this case, the alternative is the so-called disposable heating pads. You can attach them under your clothes and safely go about your business.
Tablets for period pain
Medicines are also among the most effective methods. Modern medicine offers a wide range of tablets that can be purchased at almost every pharmacy (Tempalgin, Ibuprofen, Advil, etc.). Please note that you should take medications only according to the instructions provided. If the pain is very severe, you are allowed to take the maximum allowable dose of the drug.
Pain in the lower abdomen after and before menstruation? The fetal position will help!
On the one hand, this may sound ridiculous, but many admit that this pose really helps. Have you ever noticed how little children lie when they suffer from pain? They turn over on their side and pull their legs to their chest. It is in this position that our body is able to relax the muscles as much as possible, thereby reducing the feeling of discomfort. For some ladies, this option does not always help. However, coupled with medicines is an excellent remedy how to reduce period pain.
Physical exercise
In fact, many people are surprised that sport helps get rid of unpleasant discomfort. However, it is physical activity that promotes the production of endorphins, which act as analgesic substances. This doesn't mean you need to run to the gym. It is enough to slightly increase physical activity a few days before the onset of menstruation, for example, spend more time walking. In this case, you will no longer worry about the question of how to reduce pain during menstruation. In addition, yoga classes are considered an excellent option. You only need to attend training twice a week, and the results will be noticeable in a few weeks. Note that it is recommended to first consult with specialists in order not to cause significant harm to the body, since for some, sports during menstruation are simply contraindicated.
Aromatherapy
Surely many are no longer surprised that aromatherapy allows you to relax, reduce painful sensations. If you conduct several sessions during menstruation, it will definitely not get worse. Fill the bath before the procedure warm water, light candles around the entire perimeter and add a small amount of aromatic oil. Inhalation of vapors and direct contact with water give an amazing effect.
Massage
A massage session is another way to reduce pain during menstruation. Note that it is not at all necessary to go to a spa for these purposes; you can do it yourself. Circular movements and gentle stroking in the lower abdomen can reduce pressure in the groin area and thereby relax the muscles. But this is exactly the effect we wanted!
Personal development presupposes her socialization, her mastery of a number of social roles that she may need in the present and future in order to become a member of society. In order to successfully self-actualize, a child needs to master roles that will be useful for him. professional self-determination- an attentive student, a careful performer and confident leader, a thoughtful researcher or a creator open to everything new. But no less important is personal self-determination, which, among other things, will require mastering gender roles.
A person’s gender is not only a set of specific chromosomes, but also a set of social roles prescribed by society for men and women, and life satisfaction is largely related to whether an individual’s sense of self coincides with the requirements put forward to her and her behavior by society.
When specialists start talking to parents about the formation gender behavior their children, parents often begin to worry because in their minds the concept of gender is confused with the concept of sexuality and sexual orientation, and in such serious issues, most adults would like their child not to give them surprises. In the same time modern researchers tend to believe that a person’s perception of himself as a representative of a certain gender (gender identity) and his views on what gender of partners will suit him (sexual orientation), family education rarely affects. But on the formation of behavior and lifestyle, worldview and attitudes that allow a person to express himself in Everyday life whether a being is masculine (masculine) or feminine (feminine), family and immediate environment influence quite directly.
Parents give their children the first lessons of masculinity or femininity even before the child is able to recognize himself not only as a person of a certain gender, but as a person in general. Cloth certain colors, assigned in our culture to boys and girls, toys based on gender, the design of a child's room - all of this is aimed at raising an individual in accordance with her or his biological gender. TO early childhood your child has already gotten used to the fact that you constantly direct his or her behavior in line with your expectations: “Don’t cry, you’re a boy!”, “Don’t fight, you’re a girl!” By the end of the period of preschool childhood, a person, as a rule, already has not fully conscious, but well-established ideas about his preferred way of life, about the ratio of sociability and isolation that is comfortable for himself, and leadership qualities or gentleness of character are manifested. A six-year-old girl acting like a tomboy forces her parents to accept her as she is, whether they like it or not.
What makes children deviate from the usual course of development within socially approved frameworks? First of all, the growing personality is influenced by family environment. A child can imitate, voluntarily or unwittingly, the behavior of one of the parents, and not always the parent of the same sex. Children occupy the niches that the current family situation offers them. Mom works two jobs, manages to combine this with housework without any help, is she active, cheerful and bosses everyone around? Dad is soft and reserved, spends a lot of free time on the couch watching TV, obeys mom unquestioningly, depends on her worries? Whose position will the child take? Regardless of gender, a child is highly likely to imitate the one behind whom he feels positional superiority, the one who benefits from the family situation as it is. If the father manipulates those at home, demonstrating his helplessness, the child will take on a passive position; if the mother manipulates others, suppressing any attempts to overthrow her power, then the child will try to mirror her masculinity, if not in the family, then among his peers.
In addition to direct imitation, the child’s relationship with a significant adult plays an important role. A girl who receives encouragement from her father only when she behaves like a boy (achieves something in sports, demonstrates courage, fortitude, or, for example, a love of fishing), and her achievements in “female disciplines” go unnoticed by him , will develop in a more masculine spirit than if her father encouraged her for any success. The interesting thing is that if a child does not receive the utmost from the parent specific requirements in a form that is understandable to him, he strives to meet the expectations of his significant parent, guided by his ideas about these expectations. For example, children left without parental care have mixed feelings towards anonymous relatives. It is not uncommon among such children to fantasize about a parent who represented a social significant figure, but was unable to take care of the child objective reasons(death of a parent, kidnapping of a child, various kinds dramatic events that separated them). Girls who fantasized about their father (pilot, film actor, criminal) showed more signs of masculinity and manliness than girls who imagined an imaginary mother (ballerina, wife famous person, singer). Thus, a significant adult demanded that the child meet his (the child’s) expectations even in complete physical absence.
Another important source of broadcasting norms of gender behavior is such a mouthpiece of public opinion as the media. In contrast to the direct influence of society, which offers teenagers a traditional view of the ideals of masculinity and femininity (a man should be strong, independent, courageous, active, strive for freedom and financial independence; a woman should be soft, caring, strive to look good and honor family values above professional ones), the media do not pursue the goals of preserving traditions. Their goal is completely different - to sell goods, services, form opinions, and educate the young viewer into an ideal consumer. The media, in its own interests, imposes unrealistic patterns of behavior on young people, which is especially clearly seen in commercials. The young women in them have huge, perfectly furnished houses in which exhibition cleanliness reigns, while stylishly combed children, elite animals and a successful husband run around the house, and the owner looks like a supermodel, but has important work, plays sports and spends a lot of time with friends. Thinking rationally, the girl understands that this picture cannot be an example to follow, it is unrealistic, but the advertising is designed to touch the irrational, emotional sphere, cause a feeling of inferiority, a readiness to buy a product that will bring her closer to this beautiful, unattainable life of an ideal woman.
Young men are also subject to pressure from the media, which besiege them with pictures of successful peers: a young man in the minds of commodity producers, barely out of the age of a teenager, begins to wear expensive suits, live in penthouses, and enjoy mass attention beautiful women and buy yourself only the best. About the fact that even having a good education similar heights a man at 21-25 years old, as a rule, is unable to achieve, and is kept silent. There are no such forms of behavior that young people can embody on-screen ideals in their lives. All this information is capable of is to cause in a young man a sharp rejection of “long” paths to success, such as working in the real sector of the economy, to provoke him to “not so much be as be known”: not to strive for goals appropriate to his age, but to consume goods that which symbolize success earlier (and instead of) looking for opportunities for “quick money” before they become affordable.
As a result, teenagers' ideas about the behavior and lifestyle of a representative of their gender and age are greatly distorted. Dissatisfaction with oneself keeps entire industries afloat; with their minds, young people understand that they real life generally corresponds to the way their peers live, but unconsciously they are still involved in the race for unattainable images imposed from the outside. This often leads to adolescents adopting forms of behavior that are a reaction to social pressure, but do not help them achieve their age-gender goals.
Some peoples of the North have genders, i.e. There are not two types of behavior assigned to social gender, as in our culture, but... five. Heterosexual women in women's clothing performing feminine functions; heterosexual men in men's clothing, with male responsibilities; homosexual men in women's clothing; heterosexual men in women's clothing doing women's work; heterosexual women in men's clothing performing men's work. Why are there so many roles? Mainly because the society, the tribe, needs it. A man is not asked whether, as a boy, he wants to wear a woman's dress and tend the fire. When he was born, there were already enough boys in the tribe, but there were noticeably fewer of those who would do women’s work in 10-20-30 years. Therefore, society carries out its characteristic rituals and entrusts the child with a function that he will perform throughout his life, without caring whether this will make him happy. In our society, such dressing of a baby would be considered a gross violation of human rights and is therefore not practiced. But anyone can easily imagine a sign of the late Soviet era - powerful masculine women working on road repairs (society needs them, because men do not want to do hard work for money, and women agree and work conscientiously, in addition, they drink less). It is also easy to understand why modern urban culture gives rise to types of fragile and aesthetically adjusted male fashionistas of various kinds, and the larger locality, the more such characters there are in it. This is what society needs, of course. The higher the building density and crowding, the more pressing is the issue of regulating aggression. Populations of non-aggressive, non-competing physical sense men who invest their energy not in the fight for resources, but in self-improvement in the intangible, intellectual, aesthetic, creatively do big cities a safer place.
Thus, in order to meet the interests of society, it is not necessary to establish a separate gender; you can adjust the settings of those that already exist. At the same time, parents of children and adolescents with disabilities often make an attempt to turn their child into a being of zero gender - an ageless and sexless child. Working with adolescents with disabilities, we have repeatedly drawn attention to the fact that they are subject to parental attempts to disguise and suppress what is associated with behavior and appearance characteristic of a particular gender. Boys were often timid, gentle, obedient, and dressed in what looked like a grandma's jacket. The girls, in turn, had their hair cut like boys and had no idea about jewelry, manicure or flirting, although their healthy peers were keen on just this and other aspects of life that were new to a growing girl. Adolescents with disabilities, studying in the same groups, but without guardians, demonstrated pronounced femininity and masculinity, not always in accordance with biological sex, but with great enthusiasm inherent in age.
The concerns of parents responsible for a special child are understandable. Some infantilism of their charges is also understandable: the one who is protected from society and surrounded by care, of course, will be more careless and childish. But there is something dishonest about trying to resist your child's femininity or masculinity in the interests of the family. You may suspect that your child is not mature enough socially and intellectually to become a teenager and all that that entails. But that's how most teenagers are. Perhaps you believe that your son or daughter will get into trouble because he does not have a clear understanding of the world of relationships. But if you keep it at your hem forever, he or she will never learn anything. Perhaps you believe that having difficulties with health and development, your child will never succeed as a man or as a woman, and in this case it is better for the mother to be nearby. But here you are wrong. Finding a person who can share sorrows and joys is equally difficult, but equally possible for both young people with disabilities and healthy people any age.
Don't make life difficult for your children.
It is not always easy for them to understand that the gap between who they are and what they are shown as a model is about the same scale as that of their healthy peers. Many young people do not want to hear that they are guided by false images, attributing all adversities and deprivations to a defect inherent in their health. “A man should have (hereinafter a list of luxury goods), but I do not have this and will not have it”; “A woman should look like this, but I am complete opposite“- this is the typical idea of a teenager with disabilities about his place in society as a representative of his gender. In addition to distorted self-images, the media and social media They form in adolescents an idea of the desired behavior of a partner, which automatically makes any peer uncompetitive and unsuitable for a relationship. “We met with him three times, but he didn’t give me anything significant,” the young girl complains to the psychologist, “I’ll have to break up with him, but it’s a pity, I really liked him, it was fun with him.” When asked how she knows about the obligatory nature of gifts, the girl refers to the community in which she was “enlightened.”
Boys and girls who are trying to start dating their peers trust the stereotypes spread by anonymous online advisers, and as a result they are faced with the fact that their lives are out of control, that they are looking for something in people, not what they need. imposed by society. Teenagers discover that, having kissed a thousand frogs in search of their princess, it is difficult to remain a prince, since each new relationship breaks down more easily than the previous one and meeting “their person” is almost impossible.
This problem is aggravated by the fact that older generation can no longer serve as an example and source of information for their children, since the pace and content of young people's daily lives have changed radically since their parents were considered youth. Boys and girls are trying to adopt the lifestyle they saw in American cinema and television shows, but this image has no cultural and historical roots in our country. For example, in an American school, a girl who has been on dates (meaning going out - a walk, a trip to the cinema, a cafe) with dozens of fans and has not chosen any of them - is popular, arouses a desire to imitate herself and the respect of her peers. In our culture, she will cause a mixed reaction - some of her classmates will consider her popular, the other part will be sure that the girl has tarnished her reputation and needs to stay away from her. Same mismatch gender stereotypes arises in other areas of life, and it is increasingly difficult for young people to understand each other correctly. After all, the established rules that parents followed disappeared, and in their place a complete confusion arose.
The only way out for teenagers who have reached a dead end in their search ideal relationship, it becomes necessary to listen more to your heart than to public opinion, and look for people who share their own ideas about how modern men and women should live. After all, only independent choice and acceptance of responsibility for it make a child mature personality in control of your life.
Kropivyanskaya S.O.
Humanity is changing. Changes affect even those things that, seemingly from time immemorial, have been and will remain unchanged. The gender roles of men and women are also undergoing changes. To be even more precise, in our time the boundaries between traditionally “masculine” and “feminine” are already difficult to distinguish.
The gender role and everything connected with it is a relatively new phenomenon and for our society remains a rather ambiguous and not fully understood category. Therefore, before delving into this topic, we need to define the basic concepts.
Biological sex– a set of genetically and hormonally determined characteristics of an organism, summarizing all its reproductive (sexual) characteristics that distinguish it from representatives of another biological sex and determine its role in the process of fertilization during sexual reproduction.
It is customary to talk about the existence of two types of biological sex: male and female.
Gender – social person's gender; characterization of personality from the point of view of masculinity (a complex of physical, mental and behavioral characteristics, considered as masculine) or femininity (a set of qualities traditionally attributed to women or expected from women).
IN modern world dominates binary gender system- dividing people into two opposing groups men and women.
Interestingly, gender is not important in all cultures. social category, as in ours. There are societies where there are three or more genders, as well as many gender roles.
Gender role- view social roles, representing behavior, normative expected from male and female individuals. This behavior, which traditionally seen as appropriate for both men and women.
Social role- socially normalized behavior of a person who occupies a certain position in society and, in connection with this, has certain rights and responsibilities.
Thus, gender roles of men and women- these are forms of behavior expected by society from men and women.
But gender roles are not only expected, they are also:
- are prescribed
- are vaccinated (through upbringing and education),
- are getting used to
- are being fulfilled
- are violated
- accepted or rejected by the individual.
There is another concept related to gender – gender identity.
Gender identity- a person’s internal sense of himself as a representative of one gender or another, that is, a man, a woman or a representative of another category.
How are the gender roles of men and women formed?
A person is born male or female only in the biological sense, in the social sense he becomes man or woman. There are no differences in the behavior of female and male infants. No significant gender difference between man and woman!
Initially, representatives of both sexes are simply people. The set of human characteristics and qualities is the same, divided into male and female qualities conditionally accepted in society.
A boy becomes a man because he educate as a man, they develop traditionally masculine traits, qualities, instill appropriate principles and goals, train male models behavior. Likewise, a girl learns to be a woman.
Boys and girls brought up differently, they are expected to behave differently, reinforce the manifestations of different character traits, and make different demands.
Is it any wonder then that, growing up, men and women look at each other as beings with different planets? How can they understand each other if they are different and no one taught them mutual understanding? Only through self-education and acquisition personal experience communication.
Gender roles women and men are changing over the course of history, were and remain different in different cultures and societies, vary depending on the economy, politics, religion and other social factors in the life of a particular society. But we can still talk about some traditionality gender roles that have been passed down from generation to generation for centuries.
In our society, the gender roles of men are traditionally designated as “Breadwinner”, “Owner”, “Defender”. They persist, but it’s impossible not to notice that “soft”, even feminine, masculinity has been in fashion for a couple of decades. More and more valued in men physical strength, activity, courage, ability to take risks, and intelligence, forbearance, restraint, ability to communicate, empathize and care.
Traditional gender roles for women: “Homemaker”, “Mother”, “Wife”. Society expects a woman to be kind, patient, modest, gentle, caring, understanding, and “homey.” But how many women in our time are socially active, active, work on an equal basis with men, often earning more men?! The breadwinner is no longer He, but She. In a woman, not only beauty, kindness and thriftiness are valued, but also the ability to earn money, efficiency, determination, resistance to stress, and courage.
The most common gender role of women in our society has no name. This role, characteristic of women who are representatives of the working class, appeared in our society and became entrenched in it in the twentieth century. You can call this role " Universal Soldier". A woman is required to be a wife, mother, housewife, worker, breadwinner, protector - ideal always and in everything and at the same time successful everywhere!
Consequences of the struggle for equal rights
Women's struggle for gender equality, which began at the end of the nineteenth century, ended with many women now working for themselves and for men, and men abdicating part of the responsibility for raising funds to support the family, while not considering themselves obligated to help women with their needs. home and in raising children.
Modern woman takes on too much and, “turning” into a man, complains: “There are simply no normal men left!”
The gender role of men is also undergoing significant changes these days. She getting closer to the traditional gender role of a woman, just like the gender role of a woman to a man. Gender roles merge together.
Another trend is also observed. Men and women switch roles! For example, today it is increasingly popular (especially in countries Western Europe) becomes care in maternity leave not women, but men (and they do this voluntarily, of their own free will).
It was after the women received equal rights with men, it was not equality that began to be observed, but a reversal of roles.
Men and women legally have equal rights, but in fact remain unequal. A modern woman is more often both a Homemaker (the traditional role of a woman) and a Provider (the traditional role of a man), and a man is more often either a Provider or a Homemaker. This is what the movement and struggle for gender equality led to - to new inequality.
But the fact is that a man and a woman cannot be equal, because nature made them different! No matter how strong a person’s mind is and no matter how developed his personality is, he also biological being, nature also determines the gender role.
Even if a woman chooses a traditionally male gender role, and her man chooses a female one, there will come a time when their system goes wrong. This moment will be the birth of the child. No matter how feminine a man is, no matter how he knows how to lead household and taking care of children is something that will never allow him to be fully realized in female role- He cannot get pregnant and give birth to a child.
If both spouses have the same rights and responsibilities and are completely equal, there will be no family! Who will take care of the children if both work? Who will bring money into the house if both are unemployed?
Women solve this problem by shouldering a double burden of responsibility, but in terms of the number of unhappy women, unhappy families, divorces and children growing up without a father, it is not difficult to guess that this approach to solving the problem ineffective.
Freedom to be yourself
It would seem, why in our time, when a man and a woman are equal in rights, can freely, voluntarily, without the obligatory consent of relatives, choose each other and create a family of love, there are so many unhappy couples? Is it because, retreating from traditions and nature, people simply do not understand How they can continue to live.
When people don’t know what to do with freedom, it becomes a greater evil for them than the need to live under someone’s strict leadership. But Liberty- This highest value, this is an opportunity to be yourself! A person today is free to choose who he should be and how he should live. He is not obliged to adhere to the gender role that is imposed and expected. Regardless of gender, it is important to be yourself!
If a girl likes to fight, why not become a professional boxer? If a boy likes to take care of younger children, why shouldn't he become a teacher? But the phrases “You’re a boy!” or “You’re a girl!” wean children understand yourself. As a result, the child speaks, acts and feels as expected, and not as he really experiences it.
The problem “I don’t know what to do with freedom of choice” grows out of the problem “I don’t know myself.”
Too traditional and strict, requiring strict adherence social norms and stereotypical thinking, education in childhood in adulthood leads to what is called gender role stress.
Gender role stress – This is a state of mental tension that occurs in the event of an inability to adhere to one’s gender role or, on the contrary, the need to adhere to behavior characteristic of the opposite gender role.
Trends observed today in developed countries are such that underscore gender differences is recognized as incorrect, since the traditional gender role has come to be understood as imposition the needs of society to the individual without taking into account his personal desires and goals. Society, by imposing certain patterns of behavior on a person, deprives him of the opportunity to be himself, and therefore to be happy.
On the other hand, if all people behave only the way they want, without being guided by social norms and requirements for themselves as a representative of a certain gender, the world risks losing so important to continue human race institutions like marriage and family! After all, it was the emergence of traditional gender roles of men and women that once upon a time gave rise to monogamy, the traditional family and the responsibility to take care of one’s children until they grow up!
Survey for women. Do you adhere to traditional gender-role norms of female behavior?
And separate gender roles. When meeting someone and forming a first impression, many are mistaken, beginning to attribute to their interlocutor those qualities that are customary, without delving into whether he possesses them. Everything is based solely on conventional wisdom. By paying attention to nested stereotypes, we can control them so as not to allow them to influence our lives and perception of the world. One of the most common clichés is the idea of typical female and male behavior. Gender role - they are formed in the presence of which in turn are fundamental differences in the female and male psyche and human activity. Big role The culture of society plays a role in this.
Cultural stereotypes
Ordinary consciousness has in its structure integral part- cultural stereotypes. In other words, using collective experience, an individual throughout his life receives a certain suggestion during training and communication, through which he later navigates life and shapes his behavior in society.
It is worth noting that gender roles in society in different cultures and social groups differ from each other, sometimes radically. All these clichés arise on the basis of roles and that is, through these stereotypes, a norm arises for women and men, exactly how they should behave in a particular society. And when we see this or that manifestation of a person’s character, we automatically compare it with our idea of a person’s gender role.
and children
It is believed that, depending on the gender of the child, adults perceive him differently. In other words, the same manifestations of a child’s behavior will be perceived differently by adults, depending on whether the person in front of them is a boy or a girl. And accordingly, certain behavior and reactions are expected from the child depending on his gender. Because of this, the child is indoctrinated into what he should be and a false one is imposed, stereotypical thinking. That is, a gender role is stereotypical thinking instilled in a child during upbringing and socialization.
Gender identity
This term expresses social traits a person, characterizing him from a certain point of view and demonstrating his belonging to a group of men or women. The most important thing here is how a person evaluates himself and how his socialization occurs in a particular culture. Psychological, social, cultural and behavioral characteristics collectively constitute psychological gender. When interacting with other people and while observing them, a person develops his own ideas about which group he fits best into.
And based on his conclusions, he begins to choose for himself the behavior and hobbies of the group that is closer to him. This is how genders are distributed social roles. Moreover, the manifestation of stereotypes occurs at all stages of development. Even in junior preschool age Children are already instilled with the perception of a clear division of gender characteristics. Thus, communication between boys and girls occurs much less often than children of the same sex spending time together; interests are also shared, some should be interested in one thing, others in another. Therefore, we often underestimate the role in the formation of personality and worldview. When in more mature age men and women strive to communicate, they do not understand each other, their interests diverge.
Social Behavior Styles
When observing the diversity of communication between representatives of different genders in society, one can notice different relationships between people. In other words, depending on the purpose of communication between representatives of different sexes, the behavior of both will be strikingly different. Previously, men were credited with such essential qualities as activity, aggressiveness, efficiency, and the ability to solve problems.
Women were supposed to be emotional, passive, the main thing that interested them was relationships, not affairs. Scientists have found that there are no differences in behavioral style between infants, but they arise with age. Moreover, the older the person, the more clearly they appear. The gender role of a woman or a man is based solely on the requirements of society, but at the same time a person evaluates himself taking into account these needs, and if he does not fit into the template, he begins to consider himself worse than others. That is, the first signs of such gender differences appear only when the child learns about the need for their presence. And by manifesting them, he simply carries out the given program. But at the same time, boys may well show signs of girls, and vice versa. Overall, socialization has been shown to be a major factor influencing gender differences.
Subjecting people to gender norms
According to Sean Byrne's research, there are three types of human conformity to social norms. The first is compliance, it manifests itself as a person’s approval of things that are unacceptable to him. social norms, and adjusting to them in order to avoid condemnation, punishment and in the hope of approval of his behavior by society.
Next comes approval, that is, the person’s complete agreement with the presented gender norms. The third type is identification, a person behaves in full accordance with the role model of behavior presented to him in society.
Departure from stereotypes
Modern society is not at all like the stereotypical structure. Therefore, modern gender role is a vague concept. Many women find their purpose in knowingly men's activities, that is, in business, science and so on. And some men run the household, take care of children, creativity and other activities that are, by definition, feminine.
It is accepted in society that men and women differ not only in their character, but also in their psychology. If the stereotypical perception is violated, then the person is subjected to condemnation and misunderstanding from loved ones, which undoubtedly negatively affects the development of the individual.
Negative effect of stereotypes
Many modern psychologists believe that emphasizing gender differences is incorrect. Gender role is primarily the imposition of the needs of society without taking into account the desires and goals of the individual. In other words, they are exaggerated; society’s view of the situation is not subjective. Thus, considering the same act, a woman and a man will be treated differently. And this is incorrect, since stereotypical ideas do not correspond to the actual development of the individual, her character and behavior. In addition, they influence the development of certain qualities, and by distinguishing the gender roles of men and women, one character trait is developed more, while another is inhibited and suppressed.
For example, if you force a boy to hide his emotions, with age he may forget how to perceive them and begin to deny their presence in other people, not understanding their manifestations. It is worth understanding that each person is individual, regardless of their gender. This will normalize psychological condition, do your work more productively and be harmonious. Unfortunately, despite the flexibility of modern stereotypes, many people still struggle within themselves, not only with social stereotypes, but also with their own perceptions.