Nowadays the important role is played with processes of communication as means of formation of public consciousness as they allow people to communicate, understand each other, participate in joint activity, develop common sights, outlook. Courage and feminity and specific cultural characteristics which define social behavior of women and men, their mutual relations among them take place in each culture. It allocates essential space in ceremonies, folklore, mythological consciousness, «a naive picture of the world». Gender, in turn, concerns not simply to women or men, and to relations between them but to a way of social designing these attitudes, i.e. how the society "builds" human relations.
The analysis of researches in different areas of scientific knowledge testifies that gender stereotypes accumulate experience of generations concerning with women and men behavior, their character traits, moral qualities. A.V.Kirilina considers them, as «the special case of a stereotype concerning with knowledge of persons of a different sexes. In her opinion, they fix in language the representation about courage and feminity and the models of individuals´ behavior connected with them»1. Gender stereotypes in communication are inseparable from an image of the woman or the man, and also the ideas of their applicability prevailing during this or that period. So, as the positive ideal dominated over pre-revolutionary Russia, it was an image of patriarchal mother, the mistress of interior, respectable Christian. During the Soviet period according to socialist ideas of active participation of women in a society the type of «working women and mothers», the active participant of communistic construction dominated. And when reorganization began, on the foreground the ideology of «natural applicability of the woman» again began to be put forward.
However, in the greater degree in language, patriarchal stereotypes which impose to person the certain picture of the world are fixed. Studying of language in the given direction is based on the hypothesis of Sapir-Warf: language is not only a product of a society, but also a means of thinking. Proceeding from this, the feministic linguistics reinterprets and tries to change language norms, considering the purpose of the researches «conscious normalization of language». So, for example, K.Operman, E.Veber, marking distinctions in the communications, recognize that initially women and men pursue the various purposes at dialogue. Girls, for example, feel necessity of confirmation of the personal qualities and "safety" of relations in conversation, young men, as a rule, do not require it. It implies, that the purpose of female dialogue is achievement of the coordination and minimization of distinctions whereas men prefer "independence" in conversation2. In turn, A.Linke describes specificity of the man´s and female communications in completely other aspects. In opinion of the scientist, girls avoid the use of lexical means of expression of force and use weaker forms. A principal cause of divergences is various areas of life experience of men and women and a different professional lexicon3.
Stereotypes of behavior of men and women are pawned since the earliest childhood, and it is no wonder, that they are rather proof though recently they were substantially leveled. It was accepted to carry out even color differentiation of clothes of babies - boys and girls earlier. For boys blue caps, and for girls - pink one - were bought.
The stated point of view is shared also by I.A.Sternin. The scientist on the basis of the experiments considers that education of men in a society is directed, first of all, on development of the certain man´s qualities: force, tolerance, skill to hide the feelings to be quiet, not to cry, and other skills. Women during dialogue demand from men to show very opposite qualities: the woman wants, that the man was emotional, showed the feelings, was not competing, but cooperating, spends more time with the family4. It means that in sphere of dialogue, interests of women and men can appear opposite that will create ground for misunderstanding and even conflicts.
However, in conditions of modern culture of an industrial and postindustrial society, stereotypes in the greater degree smooth out. But at the same time, they remain the fact of consciousness of native speakers and it should be taken into account.
Note:
- Kirilina AV, Gender studies in linguistics and communication theory: A manual for students in higher education. - M.: «The Russian political encyclopaedia» (ROSSPEN), 2004. - 252s.
- Oppermann K., Weber E. Frauensprache - Männersprache. Die verschiedene Kommunikations-stil von Männern und Frauen. Zürich, Orell Füssli Verl., 1995.
- Linke A.Studienbuch Linguistik / Anglika Linke, Markus Nussbaumer, Paul R. Potmann. 2 Aufl., Tübingen, Niemeyer, 1994.
- Sternin IA, Working with men and women. Voronezh, 2000.
The work was submitted to to the International Scientific Conference «Higher professional education. Modern aspects of the international cooperation», Tel Aviv, May 1-7, 2009. Came to the editorial office on 27.05.2009.