Modern Russian family under the conditions of changing gender relations

Abstract

The article is dedicated to analysis of the impact made by a considerable shift in the gender consciousness of Russians over the past two decades, in terms of the actual distribution of gender roles in family and the role of persisting gender stereotypes in the existing gender order of things, as well as the prospects for further development of gender relations based on sociological research. Research findings reveal contradictions between the gender consciousness and the actual distribution of family responsibilities. It emphasizes the importance of satisfaction with marital relations being a contributory factor for maintaining and strengthening family, which is largely and in part based on satisfaction with the distribution of domestic work. In the article the gender stereotypes and attitudes of young people are analysed, and the fact of a more widespread occurrence of egalitarian ideas of distribution of gender roles in family among young people in comparison with other age groups is revealed. Different attitudes to gender stereotypes among young people depending on their gender are also presented by the authors, in particular, a greater commitment to gender stereotypes of young men as compared to young women. The article states that young men more often share traditional attitudes to the distribution of gender roles in family, that is most likely a consequence of the conditions of gender socialization in family, and, perhaps to a degree a result of the media campaign launched to promote traditional gender roles and stereotypes as the cultural code improperly assigned to our people. The authors emphasize the need to study the impact of the lockdown regime on gender relations in family and thus on modern Russian family, since lack of data does not allow us to draw any reasonable conclusions about the impact of these emergency circumstances on the lives of various family types yet.