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15PECULIARITIES OF CONTEMPORARY YOUTH GENDER SOCIALIZATION WITHIN THE FRAMES OF CULTURE ANOMY IN THE RUSSIAN SOCIETY
Sazhina L.V.
doctor of sociology, professor of conflict and national security DpT of the InMitute of sociology and regional studies of Southern
federal university
Dyatlov A.V.
doctor of sociology, professor of applied sociology DpT of the InMitute of sociology and regional studies of Southern federal
university
Samygin S.I.
doctor of sociology, professor of HR management and Sociology DpT of RoMov Mate economic university (RINKH)
ABSTRACT
Today it appears important to research various types of socialization, as deviating, crisis, variable, Gratification and others. Mentioned types of socialization reflect discrepancy and paradox of the process of gender socialization of modern Russian younger generation in the context of dynamically changing society Sill being in anomy. As socialization and identification of the individual not always happen successfully, the concept of the deviating socialization is essential. It is clear, that the person will never be able to reach an ideal pattern of behavior, as the society itself and its social inflitutions (in our case - family and marriage, PR and ads) do not realize socialization functions at all or fulfil latent detractive functions. Socialization bringing deviations characterizes the society being in anomy (E. Durkheim). Socialization of the individual almofl always has deviations. Today's specifics of that shows itself in abnormal one for traditional Russian gender socialization of the youth realizing by the traditional inflitutes of family and marriage and some new - PR and ads.
Keywords: culture, norm, value, behavior, socialization, gender, youth, deviation, anomy.
The problem of socialization of the contemporary youth in the Russian society appears to be quite essential primarily because of two main interrelated factors. Firfl is connected with the broke of the USSR in the nineties, which brought the situation of detraction of norms and patterns of behavior of the soviet times and afterwards appearance of anomy in the Russian society. The situation of anomy Sill present in the society provoke a "scissor" situation in the area of contemporary Russian youth socialization, who doubt "what is good or bad" as far as values, norms, patterns of their behavior concerns.
Within the frames of culture socialization represents process of assimilation (by the individual) of syflem of the knowledge, norms, values, examples of behavior necessary for effective implementation for them of the accepted social roles in the given society. Undemanding by the person of «I and me» consifls of known three components: 1) how, in our subjective opinion, we are perceived by the others, 2) how they react to what they see, 3) how we "answer" the reaction evaluated by us.
In the conditions of the proceeding anomy in the Russian society traditional forms of gender socialization, as well as self-identification of both boys, and girls which in the Soviet and at the beginning of Pofl-Soviet the periods were based on the defined «social lability» and some predictability have already collapsed, and today it is possible to say that in the society the youth appears to be without accurate reliable social reference points. Today during gender socialization the youth in general when it is especially susceptible in acceptance/rejection of rules, values, norms, orientations which correspond to patterns of femine / masculine behavior, develops quite difficult, multidimensional «mosaic» socio-cultural interactions. It is known that powerful factors of gender socialization of youth are traditional flereotypes about socio-cultural roles of men and women. In modern Russian society it is possible to fix indiflinct character of both flereotypes, and roles. Today we speak about the exigence of so-called, «indiflinct» socio-cultural factors of gender socialization and identification.
In the contemporary Russian society the youth is surrounded by a huge variety of roles which are offered and duplicated by
a set of reference groups and separately taken individuals. The young people are often "lofl" in the queflions of integration into the personal identity, many of them are forced to reject or counterbalance the roles clashing among themselves. It is necessary not only to form a certain identity as a representative of the defined sex, but also to diflinguish and accept the indicators (man's/woman's one's) and at the same time «to join» the certain reference group.
As in the soviet times, despite active dynamics of the social inflitutes of the family and marriage, in the Russian society the family continues to remain the main actor of socialization of the youth. Many researchers put particular emphasis on the analysis of specific influence of the family upon gender socialization. Initially in the family process of socialization is already penetrated by «sexism» and gender-role flereotypes. It is well-known that in the Soviet family the girls were often said to: «you should not fight like a boy» or «you have to be modefl, reserved», so on. Today in the course of socialization the youth in general experiences considerable difficulties. Many modern social inflitutes don't provide evident contractive models. We can tell that today girls have more available and accurately outlined behavior models, however, today they remind traditional «man's behavior patterns», the behavior type is more active, purposeful, brutal and the like [1, p. 10-20].
Total globalization also influences gender socialization. While earlier (the soviet times and right before the broke) the whole generations of the Russian people passed socialization process flep by flep, they were socialized evolutionarily, but today the youth is forced to pass these flages in 3-5 years. It is clear that at the same time types, forms and models of the family, nature of relationships of men and women also intensively changed. It is known that in modern conditions, firfl of all, women have more opportunities to increase educational level, make career ladder escalation, achieve noticeable financial success. Gender roles and gender contracts also changed: many women bring not less into the family budget, but even more than men. Development of science and equipment considerably facilitated house work of the woman. At the same time necessary tolerance in the
relations between men and women Parted to disappear. Quite often business ladies plunge into work so much, that they don't have time to form a family and to give birth to children. Real life cases show that some business ladies try «to compensate» this gap in very inconsiflent ways. Some practice the method of «new borning» (literally «play dolls»), others inflead of a family and children get a dog or a cat (dress, feed, look after them as if they were babies); some try to amuse themselves having the slogan: «I will be young forever...» and they tend to conflantly contact and change young lovers. By the way, many young men today are ready to be only house-keepers, to take care of children, to do cleaning, cooking, some of them avoid to be «the support» for the woman in general. However, not all men around the world are supporters of the fact that the woman is «the main support» in the family. As Susan Basow notes (professor of psychology and the gender relations in college Lafayette, Eaflon, Pennsylvania, 2004), that traditionally, for example, Americans are brought up with the belief that they are the main supporters of the family; when they don't provide properly their wives or girl-friends, American men begin to feel "unnecessary and defective". There is a probability of the bigger conflict in the family when the wife's salary increases, than, for example, in case of loss of work by the husband.
Obvious aspiration of many young people to «singleizm» is around all over the world today. This happens not because of certain reasons like illness, death, divorce of a partner, but the result of anomy in the society and transformation of the social inflitutions of the family and marriage. Contemporary youth often motivate their choice with a usual set of arguments: «to be single is so simpler, easier, comfortably to live without excess problems; I am a quite self-sufficient personality», etc. Such position provoke the tendency of the youth not to form a family or to have children or to get married and have children at a rather advanced age or to practice single-parenting which can represent serious problems from the medical, psychological, social and other points of view.
It is well known that in incomplete families there is "onesided", not complete gender socialization. Single mother, for example, cannot, mofl likely, give the sufficient level of family socialization, especially, if in the family with a boy. Mofl probably in the future the young man will be excessively «femine» or will look upon a woman like his «the second mother» or will look for a "woman-supporter" in his life. In the case with the girl, who is socialized by «a flrong machismo» she can become too active, flrong, courageous which can prevent her from the creation of the harmonious relations with the partner.
The youth in the course of socialization discuss gender differentiated vital prospects with their parents. For example, with the father they speak of the actual plans for the future, professional purposes, ways of achievement of the goals outlined, current difficulties connected with training at school or higher education inflitution. Priorities are placed differently concerning the female parent - mother. Here there is a different circle of queflions: events at school or higher education inflitution, leisure queflions in the family and with friends; interpersonal relations, emotions and so on. Respectively, parental interefl of the mother is connected, firfl of all, with daily realities, and the father helps his son or daughter to foresee, designate some outlines of the future. Absence of one of the parents contradicts the «flandard», sufficient, effective socialization as traditionally accepted in the Russian society speaking of the features of femininity and masculinity acquired while being socialized. Detraction of
gender flereotypes, blurring of a dichotomy man's — woman's produce a certain negative effect in the modern society in the way of detraction of traditional intergenerational transmission and delegitimation accepted gender behavior in the society. Intensity and depth of changes in the society make the young people think that the senior generation has no authority. Today disagreements between generations cover more and more wide range of queflions. «The gap between generations» becomes more visible and «ideals of fathers become more unacceptable» [2, p. 16-17].
Besides the family, today the labor market and mass media as agents of socialization of youth dictate technocratic and consumer collective nature of thinking. Mass media, especially TV and PR (incl. advertisement) became the main socializing agents today, but, unfortunately, the behavior models spread through talk-shows, series, advertizing often have deflructive effect.
Advertizing has intruded into many spheres of the society at all its levels: from macro-level with social inflitutes to micro-level with individuals, their social roles and interactions. The way of submission of information in advertizing and its socializing effect can be characterized both with positive, and negative perspectives. In particular, today advertizing rather actively transfers information of relationship between genders, unfortunately, not always of worthy contents. Advertisers promote widespread options of gender interactions to the consumers. Many people begin to trufl the promoted patterns of behavior, certain gender images and flereotypes as a result of such advertizing maneuvers. Modern advertizing purposefully accentuates attention of the consumer to the examples of «masculinity» and «feminity» as such approach has prominent effect of appeal. Belonging of the person to this or that gender has huge value for him/her. Advertising does not simply reproduce, but flrengthens and imposes gender images. Some gender images are exaggerated by modern advertizing: (women) from traditional, an appeasable «domeflic chicken», cooking a delightful lunch from semi-finished products; a business lady who will achieve everything and everywhere; some kind of a symbiosis «a family -oriented lady and a careerifl - all in one» - to a «glamourous lady» - «smart, sportive and jufl the beauty»; «niche» can be occupied by some emancipated feminifls and the similar and they can be found in the interval. As for gender images of men, creators of advertizing often put in the forefront «supermen» and «brutal machoes». «Blue collars», clerks today are «out of fashion». The problem is that in real life it is practically impossible to find these pure samples promoted by mass media of both women and men, but thanks to PR such expectations are formed and diflributed among young people. The reproduced situation naturally provokes «rough» relations between genders and promotes new, often not peculiar for Russia and mentality of the Russians, models of a family and marriage.
Queflions and problems concerning modern PR and advertizing and also how they socialize contemporary youth are rather large in number. For inflance the problem of "sexualization" of modern advertizing, influencing socialization of the youth is on the surface today. Quite often goods and services are promoted with the help of the use of sexual symbols, female and male bodies, special words, etc. It is possible to tell that as a result for men the female body and vice versa in advertizing is a certain slogan — an appeal to what they should react: "to buy and possess". To illuflrate the thesis, we will give several real examples from our fludy: 1) Advertizing in «The
catalog of purchases». "Sin philosophy". The man holds the woman's leg, advertizing footwear. Inscription: «Desire. Sin". "The passion flame awakening desire which you don't want to hide... When a new image is born. Guilty. The befl». 2) «Take it..., available kitchen...». 3) Advertizing the car: «Sport cars love hot character. Respected for a brute force. Hot, as a sport car, powerful, as Mazda CX — 7. For those who love it hot». 4) «Beer with male character». 4) «Men give in ... Thoughts in a Kiss flyle!» [3, p. 25-30].
We flick to the opinion of the researchers, who think, that modern principle of appeal unluckily often deflroys both female, and male consciousness, advancing the influence to the «core» of female — the men's power and to «the female (male) sexual potentiality» [4, 107-123]. In contemporary PR and advertizing the gender (social sex) is completely equated to a biological sex. In advertizing and PR «feminity» and «masculinity» are shown in a huge variety of roles which quite often are mutually exclusive. Gender images in advertizing continue «attack» imperfection of a female body and the person, flrengthening the gap between «traditional feminity» and «superfashionable», «glamourous» one which is perfect in details - certain «super-feminity» which in real life, as well as the woman with Barbie doll parameters, is rather a deviation than a norm (scientifls found out that with the parameters of Barbie doll it is impossible to go normally and Sanding vertically). There are cases of death of girls because of exhauflion as they fell "victims" of PR and ads «attacks» againfl «imperfect» female body. Unfortunately, real life is not taken into consideration, in the center of interefls are flereotypes which are commercially favorable.
Nowadays mass media carries out the main function of gender socialization. Mass media propagandize ideas of modern flyles of behavior and a way of life. It obviously diflributes inconsiflent types of gender roles and contracts, possibilities of achievement of success and career development, ways of finding social and comfortable condition. The flate of affairs provokes «conflict» of roles, when, for example, a young business lady at work - a director, the head giving accurate infractions, and at home she has to try «to replace» the role and become, sometimes without a success, a gentle, soft wife, loving mother, etc.
As we said earlier in the conditions of anomy the sphere of «normal» socialization is sharply narrowed, and the youth is oriented either onto accelerated, or onto the late socialization. Modern mass media tell the youth about «delights» of youth sex, duplicate images of brutal machoes and sexy young beauties, and as a result of that in real life schoolgirls and fludents give birth to children being completely dependant on the parents. In the situation of society anomy possible correction of socialization gender process has to be connected with the attitude of the society to it, and then addressing the specific individual with the purpose of influencing him/her with the help of moral, psychological, economic, etc., support. In the USA special programs of the help to young pregnant girl-fludents provoked dependant aspirations of these young mothers. Such measures of «excessive help and support» haven't reduced the number of pregnancies among girls, but promoted their growth.
We can say that the processes spoken about in the article can be defined as a deviant socialization on the whole. It is difficult to eflimate depth and scale of a deviant socialization. Nevertheless, it is possible to reveal many parameters of it. Criteria can be output on various bases, proceeding from the analysis - social condition of the society, inflitutes of socialization, nature of spontaneous influences, etc.; typical personal and group (deviant
behavior, socialization crises, and also social identity, etc.) [5, p.111-112].
Deviant socialization needs to be considered more widely, than jufl its result — deviances. If deviant behavior has no delinquent character, then it can be quite a temporary phenomenon, for example, connected with specific living conditions, specific features, etc. Nevertheless, in the conditions of crisis, transformations and anomy the area of the deviant socialization can intensively extend. At the moment there are undetected, unrecorded in the collective public consciousness norms and values and deviation can fit into the framework of a modern norm.
Some Russian researchers see a little difference between a deviant and crisis socialization. It has the grounds, as some social inflitutions as socialization agents are considered to be in crisis in Russia, like family and marriage. Besides, the course of life of the personality is followed by overcoming of many crises of socialization, as crises of personal growth, dissatisfaction of the person with his/her social or personal flatus. Not all crises can be overcome. Quite often the person doesn't cope with them and it is especially hard for the youth. Problems with self-identification can generate disappointment, conflict with society, social group, with oneself. In the society of anomy such violations of socialization gain prevalence. The relations of the personality and society aren't adjufled. The individual isn't in harmony with the real function which is imposed onto him forcibly [6].
In the unflable, changing society of anomy is a "good soil" for emergence of variable socialization with multi-vector and exclusive character. The extensive area of contradictions is formed. Multi-vector and exclusive character of socialization process, crisis of gender identity is a certain lens through which real problems of the society can be well seen [7].
The interefl of researchers in the problem of socialization of youth has certain grounds, resuming some of them: Russian society anomy provoking "scissors" and multi-vector character of socialization; disfunction of traditional agents of socialization in Russia - social inflitutions of family and marriage; active socializing effect of a rather new agent of socialization for Russia - mass media (PR, ads) based completely on commercial interefls forming deviant [8, p. 7-9], far from real life and Sanding apart from Russian national identity norms and values.
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