MODERN GENDER PARADIGM: HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

The author considers the history of the formation of gender paradigm through the prism of retrospective analysis of philosophical ideas about the correlation between male and female in the system of ontological existence. The process of the formation of a new social order based on the democratic principles involves the formation of a new scientific research paradigm resulting from a long historical development. Starting a research, including a gender research, we should determine the initial methodological approaches, the origins of which lie in the history of philosophy. The current state of human development necessitates a rethinking of traditional gender roles and schemes and their perception in today's society in order to find the best way to overcome gender determined social distortions, which is crucial nowadays. The practical proof of the topicality of the theme of the research lies in the inability of modern palliative measures to overcome the gender imbalance and to ensure equal rights for women and men. A distinctive feature of the modern era is the decline of the old stereotypes of thinking, ideological systems and the establishment of a new spiritual foundation of social development. In the context of these processes there arises an acute problem of the dialogue between the sexes, which largely reflects a fundamentally new relationship between men and women which for centuries have been developing under the domination of men. The gender paradigm is very different from the traditional one and is no less than a justified logic of social and cultural development, as well as a search for the new models of the perception of society and people. Being born in the heart of Modern of Modern times, it hasn't developed yet due to the lack of motivation from the social environment of those times. New challenges of Postmodern catalyze special attention to this topic, and since the 70s of the twentieth century gender paradigm has become the subject of many branches of knowledge. Actualization of historical and philosophical reflections on gender in general and women in particular reveals the fact that this subject being peripheral and marginal in the context of urgent issues like the world, God, the truth is, nevertheless, present in almost all the works of leading thinkers of different eras. Modern conceptions of masculinity and femininity are the result of a complicated and ambiguous process. Biological determinism, which from the very beginning was the main factor of determining between men and women and explained their roles in society has been replaced by the priority of social and cultural factors which led to overcoming gender differences in all areas of public life. The formation of a new gender paradigm contributes to the formation of a new outlook and, therefore, to the possible solutions of the redistribution of power and property, thereby reducing alienation between men and women; it also contributes to their mutual understanding. Keywords: gender paradigm; retrospective analysis; patriarchal approach; gender; gender feature; gender separation; essentialism; eccentricity.