FORMATION OF THE PRECONDITIONS FOR THE EMERGENCE OF GENDER PSYCHOLOGY IN MIDDLE AGES PERIOD

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to analyze the main ideas of the Medieval Period authors in Europe and in Russia, in terms of identifying the most important theses of this historical period for the formation and development of the ideas of gender psychology. It is being considered the role of Christianity and the emergence of the women's education issue in the formation of gender stereotypes. In this article the Middle Ages period is being considered as a separate historical phase for the basic ideas formation in the gender psychology, which is a new approach to the history of gender science. To estimate medieval texts - European and Russian, the method of qualitative content analysis is used, by means of which the most relevant to the period ideas associated with the sexes are identified. For Europe, it inter-sexual features, for Russia - different behavioral requirements of the society associated with sexes. Conclusions contain ideas of the Middle Ages in Europe and in Russia that are relevant to the development and establishment of gender psychology. In Europe: the continuation of the ancient thesis of the initial androgyny of a human being; impact of the woman's education on her ability for development; consideration of sexuality as sinful; the issue of women's emancipation, the declining value of the large numerous families despite of a ban on interference in the reproductive cycle in the middle of the Medieval period. In Russia: the perception of inter-sexual characteristics as defined by the God; unconditional obedience of a woman to her husband; androgyny in the distribution of the farmers’ responsibilities.Objective: To analyze the main ideas of the authors of the Middle Ages in Europe and in Russia, in terms of identifying the significant theses of this historical period for the formation and development of the ideas of the gender psychology.Method of the research work: A qualitative content analysis of the texts by the authors of the Middle Ages, relevant to the establishment of the gender psychology.Results: With the use of a qualitative content analysis significant ideas of the Middle Ages for the formation and development of gender psychology were revealed. In Europe: the continuation of the ancient thesis of the initial androgyny of a human being; impact of the woman's education on her ability for development; consideration of sexuality as sinful; the issue of women's emancipation, the declining value of the large numerous families despite of a ban on interference in the reproductive cycle in the middle of the Medieval period. In Russia: the perception of inter-sexual characteristics as defined by the God; unconditional obedience of a woman to her husband; androgyny in the distribution of the farmers responsibilities.The area of application of the results: the history of gender psychology.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-7-34

Keywords

• gender, history of gender psychology, gender differences, the Middle Ages