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Masculinityandfemininity…
ceivedas“feminine”,warfareas“masculine”.Privatesphere(family
andhome)is“feminine”,butpublicsphere(careerandpolitics)is
“masculine”.Possessingpowerisperceivedasmoreattributedtomen,
whereasbeingundersomebody’sauthorityappearstobemoreattrib-
utedtowomen.
Finally,alltheNatureasbiologicalphenomenonis“feminine”,and
theCulture,astheresultofmankind’sactionsandwork,is“masculine”.
Femininityisperceivedasmorebiological,asitisstrictlyconnectedwith
givinglife,whilemasculinityisperceivedaschanging,subduingand
masteringthenature.
Femininityandmasculinityfunctioninthesociallifeasdefinedpat-
terns,idealimagesofwhatwomenandmenareandshouldbe,asorders
oftheassignedbehaviours,andfinally,asbeliefsabouttheirsocialroles
andmutualrelations.Theycreatestereotypesoffemininityandmas-
culinityandconsistofbeliefsaboutappearance,soalsoaboutphysical
attractivenessofwomenandmen.Theydeterminehowwomenandmen
shouldlooklike,whattoneofvoicetheyshouldhave,howtheyshould
moveanddress,etc.Theycomprisecomponentsconnectedwithphysical
traits,socialrolesandprofessions.
Femininityandmasculinityarealsosocialconstructs.Peoplecre-
atesetofbeliefsaboutwhatisfeminineandwhatismasculine.They
areusuallyinaccordancewithoneanother,butalsonegotiabletosome
extent.Nevertheless,beliefsaboutmasculinityandfemininityarechar-
acterizedbystability,highconsensusandhighculturaluniversalityover
theyears.Atthesametimewecannoticethattheyaresociallyand
culturallydiversed.Nowadays,conceptsofmasculinityandfemininity
arechanging.Insomegroupsandsocietiesthesechangestakeplacerela-
tivelyquickly,andinothersveryslowly.Inourtimes,inPolanditis
hardtoestimatethescopeofoccurringchanges.But,manysignsstill
suggestthattraditionalbeliefsaboutmasculinityandfemininitymore
oftenthannotprevail.
Thepresentmonograph,writtenbynineauthors,dealswithselect-
edaspectsofmanifestationsofmasculinityandfemininityineveryday
life.InChapterOnebyEugeniaMandal,AgnieszkaGaworandJacek
Buczny,theoreticalconsiderationsandtheresultsoftheirownresearch
aboutcontentandfactorstructureofstereotypesofmasculinityand
femininityincontemporaryPolandarepresented.Theauthorsanalyse
stereotypicalbeliefsdealingwiththefollowingcomponentsofgender:
physicalappearance,socialrolesandoccupations.Theycompareste-
reotypicalbeliefsabouttheirownandtheoppositegenderrevealedby
womenandmen.Theauthorsindicatesimilaritiesanddiferencesinthe
