What dating site adverts can tell about a modern woman (on material of Polish and Russian languages)

Abstract

The article deals with the verbal construction of the gender identity of the female language personality on the material of Polish and Russian dating site adverts. In the Slavic world the gender identity is based on Christian values that shape the patriarchal consciousness. In the Soviet period of the history of the Eastern Slavic countries the ideology of female social emancipation emerged and manifested in the image of a working mother. This type of the gender identity can be defined as androgynous. The current stage is characterised by fundamental changes in the socio-political and economic structure of the Eastern European countries. It coincides with the emergence of new, equal relations between the genders in all developed countries in the last third of the twentieth century. An emerging new type of the gender identity demonstrates the breakdown of traditional values typical to the Slavic mentality. Dynamic processes are reflected in modern speech practices. A comparative analysis of Polish and Russian dating site adverts shows that the real femininity of modern women is of a variable nature. However, the research shows the rooted patriarchal foundations of the Slavic culture as well as the consolidation of the androgynous gender identity, similar for the Russian and Polish mentality, which remain different in the current gender attitudes. New value preferences of Russian women demonstrate the desire to level the female principle and acquire the leadership and psychological features of the masculine type. The gender behaviour of Polish women reveals a tendency to build an equal relationship with a man while emphasizing their femininity which they consider to be a virtue but not a flaw. Partnership for Polish women is implemented in gender complementarity. © Association "Rus", 2005-2018. ; Russian Foundation for Basic Research, RFBR ; The research was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, Grant Nr. 18-012-00382/18, by Government of the Russian Federation Act 211, Agreement Nr. 2.A03.21.0006, within the framework of research conducted at the Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences.