Dear readers!
The 3rd issue of Gender Equality newsletter is dedicated to the role of gender equality for men. Traditional cultural attitudes assign to men a disproportionately large role in the decision-making and allocation of resources, so gender equality is often perceived solely as a "women's issue".
It is believed that all is well with men and boys and their needs met. But do men and boys indeed have sufficient conditions for self-actualization? Let us get down to the facts.
According to the National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus, men make up 46.5% of the population of Belarus (4,398 thousand out of 9,464 thousand people). For reference, in 2003 in Belarus there lived 4,600 thousand men, which corresponded to 46.8% of the total population. Over a period of 10 years, the number of men decreased by 202 thousand; the number of women decreased as well, but to a lesser extent - by 165 thousand. One reason for this is the high mortality rate among working-age men (4 times higher than among women). Men are 6 times more likely to commit suicide as compared to women, they more often die in the workplace and are more vulnerable to harmful working conditions. Alcoholism and smoking are more common among men. As a result, life expectancy at birth is 66.6 years for men and 77.6 years for women (National Statistical Committee, as of 1 January 2013). Thus, the difference in life expectancy between men and women is 11 years, and it is the smallest gap since at least 2000. For reference, the World Health Organization considers the normal difference in life expectancy to be 5 years.
There are differences in the legislation applicable to men and women. There are a number of works that women are forbidden by law to perform due to the difficult or harmful and (or) hazardous working conditions (Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, Resolution No. 765 dated May 26, 2000). Therefore, such work is to be performed solely by men. An example of being subject to unequal social conditions is the military service, which is mandatory only for the male population of the country. In addition to this, death penalty is applied only to men in Belarus.
Social attitudes often place restrictions on men in their self-actualization, limiting their choices to a single true path and behaviour pattern. "Men do not cry", "Man is the master of the house", "Man should be a good provider" - these assumptions are common and strongly supported in our culture. These do’s and don’ts impose behavioural stereotypes and can hamper the natural human need for expressing one’s feelings and giving care, and thus become an obstacle to self-actualization at one of the most important stages in a man's life - birth of his children and childrearing. Meanwhile, it is important for a man to realize his potential as a father, just like it is important for a woman to realize her potential as a mother.
Family has a priority value in today's society, while at the same time one can rarely find a positive image of fatherhood in the public sphere. The emotional component of the relationship with wife and children often remain "hidden" from boys and men, which affects the entire family. Andrew Turovets, director of the Minsk City Social Services Centre for Families and Children, says,
“For men, gender equality is important, not least because they are all born from women and find themselves in their mother’s psychological space since the very first minutes of their life. And there is a man - the father of the child - present in (or absent from, which is equally important) any mother’s psychological space.
And now we come to the most interesting part: the image of fatherhood that the child perceives through his mother and the image that he perceives himself determine his future personal and family well-being. For example, parents may have a serious interpersonal conflict, but both of them – the mother and the father - are interested and actively involved in the child's life. In this case, we have a paradoxical situation: the would-be man develops a positive model of fatherhood, but a dysfunctional model of marriage and relationships between men and women in general. In contrast, in a traditional family where the parents’ historically-formed gender stereotypes are fulfilled, the family is built around a patriarchal role structure, and the child’s parents are generally satisfied with this situation, the child does not feel emotional discomfort. However, as the father in such a family usually has very little involvement in childrearing at the early development stages, the child develops a picture of a "comfortable" family, but no personal image of intimate fatherhood. In the longer term, this creates prerequisites for traditional emotional alienation between "fathers" and "children", which is handed down from generation to generation”.
Gender roles or, in other words, the behaviours that are constructed in a society, can both facilitate and hinder free self-actualization of both males and females. Therefore, a man’s right to harmonious development is no less important than a woman’s respective right. This principle underlies the healthy functioning of a family and society.
Why an atmosphere of gender equality is very beneficial for a child’s personality development, how fatherhood affects a man’s life, and why it is important to shape a positive image of fatherhood, among boys and men – you can read about all these things in the continuation of our interview with an expert in the “Research” column. The bulletin also provides a brief overview of topical gender issues in the country and worldwide.
We wish you enjoyable reading!
