Merenkov A.V. In-Demand Body in Representations of Pupils
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/lp.jvolsu.2019.3.9
Anatoly V. Merenkov
Doctor of Sciences (Philosophy), Professor, Head of the Department of Applied Sociology, Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin
Mira St., 19, 620009 Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation
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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5900-0863
Abstract. The article considers the ideas of young people aged 16–17 about the requirements of modern society to the external characteristics of the body, internal qualities of a person on the basis of empirical research. The objectives of the study were to identify opinions about what requirements are imposed by modern society to the external characteristics of the male and female body at this age, what practices are used to make the body attractive to people around, representatives of the other sex. The opinions of those moral and aesthetic qualities, the presence of which provides the inner beauty of a person were pointed out. The author determines the influence of social networks, media personalities on the formation of the image of the body desired by young people. In 2019, 200 students of 10–11 grades of secondary schools in Ekaterinburg, which is a major industrial and cultural center of the country, were interviewed by a questionnaire method. Significant differences in the ideas of young people about what kind of body they consider to be in demand were found. According to respondents, the male body has fewer requirements than the female one. The main indicator of its outer attractiveness is the pronounced muscle mass created by regular sports activities. The inclusion of women in active labor, social activities did not lead to the approval of new ideas about her appearance. She, as before, should be attractive, regardless of what she does at work, at home, where she appears in public places. The main factors influencing the formation of ideas about the outer attractiveness of the male and female body were revealed: personal beliefs, social networks, images of media personalities. Men do not have a clearly expressed direction for constant self-improvement in order to construct themselves as healthy, with developed skills of mental activity, culturally communicative persons. Representatives of the female sex appreciate, much higher than the male, the qualities that determine the inner beauty of a person: mental abilities, the ability to behave correctly with different people, strong will, patience, responsibility. There is a danger of gender conflict intensifying in the future. Girls will have difficulties in finding partners corresponding to the level of development of their knowledge, skills, latitude of thought. They are more willing to actively participate in the social and economic and social and cultural development of a dynamically changing society.
Key words: body, in-demand body, stereotypes of male and female bodies, young people studying, outer beauty, qualities that determine the attractiveness of a person.
In-Demand Body in Representations of Pupils by Merenkov A.V. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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