Gender dialect stereotypes: national standards of male beauty

Abstract

This article aims to identify and substantiate the existence of specific national standards of male beauty as the nation’s value orientation. The research was conducted using the methods of descriptive, comparative and contextual analysis, as well as quantitative calculations. The article confirms that the carriers of modern dialects have the idea of the secondary importance of male beauty over such qualities as strength, activity, intelligence, etc., which represent male dominance and status superiority. This idea reflects the national traditional value attitudes. It is noted that, although the traditional society does not recognize the social significance of male beauty, this phenomenon and its standards find representation in dialects. The following content characteristics of male beauty, which meet the traditional aesthetic ideas of Russian people, were confirmed by paroemiological materials: strong and harmonious body, physical strength, manner, good height, round face, blond hair, light-coloured eyes, etc. In addition, it was found that the disdainful attitude of Russian men towards their appearance is associated with their adherence to the "norm of anti-femininity", which is typical of a patriarchal society. This norm also implies that men consider care about attractiveness as disrespectful, lowering their status. A conclusion is made about the specificity of Russian standards of male beauty, the content characteristics of which reveal the national-cultural idea of masculinity. Assumptions about the necessity to analyse the viability and stability of these stereotypes in the context of aggressive globalisation were made.