THE CONSTRUCTS OF MASCULINITY IN THE CULTURE OF RUSSIAN WORKING-CLASS YOUTH

Abstract

Purpose: The study is aimed to research the means and patterns of masculinity constructing in the working-class culture of modern Russia. Both the practices of producing its multiple forms in daily interaction and the stable structures of social inequality, which consolidate gender order at the institutional level, have been considered. The article also provides an analytical review of current studies of the working-class masculinity regimes in post-industrial societies.
 Methodology: The empirical base of the research is represented by the mass survey of 1534 respondents living in the Ural Federal District of Russia. The participants were working-class young people aged 16 to 29 years and occupied in the field of industry, technical maintenance, and customer service. The processing of research results was carried out using a statistical package IBM SPSS Statistics Version 20.
 Main Findings: It was found that the remaining structural disproportion between sectors of the economy in the level of remuneration and the gender composition of workers determines translation and reproduction of the male breadwinner pattern that has power in the family on the basis of control over economic resources.
 Applications of this study: The results of the study can be used in the teaching of sociology, gender studies, and cultural studies; it can also be applied by local policymakers while developing social policy programs targeted on the regarded social group.
 Novelty/Originality of this study: In the current research we have examined a specific group at the intersection of three stratification features: social class (the working class representatives), gender (men’s and women’s view of the masculine construct) and age (the youth of three age cohorts). The attention was paid both to the cultural production of multiple forms of masculinity and to the continued dominance of social inequality and suppression’ structures.