Men's Feelings Research Articles

The affective consequences of threats to masculinity

Three experiments (N = 1083) explored whether masculinity threats (vs. assurances) led to emotions that have been linked to well-being, social connection, and the expression of aggression, including (a) increases in feelings of shame and guilt (Experiment 1) and (b) decreases in perspective-taking and empathy (Experiment 2). In addition, we explored whether masculinity assurances (vs. threats) had a positive effect on men's feelings of pride. To determine whether the affective responses to masculinity threats were unique to gender identity, we replicated the findings in comparison to a second social identity threat (Experiment 3). Consistent with predictions, and replicating prior work, men but not women expressed more public discomfort and anger following a gender threat (vs. assurance), as well as more shame and guilt when their masculinity was threatened than when their masculinity was assured (Experiment 2). Importantly, these affective responses were unique to men experiencing gender threats (Experiment 3). Interestingly, consistent with empathy avoidance predictions, when threatened, men reported lower dispositional levels of other focused empathy (Experiment 2), but these effects were not specific to gender threats (Experiment 3). Findings revealed empathy reductions, but not diminished reports of perspective taking, in threat conditions. No consistent evidence of effects of gender feedback on men's pride (authentic or hubristic) emerged. The implications of findings are discussed.

Men's Perceptions of Violence against Women: Improving Cultural Literacy for Combating Violence within Family.

While research evidence exists about Jordanian men's perceptions and attitudes about violence against women (VAW), there is a scientific gap for addressing VAW as a Jordanian cultural norm. This study aimed to describe Jordanian men's perceptions and attitudes toward VAW, leading factors for VAW, and strategies to combat VAW. A qualitative descriptive design was used with 14 Jordanian men and semi-structured interviews. Nine themes emerged: men's definitions of VAW, men's beliefs and attitudes about VAW, men's feelings toward VAW, intensifying factors for VAW, men's justification for women staying in abusive relationships, the hazardous impact of VAW, experience of using violence against wives, men's strategies for combating VAW, and absence or limited role of services for victims of VAW. Men in many cultures including Jordan inherit structured patriarchal ideology, which gives men the perceived right to control women and to manage familial conflict. Inherited cultural beliefs about male roles within families should be restructured by collaborating with community stakeholders to combat VAW.

Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan by Patrick W. Galbraith

Reviewed by: Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan by Patrick W. Galbraith Jonathan E. Abel (bio) Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan. By Patrick W. Galbraith. Duke University Press, Durham NC, 2019. x, 325 pages. $104.95, cloth; $27.95, paper; $27.95, E-book. Great scholarly books are often the most problematic because they engage in important debate-worthy issues; these contentious books force us to rethink our assumptions and inspire us to embark on new research. On these terms, Patrick W. Galbraith's Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan is a great scholarly book. In many ways, it is a book the field of Japan studies has been waiting for—a concise, readable, teachable, authoritative guide to the subject of primary interest for many of our students. It provides a deeply researched anthropological account of the die-hard Japanese fans of manga, anime, and videogame cultures, and of the producers, academics, and politicians who orbit this popular culture. Along the way, it narrates the history of primarily male fans of bishōjo comics (whom it defines as otaku) as a story of a culturally, socially, and politically constructed and contested identity through examination of several topics: the rise of "otaku research" in fan magazines, the origins and development of moé (a "budding" fetishistic desire or "burning" for particular traits in anime characters), street performances and protests in Akihabara, maid café patrons, and the effects of art exhibitions promoted by government and national institutions. In coverage and clarity, the book does everything it should. It even grapples with the difficult tangle of capital, labor, gender, sex, and longing that pervades and undergirds otaku existence. Yet on this last thorny issue, I find the book troubling. The introduction begins with an advertisement for the Gatebox digital companion Azuma Hikari, an automated fictional character who is marketed as providing a love relationship for its/her consumers. This beginning [End Page 437] challenges readers to transcend what Galbraith calls the "wacky Japan" press paradigm and work to understand the logic and legitimacy of male love for a "two dimensional" (nijigen, meaning fictional) character. Galbraith adopts the term otaku to describe such men: "I present 'otaku' as a label that is applied in response to the imagined excesses and perversions of 'male' fans of manga and anime, namely an attraction to and affection for cute girl characters" (p. 6). Though he discusses the presence of female otaku and feminist voices in the discourse (citing Kotani Mari and Ueno Chizuko), the focus of the book, even as it problematizes gender binaries around the cultural materials and their reception, is clearly on male voices. Galbraith aims for readers to cultivate empathy for the subjects of inquiry, hence the book's title and Philip Boehm epigram: "imagination is the key to empathy, and if we're not able to imagine peoples' lives, then our empathy diminishes" (p. v). Chapter 1 gives a prehistory of male fans of shōjo comics forming communities through fan groups and magazines and introduces their impact on the cultivation of a particular aesthetic within what has become known as the bishōjo (beautiful girl) genre, especially in the genre- and genderbending work of Hagio Moto. Galbraith argues that the imagination of these early readers—their willingness to engage with and see something in the work other than what producers had intended—is what he wishes readers to respect and even emulate, by using their own imagination to understand these men's feelings. The chapter demonstrates how the "bishōjo manga allowed for an opening into a mesh of possibilities, gaps, overlaps, dissonances, and resonances where gender/sex no longer signifies monolithically" (p. 46), citing as proof not only the voices of men whom Galbraith tells us might otherwise have been labeled "gay" but also the 15 per cent of readership identified as female. The primary motivating example of this early chapter (if not the entire book) rests on the distinction between "2D" (fiction) and "3D" (real). Galbraith presents otaku desire for 2D manga over 3D photographic (or realistic) representations of young girls as evidence of a desire to dwell in imaginative and fictive worlds. For...

Same-Day Correlates and Prior-Day Predictors of Couples' Violent Behaviors Based upon Partners' Daily Reports.

Although previous research identified predictors of violent events within violent heterosexual couples, findings were limited to the woman's reports, to her perceptions; his assessments were not obtained. This exploratory study was conducted to gain understanding of proximal predictors of violence assessed in "real-time" from the perspective of both partners. Fifteen adult heterosexual couples in which the woman reported experiencing partner violence in the prior 30 days were enrolled in a primary care clinic. Each partner provided separate daily telephone reports for eight weeks via an automated Interactive Voice Response (IVR), concerning the previous day's violence, alcohol use, stressors, emotional reactions and concerns for children. Same-day correlates were determined by Pearson correlations while prior-day predictors were identified via vector autoregression. Same-day correlations show that men's violence was associated with almost every other variable while women's violence correlated with men's violence, men's drug use, women's alcohol use, anger, closeness, hassles, and all men's negative feelings. Using prior-day predictors, men's violence was related to feelings (primarily hers), but women's violence was more dependent upon feelings of both of them as well as women's prior-day violence and alcohol use. Men's violence was dependent upon their partners' prior-day feelings and the men's lack of concern about effects of violence on children. Women's violence was also dependent upon women's prior-day feelings, as well as women's violence, alcohol use, marital closeness, and men's concern for children. Although the co-occurrence of men's and women's violence has been seen before, in this study only women's violence was linked to alcohol use.

Sex, status, competition, and exclusion: Intraminority stress from within the gay community and gay and bisexual men's mental health.

Gay and bisexual men might face unique, status-based competitive pressures given that their social and sexual relationships often occur with other men, who are known to compete for social and sexual gain. In a multistage study, we delineated intraminority gay community stress theory-that status-focused elements of the gay community challenge the mental health of gay and bisexual men. We first created a measure of gay community stress with items derived from qualitative interviewing (n = 49); calculated its psychometric properties, including 1-year temporal stability (n = 937); and confirmed its structural stability in distinct samples (n = 96; n = 1,413). Being stressed by perceiving the gay community's focus on sex, focus on status, focus on competition, and exclusion of diversity predicted gay and bisexual men's mental health over-and-above a comprehensive battery of traditional minority stressors (β = .17, p < .01) and mediated the association between one's gay community status and mental health. To examine the impact of individual differences in status concerns (i.e., about masculinity, attractiveness, and wealth) on gay and bisexual men's feelings of within-community exclusion, a series of experiments manipulated (a) the sexual orientation (gay vs. heterosexual) of rejecters (n = 103), (b) the social status of gay rejecters (n = 83), and (c) whether rejection from gay and bisexual rejecters was status-based or nonstatus-based (n = 252). Overall, these experiments provide partial support for the possibility that gay and bisexual men's status concerns underlie their experience of gay community stress. Together, these studies advance psychological and sociological accounts of gay and bisexual men's mental health beyond minority stress theory, with implications for intervention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Men's feelings and emotions in the Covid-19 framing.

to understand how men's feelings and emotions contribute to the Covid-19 framing in Brazil. Asocial-historical, qualitative study, carried out with 200 men resident in Brazil, through online search on digital platform.The grasped data were analyzed by the Collective Subject Discourse method in the light of the reference of epidemic disease proposed by Charles Rosemberg. Negative feelings and anxiety prevailed due to the knowledge about the growing number of hospitalized patients and deaths from the pandemic conveyed in the news. For men, the optimism is necessary to encourage attitudes with responsibility and trust that the crisis will be overcome.Subsequently, men present a set of attitudes and behaviors for coping with the pandemic.Moreover,the acceptance signals the emergence of the fourth dramaturgical act of the Covid-19framing. Men's feelings and emotions, in this historic context, pervade three of the four acts of the Covid-19 framingin Brazil.

Monitoring and analysis of the effects of atmospheric temperature and heat extreme of the environment on human health in Central Iran, located in southwest Asia

Investigation of temperature extremes is very important as one of the most important climate parameters in different parts. If exposed to enough heat, humans will suffer from extreme heat. Maximum temperature and heat can adversely affect many living organisms. The effects of extreme heat on people with chronic lung disease, including asthma and emphysema, are greater; even for people with healthy lungs, outdoor activities are not recommended during high ozone levels. The purpose of this study is to monitor and analyze the effects of atmospheric temperature extreme and extreme heat on human health in Central Iran. Therefore, the minimum and maximum data of 15 synoptic stations in the study area for the period (1988–2018) using hybrid artificial neural network (HANN) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) models were used. Finally, multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) models TOSIS and SAW were used to prioritize the areas exposed to rising temperature. The results showed that according to ANFIS modelling for predicting extreme temperatures, the lowest mean training error and the mean error of validation for the minimum temperature were equal to 0.10 for the Yazd Station and 1.66% for the Damghan station. The lowest mean training error and the mean error of validation for the maximum extreme temperature obtained 0.016 for the Garmsar station and 9.39% for the Shahroud station. The maximum extreme temperature of two stations of Garmsar and Bafgh (1 and 0.9689, respectively) was more exposed to extreme temperatures based on the TOPSIS model. Garmsar and Salafchegan Stations (1 and 0.9873, respectively) were more exposed to extreme temperatures based on the SAW model. Climate change is fundamentally changing the Earth’s climate system in a way that directly and indirectly endangers human physical and mental health. Severe increase in temperature is directly associated with death from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, especially in the elderly. Also in the study area, the house is a place for peace and comfort for every human being. Climatic and weather conditions have a direct impact on creating a sense of comfort in any architectural space. Proper heating and air conditioning in the interior of the building is another case of architecture that will not be easy because this architectural issue is related to the comfort or non-comfort of man, and the concepts of heat or cold are mostly due to the natural feeling of man and his physiological conditions. The rising trend of thermal stresses in the studied stations increases the need to pay attention to the issue of thermal stresses and the spread of diseases (heat attack, syncope, and muscle cramps) in terms of crisis planning and management.

Men's experiences of eating disorder treatment: A qualitative systematic review of men-only studies.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: There is a widespread perception that eating disorders are predominantly women´s illnesses. Most studies in the field of eating disorders include predominantly women. Current eating disorder programmes are tailored to meet women´s needs. At the same time, studies show that the rate of eating disorders among men is rising. Men tend to seek help for their eating disorder late in the course of their illness; even when they do seek treatment, they run risk of being undiagnosed by health professionals. WHAT THE PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: We assessed the current knowledge on how men think and feel about their eating disorders and explored how this may affect their help-seeking behaviours and how they go about managing their eating disorders. Men experience unique symptoms and issues that may translate into unique treatment needs. There is a call to re-evaluate the current status quo for men with eating disorders regarding access to and receiving treatment for their eating disorders. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: It is becoming an increasing priority to effectively treat men with eating disorders. Men need to be recognized as stakeholders in eating disorder-associated health care delivery. Healthcare professionals should receive training about the nature of eating disorders in men. Eating disorder-specific treatments will require adaptations to mirror the needs of individuals rather than particular gender/sex entities. ABSTRACT: Objective Despite the widespread perception that eating disorders (EDs) are predominantly experienced by women and girls, the incidence rate among men has risen substantially in recent years. Men may face unique challenges accessing treatment, which can negatively affect prognosis. The present paper aimed to review men's thoughts and feelings about their ED, and their experiences of ED treatment. Method We conducted a systematic search for qualitative articles focusing on the treatment experiences of men with EDs. Results Nine studies met inclusion criteria. Key themes that emerged across the studies were as follows: (a) recognition of the ED, (b) help-seeking, (c) treatment characteristics and (d) patient characteristics. Given that EDs are widely regarded to exclusively affect women and girls, men were reluctant to recognize their EDs, faced minimization of their symptoms by health professionals and had difficulty finding treatments that were tailored to their unique needs and preferences as men. Conclusions The present findings may serve as reference points to design future ED-specific interventions that are more inclusive of men. Further studies are needed to explore the differential experiences of men across diagnostic categories and treatment types, as well as elucidate the potential role of men-only services.

Teen-dating violence: conception of adolescents in a Brazilian metropolis

:Background:Teen-dating violence (TDV) can lead to health problems for those involved, especially females, including homicides and is predictive of intimate partner violence in adulthood. Methods:To analyze the adolescents' perception of definitions, justifications and consequences of TDV, a qualitative study through 13 focus groups with 132 high school students from public and private schools of Rio de Janeiro city, including 70 girls and 62 boys was conducted. We followed a guide with questions about interpersonal violence and participants completed a self-administered questionnaire on socio-demographic data. The data analysis included reading and comprehension of the textual data; coding of the reports according to the emerged categories; identification of the meanings attributed by the subjects to the questions raised; comparative dialogue with literature; and elaboration of interpretative synthesis. Results:Most adolescents affirmed that TDV is not justifiable. However, in practice, they found it acceptable in certain situations. The narratives of the boys were based on the role of the perpetrator and the girls on that of the victim. Violence occurs when the man feels his power challenged and is influenced by situations of violence experienced in his own family as victims or witnesses. The TDV consequences are for the women and include, in addition to physical and psychological damage, relational problems in other spheres such as family, friends and school. The experience of violence was more common among public school students.Conclusions:The adolescents’ narratives reflect the gender patterns of society in which violence results from inequality of power. The data of this study offer subsidies to policies on TDV prevention and its consequences. They can contribute to training primary care professionals to identify on clinical consultations signs and symptoms of violence and to develop interventions to reduce the health problems of victims.

The Cost of Bottling It Up: Emotion Suppression as a Mediator in the Relationship Between Anger and Depression Among Men with Prostate Cancer.

BackgroundProstate cancer is a risk factor for major depressive disorder. Recent psycho-oncology research suggests a potential role for male-specific mood-related symptoms in this relationship. Gender socialisation experiences may reinforce men’s anger and emotion suppression responses in times of distress, and anger and emotion suppression may be implicated in pathways to, and maintenance of depression in prostate cancer.Patients and MethodsData were collected online from men with a self-reported diagnosis of prostate cancer (N=100; mean age 64.8 years). Respondents provided information regarding diagnosis and treatment, in addition to current experience of major depression and male-specific externalising symptoms.ResultsProstate cancer diagnosis in the last 12 months occurred for 35.4% of the sample. Elevated major depression symptoms were observed for 49% of respondents, with 14% endorsing past 2-week suicide ideation. Parallel mediation analysis (99% CIs) controlling for prostatectomy and active surveillance indicated men’s emotion suppression mediated the relationship between anger and depression symptoms (R2=0.580). Trichotimised emotion suppression scores with control variables yielded a large multivariate effect (p<0.001, partial η2=0.199). Univariate moderate-sized effects were observed for emotion suppression comparisons for symptoms of depressed mood and sleep disturbance, and a large effect observed for guilt-proneness.ConclusionFindings highlight the salience of anger in the experience of depression symptoms for men with prostate cancer. The mediating role of emotion suppression, which in turn was strongly linked to men’s feelings of guilt, suggests potential assessment and intervention targets. Future work should examine the role of androgen deprivation therapy and other treatments including active surveillance on the relationship between anger and depression in men with prostate cancer. Consideration of interventions focused on emotion processing skills in psycho-oncology settings may help reduce men’s reliance on emotion suppression as a strategy for coping with feelings of anger or guilt in the context of prostate cancer.

Teen-dating violence: conception of adolescents in a Brazilian metropolis.

Teen-dating violence (TDV) can lead to health problems for those involved, especially females, including homicides and is predictive of intimate partner violence in adulthood. To analyze the adolescents' perception of definitions, justifications and consequences of TDV, a qualitative study through 13 focus groups with 132 high school students from public and private schools of Rio de Janeiro city, including 70 girls and 62 boys was conducted. We followed a guide with questions about interpersonal violence and participants completed a self-administered questionnaire on socio-demographic data. The data analysis included reading and comprehension of the textual data; coding of the reports according to the emerged categories; identification of the meanings attributed by the subjects to the questions raised; comparative dialogue with literature; and elaboration of interpretative synthesis. Most adolescents affirmed that TDV is not justifiable. However, in practice, they found it acceptable in certain situations. The narratives of the boys were based on the role of the perpetrator and the girls on that of the victim. Violence occurs when the man feels his power challenged and is influenced by situations of violence experienced in his own family as victims or witnesses. The TDV consequences are for the women and include, in addition to physical and psychological damage, relational problems in other spheres such as family, friends and school. The experience of violence was more common among public school students. The adolescents' narratives reflect the gender patterns of society in which violence results from inequality of power. The data of this study offer subsidies to policies on TDV prevention and its consequences. They can contribute to training primary care professionals to identify on clinical consultations signs and symptoms of violence and to develop interventions to reduce the health problems of victims.

The Split Identity in Brain Friel’s Play PHILADELPHIA, HERE I COME! )

Colonized people suffer due to cultural struggle and identity loss. Brian Friel (1929–2015) dealt with the consequences of British colonisation of Ireland. This paper explores the fragmented identity in Friel’s Philadelphia, Here I Come!. It depicts the contradicting feelings of a young man who decides to leave his country. Still, he is unable to overcome his emotional loyalty to his past. Friel divides the protagonist into two characters played by two actors on the stage. The memories in the play form an integral part of identity being live images that satisfy inner needs. The characters’ inner conflicts and personal dilemma reflect general social problems.

Ma’ ba’ awireen hachireh ma’ax ‘¿no ves que ya parezco mono?’

Este texto en lacandón del sur narra qué le ocurre a un hombre que cazaba muchos monos. Como consecuencia de esta actividad, el hombre fue llevado con el dueño de los monos, quien lo obliga a dormir con su hija para que pudiera reponer la cantidad de monos que había matado. La hija aprovecha esta situa- ción para convertir al hombre en mono. Al final, después de haber reproducido la cantidad de monos que le habían pedido, el hombre es liberado. Sin embargo, no se siente a gusto con su nueva apariencia y huye a la selva. La narración muestra cuál es la consecuencia de no respetar a los animales que son parte del medio selvático, en este caso el mono saraguato y el mono araña, y deja como enseñanza que siempre será necesario reparar el daño que se ha hecho a otra especie.

Yeni Dini Hareketlere Katılımının Psikolojik Nedenleri: Bireyin Arayışı mı? Hareketin Başarısı mı?

In the last half century, psychological studies on the New Religious Movements have shown a significant increase not only in the discipline of psychology but also in sociology, history of religions and other religious studies. Today, it is a judgement that people seek a measure to protect themselves from the alienating and degenerating effects of modern life. In this context, firstly the inclusion of a New Religious Movement (NRM) reflects a desire to take back time in behalf of experiencing the truth in the modern world. Secondly, this belonging refers, at the same time, to the desire to carry the ancient truth to modern times and move it into action on a contemporary and secular level. At this point, New Religious Movements are characterized as a protest against modernity. In the aim of this argument, there is the deconstruction of the institutionalized religion and the secular structure by the hand of individual. This situation realizes with the participation of the ‘new’ and the movement, which is a modern social structure, to the ‘religion’; and with the participation of the religion to the ‘new’, that is, the ‘secular’. For this reason, many New Religious Movements blend themselves with modern, anti-modern, sometimes even post-modern elements. These include both elements of adaptation to modernity and elements of resistance to it. The new religious movements are quite diverse and colorful. Some are theoretically highly conservative, but some of them are radically innovative. Some of them emerge from traditional religions, while others show an eclectic and syncretic appearance. It is a fact that the target group of the New Religious Movement is a group of young people aged 15-25. Since their target majority is young people, such religious movements are also defined as “youth religions/sects”. Is attending YDHs a strategic success only in New Religious Movements? Or is it the possibility that the lifestyle in the modern age presents the individual? Or a sense of meaning in which his quest corresponds to it? Or is this a grueling vicious circle that he can't afford to become an addict? In this context, the following elements are explained in general as the main reasons for the participation in a new religious movement for the individual: deprivation, alienation, the tendency to be engaged with religious issues, the instability of one's own personality and the experience of personal crisis. The individual experiences a life in “homeless mind” mode . In “homeless mind” approach, the individual perceives modernization and existence as secular, not as sacred as it used to be. The existence and life in the Western thinking experiencing this process have been seen as “ rationally understood ”, but the Western man feels himself homeless and free of refuge in the cosmos and social life when big problems are encountered. The New Religious Movements have precisely aspired the field of meaning that this feeling corresponds to, and they have met the individual in the claim of satisfying this feeling. In this study, the relationship between NRMs, psychology and personality are tried to be discussed with descriptive and partly analytic approaches. The nature of modern man's ontological entity requires the interpretation of the belief trend in the context of psychology and also requires developing a perspective that prioritizes the effectiveness of comprehension and analysis.

The effect of paternal cues in prenatal care settings on men's involvement intentions.

A father’s involvement in prenatal care engenders health benefits for both mothers and children. While this information can help practitioners improve family health, low paternal involvement in prenatal care remains a challenge. The present study tested a simple, easily scalable intervention to promote father involvement by increasing men’s feelings of comfort and expectations of involvement in prenatal settings through three randomized control trials. Borrowing from social psychological theory on identity safety, the three studies tested whether the inclusion of environmental cues that represent men and fatherhood in prenatal care offices influenced men’s beliefs and behavioral intentions during the perinatal period. Men in studies 1 and 3 viewed online videos of purported prenatal care offices, while men in study 2 visited the office in person. Those who viewed or were immersed in a father-friendly prenatal care office believed that doctors had higher expectations of father involvement compared to treatment-as-usual. This perception predicted greater parenting confidence, comfort, and behavioral intentions to learn about the pregnancy and engage in healthy habits, such as avoiding smoking and alcohol during their partner’s pregnancy. Study 3 replicated these studies with an online sample of expectant fathers. The results suggest that shifting environment office cues can signal fathering norms to men in prenatal settings, with healthier downstream behavior intentions.

ЭКЗИСТЕНЦИАЛИСТСКИЕ МОТИВЫ В РОМАНЕ ЭРНСТА ЮНГЕРА «В СТАЛЬНЫХ ГРОЗАХ»

The interpretation of Ernst Junger’s novel Storm of Steel offered here is aimed at an existentialist reading of the book, viewing it, first and foremost, as a special artistic space meeting the stylistic demands of Junger as a writer. Thus, the formal characteristics of the novel prevail over its shocking content. Such a way of reading this Junger’s work is not popular among Russian scholars studying the writer, for they mostly orient at exploring the ideological and sociological aspects of the book. It seems that Storm of Steel constitutes a special case of using proto-existentialist ideas when describing the phenomenon of war and at the same time presenting some basic existentialist notions, such as ‘anxiety’ (Angst) of Soren Kierkegaard; ‘thrownness’ (Geworfenheit), ‘fright’ (Entsetzen) and ‘nothing’ (Nichts) of Martin Heidegger; ‘limit situation’ (Grenzsituation) and ‘existence enlightenment’ (Existenzerhellung) of Karl Jaspers. Junger’s book can be called unique for it renders a kind of existentialist experience not basing on the matching philosophical apparatus (non-existent at the time of writing Storm of Steel ). Thus, Junger anticipates the main philosophical discoveries of the 20 th century and joins the German version of existentialism. Junger’s writing method reveals the core point of existentialist thinking, when Being opens itself to a human as an existentialist experience, not in an act of rational realizing its meaning, but in view of death, when the world appears both uncanny and dangerous. Junger’s narrator experiences this when fighting, on the scout, getting close to nature when a battle stops. Junger pays attention not only to what man feels, but to the environment, both natural and artificial, consisting of the ruined items of everyday bourgeois life, mixed chaotically with arms. Thus, the writer stresses the need to seek for the new foundations of defining the role of a human in the 20th century reality.

«Наталка Полтавка» Івана Котляревського в українському мовно-культурному просторі

The article attempts to look at Natalka Poltavka's play in a broad linguistic and cultural dimension. The work is considered as the first attempt in a new Ukrainian language to speak about Ukrainian truthfully, brightly and wisely. Particular attention is paid to songs of drama that live separate artistic lives. The importance of the work of I. Kotlyarevsky for the musical realm, in particular, the opera of Mykola Lysenko based on the play "Natalka Poltavka" as a landmark event in the Ukrainian cultural space, is considered. Natalka Poltavka Opera is a real pearl of Ukrainian music. It clearly reveals national life, typical characters and traditions thanks to the folklore-based music. Key opera songs have long gone beyond it and are perceived in various parts of the world as symbols of Ukrainian culture. Natalka Poltavka is the first work of the new Ukrainian dramaturgy, combining signs of sentimentalism and educational realism. At the time when the play was written, sentimentalism began to develop rapidly in European literature, which was characterized by the desire to recreate the world of the feelings of the common man and to evoke sympathy for the heroes of the work. We notice these tendencies in drama, watching I. Kotlyarevsky appeal to human feelings, focusing on their strength, sincerity and depth. Respect for moral purity, spiritual strength, popular wisdom and language, love and respect for ordinary people are all we see in Ivan Kotlyarevsky's talented play.

The concept “freedom” in a virtual reality of the information society

In the article he authors analyze the key aspects of the crisis of western culture which are revealed in the formation of “civilization of consumption” and create limitation of freedom which has a variant of value orientations choice. At the same time the contradiction between traditional and global value dominants appears and here due to freedom of choice ethical guidelines become situational ones, satisfying utilitarian aims. There appears a condition of instability, leading to “social loneliness”. The only way out for a man is an “imaginable world of a dream”, a virtual reality based on information technologies where a man feels genuine freedom. The authors of the article study transformation of freedom, starting from the antiquity where there appeared the problem of freedom in the slave-holding polices through existentialism and freedom of choice, synergetics of the XXth century where freedom was blend with life of the society, to genuine freedom of virtual reality.

풍몽룡 擬民歌詩에 나타난 反傳統性 : 『夾竹桃』를 중심으로

In the late Ming Dynasty, a representative popular literary person, Feng Meng long(馮夢龍), created poems of imitate folk song based on folk songs and recorded it in 『Jiazhutao(夾竹桃)』 which contains a total of 123 poems including 1 preface(前序) and 1 epilogue(後序). The poems of imitate folk song in 『Jiazhutao(夾竹桃)』 contain a love story between men and women, and most of them sing promises, encounters and longings with the mouth of a female speaker.BR The greatest significance of Feng Meng long(馮夢龍) is that it brought the line of 『Qianjiashi(千家詩)』 with enlighten characteristic into a folk song. This means that vulgar literature became the subject and made ornate literature(雅文學) vulgar. Even poetry written by Du Fu(杜甫) which was a model of Confucian poets, poetry written by Neo-Confucianism which denied human desires, and poetry written by the Emperor who was the symbol of absolute power in the feudal era were used to honestly express the desires and sexual desires of oppressed women in Feng Meng long(馮夢龍)’s poems of imitate folk song. This reflects Feng Meng long’s view of folk songs to reveal the falsehood of feudal ethics through the true feelings of man and woman, and it was able to derive the characteristic of anti tradition in his poems of imitate folk song.

EXAMINING THE AGING PHENOMENON IN TERMS OF GENDER VARIABLE AND THE EFFECT OF THE MEDIA

The aging phenomenon, which threatens a great section of the world population and constitutes a risk group, may affect the feelings of men and women related to aging and the elderly. As the necessity and importance of discussing the problems caused by the biopsychosocial changes associated with the aging phenomenon have increased day by day, in this study the subjective well-being levels and perceptions on aging in terms of the variable of gender were determined. The current study employed the field survey method aiming to explore phenomena in their natural conditions. A total of 266 participants participated in different age groups in the study. Two data collection tools were used in the current study. The first data collection tool is an interview form consisting of a total of 4 questions designed to investigate how aging is perceived; the second data collection tool is wellbeing scale. The comments that have been subject to descriptive analysis are experienced. The results revealed that the male and female participants generally perceived the old age as a negative situation. It was observed that the situation felt annoyed by both groups in the aging process was the biological changes. The second negative situation for the participants is the psychological anxieties related to aging. As a result, although they are from different age groups and gender, the participants are considered as aging, biological, psychological and social change complexity. The media is an important element in the formation of this negative situation by making more fearful and worrying publications about physical changes related to age or aging. Article visualizations: