DOI: https://doi.org/10.17072/2078-7898/2020-4-569-578

Aesthetization of the image of androgyne in modern culture

Svetlana O. Izrina
MA in Cultural Studies,
Ph.D. Student of the Institute of Philosophy

Saint Petersburg State University,
7–9, Universitetskaya emb., Saint Petersburg, 199034, Russia;
e-mail: s.o.izrina@gmail.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2220-8182

The article discusses the methods of anesthetization of the image of androgyne as one of the ways of androgynization of modern culture. A modern understanding of the phenomenon of androgyny is mainly considered in the context of gender identity. It is based on the psychological concept of Sandra Bem that has proved that a person, regardless of his or her biological sex, is able to combine feminine and masculine psychological characteristics and behavior models. That allows them to become more adaptive in society and act as efficiently as possible, choosing exactly what qualities to show depending on the situation. Some studies have noticed the dominance of the androgynous type among the youth, which possibly indicates the intensification of the androgynization process in modern society. Androgynization goes at various social and cultural levels: professional, economic, cultural, psychological and pedagogical. Moreover, some researchers observe the trend of formation of androgynous gender identity type. They also consider the process of androgynization in line with the civilizational approach. The present study focuses on analyzing one of the aspects of this global androgynization process — the effect of an art cinema work on the positive reception of androgyny in society through modeling of an aesthetically attractive androgynous image. As an illustration the author chose an image of the main hero in «Orlando» movie (1992) directed by Sally Potter.

Keywords: androgyne, androgyny, androgynization, transitioning, gender, gender studies, non-binary gender, aesthetization, cinematograph, modern culture.

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Received 28.06.2020

 

For citation:

Izrina S.O. [Aesthetization of the image of androgyne in modern culture]. Vestnik Permskogo universiteta. Filosofia. Psihologia. Sociologia [Perm University Herald. Philosophy. Psychology. Sociology], 2020, issue 4, pp. 569–578 (in Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.17072/2078-7898/2020-4-569-578