GENDER STEREOTYPES OF THE UKRAINIAN FEMALE ELITE IN A PORTRAIT INTERVIEW

Abstract

The article discusses gender stereotypes perpetuated in the language of the Ukrainian female elite during portrait interviews. It describes the general situation of present-day mass media influence on society including its specificity in gender diversity. Special attention focuses on defining and analyzing gender stereotypes in present-day Ukrainian society, particularly describing the features of stereotypical perception and self-identification of women in society. In the context of current political events in the Ukrainian society influence of feminism on Ukrainian media discourse is characterized. Gender stereotypes vividly depict and allow recognizing images of women leaders, homemakers, and driving forces behind social and political events in the communicative environment. The study provides differentiation between understandings of gender and sex, media discourse, and portrait interviews as a form of communication aimed at highlighting opinions, personal feelings, and issues of certain individuals in the Ukrainian society that influence public opinion. The article relies on the classification of stereotypes based on gender types pertaining to a certain sex, social roles and status, as well as professional affiliation. Showcasing an interview with the well-known Ukrainian actress, volunteer, and public figure Natalia Denysenko, conducted within the framework of the social project New Reality, stereotypes of femininity are identified and described. In the portrayal of the strong actress, stereotypes such as women being weak expressed through the use of metaphorical expressions, women being shy represented through the juxtaposition of openness and shyness, women being the guardians of the family articulated through lexicon of preservation and interaction of gender roles, dominance of the masculine gender presented through morphological incongruities in masculine grammatical forms, are actualized.