PROCESSES OF GENDER SOCIALIZATION OF PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES
The paper deals with the definitions of the subject of study, which constitute the categorical apparatus of sports psychology. The presented theoretical review of literary sources allowed to substantiate the necessity of development of applied branches of gender psychology, one of the actual directions of which is - gender psychology of sports activity and its support. The need for such support is dictated not only by the division of sports into male and female sports, but also by the violation of the post-professional period, depending on the specialization - masculine or feminine sports. In this context, the problems of formation and development of the personality of professional athletes in the process of professional sports activities are actualized. To implement the chosen perspective of the study, sports activities were divided into masculine and feminine sports. This study aimed to determine the Abstractpeculiarity of the gender differentiation of the personality of male and female athletes in accordance with the chosen specialization. To confirm the hypothesis, an experimental study of various aspects of the formation of the personality of athletes, such as gender, gender identity, gender stereotypes, gender role, was conducted. The obtained statistically reliable indicators at 95% -99% level proved that under the influence of a particular type of sports activity there are changes in the gender structure of the personality-masculinization of women, necessary to achieve high sports results, but deforming gender identification. In the process of sports activities, such masculinization is necessary for women to achieve high results in sports, but in the post-sports period it violates the mechanisms of gender socialization.