The specificity of men and women ideas about intimacy and close relationships
The article presents the results of the theoretical and empirical study on the structure of social ideas about intimacy and close relationships. The study was carried out in the idiographic, lexical-semantic approach. The working hypothesis of the study was the assumption that in the cognitive map of the Russian public, intimacy is perceived as a quality of close relationships, but the resourcefulness of intimacy is assessed from the position of personal (individual) benefit, and not from the position of benefit for the group subject of relations - the couple. A private assumption was also put forward that the male view of intimacy is distinguished by the diffuseness of ideas and their relation, to a greater extent, to the physiological context. The study involved 46 women aged 19 to 55 years (M=34,5), 14 men aged 20 to 57 years (M=33,9). The authors come to the conclusion that there are both general tendencies in the perception of proximity, as well as specific ones related to gender. The prevailing categories of ideas about the essence of intimacy are «trust», «mutual understanding», «self-manifestation in relationships». The male gaze is characterized by a narrower view and attachment to the sexual context, while in women it is related to a «spiritual connection». Men are less likely to turn to lexemes that reflect «togetherness» and «mutual processes», their understanding of closeness is more revealed through the prism of ego-states and ego-orientation. The phenomena of proximity and close relationships are more differentiated in the mental map of women. Barriers and resources to achieve intimacy are perceived by men and women more uniformly.