Gender Roles

In comparison to the West, gender roles tend to be far more traditional in Russia and Ukraine. Men should generally be powerful and authoritative, while women should be intelligent and attractive. Russian men still follow traditional masculine decorum, and women tend to dress much more femininely (to emphasize their attractiveness).

Here are some polite reminders for men traveling to Russia, especially those who will be dating women. Traditional gender norms are still prevalent in many Russian homes. Men often handle repairs and maintenance, while women typically cook and clean. Although this isn't exactly a revelation (it's still accepted practice in the majority of civilizations), certain feminists from the West could take issue with a certain level of "inequality".

The fact that this gender difference is substantially less pronounced in recent generations may assuage such feminists. It is pretty obvious that the male is now taking on more responsibility in the cooking, with the children, and (on occasion), even with the cleaning if you compare a twenty-something Russian couple to a couple of the "baby boomer" generation.