Editorial Introduction

The society, by our beliefs, customs, traditions, and rules tries to direct our motivation according to social precepts. This implies for both genders–– for women and for men.

From one point of view, it gives a person a kind of a framework in which to orientate safely, but at the same time it raises a question if that defined framework is the best and the most exclusive one. At the same time, the possible differences between the socially accepted framework and how a person himself/herself defines the socially anticipated behavior should be taken into consideration as well.

The world is constantly changing, and that influences the socially accepted and the individuals’ own demands and expectations of gender roles–sometimes the old is replaced with the new or the long forgotten old is brought back to life. For women the challenge is to negotiate gender relationships, parental assignments, professional performance, and selfpositioning and integrating all of that into a harmonious relationship between oneself and the society.