Liberalism vs. Conservatism: Gendered Controversies on Perfect Family Relations

The article gives consideration to inner inconsistency of family relations which is arose from the content of gender ideology, social stricture changes and living conditions of Russian society involved into the globalization process and
formation of post-industrial global social system. The author compares neo-conservative and liberal explanations of the challenges the family institution faces under the given circumstances. The coloniality of thinking is the insurmountable
obstacle in fi nding the adequate measures aimed to solve the civilization challenges to Russian family functioning. The strategy of contrasting liberal and conservative family values is not productive for the establishing the perfect family
relations in contemporary Russian society, as the empirical data in social and psychological familial studies do not demonstrate neither conservative nor egalitarian univocal features in actual family relations. The empirical studies reveal a liberalization of femininity canon along with the maintenance of conservative masculinity patterns. As a result, the official propaganda of conservative family canon clashes with the routine gender relations and relational practices among family members. The only way out of the ideological duality concerning the idea of perfect family relations is the renunciation of coloniality way of thinking in opposite terms that bring the hierarchies and discrimination in family relations.