Abstract:
This study tries to analyze historical sources in order to establish the role
of written sources in the emergence and consolidation of gender stereotypes.
Medieval legislation gave a certain role to women and established the place
she should occupy in the society and in the family, by relating her to man. For
each social role: daughter, wife, mother, widow, mistress, prostitute, the
authors of legal and religious sources, who were incidentally men, imposed
certain patterns of behavior in relation to man, attributing to women certain
characteristics that contributed over time in the emergence of stereotypical
images. Although the mentality has changed throughout history, these
differential images of gender roles are deeply imprinted in the collective
mentality. Up until now, the gender relations in our society have remained
blocked at the level of the idea of patriarchy and the predestination of women
for household activities and execution positions.
