I always say that the language is the mirror of a culture. For example, I’m often asked why Russians are not accepting of Western LGBT “values.” My answer is that it’s enshrined in their culture. The gender roles are set subconsciously in Russian mind by their very language.

While in English we simply get “married”, in Russian a man gets “женат” (zhenat) which menas he gets “womaned.”

And a woman, upon marrying, is “за мужем” (za muzhem) meaning behind a husband, that is, he stand protectively in front of her.

The first case implies also that the man is softened by a woman, and in second that the woman is protected by a man.

That fundamental gender and cultural difference is thus reflected in the Russian language.