The concept of "chauvinism" arose in the mid-19th century in France. The word itself is formed on behalf of the old soldier of the Napoleonic Guard, a semi-legendary person - Nicolas Chauvin de Rochefort, who became the hero of more than one vaudeville. Chauvin, as they say
some historians, still a young man went to serve in the imperial army, was wounded seventeen times and did not make much wealth in his life. However, until the end of his days he idolized Napoleon and did not hesitate to aloud to express this innocently, which is why he gained popularity and ridicule not only among the military, but also among the civilian population. The old soldier Chauvin was so patriotic that instead of a sheet he laid a three-color imperial banner and slept on it.
This is the story of the term. However, there is still no clear opinion on what chauvinism is - the language is too vague. Some say that this is an extreme degree of nationalism, others - an aggressive misanthropic ideology, others - a form of racism. However, the analogies with nationalism are not entirely correct. First you need to understand what chauvinism is, what goals does it serve?
According to historians, chauvinism is not an ideology, because there is no clear systematization, rigid attitudes, specific means of achieving a goal and a claim to scientific value. Chauvinism is an emotional component that characterizes the atmosphere of intolerance in society, unlike
nationalism. The roots of the emergence of these two ideological trends are also different: the latter, as a rule, arises from the oppressed nation and manifests itself in the requirements of observance of national interests, in the desire for the development of its people, that is, it bears a positive connotation. Chauvinism is the prerogative of the dominant nation and is manifested in contempt for all other peoples, in the desire to suppress or even physically destroy small assimilations.
Chauvinism is especially dangerous when it becomes an official state policy, that is, it is legally backed up and justified. More recently, in the 30s and 40s, humanity witnessed the fact that it brought with it a political system based on the extreme form of chauvinism - Nazism. In our country, this term has become well known thanks to the Social Democrats, who fought zealously with
Great-power chauvinism and built a new international society.
So, we figured out what chauvinism is on a nationwide scale. However, this word is also used to define social stereotypes. For example, there are male and female chauvinism - two varieties of sexism. Each of them is characterized by the fact that there is discrimination on the basis of gender, the opposite sex is declared incapable and guilty of anything, his rights are insignificant or nonexistent. Probably, it is not necessary to explain what male chauvinism is. Throughout history, in many cultures, the predominance of the stronger sex in all areas of life was considered the norm, but the emergence of feminism and the desire of women to equality laid the foundation for criticism of this state of affairs. Female chauvinism is less common and in milder forms due to physiology and character traits - on a verbal level.