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WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA
WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA
Great suffering as well as great achievement
Reinforcement of traditional gender differences + creation of new ones
Emphasis on the “feminine”
Reinforcement of patriarchy with Stalin as great “father”
EFFECTS OF THE STALIN REVOLUTION
WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA
Industrialization
Women recruited into workforce in large numbers
But women’s labor segregated & undervalued
Party abandoned efforts to emancipate women
But some women given opportunities for advancement
EFFECTS OF THE STALIN REVOLUTION
WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA
EFFECTS OF THE STALIN REVOLUTION
Collectivization
Completely disrupted of traditional peasant life
Most peasant women opposed collectivization
Some women gained opportunities for advancement
But vast majority of peasant women suffered deprivation & hardship, arduous labor
WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA
EFFECTS OF THE STALIN REVOLUTION
The “Double Burden”
Women responsible for all household work
Often prevented career advancement
Party promoted women’s work outside home
But also insisted roles at home were equally important
WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA
EFFECTS OF THE STALIN REVOLUTION
Women and the Family
Increasing conservatism in matters of sex, women & family
Promotion of motherhood & reproduction
Abortion made illegal, divorce difficult
State did not provide enough social services
WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA
EFFECTS OF THE STALIN REVOLUTION
The “New Soviet Woman”
Women = models of upright citizenship & clean living
Supportive to husbands
Housework now took on positive dimension
Loyalty & devotion to state
Domestic virtues celebrated
“We serve the people!”
WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA
WOMEN DURING WORLD WAR II
Most women suffered terrible privations & loss
Millions went to work in war industries
Kept nation fed
Suffered atrocities at hands of Germans
WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA
WOMEN DURING WORLD WAR II
Hundreds of thousands entered fighting
Became partisans
Joined underground resistance 800,000 in armed forces
• Served as medical & auxiliary personnel
• Many also served in combat
WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA
WOMEN DURING WORLD WAR II
Female image used as powerful propaganda tool
“Motherland”
Women presented in supportive roles
Men were to defend women
The Motherland Calls You!
You’ve returned life to us!
WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA
POST-WAR WOMANHOOD
Old gender distinctions restored & institutionalized
New family code of 1944
Cult of Motherhood reached new heights
Emphasis on domesticity intensified
Women’s contribution to war effort downplayed, even disparaged