The female image in journalism during the Khrushchev thaw period (based on the magazine "Motherland")

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The female image in journalism during the Khrushchev thaw period (based on the magazine “Motherland”)

Fisenko T.V

National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Politechnic Institute”

Hilenko O.I.

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

The research paper deals with the reflection of the female image in journalistic writings of the Khrushchev thaw period. The most stereotypical images were highlighted and quantitative analysis was conducted to investigate the semantic load of the female image in the essays. The research methodology is based on the results of the content-analytical studies: 60 essays in the “Motherland” magazine (1953-1964) were explored to calculate the quantitative characteristics of using different female images. Most often, the authors refer to the images of female workers in the description of Soviet women. Such traits as modesty, diligence, patriotism, etc. are positive characteristics. Images of specialists and even mothers have identical accents. The latter is often identified with the homeland, parallels are drawn - children's love for their Motherland as a mother. In contrast to Soviet women, foreigners are not so exaggerated, they look like materialistic natives of Western countries. They are interested in fashion, beauty, specifically women's roles in society, not hard physical labor. In the description of their images there are accents related to appearance, beauty, work on vocation, and not because of the duty to serve the country. Unlike Soviet women, the issues ofpatriotism and the social basis of their daily lives are hardly raised.

Based on the publications of the periodical, the image of a woman from the period of mid- 50 's - first half of the `60s of the XX century is covered. The influence of the country liberalization during the Khrushchev Thaw on the creation of the female image in periodicals is to humanize the images of women workers and professionals who combine the traits ofpatriots with sensitivity andfriendliness. A conclusion is made regarding the characteristics of the image of a woman, which was reflected on the pages of the “Motherland” magazine.

Key words: gender, woman, journalism, essay, Khrushchev thaw, “Motherland”.

Фісенко Т.В., Гіленко О.І. ОБРАЗ ЖІНКИ У ПУБЛІЦИСТИЦІ ПЕРІОДУ ХРУЩОВСЬКОЇ ВІДЛИГИ (НА ПРИКЛАДІ ЖУРНАЛУ «БАТЬКІВЩИНА»)

Стаття присвячена дослідженню відображенню жіночого образу в публіцистичних творах періоду хрущовської відлиги. Було виділено найбільш стереотипні образи та проведено кількісний аналіз для дослідження смислового навантаження жіночого образу в публіцистиці. Методологія дослідження базується на результатах змістовно-аналітичних досліджень: досліджено 60 нарисів у журналі «Батьківщина» (1953-1964) для розрахунку кількісних характеристик використання різних жіночих образів. Найчастіше в описі радянських жінок автори посилаються на образи робітниць. До позитивних характеристик належать такі риси, як скромність, працьовитість, патріотизм тощо. Образи фахівчинь і навіть матерів мають однакові акценти. Останні часто ототожнюються з батьківщиною, проводяться паралелі - любов дітей до Батьківщини як до матері. На противагу радянським жінкам, іноземки зображені не так звеличено, вони виглядають як матеріалістично налаштовані уродженки країн Заходу. Їх цікавить мода, краса, питомо жіночі ролі у суспільстві, а не важка фізична праця. У описі їхніх образів є акценти, пов'язані із зовнішнім виглядом, красою, роботою за покликанням, а не через обов'язок служіння країні. Майже не порушуються питання патріотичності, соціального підґрунтя їхньої повсякденності, на відміну від радянських жінок..

На основі публікацій періодичного видання висвітлено образ жінки періоду середини 50-х - першої половини 60-х років ХХ ст. Вплив лібералізації країни під час хрущовської відлиги на створення жіночого образу в періодичних виданнях полягає в гуманізації образів робітниць і професіоналок, які поєднують риси патріотки з чуйністю і доброзичливістю. Зроблено висновок щодо особливостей образу жінки, який знайшов відображення на сторінках журналу «Батьківщина».

Ключові слова: стать, жінка, журналістика, нарис, хрущовська відлига, «Батьківщина».

The problem statement

The historical period of the country always has an impact on gender images formation and stereotypes. Particularly illustrative are the examples of countries that do not currently exist in the former membership, such as the USSR, which split into 15 countries. The postwar years became a new heyday in the history of the then socialist state when there were attempts to reform it in the direction of liberalization, relative democratization, and humanization of political and social life.

The period of significant changes in the postwar USSR history is considered to be the so-called “Khrushchev thaw”, the beginning of which is associated with the death of Stalin in 1953, and the end - with Brezhnev coming to power in 1964.

The study of women in society plays an important role in forming a holistic view of society. Soviet periodicals, aimed at a wide but educated audience, represent, among other things, the ideology that was introduced concerning women. A striking example of such a periodical in Ukraine was the literary magazine “Motherland”, which was published in Kyiv after World War II. In this magazine, unlike other press, the publications touched on the various realities of Soviet life in different republics and portrayed Soviet people in their daily lives.

Analysis of recent research and publications. Ukrainian and foreign researchers in their works touched related aspects of gender issues in history and media. Among Ukrainian researchers, the female topic is studied in various contexts. Thus, the publicist O. Styazhkina in her work [14] touches on the place of women in the cultural space of Ukraine in the second half of the twentieth century. Based on the involvement of a wide source base, the author presents the image of a Soviet woman in the 50's and 80's.

K. Gusarova in her article [8] focuses on the appearance of women in the Soviet-era based on materials from periodicals, brochures, etc. of the Soviet period. Y. Gradskova [7] concentrates on creating the image of a woman based on interviews with women, who lived in Soviet times. Therefore, historians study women in the context of the Soviet era.

The international background of the research is presented by the studies of M. Buckley [3], I. Gewinner [6], L. Atwood [1], and others.

A wide range of issues related to our study has been raised in the book “Women and ideology in the Soviet Union” [3]. The author outlines the fact, that in the postwar years the female question was rediscovered, and sociologists began to research it actively. In particular, they investigate domestic work, the distribution of responsibilities and find a problem in the extremely unequal distribution of labor with a significantly greater burden on women.

Another research paper [6] focuses on the role of women in Soviet society in the 1970s, which was formed by the press. In addition to the function of creating reality through printed images, the magazines focused on the formation and maintenance of the real Soviet woman image. The goal was to form the Soviet stereotype of a worker and a mother, which was based not at all on the need for a sudden egalitarian gender policy on the part of the Soviet government, but on the need for urgent recovery of the country's economy. However, L. Attwood [1] recalls that the Soviet Union was not the only state that faced the confusion of gender roles as a result of the war and industrial revolution.

The research goal is to report the coverage of the female image, which was created in the Soviet press in the mid-50's - the first half of the `60s in the USSR. The work is based on materials presented in “Motherland” - the literary-artistic and sociopolitical magazine of Ukrainian writers.

The research methods used in this study are

a) general theoretical methods, namely analysis, synthesis, and comparison. They were applied to study the journalistic texts, determine their stylistic features, historical context, and realities of the time;

b) the monitoring method allowed to create a sample of publications of the required period; c) content-analysis and quantitative analysis appeared to be effective in an in-depth examination of the journalistic texts

The main purpose of the content analysis of the magazine “Motherland” was to obtain objective information about the specifics of women's issues and gender stereotypes coverage.

Document analysis was used as a method of data collection, quantitative and qualitative methods, as well as techniques of traditional and formalized document analysis were consistently applied at different stages of the research. Data analysis was performed by statistical methods, which included descriptive statistics, statistical analysis of relationships and dependencies. The units of observation were journalistic materials in the issues of the magazine “Motherland” for 1953-1964, with contexts illustrating gender, gender issues and prospects, practices, and stereotypes.

The results and discussion

Most publications that contain female images are identified as positive and balanced, which testifies to the life-affirming spirit of the works in which gender issues are presented. At the same time, many journalistic materials with gender contexts are “embedded” in social issues.

The authors' intentions towards women are relatively calm, such that they do not demand, encourage, warn or discredit. The difference between intentions for an abstract woman or a woman in publications is almost indistinguishable from articulations about a particular woman, the object of the publication. There is a slight difference in the depth of the analysis of the current situation with the “real” woman and the people around her.

The authors of the journalistic texts try to shed more light on the problematic meaning of the gender context when it comes to the “alive” female image.

For example, G. Komlev's essay “Red fields” [9] depicts the collective image of milkmaids who make mistakes in their work due to ignorance, but later correct themselves because they are interested in achieving high performance by the farm.

Milkmaid Maria Kapusta is separated from them, she sincerely loves animals and understands them. Her image is distinguished precisely by the humanization of work duties, which are performed not automatically, but at the call of the heart.

Figure 1. Illustrations to the essay "Nova Kakhovka" [12, p. 161, 171], female laborers

Gender issues, gender contexts, and gender objects are positioned by the authors of journalistic materials mainly as containing a certain problem situation. It seems that the problems of gender asymmetry and discrimination are explicitly or latently based on the plot of the essay. We see a similar example in V. Vrublevsky's essay “Metal of Ukraine” [16], the main conflict of which is connected with the engineer Zoya Kuznetsova. The girl came to work at the factory immediately after graduating from university, so has no experience. Even though the conditions at work are significantly different from the knowledge taught to students, the author constantly emphasizes the unprofessionalism and superiority of the heroine. On the opposite side are her male colleagues, who “did not insult” her and tried to “re-educate”. At the end of the essay, Zoe changes under the influence of factory workers and admits her mistakes.

During the construction of the tools of content analysis, a hypothesis was put forward about the presence of such stereotypical constructions of the female image in “Motherland” magazine: mother, hero, thief, “star”, activist, beauty, professional, expert, housewife, politician, worker.

The results of the quantitative analysis of 60 essays in the magazine (see table 1) showed that the most popular image is a working woman. The main difference between the images of a professional and a worker is their qualification. Although the Soviet Union declared gender equality and access to education for all, women were more likely to stay in low-paid jobs that did not require special knowledge or skills. In addition, the Soviet woman was not freed from the traditional gender roles of wife and mother, although they receded into the background compared to her achievements in the field of labor for the benefit of the country.

A striking example is O. Nosenko's essay “The mighty lighthouse on the Dnieper” [10], which contains portrait sketches of four heroes of socialist labor, three of whom are men. The description of only one heroine, Halyna Bryzhak, shows a striking difference from her colleagues. In one of the first sentences, the author mentions that the woman recently became a mother, and only then retells her career and the path to the title of the heroine of labor.

The story of another professional in P. Orovetsky's essay “Kagarlyk catches up with America” [11] looks opposed, as it depicts a woman involved in the party leadership. It is noteworthy that she holds the position of only the second deputy secretary, which is emphasized at the very beginning of the story. In addition, the plot of the story also differs: it begins with a description of a photo of a beautiful woman in a newspaper, which is not very typical against the background of the further development of the plot around the agricultural achievements of the city of Kagarlyk. The main character, the director Maria Gudz, is depicted as emphasizing the idealized forerunner of production. She solves all work problems easily, she is proud of her land as a patriot.

Table 1Stereotypes of the female image in “Motherland11 magazine