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69CULTURAL SCIENCES
FEMINISM AS A DYNAMIC SYSTEM FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN RUSSIAN
SOCIETY
Frolova L.
Bachelor degree Currently student
Abstract
This essay defines the concept of feminism, examines the historical roots of it, its main stages and movements, analysis of feminism as a socio-political theory, the peculiarities of the development of feminism in Russia and in the world, the influence of art and media on the awareness of large masses about the ideas of feminism and their perception at the present period, as well as quantitative and qualitative analysis of the representation of women in these areas.
Keywords: feminism, emancipation, suffragism, feminist movement, women's question, gender, women's rights.
The relevance and importance of the study of feminism is due to the fact that any improvements in the society are only possible with the development of programs that assume the practical equality of men and women. Russian women make up the majority of the population, labor and intellectual potential of the country. The UN classifies feminological problems as global, therefore it is very important to develop research on women's issues today.
What is the generally accepted definition of feminism? It is a concept derived from the Latin word femina - woman. There are many interpretations of this term. In a general sense, feminism is understood as the pursuit of equality between women and men in all spheres of society. The main substantive components of this concept are: 1) a philosophical theory that considers the issues of the nature of women, her place and role in society, the nature of the global oppression of women; 2) a socio-political theory that analyzes inequality between women and men, as well as ways to overcome discrimination against women; 3) a social movement aimed at achieving equality between the sexes, primarily through the empowerment of women in all spheres of life; 4) ideology that expresses the interests of women and opposes various anti-feminist theories and practices; 5) research methodology that articulates the female view of the world and their value system. Feminists are those who, on the basis of various theoretical foundations, are aware of the subordinate position of women, their low social status and support the idea of female emancipation (Latin emancipatio -liberation from dependence, oppression, from prejudice). Discrimination against women originated in the conditions of the formation of social inequality, the division of labor, in a patriarchal society.
Despite the fact that feminism is one of the most discussed topics in the world today, the concept of it still does confuse a lot of people in Russia - Russian-language Internet sources are full of various defini-tions,opinions, articles etc sometimes giving absolutely contradictory information, which is undoubtedly confusing for everyone and even more for someone who is just beginning his acquaintance with this phenomenon; false information is disorienting, causes negative reaction, and also contributes to the numerous stereotypes about what feminism is: feminism in today's Russia is covered with quite a lot of stereotypes, usually unfair and even cruel, caused by a complete lack of awareness
on the topic. Partly because of this, a large number of people have a negative view of feminism, especially in countries where this movement is only beginning its development or those completely lagged behind the world "trends" (usually those are extremely conservative countries where age-old traditions are of very great importance, often flagrantly oppressing the elementary basic rights of women, with all the unfavorable consequences arising from that), those countries include Russia, especially some of its territories, such as, for example, the Republic of Dagestan. It is obvious that in Russia the feminist movement has not been fully formed yet - therefore, it is very important to engage in educational activities on this topic and to promote the development and acceptance of the feminist movement by the large masses. The very fact that in Russian realities the term "feminism" has quite a negative connotation can be considered as one of the proofs that the feminist movement in Russia, despite the different attempts made and various initiatives taken - and those are mostly met by the general public not optimistically at all - is now in the very beginning of its long way and it objectively lags behind how far it has advanced in Europe, and how much the Russian mass consciousness, including the authorities, are ready to perceive feminism as something serious, important and even necessary, as a driving force of progress on the way to equal , inclusive world. Since art and media are a very powerful driving force for influencing minds of people and a way for women to be heard, I will give examples from those areas. A striking example is Russian feminist band named Pussy Riot, which caused a great resonance in the world, mostly because of the reaction of the authorities on the band's performances. Besides being obviously politically orientated, it is also a very loud gender protest. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the band's members considered themselves to be radical feminists, and for the Russian system this is simply unacceptable and causes an aggressive reaction of rejection - a long trial, various accusations that caused a wave of indignation among the European community, a prison term for the members of the band. Another example is an activist Yulia Tsvetkova, whose trial process is currently ongoing. Julia was the head of the children's theater "Merak" in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. She spoke openly about LGBT people, spoke out against gender stereotypes and for the freedom of
women and the female body. Julia staged performances, laid out abstract drawings of vaginas and talked about the important thing - about human rights.
The authorities took up Yulia's projects when the Mayor's Office of Komsomolsk-on-Amur first banned the festival of activist and feminist art "The Color of Saffron". It was supposed to show performances of the children's theater "Merak": Yulia with the actors aged from six to 17 years old staged performances against weapons, bullying, against gender stereotypes - "Pink and Blue". The content of the latest production was eventually checked by the police due to complaints of gay propaganda, and those who took part in the theater performance were interrogated as victims. After the second attempt to hold the festival, Yulia was summoned for interrogation: the police were looking for pornography in her body-positive drawings for the "Woman is not a doll" project. Despite the pressure from the authorities, Yulia continued her activities. For example, she arranged lectures on the Gulag, anti-militarism and LGBT people, after which she was summoned for preventive talks. "Pink and Blue" shows continued, including the one in St. Petersburg at the feminist festival "Eve's Ribs", the police came there every day. The authorities also became interested in the "Vagina Monologues' group, which Yulia hosted in Russian social net VKontakte. There she talked about the female body in order to remove the stigma from physiology: she published drawings, embroidery and appliqués of the genitals that only remotely resemble them. Because of the public, not only Julia was interrogated, but also several of her subscribers. Now Julia is accused of distributing pornography. In this criminal case, she can be given a real term - up to six years. Another case was brought against the girl - an administrative one, for gay propaganda. The police said that one should admit guilt, calm down and stop doing it: publicly voicing the feminist agenda, disagreeing with discriminatory laws against the LGBT community - this active civil position of the girl was displeasing to the Komsomol authorities. The story of Yulia Tsvetkova, who is not engaged in absolutely anything reprehensible and even more so illegal - in fact, the girl was engaged in educational activities on gender issues among young people, correlates with the attitude of society towards when activists talk about the female body. Everything related to the female body is highly taboo due to the large number of patriarchal stereotypes that exist in Russia.
Thus, the answer to the question of how great is the role of art and the media and how women are positioned, manifested and perceived in it becomes obvious. It is very difficult to develop a culture and speak up about feminism in the country where people can be imprisoned for portraying female genitals.
Lack of awareness about feminism, its ideas, aspirations and goals plays a cruel joke on people - while patriarchy as something opposed to feminism is being defended, quite a few of its disadvantages are overlooked: men often react aggressively when the topic of feminism arises, downplaying and denouncing it in various ways, without thinking that patriarchy is a system, which, to a certain extent, also oppresses men, driving them into the framework of the generally accepted "masculinity". In Russia, there are still strong biological ideas about the natural, traditional division of gen-
der roles: the ideas of male dominance, differences between male and female nature are still shared by a large part of the population, especially outside the big cities. It is important to define and separate the concepts of gender and sex, as historically the terms "sex" and "gender" have been used interchangeably, but their uses are becoming increasingly distinct: the term sex refers to biological and physiological characteristics, while gender refers to behaviors, roles, expectations, and activities within society - gender tends to denote the social and cultural role of each sex within a given society. Rather than being purely assigned by genetics, as sex differences generally are, people often develop their gender roles in response to their environment, including family interactions, the media, peers, and education. Judith Butler, an American philosopher, specialist in the theory of gender, feminism and queer theory, argued that gender does not exist in a vacuum, it is a concrete personification of what society and each member of it consider "male" or "female." In her book "Gender Trouble" she wrote that the gender assigned at birth, male or female, does not determine a person's life: society does that for him. One of the fundamental ideas of feminism is everyone's right to choose: who to be, what profession to choose and much more, without any prescribed attitudes and their colossal pressure. Thus, male dominance is not due to male and female nature, but is only determined by social attitudes that are supported by the majority of people and / or which are imposed and promoted by them - in particular, with the help of art and media. Thus, it is not entirely true to assert that the patriarchal structure of society is absolutely correct and comfortable for society as a whole, since it is based on supposed significant differences between men and women. For example, in Russia there is still a list of professions prohibited for women: train driver, civil aviation pilot, diver, plumber, and others.
The compilers of the list were of the opinion that the female nature (logic, psyche) is different. Therefore, a woman can drive a trolley bus or a tram, but cannot cope with a train or plane. Although research made by different scientists shows that there are no characteristics that prevent women doing those kind of jobs, this discriminatory list still exists. Of course, there are some arguments in favor of this system, otherwise it would not have existed for such a long period of time and would not have been supported by some women. The fact that there are women who support patriarchy and speak up against feminism has an explanation too - they have adapted to the system and do not even consider the opportunities that feminism could potentially provide; they also know that speaking up against the system can provoke public condemnation, which is the least severe of possible "punishments". Also, when asking why do they need feminism they probably forget some important historical facts that have a significant impact on what their lives look like now: just a hundred years ago, women did not even have the right to vote and have the same educational opportunities as men had. Earlier in the essay, several examples of women who opposed were given and it is absolutely normal to be afraid of police harassment, of the oppression and public censure, which undoubtedly complicates life and definitely worsens the psychological state of the one being harassed so those who are scared can easily be understood. The political situation in Russia does not provide an opportunity to form a new feminist agenda.
In the future, potentially, with a change in the political regime, changes are possible. Feminist art has not emerged in Russia and cannot have any market power yet, so it remains a fully activist space. At the same time, the industry of art and art history consists mostly of women - because of the fact that men are not ready to work for low wages (and in Russia, the work of women in the field of art - museum workers, curators, etc., is averagely underpaid) and, subsequently, a woman is put into a completely dependent and economically disadvantageous position comparing to men. In art, women occupy almost all low-paid positions without any decision-making power.
Sociologist Denise Candiotti wrote a landmark article, "The Patriarchal Deal," which describes how patriarchy works and explains why it is so resilient. The benefits from the patriarchy are received not only by men due to their dominant status, but also by some women who are more comfortable with taking a secondary position - being a housewife. But in addition to the dividends it gives, patriarchy also requires some sacrifice: women are controlled and subordinate, and men have to bear the burden of responsibility and play the role of a main breadwinner. In countries where the influence of patriarchy is especially strong, there is an increased male mortality. For example, in Russia, men live 12 years less than women - this is the highest gap in Europe.
Thus, the ideas of feminism can benefit both men and women, in spite of the existing negative perception of it and opposition to it in Russia. Russian society at the present stage needs more open borders and needs to search for new principles in the process of forming cultural values and concepts of feminism.
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