Multiple femininities in two Russian women’s magazines, 1970s–1990s

Davidenko, Maria

doi:10.1080/09589236.2016.1233864

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Critical remarks about middle-aged and older women whose choices of make-up, hairstyles or clothing are supposedly out of sync with their age are cited in other studies, for instance, from Canada (Clarke and Griffin 2007; Dumas, Laberge and Straka 2005). As for the Russian cultural context, a recent study of two key Soviet women's magazines demonstrates that in these publications from the 1970s and 1980s young women were commonly presented as slim and women aged 45 years and older as ‘plump’ (Davidenko 2016). Texts on fashion routinely reminded the latter group what kind of clothing and fabrics they had to avoid wearing – clothing that, according to the logic of the age–body shape binary, was appropriate only for slim young girls and women ( e.g.…”

Section: Methods and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

The ambiguities of self-governance: Russian middle-aged middle-class women's reflections on ageing

Davidenko

2017

Ageing and Society

Self Cite

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In a youth-centred culture, where ageing is associated with physical and mental decline, investment in a youthful appearance promises access to socially valuable resources. The need for regular care for the self, primarily through consumption, constitutes part of the narrative of successful or positive ageing. Due to its emphasis on self-reliance and efforts to remain healthy, productive and youthful, the discourse of successful ageing has been seen as intersecting with a neoliberal rationality, or a shift of responsibility for risks associated with ageing from the state to the individual. While some authors criticise an emphasis on individual effort to maintain personal wellbeing for a lack of attention to structural factors, others view such an approach favourably as a way of transcending state paternalism. In this paper, I engage with the discourse of 'responsibilisation' drawing on the interviews with middle-aged, middleclass women from Moscow about their experiences of ageing. I employ the theoretical framework of 'governmentality' to demonstrate how the interviewed women's attempts to make sense of what it meant to age 'appropriately' within their milieus informed both their awareness of a need to improve and reinvent the self constantly through consumption in the context of post-Soviet Russian society, and their questioning of and resistance to this pressure.

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Section: Methods and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

The ambiguities of self-governance: Russian middle-aged middle-class women's reflections on ageing

Davidenko

2017

Ageing and Society

Self Cite

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“…First, the most significant differences between the source market groups were related to beauty and appearance. Gender roles, femininity and female body beautification trend in Russia stemming from historical traditions (Davidenko, 2018) may explain the importance of this motivation factor among Russian women in this study. The Finnish sample was least motivated to make a wellness trip for beautification reasons.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Comparing the motivations behind wellness tourism in three source markets

Bočkus¹,

Vento²,

Tammi³

et al. 2023

EJTR

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This study surveyed 1562 wellness tourists in Finland, the St. Petersburg area, and Lithuania to explore what were their motivations for taking a wellness trip, to investigate what differences there were between different nationalities and determine how wellness tourists could be segmented based on their motivation. As most previous studies analysed wellness tourism motivations in one chosen destination, this study fills the gap in cross-cultural analysis of motivations. Exploratory factor analysis revealed six motivational factors including status, beauty and appearance, personal development, nature and outdoors, socialization, and resting and relaxation, the latter factor being dominant across all nationality groups. Seemingly unrelated regression analysis revealed significant differences in terms of the importance of beautification, improving physical condition, nature, and the desire to indulge in luxury experiences.

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“…After the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), one example of expectations for women in Estonia was beauty contests, which became a part of the national identity movement and created beauty norms for women. In the post-USSR, Estonian women wanted to look more like Western women and stressed opportunities for women to assume an identity other than that of a Soviet working mother (Davidenko, 2018;Kaskla, 2003;Mih ail a, 2017). Social expectations regarding certain standards of beauty were reflected in job advertisements in the newspapers at the time, in particular in the search for frontline employees who were expected to meet the criteria of youth and attractiveness (Mih ail a, 2017).…”

Section: Context Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Appearance-based discrimination against young women in the workplace

Lämsä

Ojasoo

Jyrkinen

et al. 2023

QROM

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PurposeAppearance-based discrimination in workplaces based on an employee's physical appearance is a legal and ethical problem. This study provide important research findings concerning such discrimination in Estonia.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative case study strategy and narrative inquiry were used. The information which was gathered for the research consists of three cases which concern appearance-based discrimination against young women. Information for two of the cases was gathered together by means of open interviews. Information for the third case is based on articles which were found in Estonian daily newspapers.FindingsCovert and overt discrimination based on an employee's physical appearance can occur in Estonian workplaces, even though discrimination and inequality are not tolerated in public and all forms of discrimination are illegal in Estonia. The appearance norms, which frame perceptions of attractiveness and unattractiveness, may at times be rather narrow and stereotypical in Estonian workplaces. The attempts by employees to resist such discrimination in an early phase of the employees' careers are generally not successful.Originality/valueThrough real-life cases, this study makes empirically visible a problem at the workplace related to employees' physical appearance in Estonia. This study makes suggestions for preventing this kind of discrimination in organisations. Narrative inquiry offers a fruitful approach for how researchers can address a sensitive problem, such as the appearance-based discrimination against the employees discussed in this study.

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Multiple femininities in two Russian women’s magazines, 1970s–1990s

Cited by 8 publications

References 19 publications

The ambiguities of self-governance: Russian middle-aged middle-class women's reflections on ageing

The ambiguities of self-governance: Russian middle-aged middle-class women's reflections on ageing

Comparing the motivations behind wellness tourism in three source markets

Appearance-based discrimination against young women in the workplace

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