Oldal 397 [397]
‘A Woman from a Newspaper’: A New Face for Ideology and Old Habits
In socialism, the images of women leaning over machines, preoccupied with
needlework and ironing, as well as in books and daily newspapers, served to
strengthen certain messages and meanings. Such images had strong support in
the systems of ideology and sociocultural codes of representation. One can argue
that the image of a woman is often used as an important vehicle for ideological
discourse that produces ‘woman’s imaginary’ (see Pollock 1977) and it is usually
reduced to a few distinctive categories, themes and jobs.
Considering the appearance of ‘a woman from a newspaper’ one can notice the
similarity with the fine arts of this period. The female body was regarded as “material
that can be freely transformed in order to serve the new socialistic demands”
(Kowalczyk 2010: 30). The photographs depict women in new roles in which
they are deprived of ‘physiognomic femininity’ as well as commonly understood
standards of feminine beauty and fashion. Women’s bodies are just workers’ bodies
covered under layers of aprons, uniforms and headscarves (Figs 166, 167). Social
realism in the newspapers promotes a body that is subjected to the authority of
power; it is a strong, muscled and natural body, which is “necessary, if only used
to build the socialistic reality” (Kowalczyk 2010: 30) (Fig. 168). As Susan Gal
and Gail Kligman (2000) notice “socialist regimes were often characterized by
a contradictory goals in their policies toward women: They wanted workers as well
as mothers, token leaders as well as quiescent typists” (cited in Pejié 2010: 17).
Interestingly, one can observe a specific kind of ‘feminine beauty’ that
accompanied ideological regime. The workwomen were in a way juxtaposed with
the women-as-folk. The former were not even considered in the context of ‘beauty’
or ‘attractiveness’, while the latter, attributed with ethnic costume, evoked feelings
of enchantment. In other words, there was an ideological ‘recipe for feminine
beauty’ depicted in the newspapers, which had specific meaning (Fig. 169).
Traditional costume was a cultural text and had a symbolic value (cf. Turnau 1986;
Kossakowska-Jarosz 1996); it was a strong and clear sign that evoked the native,
ethnic and national values important in the Regained Territories such as Opole
Silesia. Therefore, in this region the discourse of the new socialistic state coexisted
with the discourse of regional values. The women’s costume, as an ideological
element of culture, decoded their social position as well as particular region,
circumstances and responsibilities. This way of depicting women in newspapers
went hand in hand with ascribed traditional feminine roles and activities such
as plucking feathers, spinning, or needlework (Glos znad Odry 1956, vol. 2; see
Fig. 170). The photographs in the newspapers present a clear idea of state socialism:
women have to participate in the social life of the new state, however, only in
particular ways and through imposed roles and activities.
Another model of the women’s press image was related to the promotion of
readership. It usually included a picture of a group of women reading books, news¬
papers or official documents (for example the state constitution, see Figs 171, 172).
The arranged press photographs and themes were suggestive of ways of showing
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