“Maro the Fighter:” How Soviet Armenian Media Created Politically and Socially Active Women through Media Discourse

(A case study of the newspaper Avangard (1923-1926))

Authors

Keywords:

Soviet Armenian media, women in media, media and gender policy, media and gender equality, Soviet Armenian women, women and politics, Gender politics in Soviet Armenia, New Soviet daily practices, New life of Soviet Armenian women, Gender and Family in Soviet Armenia, Avangard and gender discource

Abstract

This article analyzes the discourse of the newspaper Avangard related to the new Soviet Armenian woman. The study tries to investigate the tools that Avangard used for the popularization of ideas of gender equality, women’s empowerment and their political and social activity.

In my research, I focus on the newspaper Avangard, since it represented the discourse of the working class. This class found it particularly difficult to adopt the new gender roles pushed forward by new Soviet daily practices.

This article analyzes the issues from the first years of the newspaper’s publication and singles out articles related in any way with women’s issues, the specifics of their new roles, the proclamations on women’s involvement in the social and political life of the country, and it also identifies obstacles and problems in the implementation of the new gender roles as described in the newspaper. Besides this, the article has paid particular attention to certain aspects of the newspaper’s language, the intended audience for its calls and messages, and the role of women in those messages.

References

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How to Approach Girls // Avangard, issue 58(87), p.3, Yerevan, 1924

About Girl Authors // Avagard, issue 15(43), p.6, Yerevan, 1924

You Must Organize Women // Avangard, issue 58(87), p.5, Yerevan, 1924

One Issue for the Promotion of Girls // Avangard, issue 26 (55), p.8, Yerevan, 1924

They do not Attract Girls // Avangard, issue 14(173), p.4, Yerevan, 1926

A Friendly Attitude towards Girls // Avangard, issue 98(254), p.2, Yerevan, 1926

Open their Eyes // Avangard, issue 13(104), p.2, Yerevan, 1925

Who are the Ones who Hamper? // Avangard, issue 27(185), p.2, Yerevan, 1926

The New Life style must not be Distorted // Avangard, issue 30 (121), p. 4, Yerevan, 1926

The Workers for the Village // Avangard, issue 55(84), p.4, Yerevan, 1924

A Sad Phenomenon //Avangard, issue 26(55), p.6, Yerevan, 1924

We Must Abandon Old Customs // Avangard, issue 34(191), p.3, Yerevan, 1926

Women are Men’s Equalsand not their Slaves // Avangard, issue 37 (194), p.3, Yerevan, 1926

They do not Keep Them,nor do they Divorce them // Avangard, issue 61(218), p.3, Yerevan, 1926

He Beat her and Evicted her // Avangard, issue 74(231), p.3, Yerevan, 1926

The Family and the Construction of Socialism // Avangard, issue 30(121), p.3, Yerevan, 1925

Instead of Helping, they Prevent Them //Avangard, issue 44(133), p.2, Yerevan, 1925

Who are the Ones who Hamper? // Avangard, issue 27(185), p.2, Yerevan, 1926

“You-woman! You’d better stay home like you should! Meetings are none of your business! // Avangard, isuue 37(194), p.3, Yerevan, 1926

Is it Permissible to Use Perfume and Powder? // Avangard, issue 91(247), p.4, Yerevan, 1926

Powder and Perfume from a Medical Perspective // Avangard, issue 97(253), p.4, Yerevan, 1926

Physical Activity is Not Only for Boys // Avangard, issue 23(114), p.4, Yerevan, 1925

The Issue of Sex and the Comsosmol // Avangard, issue 30(121), p.3, Yerevan, 1925

The Komsomol, KIM and… the Ring //Avangard, issue 33 (190)

The International Day of Women is the Day of New Struggle (An article by Clara Zetkin) // Avangard, issue 18(177), p.1, Yerevan, 1926

Rosa Luxemburg // Avangard, issue 4(163), p.3, Yerevan, 1926

Our Friend Tarlan as a Parliamentarian // Avangard, issue 15(174), p.2, Yerevan, 1926

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Published

2015-11-23

How to Cite

Gevorgyan, A. (2015). “Maro the Fighter:” How Soviet Armenian Media Created Politically and Socially Active Women through Media Discourse: (A case study of the newspaper Avangard (1923-1926)). Analytical Bulletin, 8, 105–121. Retrieved from https://analytical-bulletin.cccs.am/index.php/ab/article/view/140