“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))
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 discourceAbstract
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.
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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