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Kideritetlen (Marad)

Kideritetlen (Marad)

CEU eTD Collection In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Submitted to the Department of Studies, Central European University, GENDERED ARTISTIC POSITIONS AND SOCIAL VOICES SOCIAL AND POSITIONS ARTISTIC GENDERED IN STATE IN POLITICS - SOCIALIST AND POST AND SOCIALIST Supervisor: Professor Susan Zimmermann , CINEMA Budapest, Beáta Hock , AND THE VISUAL ARTS VISUAL THE AND 2009 by - SOCIALIST H UNGARY : CEU eTD Collection CEU eTD Collection or ideas from authors. institution other than CEU, nor, to my knowledge, does the thesis contain unreferenced material I hereby declare that no parts of this thesis have been submitted towards a degree at any other DECLARATION Beáta Hock CEU eTD Collection CEU eTD Collection (, art history, critical art theory, film studies, post-colonial theory, and feminist and theory, post-colonial studies, film theory, art critical arthistory, theory, (feminist and methodology. It brings together the approaches and insights of a number of scholarly fields The analysis emerges from an interdiscipinary research, both on the level of theoretical inquiry the 20 for the first time applies to Hungarian film production in the second half of which in thecase of film studies implies original primary research and theoretical analysis which The dissertation contributes to thegendered analysis of the two specific fields of visual culture, the analysis critically reconsiders the alleged absences and presences of in Hungary. exploring the spaces, dynamics, and options available for feminist art production in both periods, carefully By visualarts. the and cinema of fields specific inthe producers cultural women female subject positions emerge in the respective periods, and turn into speaking positions with legislation, and social policies. Within this socio-historical framing, the research traces how actual discourses, political their through general in women to communicated Hungary in others, the thesis sets out to identify the kind of messages that the two different political systems constrain and subjectivites certain enable better might thus and ways inparticular individuals Positing that particular state formations and the dominant therein interpellate multidimensional ways. in gender contextualizes and historicizes thesis the comparison, socialist/post-socialist state- a as as well comparison East/West conceptualized a carefully of framework the within category as ananalytical usinggender In periods. post-socialist and state-socialist Hungary’s women and the artistic agendas and self-positioning of individual women cultural producers in of representations artistic shaped what factors explore to been has dissertation this of aim The A BSTRACT th century. CEU eTD Collection operating both within a given and art world. mutual determinations of , the prevalent codes of art making, and the ideologies heterogeneous “text” and regarding cultural producers as social subjects—maps the interplay and literature review, interviews, interpretation ofart products). This approach—reading society as a analysis, (critical approaches of methodological arange employs thesis the case, complex production impact issues of both content and style as well as authorial positions. Toargue a social science) to explore the degree to which the material and ideological conditions of cultural CEU eTD Collection II.5 ROLES AND SOCIAL IDENTITIES II.4 CHAPTER II I.4 II.3. II.3. CAPITAL FEMINIST AND WITH FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES ON WOMEN II.3 THE MESSAGE OF I.3. II.2. CAPITAL I.3. II.2. CAPITAL II.2. SINCECHANGES SOCIAL I.3 II.2 I.3. II.1. KNOWLEDGE I.2. I.2. I.2. II.1. I.2 CONTEMPORARY II.1 I.1 REPRESENTATION CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION LIST OF TABLES T ABLE OF III II L I I III II “W A C I II III II I II I C R “O T R T S OCALIZING FEMINIST THINKING C T N ANALYSIS INTERDISCIPLINARY ULTURAL PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIAL PROCESSES ULTURAL ON PERSPECTIVES P W A R T OCIETY AS TEXT “D P HE METAMORPHOSES STATE HE OF THE S HE DANGERSELF OF ONCLUSION AND IDENTIFYING SOME FEMINIST ISSUES OF THE OF ISSUES SOME FEMINIST AND IDENTIFYING ONCLUSION ECEIVING THE ECEIVING THE MESSAGE E D OLITICAL RHETORIC VERSUS THEREALITY OFLIFE HE POLITICAL IMPORT OFREPRESENTATION ONTESTED FEMINISTIDENTIFICATION ONTESTED N EMERGING FEMINIST SCHOLARSHIP ON FEMINIST SCHOLARSHIP N EMERGING OMAN ATTERNS IN WOMEN OME DIFFICULTIES OME HE POLITICIZATION OFARTHE POLITICIZATION THEORY EDEFINING THEPOLITICAL EDEFINING - NLY THEMSELVESNLY TO BLAME OMEN ASSESSING THE STATE ECLARED POLITICAL PROMISES OUBLE BURDEN - ”: ’ PRODUCTION REVISITED PRODUCTION / S POLITICAL S POLITICAL AND CIVIL RIGHTSPARTICIPATION ANDPOLITICAL C OR FEMININE CULTURAL TEXTS A POLITICALLY IRRELEVANTCATEGORY A POLITICALLY CONSTRUCTING AND BRINGING GENDERED IDENTITIES INTO IDENTITIES GENDERED ANDBRINGING CONSTRUCTING ONTENTS EMANCIPATION: AN EXPENDABLE POLITICAL GOAL POLITICAL ANEXPENDABLE EMANCIPATION: H UNGARIAN SOCIETYUNGARIAN ” VERSUS 1945 - COLONIZATION ANDCOLONIZATION ’ S EDUCATIONAND EMPLOYMENT - : SOCIALIST PAST AND TAKING A PERSPECTIVE ON THE ONTHE PRESENT ANDTAKING APERSPECTIVE PAST SOCIALIST C : “ HANGING PERCEPTIONS AND CONSTRUCTIONS OFGENDERED CONSTRUCTIONS AND PERCEPTIONS HANGING T CHOICEOISIE WO GUIDING ASPECTS ”: — S OCIETY UNDECLARED INTENTIONS UNDECLARED ’ S ARTISTIC PRODUCTION , AESTHETICTERMS ’ , INTENTIONALITY ANDINTENTIONALITY OTHERDILEMMAS OFOPERATING S POLITICAL MESSAGE WOMEN ANDRELATED S MESSAGE FOR POLITICAL ) E C ”. AST ’ ENTRAL AND S CODICIL TO THE POLITICAL CODICIL TOTHEMESSAGE S POLITICAL R i ECONCILINGAND WORK FAMILY LIFE /W : EST DICHOTOMIES FOR WHENLOOKING EST D - PRACTICES EFINING KEY TERMSANDAPPROACHES EFINING ? ( A FEMINIST COUNTER U . NSTRUCTURED FEMALE IDENTITIES IN NSTRUCTURED IDENTITIES FEMALE , S AND ART AND E HARING ECONOMIC ASTERN . . R S “ HARING SOCIAL EADING BETWEEN THELINES HERE AND NOWHERE E UROPE . S HARING POLITICAL - . PUBLIC SPHERE L / MATERIAL OCALIZING / CULTURAL ” ; 54 118 109 104 13 IV 46 38 90 90 82 28 72 22 68 66 19 58 22 54 16 14 51 9 9 1 CEU eTD Collection CHAPTER V IV.4 CHAPTER IV III.5 IV.3. III.4. IV.3. III.4. IV.3. R III.4. III.4. AND FILM TEXT IV.3. APPROACHES INTERPRETATIVE III.4 IV.3 III.3 INCLUSION IN INCLUSION IV.2. III.2 IV.2. III.1. PRODUCTION OF THE STATE OF PRODUCTION IV.2 INTERVIEWS BIBLIOGRAPHY T IV.1. III.1. A IN CONTEMPORARY FEMINIST DISCOURSE III.1. A AND TABLES APPENDICES IV.1. IV.1 TODAY ARTISTS FROM TILL VISUAL 1945 WOMEN HUNGARIAN III.1. SIXTY 127 YEARS CHAPTER III ABLES ADÁK PPENDIX PPENDIX C IV III II I III II I IV III II I S II I W II I T C W W W I P T N A I ELF ONCLUSIONS T T HEORETICAL ANDMETHODOLOGICAL QUESTIONS HEORETICAL A T M A ONCLUSION SSUES AND STRATEGIESIN AND ART PRACTICE T T ) RODUCING NEWROLE MODELS T T OMEN AS INTHEOMEN REPRESENTERS ARTS OF VISUAL FIELD RENDS IN EXISTING FEMINIST FILM THEORY AND TESTING THEIRAPPLICABILITY V OMAN REPRESENTED IN REPRESENTED OMAN OMEN REPRESENTINGDIRECTORS WOMEN OMEN OMEN THE AS REPRESENTED IN OMEN PROFESSION BRIEF SOCIAL HISTORY BRIEF SOCIAL OFTHEVISUAL INARTS EGOTIATORS OFFEMALEEGOTIATORS IDENTITY HE HEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND METHODOLOGICAL HEORETICAL HE LONEHEROINE CRITIQUE OF N OVERVIEW OFWOMEN N OVERVIEW HE HE NUMERICAL SURVEY METHOD AND METHOD ANALYSISSURVEY HE NUMERICAL CORPUS HE OWARDS FEMININE TEXTS ETHODOLOGICAL QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE QUANTITATIVE SURVEY AND THEQUANTITATIVE SURVEY CONCERNING THE QUESTIONS ETHODOLOGICAL ENTURING OUTINTOPUBLIC THE ENTURING - 2 1 REPRESENTERS 1960 1970 1990 H S UNGARIAN UNGARIAN INDUSTRY FILM S AND CONCLUSION S AND AFTER : ARTISTS, ARTWORKS, AND SUBJECT POSITIONS: THEACTIVITYOF POSITIONS: ARTWORKS,ANDSUBJECT ARTISTS, WOMEN AND/IN HUNGARIAN CINEMA (INDUSTRY) IN CINEMA(INDUSTRY) WOMEN AND/IN THE PAST HUNGARIAN H ISTORICAL PARABLES AND MODELS FOR THEPRESENT ISTORICAL AND PARABLES MODELS C 80 OLD S : : . - A SOCIALIST T W A SELF HE OF THE EVERYPOETRY : RTISTS AND OEUVRES THAT HAVE MOBILIZED FEMINIST ANDOEUVRES THAT HAVEMOBILIZED RTISTS AR THINKING ANDTHEEASYARTHE CULTURAL OF THINKING DISMISSALS STRUCTURAL RECONFIGURATION AND OFMEANING THEDISSIPATION RECONFIGURATION STRUCTURAL H ’ S PARTICIPATION INS PARTICIPATION THE - UNGARIAN FILM PRODUCTION FILM UNGARIAN (E ADMITTED FEMINIST ARTIST MESE : - THE PERIOD H : (K UNGARIAN UNGARIAN VISUAL ARTS “ W B PRODUCTION MOVIESPRODUCTION , RISZTA ENCZÚR 1945–2005 ITHOUT STRATEGY ii N , : R AGY A H - ÓZA DAY QUANTITATIVE SURVEYOFWOMEN QUANTITATIVE UNGARY AFTER H ) UNGARIAN ART SCENE E L -H (O (Á , — ” : ASSAN 1945–95 RSHI ANOVERVIEWCONTENT OF FILM OFTHE GNES METHODOLOGICAL QUESTIONS METHODOLOGICAL D ) ROZDIK S 1945 ZÉPFALVI 1950 , ANDAN EMERGING S ) , 1945–2000 , E SZTER ’ S S 220 276 265 192 182 254 176 246 173 235 166 166 235 155 149 206 143 206 138 203 289 197 301 129 293 287 127 287 197 197 280 CEU eTD Collection iii CEU eTD Collection 1945–2000s Number and proportion of male and female artists in relevant artists’ groups, collectives and initiatives,Table 6 Number and proportion of male and female artists in individual exhibitions, 1945–mid-1990s Table 5 the book Number and proportion of male and female artists mentioned in the individual chronological chaptersTable 4 of The History of Hungarian Art in the 20th Century Number and proportion of male and female artists selected for the individual parts of the exhibitionTable 3 series production, 1945-2005 Number and proportion of women in selected behind-the-scene positions of Hungarian feature film Table 2 2005 Women's participation in various behind-the-scene positions of Hungarian feature film production,Table 1 1945- Die zweite Öffentlichkeit: Kunst in Ungarn im 20. Jahrhundert L IST OF TABLES iv CEU eTD Collection The text is available from 2001, organized by SOC, a Stockholm-based non-profit Championship organisation World the Utopian for for submitted artistic currency”, community and and social direct of experiments. network denaturalized. My usage continues T.R.O.Y.’s practice in his , “The New World Disorder—A global remarkably self-centred disposition conveyed by the conveyed current self-centred disposition remarkably English language. English capitalizes and thus prioritizes the first-person singular, which comes across as a 1 them. come into play to upkeep or i create comprehensive, and isdirect interaction this that assuming gender identities and the socialforms of representationsand cultural suited respectivepractices periods, i.e., 1945–89 and from 1989to till today. Acknowledging that the interaction of of representationwomen cultural producers in thefields of cinema and the visual arts in Hungary in thetwo is crucial toothers. Ilook at how thesethe subject positions emerge and turn into speakingconstitution positions with ofpolitical discourses,identity, whereby they better enable certain kinds of subject positions for women than but not and constructs of through women-related legislation and politics as well as social- hypotheses of my inquiry is that political systems mediate messages that shape female subjectivity state-socialist and post-socialist periods. Idistinguish these two periods because one of the the artistic agendas and self-positioning of individual women cultural producers in Hungary’s This dissertation sets out to explore what factors shaped artistic representations ofwomen and The usage of the lowercase “i” pronoun signifies my reservations about a unique convention in the http://www.soc.nu/utopian/uwc2001/troy_text.html I NTRODUCTION 1 lingua franca 1 explore what other factors have , and as such may deserve tobe deserve may such , andas (accessed 11 July2007). (accessed CEU eTD Collection feminist tendencies interrelate and create particular subject and speaking positions for women ideological and material conditions of cultural production, and a possible impact of emerging In comes to the analysis of female cultural producers’ activity as well. the tools that helped me explore the interrelated questions of gender and authorship when it however, which may not beframed in feminist terms. For this capacity, interviews were one of material andInterviews are capable of bringing to the surface reflection on, and criticism of, socialthe ways in which conditions script gender roles and women’s lives; these are reflections, In process. in this considerations dissertation will or be re-introduced in greater detail, and supplemented with related theoretical governed my research. Some of them will bepicked up againat therelevant parts of the the most important questions and theories that have shaped the groundwork for mystudy and My interdisciplinary investigation opens with a theoretical introduction ( mapping the worlds of speakers whose subject position & Kende 1999, Volgyes & Volgyes 1977). Catherine Portuges pointed to the value ofinterview in born and/or socialized in the two different periods (e.g., Goven 1993b, Neményi 1999, Neményi lived experience, including the life expectations, self-constructions and career paths of women sources turned to in-depth interviews as a research method to inquire into “emancipation” as (Almási 2001, Papp 2006) that set agendas for themselves matching my own inquiry. Some of my into the scope of my exploration public discussion events and recently made documentary films reviewed already existing scholarly literature onthe subject. Besides academic sources, i also drew similarmanner the developments of the post-socialist era. Inpiecing together this picture, i women’s consciousness as well as the reasons for its relative failure. The exploration assesses ina (if not oppresive) tendencies within the “socialist mode of women’s emancipation”, its effects on Chapter II Chapter Chapter III Chapter i set out todraft a detailed picture about both the emancipatory and problematic and Chapter IV Chapter imap how changing numbers of female cultural producers, the 2 vis-à-vis feminism is obscured (1993:1). is obscured feminism Chapter I Chapter )convening CEU eTD Collection Communist Condition. Art and Culture After the Fall of the Eastern Block”, Berlin, June 10–12, 2004. 2 how state-socialist policies brought women’s qualification and employment to a near-equal level without an increased number of women participating therein. After having shown in Chapter II.2 automatic, yet, transformations in dominant modes of representation will hardly take place not is certainly relation this agree, theorists most As fields. artistic chosen my two in produced the relation between the number ofwomen cultural producers and the kinds of representations representation problematizes the dominance of male producers of representations, i also address Hungarian cinema and visual arts production in thechosen periods. As the critique of applicability Both ChapterIII andChapter open IV withintroductoryan sectionwhere iprobe the of the thesessubversive attention; a counter-publicof sphere indeed to cultivate critical thinking. feminist and speech” “free manipulation-resistant sites of last the of asone itself conceptualize may film and practice. art theory resultingand criticism from the advantage toarelative point that beheard lack can voices occasional time, same Atthe reflection. of an forart market the that the actualanalysis impact of market relations on culturalwould production rarely gets in the center of critical heavily influenceofoften complain that no proper art market has developed yet inpost-socialist Hungary, although and “streamline”in Hungary today, although it enjoyed more prominence in the 1960–80s.artistic Art professionals today feminist critique of dominant cinema. Unlike movies, visual arts is ahighly marginal cultural form forces have seen film as animportant propaganda tool—and so did their critics, including the audiences. Foritswide reachandcapacityinscribe to ideologies, various political isarguably cinema television, conditions, but are often tackled in conjunction within Cultural Studies. Outrun perhaps only by production and status social possess different that production cultural of fields distinct two as thevisualarts and cinema I chose context. discursive and social agiven within artists The subject was addressed from a multiplicity of viewpoints at the international conference “The Post- 2 Situated on the margins of both economics and state interests today, contemporary art contemporary today, interests state and economics both of margins the on Situated a medium mass of appeal that enjoys thegreatest exposure to 3 or economic CEU eTD Collection out these differences in the corresponding sections of Chapter III (III.1.iii) and IV (IV.1.ii). will lay I points. focal different somewhat set and logic different asomewhat follow to have will Given the different status and production conditions of the two art forms, the analysis of both this kind of art practice and discourse now seems to be declining. or so, adecade after But work. their around forming was moderately discourse critical feminist 1990s, however, a growing number of actively producing had become visible and a characterized by a blatant male-domination, with hardly any central women creators. By the mid- or semi-official segment, the latter one creating some kind of a “parallel public sphere” and political system after World War II, the art scene was severely polarized into an official workingand on the non-margins of the art world, except for a handful of notable exceptions. In the new have been alow but steady number of women painters and sculptors around, most of them visual arts thedynamics have been different. Since the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, there production processes, almost totally blotting out or plainly objectifying female characters. Inthe change has 8 to 10 years, after a major restructuring of production conditions in the film industry, a striking objectifying or glorifying them. By contrast, in the post-socialist period, and especially in thepast profound interest in female figures, and portrays their female protagonists in ways other than film theory and practice on local filmmakers, a considerable amount of cinematic pieces exhibit a process. Although there are no indications of any substantial influence of the emerging feminist growing number ofwomen participating, to varying degrees, in various ranks of the filmmaking changes in 1989 were markedHungarian by a diversityfilms made offrom styles the second andaffected the sphere of creative work. thematic decade ofoccupations, the state-socialistChapter III and Chapter IVi explore whether women’s greater presence on the labor market alsoand a steadily regimeas that ofmen, and thus generated anup increase and differentiation into female employment, in the political occurred and revived conspicuously male-dominated, if not homosocial shooting and 4 CEU eTD Collection both to thestudy of the women-related social changes and the cultural production ofthe state- The other additional angle has beenemploying a scholarly and historically concrete approach in Chapter I, and set out to resolve these and propose an adjusted focus in Chapter IV. a feminist criticism-aware discourse circulated for a few years; i spelled out mydiscontents with it this is one of the tasks Chapter III of the dissertation accomplishes. Inthe field of the visual arts, endeavor has been made to test the applicability ofthe analytical tools of feminist film theory; substantially drew onwomen-related social processesthese in Hungary in the time frame i have also set for my exploration; i scholarly tomap scientists social by made been already have efforts pieces Similar dissertation. the through runs in Chapter II. Withinareas that myproject engages—is one of the two additional tracks, oranalytical perspectives,film that studies, noterms and adjusting the focuscomparable of (Western) feminist scholarship within thevarious disciplinary post-colonial theory and their “Second World reworking”. Such reworking—i.e., shifting the post-structuralist critique of representation and its feminist reworking, as well as the arguments of social practices, political structures and social hierarchies. Myinquiry is also informed by the helped to shape my analyticalconsumption of cultural products in social and historical contexts. These are tendencies that frame forprocesses on the one hand and, on the other, to queries a that situate the productiondiscussion and of academiccultural fieldsproducts ledthe cultural turn within thesocialin sciences.to This knowledge flow between previouslyrelationthe autonomous development to by enhanced are approach othersuch multidisciplinary arisefrom that questions The Studies. Cultural of a strong culturalinsights of psychoanalysis, semiotics and Marxist . In this capacity, they form perspectivepart of literary, film and art theory tohave mutually inspired each other whilethe they also borrowed from the study in ofinquiries feminist disciplines: of a variety from coming socialpropositions on draw themselves criticism and theory Cultural practice. critical and theory cultural asfeminist well as theory The research is first and foremost informed by feminist approaches to certain fields of social 5 CEU eTD Collection unchanging and undifferentiated, and debilitated by “totalitarian” politics. time, and instead tend to dispatch the social and cultural processes of more than four decades as reluctant to dedicate serious scholarly efforts to the analysis of the cultural-social history of the are stance with that written Pieces attitude. War Cold a persistent overrule socialist period. To achieve this re-assessment, i had todevelop arguments to contest and 6 often CEU eTD Collection 7 CEU eTD Collection akárhogy, valahogy, magyarul? miért nem énekelt minekünk bárhogyan, Kár, hogy angolul énekelt. Oh, az az énekes Talán tévedtünk mi ott? Oh, az a rohadt énekes ! Hol az a nyelv, amibe a mi táncunk szorult bele, és mondható? Hol az a tánc, amibe a mi életünk szorult bele, és járható? s nincsen megírva az angolul. és mi belénk szorult, nem tudjuk magyarul, És mi most itt vagyunk, és amit mi tudunk Hogy az úgy tudtuk róla mi, hogy jobb Óh, az az énekes bármir hogy du-bi-du-bap-da-di-bi-bu-bu-bap-du-bom Valami dal, amibe azt magyaráztuk mi bele, Minket a tánczene-szó, valami "I love you so" hozott össze. megírták helyettünk angolul. és mi azt hittük, hogy ami nincsen meg magyarul, Oh az az énekes énekelt angolul, ez kimondja helyettünk angolul. mégis azt hittük, hogy ami belénk szorult, Bár se te, se én nem tudtunk angolul, Valami híres énekes valami angol szöveget énekelt. Minket a tánczene-szó, valami “I love you so” hozott össze. ŋ élete sokkal többet ér, mint mi vagyunk. ŋ l énekelt, ŋ , mint mi vagyunk. Where is the language that’s got our dance jammed inside and can be spoken? Where is the dance that’s got our life jammed insideand can be danced? from the LP 8 and what is jammed inside us, we can’t say in Hungarian and we thought that which we don’t have in Hungarian Too bad that he was singing in English, oh, that singer Fehér babáktakarodója We hooked up over some “I love you so” dance music We hooked up over some “I love you so” dance music Some famous singer was singing some English words some English singerwassinging famous Some Perhaps we were wrong then. Oh, that damn singer! Tamás Cseh & Géza Bereményi: that his life was worth so much more than ours And so we are here now, and what we know as du-bi-du-bap-da-di-bi-bu-bu-bap-du-bom Although neither you, nor I spoke English anyhow, no matter how—in Hungarian?! we thought whatever is jammed inside us this singer expresses it for us for expresses us in English it singer this Oh, that singer was singing in English Oh that singer whatever he sang about we assumed that he was better than us and it hasn’t been written in English Why did not he sing for us somehow, Some song which we overinterpreted has been written in English for us (Curfew for White Dolls) I love you so 1979 CEU eTD Collection of a 1992 comparative research project. According to these, women in post-socialist countries are A second observation was made by Hungarian sociologist Mária Neményi, who cites the findings subjectivities in this given context. female autonomous of non-availability the about iassume, informs, self-possession of gesture (i.e., given an affiliation commonly considered extreme or radical) upon exhibiting an act or feminist a labeled instantly Being awoman”. “merely is she orelse feminist, a labeled is instantly Babarczy also made the related observation that awoman who exhibits a coherent female identity the adoption of the reproductive role, without any female identity or sense of self attached (117). over the condition that, for many women in present day Hungary, being a woman simply means historian and the editor-in-chief of a woman’s magazine. The moderator expressed her dismay women actively engaged in questions of woman and/in society: a woman artist, a feminist (Babarczy 2000). The moderator, herself a cultural theorist, conversed with three Hungarian Hungarian thesis, MA my for material collecting When Art and Society collect these observations and define the usage of some key terms for my project. of the categories of “female identity” and “femininity” in today’s Hungary. In this section i in observations that seemed to validate a set ofgeneral perceptions of my ownidentities about the instability female literature describing the gender-related changes of the transition period in Hungary. These were Unstructured My inquirycategory? society for the present thesis was prompted by a number of related observations in existing Hungarian irrelevant politically contemporary a “Woman”: I.1 CHAPTER I C (2002), i encountered a published transcript of a panel discussion ONSTRUCTING AND BRINGING GENDERED IDENTITIES INTO IDENTITIES GENDERED AND BRINGING ONSTRUCTING REPRESENTATION The Difficulties of a Feminist Discourse in Contemporary Discourse a Feminist of Difficulties The 9 CEU eTD Collection subordinated role or, in other words, in a“deeply rooted and often internalized sense of actual of equality between the sexes, and is reflected in the adoption of an always already on the grounds of a common peculiar characteristic of both. This is an concerningJoó compares thethe ensuing “post-socialist female consciousness” to that of Simone de Beauvoir lives. their affecting inequalities structural the of conscious them making without “equal” women made Thus subjects. social female as and inequality their recognize to learn socialist system, women only learned about the equality theywere entitled to while they did not translations, not keeping the rhytm and rhymes of the original lyrics. also applies to the mottos to the individual chapters; there, however, i was only providing word-to-word 3 world of paid work during state-socialist rule, “women emancipation”, and concludes that, due towomen’s mass participation in education and the men. Hungarian philosopher Mária Joó elaborates on the mixed effects of a “gender-blind the other,with related the discourses which blurredthesocial asymmetries between womenand double-edged effects of the “socialist way of women’s emancipation” on the one hand; and on attitude might partly beresistance to victimization, but, presumably, the oppressive effectsofa patriarchal structure ontheirown personal lives aswomen.Such than rather general, in structure social anunjust of characteristics asthe asymmetries structural is that women in post-socialist settings appear more willing to interpret gender-based injustices or individual’s perceptions of injustice. My additional—but by no means contradictory—comment the interrelations between social formations, the social status of the individual, and the when the source of the injustice was their gender. The research concludes that the answers show feminism has been endorsed by broader segments of society proved to be better able to identify of critique social the where areas from women contrast, By 1994:244–45). (Neményi gender less readytotell whether someinjustice they hadexperienced wasinflicted because oftheir in their consciousness indeed—but not in their existence (Joó 2005:49-52). perception structured their experience andself-perception”, whereby theybecame men’sequals All translations of original Hungarian-language sources are my own, unless differently indicated. This 10 perceived themselves it has also got todowith the as men’s equals, and this 3 For, in the state- CEU eTD Collection above registered. Ignoring, orbeing oblivious of, these changes and the ways they might have point of reference in political rhetoric to the deeply de-politicized entity the authors i quoted considerable As my analysis in Chapter II will show, the status of the social category of “woman” underwent first be constituted as politically relevant (Gal & Kligman 2000a:106). and theauthors spell out that, in order to advance “woman” as a pivotal social category, it must In a later monograph that Gal co-authored with Gail Kligman, this point is further developed, (1997:96–97). order“ gender a naturalized support[ed] explicitly or implicitly […] activity political subjects whose interests and issues could be publicly defined and debated, while “all colors of women, no discourse within which women would have been configured as independent social for available readily subjectivity political no saw Gal Susan perspective, asimilar from situation 4 identities had been efficiently de-politicized (2001:33) inthetransition process. participation. As a result ofa process that Birgit Sauer calls the feminization of privacy, women’s civic soliciting nominally and rule democratic exercising formally only system a one-party there was nowide variety of refined political identities, for such identities were hard to develop in comparable dearth on the level of political identities. Granted, after the system change in 1989 level, some other analysts exploring the political climate of the “transition” period note a the non-availability ofa self-structured female identity more on the personal orpsychological address quoted just i have fields disciplinary various from theauthors and Babarczy Eszter While their private relations or self-positioning would rely on traditional gendered behavior patterns. including who may often embark on an emancipated lifestyle andstrata, social career ofvarious members for holdtrue path, observations their that but emphasize add and in 1995:90, Arpad-Marinovich 2000:203, Adamik additionally (and inferiority of the female sex” (Bock 2002:241). The researchers cited in the previous paragraphs See also footnote 33. changes throughout the six-decade period under my scrutiny, from being a recurrent 11 and Goven 1993b:428, 438-39) 1993b:428, Goven and 4 Describing the CEU eTD Collection Rouge Gallery, Budapest, February 19, 2003; and, to give a regional dimension to the topic, Kivimaa 2001. 5 mediated through, discourses, both “dominant” and “alternative” types. Foucault, arguing for the and within, asembedded identities see gender and society topolitics, approaches Discourse 2003:12). in Hárs quoted Hell, 1981:141; (Kristeva transformation structured identities, insisting that transformations of subjectivity is apre-condition ofsocial self- of importance political the stress also theorists feminist Other change. social for basis as amobilizing serve can it sothat category this for call who (2000a:106) &Kligman Gal from I took my above cue—the necessity to constitute “woman” as a politically relevant category— conditions. One of the aims of this thesis is to explore these complex processes. resultant of the complex processes of subject formation not so much a clear refusal orinformed ambiguity towards feminism and reluctance towards feminist identification in thepresent case is even refusal of, any feminist. My own presumption concerning the second argument is that agglomerated feminist artistic platform; and b) women artists tend to exhibit a resistance to, or relatively aWestern-like, and movement women's a grass-roots in embedded is not context this identified as feminist. one should notexpect,The in thestate-socialist andmajor post-socialist arena, tofind art that can be underlying reasonsartists. This view then is closely related to another stance commonly heldfor by art professionals: this position areviewpoint that sees feminist thinkingthat as external to the scope of interest of Hungariana) women art practice in transformed and expanded by international feminist art” (Sturcz 2000a:88). This quote reveals a already discourses and strategies categories, to“the now can resort artists the because women artists can belinked with feminist creative and interpretive strategies, stated Sturcz, it is remark that set my present inquiry into implicatedmotion. women, art historian János Sturcz expressed a Ifwidely held assumption—yetthe another works of some contemporary Hungarian C.f. for example Keserü 2000; and art historian László Beke’s contribution to the discussion in Cadre non-choice 12 of feminism; rather, it turns out to be the that post-socialist Hungarian society Hungarian post-socialist that 5 CEU eTD Collection therefore an entity shaped by political, social, and cultural forces and relationships. Bringing property of being a subject) as a product of and an effect of relations of power, and (the subjectivity see that Foucault) Michel and Althusser Louis of those (especially conceptions ibid.). My understanding of beliefs and possibilities which are available to[people] in their social context” (Ivanic, quoted dependent conceptualization ofthe term when she sees it as “the result ofaffiliation toparticular and one’s lifestyle. In asimilar conviction, Roz Ivanic also proposes a non-totalizing but context- Accordingly, Giddens presents identity as a series of 2002:7). &Sunderland Litosseliti in quoted (Giddens, attributes personal stationary of set or Another premise put forward by Anthony Giddens is that identity is a process, rather than astate scrutiny but also simultaneous, yet incompatible messages within their dominant discourses what is at stake here issometimes contradictory, notsometimes interrelated, appears toonly be a valid point of departure because starkly changingusage. The idea that people identify simultaneously with a variety of social functions that are discursal practices in the two periods under I.2 Cultural perspectives on social processes: Defining key terms and approaches authorsand in theterms field,key tendin thesection above. Hereto i intend Defining to briefly explainfavor myusage of these categories. I, like other the pluralprocesses: wordsocial Certainly, “ on identity, subjectivity and discourse are the centralperspectives terms for the argument i put forwardCultural I.2 the implemented social policies. defined their relations towards women through political rhetoric, women-related legislation and recognition will be important when iset out to explore in Chapter II how the two systems already been “spoken” so that associated utterances can be produced (Foucault 1996:42–43). This salience of the enabling or constraining force of discourses, explains that discourses must have subjectivity has been informed by structuralist and post-structuralist and bystructuralist informed been has 13 identities choices one continually makes about oneself ” and the insight that underlies this underlies that insight the ” and . CEU eTD Collection Griselda Pollock along similar lines (1987:355–56). 6 mutually inform each other. This integrated perspective throws light on how cultural systems can and interrelated cultural—are the socialand domains—the two the how reveals processes social organizations (Swidler 1995). This strong cultural perspective tothe exploration ofsocial by used are and constrain, shape, templates cultural existing how studies and change, social of SwidlerAnn charts atrendthat came to acknowledge culture asasalient factorintheemergence movements, social examining scholarship within developments recent the reviewing article an In the life and creative output of women artists. approach is also useful in ananalysis that aims to explore how socially contrived orders structure prevalent codes of artsocial subjects and to making,map the interplay and mutual determinations of social formation, the and the ideologiesproduction: cinema and the visual arts. This approach helps me to regard cultural producers as both of a givenMy thesis investigates the above-definedsociety categories in thedomain ofpolitics and cultural andtext artas world.Society ThisI.2.i 1996:19–32). (Foucault about has warranted comment, when certain things have been topics, which can be talked orwritten internalized by individuals. Foucault also adds that we can talk about a discourse when something In Foucault’s account, discourse is produced by various power systems, and is then accepted and ibid.,10). quoted, Gee P. (J. acts public our of meaningfulness and recognizability the constitute their capacity to structure the forms a particular topic or process is to be talked about, discourses social practice”, Analysis together the ideas of anumber of theorists, the editors of the volume Gouma-Peterson & Mathews summarize the methodology and practice of British feminist art historian offer some basic definitions of and “a recognizable way of seeing the world” (Litosseliti & Sunderland 2002). In discourse 6 as “language beyond the sentence”, “a form of 14 Gender Identity andDiscourse CEU eTD Collection functions to constitute individuals as men or women (de Lauretis 1987:13). Apart from such from Apart 1987:13). Lauretis women (de or men as individuals constitute to functions list of ideological state apparatuses, state ideological list of (Althusser 1971). Supplementing Althusser’s conception, Teresa de Lauretis added cinema constructto the the subjectivity of individuals, interpellating them into defined subject positions introduced as Ideological State Apparatuses through which ideology functions to politics, religion, the family and the media do so as well. These are a host of institutions that that so marks the “tone of daily life” and influences action; the systems of law and education, just culture, not it iscertainly further, point the Developing these texts, and map available speaking positions within a particular “cultural universe”. of associated cultural practices will allow mebothto identify contextually defined meanings for web rich inthe texts cultural selected situating and analysis, line of proposed this Endorsing 32). (Swidler, universe” a cultural in utterance of possibilites the define that meaning of relationships cultural system gives todailylife. Thesecodedsigns thenrefer to“deeply held, inescapable publicly available symbols that can include even such elusive things as the mood or tone that a created for and by a patriarchal culture (Beauvoir 1993:275). one of the vehicles—beside religion, traditions, language, tales, and songs—that carry the many myths 8 ofsigns. combination a of composed representations of or set product, meaning, “text” does not only denote verbal or written messages but any meaningful structure, culturalusage of semiotic theories emerging in the 1960s and later in the analyses of Cultural Studies. communicationalIn this latter act or the literary work under scrutiny. The term gained a wider understanding in the 7 culture as a semiotic code, Clifford Geertz identifies rituals, aesthetic objects and other “texts” sees culture as operating in the contexts that surround individuals. Championing a notion of and heads, actors’ inindividual meanings shared fromuniversally focus the shifts trend recent Revising “classical” Weberian and Durkheimian approaches in the sociology of culture, this more or the ways culture can contribute to the development of new social and political designs. form to individual consciousness. Italso helps to register the transformative potentials of culture, set the ends people seek: how dominant representations and publicly available symbols can give However, as early as in her 1949 book, The term “text” was originally used in linguistic analysis and literary theory where it denoted a 8 Second The and described gender as another social technology that 15 , Simone de Beauvoir already identified movies as a set of socially organized practices, 7 as CEU eTD Collection related approaches emerging in thestudy of art that challenged many of the basic assumptions of representation gained more political overtones. In the same decade, the practitioners of a host of philosophers’ contribution, however, the formerly rather technically oriented interest in 9 and the constructionist approaches. theories of representation were developed: the reflective (ormimetic) approach, the intentional processes at work in thereception ofartworks (Gombrich 1969). Subsequently three major rehearsed from various angles. Ernst Gombrich raised the issue of artistic illusion and perceptual subject a study, historical art in asubject been long has representation representation ofvisual status The of import political The I.2.ii 1997:81). (Evans orrationalized expressed fully yet construct versions of the “truth” through structuring lived experience and articulating what is not representations do is not simply “uncovering” or “revealing” the truth about human reality; they operation: an act of representation is always formative, rather than simply mimetic. What Representation, a fourth key term for my inquiry, is also characterized by a two-directional way of practices, they are an actual agent of social construction (Litosseliti & Sunderland 2002:13). representational and constitutive. Insofar as they maintain, reconstitute or produce social asboth seen are discourses claim, Lauretis’s de in is reflected Asit discourses. of arange of as organized and given structure by, as well as produced and reproduced in, the representations representations. This proposition is important because thecategory of woman, too, can be seen hegemonic discourses, have a capacity to intervene in the (re-)production of gender and intellectual practices. She holds that such practices, even if operating on the margins of creative located less centrally with engages deLauretis cinema, asmainstream machines powerful For a concise overview of these, see Hall 1997:24–26. 9 Inthe 1980s, onaccount of postmodern cultural 16 CEU eTD Collection prejudices of their male audiences, and to damage the self-perceptions and limit the social oppressive at the same time. “The resultant stereotypes serve to reinforce and/or create the falseand tobe also tends women ofimages range This limited images. inthese absent largely been have relationships social of products and subjects as historical women whereas depictions of women are many, these most often offer imaginary formations or spectacles only, orliterary pictorial man-made Although women. captured has culture patriarchal which ways in feminist critique ofrepresentation recognized and exposed the objectifying and stereotypical of potentiality in artand visual culture were seen to stow complex meanings and, at the same time, held up the analytical lens of representation, images of women and the ideological construction of the female process—being represented and creating representations—was scrutinized. Through the male and female insociety. The participation of women at both ends of the representational critics turned to questions of cultural representation, conceptualizing it asthe difference between As the postmodern critique ofrepresentation met the feminist critique ofpatriarchy, feminist 1997:407). (Kuhn within society, representation appears as a strategy of normalization and a form of regulation power. When considering how representation participates in the various relations of power of relations of amanifestation andassuch, act, symbolical and political inevitably as an viewed (Michelle Lagny, quoted in Ousmanova 2006). Any form of cultural representation came to be topics certain toward attitude society’s and stereotypes, cultural habits, mental constructs and reflects both culture visual Thus ideology. dominant culture’s aparticular legitimizing apparatus reflectingcomponents that constitute culture. Thesewriterssome no longertreated representation asa mimetic ultimate reality,further detail in I.2.ii) came to think of art as one of the forceful, effectualbut and significant rather reflectingthe discipline a culture’s (“New Artvision History”, of itself, “Visual thusCulture” and “Cultural Studies”; to be discussed in creating alternative representations. This “images of women” strand within the 17 CEU eTD Collection as something represent focus of feminist engagement with the image moved from woman as observed, as passive object, access to shape those images, if they participate in theactual making of representations. Thus the similar persuasion. The frequently used terminology “textual politics” was born out of, and demonstrates,has expounded the focus of these concerns: a emerging, incorporatingcanons the concerns historical existing in, ormarginalized from, of excluded previously artists, and writers women feminist cultural criticism.undertook a job of “intellectual archeology” which was directed at demonstrating the existence of Film theorist Anette Kuhn represent and differentiated images of wom importantly, advance correction was called for which would offer positive rolemodels for female audiences and, more represents for man she what sign for a sexuality, masculine of asasign functions which term sexual a saturatedly implied right and power of man to look at women in away that turns the signifier “woman” into “the bearer of the gaze”—hascritical re-reading of art history demonstrated that the active role in consuming images—that of been historically a and studies film Critical 1999:10). Thornham in quoted Smith, (Sharon women” of aspirations assigned to men. These studies uncovered the sex/gender systems. In other words, cultural struggle becomesto transform potential a political someindependent have culture possibility.within interventions (1994:5) that argue to possible becomes it then […], system sex/gender ofthe theconstitution in effects having If it is accepted that “the cultural” may be subsumed within ideology and thus be considered as . In the meanwhile, an increasingly dynamic production of original works bywomen was ing, and the makers of meaning (Kemp & Squires 1997:386). Initial efforts in the 1970s the in efforts Initial 1997:386). & Squires (Kemp meaning of makers the and (Pollock 1992:23, 35). 1992:23, (Pollock women-defined ed to women as producers, as actively creative subjects, asthose subjects, creative asactively asproducers, towomen e n will be more likely to be produced if women themselves have characters. The underlying assumption here is that redefined To wardofftheseprocesses, asortof stereotype- 18 CEU eTD Collection has always been, in this sense, political in nature (Alpers 1977:2). Alpers should mean by that—has always resulted from “conscious working out of this recognition”, and 11 the method. about introduction (1973), or of art of the last hundred years has been selective and partial, in the interests on the whole of a methodology (ibid., 4). As Dawn Ades in an essay “Reviewing Art History” elucidates, the history replaced by a terminology closer related to the social sciences: ideology, , class, (such as connoisseurship, quality, period style, iconography, genius, the hierarchy of genres) were became a heavily contested stance. On a similar note, earlier preoccupations of the discipline reality social everyday to transcend capacity and autonomy alleged for its art of appraisal an the status of art within society, and having eroded the most common assumptions of what art is, transcendental mode of perception, modernist art, was thus revealed. After having so questioned its biases (Rees & Borzello 1988:9). The ideology carrying function of the seemingly pure and and “reality” constructed criticizing—a increasingly lately, legitimizing—and, knowledge of form thinking that transformed art history from a historical the social situation and the social structure in which it was produced. According to the new relevant universally with domain 10 80s. and 1970s the that takes account ofthe realities of the social world in which art is produced was developing in Clark, arenowned practitioner of the new mode of art historical inquiry, emerging new approach thatnotorious is known today for a discipline as history, Art turn. critical its“The asocially-oriented took also practice asart well as theory conservatismart New Art History”.art Uponandand theorthodoxyproduct, but also integralcall to the productionterms, of the social (Friedland & Mohr 2004:2),of art history, T.J. inaesthetic subject asocial only wasnot culture that assert to came theory, increasingly humanities inthe As scholars art choiceof and research,politicization The I.2.iii gave way to an The art historian Svetlana Alpers, however, noted in her path-breaking essay that great art—whatever great that essay herpath-breaking notedin however, Alpers, Svetlana historian Theart T.J. Clark’s work includes telling titles like The Image of the People: Gustave Courbet and the 1848 11 This view undermined the modernist belief in art as adiscrete, transcendent thematic occupations and eternal aesthetic qualities unrelated to The Absolute Bourgeois: Artists and Politics in France, 1848-1851 19 to a critical discipline, art has been but one (1982) , the latter with a theoretical 10 a scholarly practice ascholarly CEU eTD Collection the work done in the preceding fifteen years of New Art History assert, “rather than a tidy under the aegis of these new approaches. As the editors introducing a volume that takes stock of understanding a particular subject. Interdisciplinarity is a decisive feature ofresearch carried out miscellany of approaches while calling forth new questions and forming new methods for and the institutions of both. Cultural Studies, too, is a type of academic inquiry that mobilizes a evaluative criticism in favor ofexploring a variety of processes that produce artworks and culture, phenomena leads to a relativized understanding of the concept ofart, and quits the practice of cultural events of a visualStudies can also be applied. The major proposition of Visual Culture is that the spectrum of sort is far broadersimilar than to thosewhat developedfine artTo interpret and theorize contemporary can art productionby with perspectives, methods,Newhold. and tools Art History,The study the of approachesthese rather than tracingof universally validVisual developments and frameworks. Culture and Culturalfrom new perspectives and accounting for aesthetic judgements issuing from particular localities, challenged. Inthe wake of this approach, parallel histories of art came to beproduced, written institutions as a form of patriarchal culture, with values and conceptual constructs to be G. Pollock, quoted in Gouma-Peterson & Mathews 1987:355), and thus identified art and its & Parker (R. andsexist” patriarchal ways, varied in historically but capitalist, or feudal instance, adding that “the nature of the in which art has been produced has not only been, for movements of the 1970s, feminism among them. Feminist art historians and political role insociety owed a lot tothe problematizations raised by the social and political economic art’s to address alternatives methodological thesuggested and renewal theoretical The 1988:12–13). (Ades understood and received valued, they conditions under which artworks were made: for whom and by whom were they made, how were a more “horizontal” study of a range of objects came to be developed. This model engaged the progressive, developmental model, a linear or“vertical” line from movement to movement until 20 rounded out the inquiry CEU eTD Collection theories of art, other ideologies, and larger historical structures and processes. of interrelations between artistic form, the available systems of visual representation, the current creation aconstant and 1984:vii), &Tucker (Wallis analysis“ formal as purely well as sociological presupposeexecution and analytical tools othera than those of conventional sortformalist aesthetics. They too of “intellectualAccordingly, both for their production and interpretation ecological context, while also renouncing the creation ofart objects in favor of “ endeavorand intervention, and aspiring to work directly in thegiven social,[that] political, legal, economic or is art oriented 1968,acritically wakeof In the likely to include1988:124). political,considered in relation to meanings produced at other levels of the social formation (Nead cultural,political and economicpower, just as the meaningsproduced at thelevel ofculture weretobe and among them—were to beexamined not in isolation, but as parts of the construction ofsocial, methodologies in thenon-positivistic social sciences, the categories it introduced—gender texts as independentanalytical praxis that advocatedfromIn the 1980s, sociology, for its own part, was experiencing a “cultural turn” and developed an readingeach society other. itself as a text,deploy Asthese to arrive at analyses that exhibit a consciouslyratherNew critical nature. thanArt reading and media and fields, scholarly various from History tools analytical of array an and methodologies an array of was 1988:2).nearing Cultural Studies and the study of Visual Culture “borrow” theoretical perspectives, &Borzello (Rees ideas” to social-political and semiotic, psychoanalytic, structuralist, marxist, concerns anddescription ofone trend, the new art history is a […] title that sums up theimpact of feminist, practice, too, has emerged, leaning towards research towards leaning hasemerged, too, practice, 21 , these art practices require means of means require practices art these practices ”. CEU eTD Collection for film studies. 21st conference attheregional the papers presented 1996, Adamik 2000, Madarasz 2002, many of the articles in Palasik & Sipos 2005 for the Social Sciences; 12 “sanctioned 1992:2)or (Chakrabarty ignorance” “asymmetric about talk scholars World Third 1999:26). (Sangari Euro-America of traditions intellectual unifying to subscription compulsory expose andheal the “epistemic violence ofimperialism” 1993:5), (Emberley the andtocontest contributions. This attempt is not unlike theundertaking of postcolonial criticism that set out to narratives”, and, consequently, the differences between the possible impact of their intellectual authors from the region and the (Western) producers of widely circulating current “master aim ofthese scholarly efforts has been to uncover the imbalanced power relations between ‘Western’ arrangements as norms to be followed by other regions” (Melegh 2002:7). recently started to solicit descriptions and interpretations in various fields which would not“fix relatively just region European Central the from scholars by produced Scholarship (2005:282). universalism” oppressive of a form new asserted time same the at have but peripheries, Dimitrakaki points to how these processes “have indeed brought thecenters closer totheir Commenting on the current globalization ofboth knowledge and cultural production, Angela ways in which i hope to avoid connecting them in an unreflective manner. in this locality. Here i would like tobring the two strands together, pointing out, however, the theoretical perspectives that seem to have been little concerned orimpacted by experience rooted for conditionedlooking when subject and speaking positions that two different political regimes in late 20th-century Hungarydichotomies forEast/West Whereas in Chapter I.1. i forecasted that my inquiryand would target an exploration female of the particular self-colonization of culturalfeminism danger The I.3.i thinking producers,feminist Localizing I.3 in the sub-chapters that followed i discussed Only surveying the disciplines closely linked with my research, see e.g., Csepeli & Örkény & Scheppele Century (proceedings in Geržová & Kišová 2003) and Babias 2005 for art theory; and Iordanova 2003 90's + : Reflections on Visual Art at the Turn of the 20th and 22 12 Part of the CEU eTD Collection transnationally and/or even “psychologically”, following the usage of a number of authors. Thus, 2). These two areas are understood here not exclusively geographically but also culturally, salience, both in our imagination and in the world of economics and politics” (Bulbeck 1998:1– operations of postcolonial theory, recognizing that “east and west continue to have areal Feminist strategies ofknowledge production have certainly been susceptible to thecorrective such an entity, “the Other within”. the incapacity of postcolonial theory to provide quite an adequate key tothe of addressed have 2005,) Schöllhammer 2005, Babias 2001, András 2000, Timár 1999, Piotrowski Kiossev 1999,awareness of this double locatedness. Indeed, several authors from the region (DupcsikBartha 1999, John,2001), quoted in Sarkar 2004:320) translates, in the East-Central European setting, into an some E. (Mary agenda” intellectual postcolonial situated explicitly an “toformulate and conjunctures” of them writingTherefore, the demand toreflect overwhat “becomes sayable atparticular historical in the effectually reproducing the marginalfield position ofCentral-East Europe within the continent. of artspeaking position byconflating the Western and Eastern halves of Europe,theory whereby in fact (Zabelrest”, 1997, has analysis,tended for theconvenience of upholding the binary distinction between the “West and the to divestEurocentric tradition, but they have always occupied a marginal position therein. Postcolonial actorsbased on their geographical and cultural-historical outsidelocation, have always belonged to the theof corrective knowledge is notan unproblematic one. The countries and nations in this area,dominant European scholarly discourse of a 2008 and Wolff 1994. 13 “demi-orientalized” and “orientalized” efforts to map the “geopolitics of knowledge” can certainly associate scholars working in/on centers and their peripheries, as well as the validational monopoly the former entity holds. While dislocatable hardly between relations epistemic the characterize to 1988:287) (Spivak ignorances” These formulations are adaptations of Walter Mignolo’s and Larry Wolff’s, respectively; see Mignolo 13 settings, the position of Central East Europe in this flow 23 CEU eTD Collection issues be ignored or just hinted at, and comparisons among European countries were only possible with possible only were countries European among comparisons and at, hinted or just be ignored issues for has been to present major topics in European history in a concise form, which necessitated thethat history certain of European and non-European women. True, the aim of the book series her text was (Bock,written x), and she does not fail to excuse herself for not having the space to expand on thewhile, links betweenin the preface to the book, she talks about her enterprise dealing with “all of European humankind”ideologically and economically divided in the given period, does not seem to earn Bock’s scholarly interest half of this continent. acknowledge thedegree to which the “epistemic violence” is also inflected on the non-Western term, “the white east” can be pointedly coined to designate an Other within Europe, and to (Bulbeck 1998:34). World Third as classified often are countries socialist remaining other the as Union, Soviet From Bulbeck’s “developed”usage world, since the meaning of the “Second World” is seen lost with the collapse ofof the the term "the white west" here, a corresponding particular model of emancipation. When writing about Europe German Democratic Republic and the , making no mention, however, of the socialist purportsstates’ that the whole of Europe is covered by including two or three casual sentences about societiesthe in this period might have been worth reflecting upon, or at least being noted. Instead, ofthe the author 20 “Civil, Political, Social : A New Gender Debate” (pp. 233-55) where she discusses the secondCentral half European countries in her recent 15 authors i am referring to more lengthily a few lines below. 14 from Bulbeck’s beyond-Anglophone scope. case of many pieces written in the postcolonial vein(and in English), Eastern Europe is missing existing scholarship with the writing by women from beyond the Anglophone West. Like in the feminism, a number of authors bring up aspects of other women's lives to juxtapose already In an attempt to challenge taken-for-granted theoretical and empirical preoccupations of Western half” of Europe). geographical term (andwithin in mysuch analysis geographicalspaces social cultural/ political/ intellectual/ it all of representative necessarily is nor associated, meantboundaries” to cover (Sarkar the state- 2004:319);space that is neither restricted to the geographies with which theterm is conventionallyand post-socialist while “the East”the “West“ is taken as ahyperreal term, a socially, economically, culturally defined “conceptual is “othera sort of temporal An innocent-looking but nonetheless severe instance of which is Gisela Bock’s treatment of East- Iam making this generalization in the light of the writings of a number of East-Central European th century. The disparity between the gender regimes of European state-socialist and capitalist 15 Women in European History 14 Or, it is rather subsumed under the category of the 24 , the fact that the continent was politically- (Bock 2002); especially Chapter 6: CEU eTD Collection perspectives and will seek dissimilar solutions (Gal 1997:93). Mira Marx Ferree demonstrates that women indifferent historical-political contextsmayexperience inequality fromdifferent to be quite dissimilar. The case of the two Germanies is a particularly clear example of how that moment the key concerns of grassroots feminist organizations from the two contexts proved time of the German re-unification,and the one-directional flow of experience and knowledge onthe other, let us recall how, at the two different For the sake of genderillustrating the possibility of diverging paths to emancipation on the one hand, regimes were suddenly juxtaposed.experience” (1). At the women of the US and other Western industrial nations can learn from the Hungarian Hungary has failed to achieve complete success, and suggest, at the same time, “ways in which Female book their In 9–10). ibid., (Gal-Kligman, itself “feminism” of category the and circumspect view from East-Central Europe could both renew our understanding of the West 16 topic. noteworthy such as notqualify did countries socialist respect to certain subjects (ibid.). Apparently, the divergent experience of women’s emancipation in post- more conducive tothe endorsement of the histories of “peripherically Western countries”, climate intellectual an In 2000). Watson 2000a:99, (Gal-Kligman attitude imperialist even and expected replicas of their own concerns, while local activists “felt offended by [such] missionizing developments and aspirations within the two geographical locations. Often, Western feminist post-socialist societies, these divergent routes proved to be an obstacle in recognizing comparable with contact into came feminists Western many and over was system state-socialist the After “emancipate women” in the countries of Eastern Europe was a clear case of such differing paths. women’s movement in the West and the implementation ofa state-administered program to In the second half of the 20th century the simultaneous development of a second wave of the of women whose path to emancipation it may fail to understand orrecognize” (Schutte 2000:58). ’other’ “an making against feminism Western cautions Schutte Ofelia , cultural Exploring Wording comes from Geoffrey Kantaris (1997). (1977) , Ivan and Nancy Volgyes offer an early assessment of why women’s liberation in liberation women’s why of assessment an early offer Volgyes Nancy and Ivan 25 The Liberated The 16 a CEU eTD Collection perspectives, theWest comfortably features as the “have-it” party while the East self-taylors itself favoring to retain a fundamental binary distinction between the“West and the rest”. From such movement, an oblivion that contributes to the creation ofa simplified theoretical discourse alliances and the impact of later backlash operations that have characterized the Western westwards demonstrate little or no sign ofawareness of, or concern for, divisions, fractioned “elsewhere”: in Western countries that “had” feminism. that there was, in the 1960-70s, a seamless, unified, and unproblematically present feminist front The reverse of the medal is that many Centralstruggle against gender(ed) oppression. European gender theoristsdifferent parts of the world, thus invalidating any claim tofix a universal scenario forwomen’s are ready to assume feminism and represses national differences (Bulbeck 1998:4–5). European much excludes already which women, [white] by English-speaking produced scholarship knowledge on “the West” is mostly limited by the validational monopoly of “Anglofeminism”: feminist 17 the acknowledgement that the very concept and meaning of still substiantial losses for women in theex-GDR (611). Accommodating cultural alterity, leads to seen as improvements in the situation ofwomen in the “old” states of the FRG, but these were Consequently, shifts that occurred inthe statusafter ofwomen re-unificationcould havebeen abortion and the need and possibility to combine paid employment and unpaid care labor. had long been considered settled, now needed to be addressed, particularly theright to legal benefits around which Eastunification German women replacedhad organizedthis casebe capturedby could characterizationsnot ofthe“more/less developed” kind. Legal nearly their all lives. GDR lawsIssues with that FRGin theprovisions, GDR thus abolishing e.g., the social However, their point of reference or the sources of relevant—because accessible and accessible accessed— of relevant—because theirpointofreferenceorthe sources However, women who had already raised their children while holding a full-time job (1994:609–16). to manyex-GDR were[…] irrelevant rearing) anextendedtimeoutforchild force after labor the into ofwomen reintegration better employment, part-time (more movement German and into female-sexedfamilies meninto integrate jobs. actively would […] that programs with At women for the action sameaffrimative time, demands that had tocomplement and all) been for workday shorter central as (such theeconomy in reforms with women to the West to targeted benefits toreplace been had movement women’s German] [East of the The goal 26 17 Many theorists from the East looking feminism or feminist may alter in CEU eTD Collection subjectivities it produces, destabilizes or consolidates, and governs” (2005:271). was also motivated by Angela Dimitrakaki’s callfor “a rigorous analysis ofspace and the critique i drew up in this section dissertation project,necessary, i was governed by the discourses theidea to availablein-build intoframework are tobe developed that can engage with internationallymyand, “spoken“ theoreticalanalysis terms at itself theandwithin thecontext ofunequal therelations and uneven exchange), a language kindandsame theoreticalby ofshifting theoretically and time, historically them contextualizing without specificities local overemphasizing retainthe focus charges and instances of gettingthe locked up in national isolationism orfalse “authenticism”of (i.e., capacityinquiry. avoid to Inorder altered. be can 1998:5) (Bulbeck limited“ more is traffic cultural return “the ofIn conceptualizingself-definitiondescriptions of local phenomena with (or even without?...) the hope that the dynamics in which framed by a major aspiration ofCentral European contemporary research: to actually provide my by recasting,asymmetric ignorance between culturally dominant and peripheral locations. My work here is whengained from My broadest theoretical and methodologicalcritically aimin thepresent thesis is based on theinsights engagingof ourselves as marginal and/or peripheral“. with the issue of self-colonization and the existence of an make it make hence and ourselves center the actuallyproduce others, the or margins asthe “We, otherness“. Peji the identity of the Other, or the “have-not”. Authors like Alexander Kiossev (1999) and Bojana ý (2005) disclose the “technologies” of “self-colonization” or the“(self-)production of the center”, writes Peji writes center”, ý (436); “I am interested in questioning in interested am “I (436); vis-á-vis epistemic hierarchies. Indeveloping my methodology, i 27 our share in the constitution the in CEU eTD Collection political vision and a dedication to change gender-based injustices and hierarchies are inalienable labels to befilled with some fitting content each time they are used, i do acknowledge that a solid Not wanting to run the risk of reducing(1992:7-8). gesture rhetorical the terms “feminism”culture, without which feminists may find themselves waving an international flag as an empty and “feminist”perspectives should rest toon a lucid analysis of the multifacetedmere significations that make up one’s empty feminist that insists Braidotti feminism. international within variations the over reflecting social and cultural context in mind, i would buttress the caution Rosi Braidotti expressed when into faults (the former features presented as “unwomanly”). Bearing such particularities of the argumentation functions to turn virtues (self-assertiveness, goal-orientation, self-reliance, etc.) related the when and to aslur, woman feminism/feminist/emancipated words the reduce offer. Ever since, local authors have often dwelled upon rhetorical instances when speakers to had feminism Western that social relations patriarchal of critique and analysis the to receptive have experienced after the re-structuring of the economy, they did not become particularly and citizens as workers women obviouslosses the despite was that transition in 1989 societies One of the “irregularities” Western feminists frequently encountered upon setting foot in post- perspective. feminist adistinctly preserving while instances such for account can that conceptualizations willoffer and locations, and times historical atvarious identifications feminist conscious commitment to change gender-based injustices do notalways and necessarily gotogether with orthe concerns feminist that argue iwill Below situation. specific a historically oversimplify to operating of dilemmas contemporary Hungarian women’s politicalother production activity and female cultural producers’ output tends and artistic women’s Theon intentionality discourseperspectives identification, feminist with offeminist lack Contested thatI.3.ii frames some reports, delivered from a feminist perspective, on 28 CEU eTD Collection women's issues when getting close to thereal locus of power within their parties, orabout feminists and notable political figures, proved to beprofoundly ambivalent about upholding resulting from political convictions of these kinds, women who had otherwise been explicit demarcations Beside goals. and strategies contrasting prioritized and criteria, diverse these interests and social positionings. Already in theFirst Wave, women formed coalitions defined by accommodates the disparity of viewpoints, ways of thinking and, equally importantly, political current, postmodernly pluralistic usage ofthe word feminism the word “feminist” or towards for goals that we now clearly identify as feminist, would have anoncomittal relationship towards precedents for instances when women working committedly in politics, scholarship orthe arts The history of the women’s movement, and especially that of the First Wave, provides ample 2000:190–200). (Watson respect” every in ahistorical West-East political sameness for women whereby also produces “an idea ofgender that is power matrix in Chapter II.1.ii. 18 white”, and uncontested is that “feminism asa across comes approach feminist identity” which transcends political and cultural differences among women. As such, this women and post-communism pointed out, such insistence posits “an underlying truth for engaging with theabove-mentioned “surprise syndrome” of the transnational discourse on “waving blank flag” of international feminism. As Peggy Watson, one of the few writers critically state- and post-socialist context share the same feminist concerns would be one motive onthe ideas understood challenges of feminism is notso much a fully calculated rejection of a set of commonly continue to argue that certain actors’ uncertainty about, or unwillingness toreflect upon, the consequences of the lack or presence of these properties will run through the dissertation. Yet, i properties of what can be called a feminist consciousness. Actually, tracking the dynamics and the I will come back to Watson’s understanding of “whiteness” within the democracy vs. (post-) , but is woven together from a number of factors. Insisting on that women in a working in the movement itself for a variety of reasons. The 29 s both signalsand—theoretically— both 18 and prescribes abasic prescribes and CEU eTD Collection that public space was itself masculine (Sowerwine 369–77, passim). along with men because action in the masculine political gone had parties she] [and wastoo narrow greater was movement women’s and “the morethat reckoned interesting”,Pelletier, of contemporary given feelings about women’s groups within her party. , another feminist political actor and a French Socialist Party in the first years of the 20th century was a case in question, exhibiting conflicting 19 world” ( still often are centralwhen inherited gender roles […] are, and are even experienced, as oppressive and restrictive, they elements“Even factor: motivated emotionally negligible hardly toanother points Narayan Uma feminist.” both to one’s NOT are they insisting while simultaneously issues gender or sense studies, women's in an interest of self a morally detestable portrayal of feminism: “my young students […] today often want to admit to reports about how identification and even genuine interest are curbed due to such inhibitions and Women American War against Undeclared Faludi documented such operations in theUnited States in her book-length essay, This psychological factor, however, does not only arise in Central European contexts. Susan styles, it produces a psychological background that further deters identification with such views. ways and are defined in the popular press in sensational ways to mean extreme behaviors and life- If issues pertaining to feminism, emancipation, and women’s activism are handled in near-abusive 1993:207). Adamik 1993:183, (Einhorn platform self-definitions for fear of not being taken seriously if they form an expressly women-oriented of thesegroups could easily qualify as feminist, yet, they often assume explicitly non-feminist demands the interest-groups; single-issue disparate, ofwomen’s anxiety the about reported have politicians, public intellectuals, and cultural producers in thepost-socialist context. Sociologists of one's public performance and feminist affiliation is detectable in the attitudes of women more reward and fulfillment in anon-gender-segregated public arena. decisions whether to establish women's separate party sections. Evidently, these women sought Madeleine Pelletier, a remarkable theorist of radical feminist views and a prominent member of the 1997:36). (1991), and amore recent account by Janelle Reinelt (2003) 30 and to one’s sense of one’s social 19 Acomparable negotiation Backlash: The Backlash: CEU eTD Collection here Roz Ivanic’s argument about how it is quite possible for an individual not to be conscious of producers’ explorations into issues of gender, identity and authorship. Ialso find illuminating cultural Hungarian contemporary some as isee, propels, what of the substratum forms and aptly describes my own road tointerrogate myculture and society from afeminist perspective, the cultural dynamics of eventual feministthe contestations of my culture”,family Narayan concludes, “have something to dowith life that surroundeddown attitudes and rigid expectations to younger generations of women (Narayan 1997:12).me “My as a child” (7).tend to remain just that, and theirNarayan’s suffering is perpetuated by women themselves as they pass assertiondebate andpublic concern general of issues matters these make to sees feminism that condition the but complaints their of nature “authorized” feminists or “indigenous” women is not the alleged “domestic” or “westernizing” and complaints voiced by many non-feminist women. choice”. A wide range of concerns submitted by “authorized” feminists correspond with criticism this identification, Uma Narayan lists a number of reasons why this indictment is “an epithet of feminism with “westernization”,Another factor contributing to contestations over feminism in non-Western areas is identifying and using these termsword the on insistence to discredit one fromanother. which political organizing in East-Central Europe necessarily starts, we believe that In contesting the women’s movement” (115). movement” the women’s lives as a woman’s life without being prompted so and without ever having engaged with issues voiced [...] They presented oftheirlives female. totheir their by connectingevery aspects being respondents were my thediscussions, “throughout claim: Narayan’s reinforce to seem that responses about reports Neményi accepted subject in local social discourse (Neményi 1999, to be discussed in greater detail in Chapterthe strong II). focus on the “women’s question” in state-socialist times, the issue had never really become an 20 region: the in activities political women’s with relation in &Kligman Gal by suggested tack was same The “feminism/feminist”. term the of significance the is foregoing one’s most immediate intimate and social arrangements. One way todeal with this emotive factor Therefore, feminists are seen to embark on, and invite to, an emotionally difficult rethinking of Hungarian sociologist, Mária Neményi conducted an interview-based research to find out why, despite ’feminism’ itself is not crucial” (2000a:103). crucial” is not itself ’feminism’ , whereas in other settings women’s privately disclosed complaints 31 20 What distinguishes the allegations of allegations the distinguishes What “ Given the discourses the Given CEU eTD Collection object and its variegated transformations” (Dimitrakaki 2005:272). (Dimitrakaki transformations” variegated its and object feminist art history has also been to an extent “a history of social relations rather than a history of the art 21 position” (Parker & Pollock particular their negotiated they how discover to as artists practice is “women’s art feminist their analyses appears to besomewhat broader: as they put forward in a co-authored work, The way two British art historians, Griselda Pollock and Rózsika Parker identify the focus of 1994). & Frueh Langer 1990, Raven, &Lauter Krumholz (c.f. considerations aesthetic feminist feminist art is a resultthat argue too, authors, of other Various culture”. a in patriarchal feminist awoman tobe it means what political identity or Harmonieimplicate Hammond’s position entails that feminist art reflects “a political consciousness of a social dimension kinshipas between women” as “thebasic underpinnings of virtually all feminist art in the1980s”. to action”. Moira Roth stresses a similar commitment to political ideologies and to a “spiritual “principled criticism ofeconomic and social power relations and some commitment to collective a means it also Rosler Martha for and in theworld”, position economic and social women’s of number of such positions (1987:344). For Susan Lacy, feminist art “must show a consciousness and Patricia Mathews, in their comprehensive article onthe feminist critique of art history, list a joining the current were quite explicit in their definitions of feminist art. Thalia Gouma-Peterson the more general of the Second Wave, and important theorists and critics the 1960s and 70s developed under theimpetus of the political activism and major concerns of input. Such evaluation criteria are justifiable inasmuch as the (FAM) of often assessed according to the presence or absence of a conscious and intentional feminist is work their too, activity, producers’ cultural women of evaluations critique-inspired feminist In 2002:8). &Sunderland Litosseliti in quoted (Ivanic, salient contextually becomes it until case) our in (feminist, identity a particular within well) opens up a way, i believe, to engage female cultural producers’ activity who might not work In line with the theoretical and political underpinnings of feminist art practice and criticism, incipient a relatively unified feminist platform but do negotiate their particular position as women 1981:xviii) . Their approach (and, to a certaindegree,Hammond’sas to approach (and, Their 32 21 CEU eTD Collection conclusions like theoneby art historian JánosSturcz quoted inI.1, assuming a merely external silent referent.Accounts delivered inthis idiom easily arrive atidentifying the“lack”, andlead to formulated curatorial and critical endeavors a written and unwritten professional consensus has been 24 23 2006:148). (White propensity such exhibit feminism has faded from view generally, it is harder to find programmers who will “out” themselvesprogrammers and of film festivals made it a point to include women’s films, in the current mediascape earlier ofreticence:whereas an aura on, recent curricula early suggest developments whereacademic Although feminist interventions in film study and practice earned a reputation and became part debates. of aftertheinitial even decades would enforce an act of self-labelling as feminist, did not yet appear as resolved questions forit is theto be US understoodcritic and used in the singular or the plural, and whether creating works within such byidiom Katy Deepwell (1997a) indicates, dilemmas surrounding a particular feminist aesthetic/s, andwas an whetherexplosive and uncomfortable issue that bred both confusion and anxiety” (ibid., 17). As an despitearticle […] “the misogyny of the New York School”, [identifying the possible effects of theirlong femininity] struggled to negotiate their female identities and to find acceptance as “artists pure” withinestablished and paradigms. In the 1970s, for this older generation of North American female artists, destabilizing“who had male-dominated and male-defined mainstream artistic movements and challenging work or creative strategies (Broude & Garrard 1994:17–21). They have earned the apellation for the FAM, refused to be grouped with other “women artists” and rejected any feminist reading of thetheir Feminist Art Movement either. Some “pre-feminist” artists, singled out as such by artists and criticsthe (re-)appraisal of of certain artists’ work did not turn on a conscious positive feminist identification within 22 time when afew women artists-centered exhibitions were organized. at the mid-1990s, the around began work artists’ women Hungarian about a discussion when Hungarian art historians have tended to follow the discourse of “lack” or of“Western import” practitioners. female by done activity creative political commitmentconsciousness with which the issues addressed are being handled even in the absence of a clear but, self- the recognize to capable are designations latter These usage. a viable be to appears at the same time,political implications of the term, referring to them as women’s art or critical women’s art set thesethese practices cannot bedrawn into thescope of feminist art withoutpractices diluting the meaning and criticalapart edge,from a widejust and women artistsrange in a given society and would self-consciouslyany address, withof a varying degree of issues kind pertaining of to the gendered aspects of women’s life. While See footnote 5. footnote See This period and the exibitions are introduced in more detail in Chapter IV. To tie in with the above examples from the history of the women’s movement, iremind here too that 24 that takes that thepractices of theUS-based Feminist ArtMovementand criticism asits 22 33 23 Inthecourse of these CEU eTD Collection the history of Western art. reveal a persistent implicit comparison with a “normal” or model skipped” and “paths never taken”; formulations that presuppose a unilinear development and “phases as “deformity”, such ofexpressions avocabulary upfrom built aperception within Western and East European art production and theory making. Yet, she has been caught up András did note the disparateness of the historical background, the context and the language of to the Hungarian discourse onart in thesecond half of the 1990s, isan interesting case in point. criticism gender introduced to have be said who can art historian the EditAndrás, of work The [and] its absence needing explanation” (Goldfarb 1997:237). natural, tobe movement political and social acertain of existence the “takes that rehashed being where they travel globally. Through this kind of knowledge production a normative assumption is movement andtheoretical critique undoubtedly takean is)do not identical shape everywhere as asocial feminism progressive—like considered they (be movements ideological and/or social Western . The resulting critical output is fairly inattentive of the recognition that Hungarian art production tells of a voluntary submission to the definitional monopoly of The perspectives of their political weight. negotiate the articulation […] of a new radical consciousness in art and beyond” (2005:279). (Hungary, Estonia, and Greece), Angela Dimitrakaki also identified an “inability and unwillingness to 25 of their own, or rather, they use thecategories introduced by feminist criticism as just another tool authors, even if they favorably comment on the subject, work without a theoretical framework of relation between Hungarian women artists’ preoccupations and feminist trends in art. Most other Inquiring into linkages of feminism and the visual art scenes in non-Western European locations aesthetic breaches and intense abrupt movements has a vicious flaw. There is the price of deformity and deformity of price the There is flaw. vicious a has movements abrupt intense and breaches by dramatic followed stagnation, rigid of periods long its with model eastern the another, one superseding andregularly logically succession of phases a the westernmodelis While consensual pillar that has been underlying the application offeminist approaches analysis: they carefully stay away froman ideological feminismand thus divest feminist 25 34 course of events exemplified by vis-à-vis CEU eTD Collection artistic/cultural movements that have turned out to have several variations. In his essay his In variations. several have to out turned have that movements artistic/cultural Mansbach’s case and my own is an attempt to move away from a uni-dimensional view of certain his methodology itself is noteworthy for my present enterprise. What is at stake in both books on Eastern European modern art (Mansbach 1991 and 1999) have been heavily debated, his of theses the even and assumptions, methodological the as aswell material his collecting to re-assess the cultural history of early-20th century modern art. Although the procedures of 2003:54). Beyond compensatory statements, the American Steven Mansbach offers an approach only Western traditions and by writing art history such as to exclude Eastern Europe” (Belting usually ignore the degree to which we have imposed a Western view on theEast byrecognizing hierarchical geography of art. German art historian Hans Belting, for example, admits that “we Portuges is notthe only author who notes the risks of,and aspires to counterbalance, a American researcher specialized in East-Central European cinema warns about. Hungarian women artists’context-bound categories that might have more explanatory value for discussingworks. particular This is a interpretivescholarly tools of feminist art theory without an effort to possibly invent and implement practice the of array arich muster to continues She referent. principal András’s remain configurations that Catherine Portuges,(András 2005:107–8). However, whenitcomesto actual interpretations, Western theoretical a North and subvert it” in orderand a victim of’mental colonization’] shouldto bealtered”, and urges to clearenter “into the discourse up ways quasi-Other asalacking Europe Eastern to foropposed as agent and WestasSelf the [i.e., system practicing “more nuancedIn a more recent piece, however, András herself campaigns for that “this essentializing dual critique and analyses” 1999b) (András bystep. step taken never paths for and skipped phases for paid be to inconsistency and misapprehensions. (Portuges 1993:9) (Portuges misapprehensions. and misreadings mainstream—risks of its the context bein may it though discourse—oppositional Western of adominant theconceptualizations within discourse its theorizing of service colonization, however unwitting, of the cultural productsSuch of asmall, intentions. marginalizedthe appropriaters’ of nationintegrity the in despite the formulations, world” by “first realities world” of “second appropriation ofthecritical question vexing the consider must We 35 CEU eTD Collection Western paradigm, and actually suggest other methodologies and put those into work. One of my by these and other authors, i hope to successfully movearea (c.f.away Iordanova 2001 and 2003).from Taking a similarmerely direction and applying insights developedcritiquing a totalizing abolishing the mental division of Europe and establishing a desirable cross-cultural image of the (film) study of scope immediate her embedding while Iordanova, (2005:272). discourses” hegemonic current of flow smooth the todisrupt recast be “can totalities persistent within asymmetrical remain that spaces cultural of (“otherness”) strangeness projected the that argues Dimitrakaki Like Piotrowski, (2005:524). regions” tools so that they wouldinterpretive models”, spells out Piotrowski,allow “but torevise the paradigms, tochange the analytical us to discover hierarchical and imperialist the reproduce to is not point “The 2006). and 2005 Piotrowski the meanings of culturesEurope to formulate an “other” paradigm and to put forward modified aesthetic categories (e.g., of ’other’ geographicalDina Iordanova took, stand out. Piotrowski urges any revisionist geographer of East Central Piotrowski, UK-based Greek art theorist Angela Dimitrakaki, and Bulgarian-born film theorist challenge tore-construct artistic geography, the directions that Polish art historian Piotr Among “peripherically European” researchers working in the field of arts and taking up the many potential peripheries absorbing foreign influences, but as one's sole reality. asso locales”not of “world the understand 2002)who (Nádas Nádas Péter 2002a) and (Benson movements (Ades 1988:17-18). incongruities and provide clear contexts for the sake of arriving at a unified view of individuals andtraditional art history that Dawn Ades elsewhere identified as results of an urge to flexibility (Mansbach 2003:44). With this proposition he also counters methodological fallacies in between contradictory styles was not approved, artists in the East displayed a much higher level of 26 even each artist (Mansbach 2002). nuanced local readings, an awareness of local geography, and different methods for each area or “Methodology and Meaning in the Modern Art of Eastern Europe”, he presses for more Mansbach argues, for example, that there were several modernisms, and whereas in the West, shifting in a broader landscape of culture, media, and politics, works both at 26 Mansbach's idea is carried on by Timothy O. Benson 36 smooth over smooth CEU eTD Collection individual cultural products. cultural individual they do not necessarily form part of the standard supply of interpretive tools used to assess chapters of the dissertation) dodraw on issues developed by existing feminist theory, although aspects i am putting forward in the section below (and which i will operate with in the coming constitutive of my feminist readings of Hungarian cinema and visual art practice. The two guiding i will examination, In my recipients. and producers they tend to disregard the social function of art as well as the extra-textual experience of both theories, these writings do writings these theories, women cultural producers,social contexts. Much of the criticali work that has believe,been produced on the activity ofHungarian starts out fromof the 1960-70s art movement in cultural productssuch emerging in different historical moments outlook.and Drawing strategies asthe as well concerns theoretical and social problematizations, the recapture to want on current critical make art in the feminist idiom). It is this addendum that is often overlooked in arguments that production and interpretation of cultural products (e.g., the conditions of possibly choosing to sexual arrangements, the ideological assumptions and the ways of mediation that influence the formalist unless it simultaneously maps the interplay and mutual determinations of the social and pieces of art. Proponents of feminist cultural criticism underlined, however, that every analysis is of analysis aesthetic formal a purely revoked criticism, cultural feminist with arm in arm Studies, As my brief review in I.2.i showed, the influence of New Art History, Visual Culture and Cultural describe the only possible face of late-20th century art by women. aims is todemonstrate that the definitional monopoly of Western scholarly literature cannot thematize the social constructedness of art, but in their actual analyses in their but art, of constructedness social the 37 attempt to incorporate these aspects as equally CEU eTD Collection rehearsed in projects of corrective feminist historiography. One strand within such history- metaphorical reading of the term” (1997:75). I myself can relate this distinction to theone opposition between those who interpret ’woman’ literally, and those who advance a more of seeninterms “canbe debates theoretical these saysthat Evans illuminating. especially Evans and the relationship between artistic form and political impact, i found a proposition by Mary When surveying the terms of the debate about the possibility and nature of a feministaesthetic strategies, and artistic attitudes to surface. categories of “international feminist art” and allow more context-bound subject matters, 1997a). In this section i will delineate a number of approaches that waive arigid insistence onthe recognize] the different historical circumstances distinctionswhich in those emerge” (Deepwell recognize that there to […] necessary as itisalso just practices across and within speak of “to necessity are differences in perceptionconglomerated North-American andWestern European Feminist Art Movement pointed to the of what the stakes are for feminism and [to defined aspects; a diversity which initself shows that the nature of feminist cultural practice cannot be various stressing authors various formulations, of a variety in up came questions The creation. aesthetics”of feminist scholarship has spilledcan a fair amount of ink on questions whether or not a “feminist exist, postcolonial andtheory. Intentionality, however, has a record within art theory as well. Three decades where onetreatment of this claim sofar has been framed shouldby social psychology and insights rooted in look recontextualizedto be wheninsertedintosphere; newanddifferently constructed discourses. My for “the counter-public feminism” however, are not fully resolved with the thesis i proposed in I.3.i that the feminist term “feminism” ought (a texts) ofaspects The dilemmasa surroundingcultural the pieceguiding feminine Two of artisticand/or political: the feminist Redefining I.3.iii a priori and universally. Even artists and theorists working within the relatively within working theorists and artists Even universally. and question of intentionality and conscious feminist identification, 38 CEU eTD Collection confront this view and, drawing on ’ distinction of “writerly” and “readerly” texts previously unaddressed contents (Felski 1989:169). Other feminist theorists of art would withnew, structure and language fill anestablished to groups these forms allow such for outdated or conservative forms “possess continuing […] relevance for oppressed social groups” hermetic meanings. Felski argues that the re-appropriation and re-working of supposedly perpetual quest for thenew ways of expression or a predilection forexperimentation and often 1997:69) Evans also see 1989:163, (Felski change” social for force potential “a as efficient more are language familiar and structures recognizable on reliance realism’s from result that social function ofartworks. From this perspective, the accessibility and unambiguity of meaning criticism such dispute not would idiom the signifying process and the impact ofideology thereon. Feminist proponents of the realist postmodern theorists and practitioners of art, themselves accenting self-reflexivity in relation to well as transparently reflected in themirror of art. This postulation has been heavily criticized by the illusion that “reality” and experience can beboth grasped and represented in their totality as the realist idiomhave a more affirmative (and therefore positive) impingement as they generate realist forms and standardized codes of expression over more experimental forms. Expressions in advocate would Someauthors/artists options. stylistic two between as achoice captured be can Creative strategies may also be seen as impacted by one of the above two tendencies. The duality “woman”. category the and frameworks cultural-discursive male-defined unfixing while domination, of structures “closed” units, have been extensively drawn upon to develop new and challenging narratives (1989:154). 27 intellectual production. Another strand has been more focused on demonstrate women’s unrecognized achievement within male-dominated and -defined systems of afundamentally fulfilling with concerned been has writing However, Rita Felski, for example, does dispute it, pointing out that realist forms, far from being 27 but would shift the focus from stylistic choices to the to choices stylistic from focus the shift would but 39 additive task in order to unearth and critiquing andundermining critiquing than a the CEU eTD Collection history, in a way that is not bound up with the artist's intention” (Bal & Bryson 1991:191). semiotic theory for the study of art: “it helps us think about aspects of the process of art in society, in 30 sphere. cultural of the construction of “meaning” from the author by introducing strategies of reading the social andstatus to the point where he declared the “death of the author”, while removede.g., by the onus carriedonbyreception century(hallmarked theory, a20th development was “performance” thatoccurres texts. and ) who critically examined the active process of reading, rather than simply studyingthe meaning of their texts goes back to the hermeneuticians of the 19th century (Friedrich Schleiermacher 29 understanding of recipient. products but used in the expanded sense (as in footnote 7), and “reader” also denotes a broader tackle and administer. “Texts”, here again as well as in the coming discussion, are not limited to constructionliterary of meaning for they offer no single meaning but a proliferation of codes for the readerconventional to presentation of similarly traditional subject-matters. Writerly texts involve the reader in the 28 of dominant modes of representation is targeted. recipient into the meanings produced, appears to be a crucial difference when the re-orientation upholding a hierarchical mode of address, orwhether its structure is open-ended and inserts the question whether a textinterpretation. is organized in a wayto thatconscious pre- or overdeterminesproduction. Semiotic text-based criticism also maintainsauthorial that meanings do not simply boil down interpretationpromoted the reader/spectator into “co-author”, i.e., a greatlyinput significant party in meaning while but,Post-structuralist textual theory has greatly diminished the roleto of the artist/author, a degree, (158). text” arethe outside experience reader’s tothe relationship little being producedcannot be hailed as subversive in and of itself for artistic expressions of this kind may often “bear throughthe latter stylistic option is that the capacity to undermine standardized modes of communication the veryInsisting on thesocial constructedness and ideologicalact conditioning of art, Felski’s criticism of of dominant modes of representation and therefore possess the most emancipatory potential. 1990), [1970] (Barthes In their seminal work, See also Barthes [1977] 1990, Foucault 1992. In fact, the contestation of authors’ privileged insight into Readerly texts offer pre-determined meanings to be passively consumed along the lines of a classical, The idea that meaning is created by the reader, and therefore is specific to each textual Stanley Fish and ). The post-structuralist Roland Barthes challenged the author’s challenged Barthes Roland The post-structuralist Eco). Umberto and Fish Stanley 30 Inother words, it is texts, rather than authors that produce meanings. If so, the 28 Semiotics and Art History, would favor “radical” textual practices that subvert, rather than affirm, Mieke Bal and Norman Bryson point to the relevance of 40 29 and CEU eTD Collection Cixous). Kuhn poses the possibility ofa made to the French philosophers theorizing the concept (, , Hélène equivalents—feminine language or feminine writing—do occur, however, and references are concept of Another outcome of gendering Barthes’s distinction is achieved through coupling it with the establishing a relation of mastery between text and recipient. (Stafford 2001:233). Unlike mainstream modes of representation, feminine texts resist them decoding in leeway some have to willhave audiences mixed, and complex argue—but semiologists fixed—as not are Ifmeanings system. that within inherent power of imbalances bythe informed are system inapatriarchal Meanings signification. of system patriarchal messages. problematic because the closedUnder text is ideology’s prime instrument, serving to perpetuate its the Semiotic theoristsfeminist (including Barthes) regard texts that would consolidate and fix meaning lost. is not message political the that ensure thus and ideas), feminist constituted terms (already of Kuhn’s argument, the closed text complies with a particular women artists’ actual artistic strategies. artistic actual artists’ women particular 31 while theother kind prefers closure of meaning of meaning-production, relies on open-endedness as far as meaning production is concerned, to surmount dominant norms. One kind of “textual politics”, insisting on the de-hierachization input” and make feminist readings possible. They, however, “feminist a carry asthey inasmuch practices cultural areoppositional texts kindsof both that readerly texts governs Kuhn’s analysis who this distinction. As an outcome, Kuhn claims making an explicit reference to Barthes and his terminology, the distinction between writerly and Without itself. in nature ever-innovative “revolutionary”, its for butnot force, disruptive its for practice latter the of advocate an is however, Kuhn, 1994:10–18). (Kuhn practices stylistic radical Film theorist Anette Kuhn also deals with such an opposition between realist-conventional and Iwill come back to a more detailed explanation of these two strategies in Chapter IV when discussing écriture féminine écriture . Kuhn does not use the term feminine text 41 31 inorder to mediate unambiguous contents as opposed to a hold different assumptions as to how écriture féminine écriture feminist itself; its English itself; one. The two The one. CEU eTD Collection dominant (Western) discourse as informed by an “Aristotelian type of logic” and possessing the text either. Drawing on Irigaray’s argument for a feminine language, Kuhn characterizes this the level of the text alone” (13),capable of producing a non-feministjust text. It is because “nointervention in cultureas can work at her feminine-as-relationis feminist a that or text, afeminist producing of is capable non-feminist a that extrapolates is not a formal attributefallacy” that would anchor a text’s meaningof solely in its author’sthe conscious intentions, Kuhn “intentionalist the Belying text”. a“feminist producing of question the really is not intervention would locate the feminist input in specifically feminist specifically in input feminist the locate would feminism as a set of meanings can belocated in the claims to haveIntroducing the feminine as a freed thetheorist sidesteps this oft-critiqued essentialistargumentmove when she draws on their theories. Irigaray, and Cixous notoriouslyfrom originate feminine speech and writing in the body, the British biologism although Kuhn neutralizes a basic attribute of Kuhn’s concept ofa feminine text owes a lot to the above-mentioned French philosophers organization and relationship to language and recipient. demolish patriarchal structures not only through their content but also through their textual of representation whereby pacifying the recipient. communicate already constituted meanings, such texts repeat the operations of dominant modes 1985:86). to“reject everything finite, definite, structured, in the existing state of society” (Kristeva,male avant-gardequoted in Joneswriters, and values their production inasmuch as they adopt “woman’s strategy” 32 names as far as meaning production is concerned, while the latter relies on closure of meaning. What Kuhn and what through their textual organization. The former strategy works with open-endedness as strategies are distinguished on the basis of what cultural texts communicate through their content From among the three, Kristeva’s position is the least woman-centered. She extends her examination to feminist text would employ this latter kind of textual organization: aspiring to relationship to language and a principle of textual organization, Kuhn écriture féminine écriture 42 content Feminine texts (1994:11). Unlike those who think that of a given cultural text, or others who as defined by those by asdefined forms , Kuhn holds that feminist , however, would set out to . While Kristeva, While 32 CEU eTD Collection explicate thiscorrelation as well as crucial differences from, the processes of the formation ofbourgeois subjectivity. To between, seesaparallel Felski suchacommunity, conjuring In (155). whole” asa society against itself defines self-consciously which collective gendered “a of assumption the on predicated is practice cultural feminist in formation identity Felski, For practices. of set a diverse such and cultural activities by women. She then proposes the concept of a style, Felski presses for the exploration ofthe emancipatory potential of a range of artistic forms given in any formulated works of analyses textual narrow of instead 161). Thus, (Felski, texts of here the two theorists are on thesame platform again—are not inherent in the formal properties impulses—and assuch atext, enter radicalimpulses where thelocus be to appears readers and reception (as well as that of production). From this perspective, too, interaction between texts point of cultural intervention. Rita Felski builds her argument around the politicization of decisive instance in generating meanings. For her then, reception itself turns out tobe a viable Kuhn stresses reception—the interaction between texts and recipients—as perhaps the most meanings either solely in the conscious intentions of authors or in formal attributes of texts, of set as a feminism of locus the locate to Withstanding again. diverge motives and approaches feminist readings emerge. Both theorists hold that this is acrucial moment, although their A point where Rita Felski and Anette Kuhn agree is the act of reception: the moment when 1994:11). (Kuhn process production meaning as contrast, a feminine relationagainst tolanguage would pose plurality over against unity, multitudes of single,“masculine” attributes of rationality, linearity, instrumentality, and limitation of meaning. By fixed meanings, and actively engage the reader in the meaning- state interests” (Felski, 164), and was a site for daily18th centuries as communicationa “critical and independent public domain that perceive[d] itself as distinct from and the circulation of news, The Habermas. by theorized , Felski draws onthe model of the bourgeois public sphere/ bourgeois public sphere first emerged at the turn of the 17th and 43 feminist public sphere public feminist Öffentlichkeit tomodel , CEU eTD Collection publics emerge in response to exclusions within dominant publics, they help expand discursive expand help they publics, dominant within exclusions to in response emerge publics contemporary visual arts. visual contemporary conceptualized as public spheres than the lesser accessed domain of (art) cinema and especially correspond to the guiding aspects of my exploration even if printed and electronic media are capitalizationmore readily and enforced consumerism. This antecedent is valuable for me as her focal points Pigniczky also implies that there might be a connection between these changes and the effects effectiveof connection between the way it functions an makes and andsociety, the today’s changing in sphere public the status of form astrong of as media the women in post-communism. conceptualizes author combined analysis of democratic theory, media theory and the feminist critique of the public sphere,and the unequalthe opportunities women professionals have in Hungarian media (Pigniczky 1996). InIn an herunpublished MA thesis, Réka Pigniczky targets women’s absence, their stereotypical representationbeyond the scope of state policy and electoral politics and calls it “civic sphere for feminism”Marx Ferree Mira (1994:618). counterpart. “bourgeois” normative toits opposition pluralize the public sphere, and what they added was the “proletarian” counter-public sphere in spaces organizing collective experience (such as the workplace and the home). Their aim was alsocirculated” to (Sheikh 2005:8–9). Prior to Felski, Negt and Kluge [1972] (1993) used the concept orto even refer subordinateto character where other or oppositional discourses and practices can be formulatedterms, and and to the emergence of counter-publics, understood “as particular parallel formations of a minor 33 industry of modern mass communication). logic of earlier (i.e., the bourgeois) or contemporaneous (pseudo)public spheres (i.e., the culture public spheres, as they seek to define themselves against thehomogenizing and universalizing among them—in the place of a single, comprehensive public sphere. Felski calls these oppositional forces, a host ofcompeting interest groups appeared—the women's movement capitalist growth and the development of an industrialized mass society, bourgeois publicthe After Fraser,521–22). (Felski,165–66, nobility sphere enlightened and male educated had sufferedan to limited was asit a exclusions ofsignificant a number gradualon rested class”, “universal asa itself loss of criticalsaw it although sphere, public bourgeois Habermasian thatthe however, note, Fraser and Felski function due to thepolitical participationdynamic was to beenacted through the medium oftalk (Fraser 1993:519–21). Both of Here concern”. of public discuss matters to assembled persons’ ’private of wasa“body sphere separationist view of the public sphere, emphasizes inthat, Habermas’s understanding, the public also working on thereconceptualization ofan individualist, and at thesame time universalist and issue formation as well as critical debates among citizens. , another feminist theorist, Various theorists have also pointed to the inequality of access to the public sphere in Habermasian also points to the significance of a site of active political engagement that is situated 33 Fraser underscores that “in so far as these counter as these far “inso that underscores Fraser 44 newer and diverse critical counter - CEU eTD Collection a critical political public in the private sphere of the family developed against the “over-politicization”Sauer 2001, Gal and2002). Under state-socialism, as Birgit Sauer summarizes some related arguments (32–33), socialist times that a number of researchers have underlined (Konrád 1984, Einhorn 1993, Funk 1993, 34 when assessing their activity formation ofa cultural producers and/or their works are willing and/or competent to contribute to the problematizations and subjectivities recognizable. Therefore, the question whether individual certain inmaking is important collective, discursive agendered sphere, counter-public feminist Felski’s perspective. feminist a distinctly from assessed isbeing output creative their feminist stance on the part of cultural actors proves to be aprecarious “requirement” even when supposed) authorial feminist text canintentions beprescribed, is edifying. Ifitis accepted that meanings, rooted in (often only are not todetermined moments ofreception, andtherefore no be taken for granted, inalwayscontextually meanings produce that texts but authors it isnot that insistence Kuhn’s or not to be totalized, a vocal in its own right. project: they both see reception, including the production of feminist readings, as a political issue both). Also, the point where their thought converges constitutes a basic motivation for my PhD of drawbacks and gains as the as well practices, textual conventional more or radical (identifying differently assessed even when the divergent approaches follow a similar train of thought is that juxtaposing their views illustrates how the feminist potential of cultural products can be realm onthe other. The reason why i chose to focus on the ideas of Rita Felski and Anette Kuhn possibility of a on the one hand, and the salience of intervening in the public In this section i only cited a limited number of authors contributing to debates about the (528). out” argued publicly space. [...] Assumptions that were previously exempt from contestation will now have tobe Ido not wish to overlook the particular re-configuration of the “public” and the “private” in state- feminist public sphere . 34 in a given context may provide, i argue, a useful perspective 45 a priori and universal characteristics of a of characteristics universal and CEU eTD Collection interdisciplinarity itself as a critical position (2006:18). 35 framed by a modified understanding of the public. sphere (see more on this in II.5). In this perspective, my analysis of cultural producers’ activityconceptualization is already of critical art practice as an intellectual activity that takes place in a counter-publicsome characteristics of a counter-public on this social group. Secondly, and relatedly, i proposesphere” a general reckons with the understanding that the official public sphere was de-publicized, and confersFirstly, in Chapter IV, my references to the cultural underground of the 1960–80s as a “parallel publicnot think, however, that an awareness of these re-configurations invalidates my proposed analyticalchanging, thesetool. privatization processes have ingrained, rather than destabilized gendered social politicalroles. I publicdo sphere was also rising. While the value assigned to the private sphere may have transformationbeen discourses that de- and re-valuated the private sphere were alternating, publicized” since members of the parliaments were only token representatives. During the politicalstate-infiltration of life. The family became a “substitute public” while the state and the party were “de- research questions, and thereby bring to visibility previously suppressed knowledge excluded previously toinclude borders their up open and expand to disciplines cause may approaches of two ormore disciplines to produce new fields ofstudy, interdisciplinary strategies contends, allowing to work across several categories of analysis atonce and incorporating the problems that are beyond the scope of any one discipline (Klein, 11). As Marjorie Pryse thinking especially valuable in answering complex questions, addressing broad issues, and solving disciplinary organization (orcompartmentalization) of knowledge, 2006) & Holm Liinason 2004, &Joas Camic 2000, and 1998 Pryse 2000, Boxer 1995, 1990, Kline Klein (e.g., approaches interdisciplinary for argue who Authors interdisciplinary perspective when designing and pursuing my dissertation project. . Therefore, i shall limit myself to laying down why and in what ways i turned to an regarding interdisciplinarity auseful knowledge-seeking strategy, especiallyin thefield of critical arguments here, or supplement the debate in any other way than declaring allegiance to those occasional superficiality of interdisciplinary inquiries. Ido not wish to further rehearse these arbitrary fragmentation of knowledge—and the alleged unfoundedness, “illegitimacy”, or an and (over)specialization argued, is as it entailing, foundations—often disciplinary both of interdisciplinarity of Discussions analysis interdisciplinary An I.4 Witness also how Liinason & Holm use the term ‘‘critical interdisciplinarity” to refer to recurrently negotiate the relative advantages and disadvantages and advantages the relative negotiate recurrently 46 35 and see interdisciplinary see and imply a criticism of the while a new (1998:4–11, CEU eTD Collection recognize social conditions). findings to theoretical statements); orsocial knowledge (the ability torelate to others, to critique ideologies and todemystify); theoretical knowledge (the ability to relate empirical to ability (the knowledge critical self-recognition; “skills”; and knowledge political knowledge; everyday practical, included These 1998:12). (Pryse method or inquiry of form scientific called worked with a wide array Marjorie of(2000:106). knowledge forms, not allWomen’s Studies has lived with casualof and unexamined understandingswhich of interdisciplinarity” would fall 30years “[f]or it, relates Pryse Marjorie as in interdisciplinarity; and field a subject as studies the scope of so- Holm 2006:116). Several authors see an inherent relationship between women’s and gender & (Liinason its own” of “an(inter)discipline into developed has research of asafield studies institutions or aspects of life. In seeking complex answers to formerly unasked questions, gender also meltingdown artificially constructed barriers between the academy andvarious other knowledge, aspiring to bring closer, rather than separate, academic and activist work, whereby transformative of producers and agents as change themselves seen have practitioners its of that feminist research should produce liberatory and empowering knowledge for women. Many grew out from, and retained a strong connection with, activism, starting out from the ambition studies gender) later (and women’s 1970s the In 2006:118). & Holm (Liinason issues” pressing opposed to “extreme specialization or alack of utilitarian accountability to social and other as criticality, pragmatic and problem-solving on orientation an passim), 2000:5–14, (Klein problems rather than First, interdisciplinarity is often associated withproblem-focused research (i.e., research analysis brought along interdisciplinary agendas for two most important reasons. of category a central as gender of Studies, Women’s incipient an by introduction, The passim). Pryse presents an exemplary project by Maria Mies in which the researcher in disciplines) and is therefore characterized by a degree of instrumentality 47 on CEU eTD Collection approaches that i attempted to connect and integrate throughout this exploration. scholarly and areas disciplinary the of layout a detailed provides dissertation tothis introduction same gender regime and bythe impacted are experiences social whoselivesand and society of parts integral are but producers, structures as the ascultural towork happen who associalsubjects artists lives iregard Accordingly, world. social and experiences of otherfrom which individuals produce artworks and toanalyzeindividuals. the interconnectedness of these with the My theory, or an aesthetic analysis of cultural products; rather, i am trying to map subject positions or film art in contemporary asaresearch inquiry my conceptualize do not I periods. distinct shaped the artistic identity, agendas and output of women cultural producers in Hungary in two in which i wish to explorewomen’s lives (1998:4). This affix is especially valuable thefrom the perspective of my own research kinds of—social,different contexts; Pryse herself adds “the structures and policiespolitical of nation-states” as they impact and cultural—open to include other social divisions that might shape social hierarchies with avarying force in factors thatstudies are gender, class, race/ethnicity,may and sexuality, some researchershave are careful to keep the list frameworks (Pryse 2000:113). While theand quantitative most research, ethnography, readingfrequently strategies, and various other concepts and named interacting qualitative analysis, textual including methods multiple and tools analytical of a variety categories to access in gender have scholars in which space as intellectual an methodology” interdisciplinary “trans/feminist praxis, also led to the development of a hybrid methodologies. Pryse describes this system of discrimination, within which gender was only one category. oppression or inequlity its various members experienced were defined by an interrelating (intersecting)movement. Although this movement was multiracial, it initially failed to recognize that the formsKimberle of Crenshaw and ) as a critique of the developing theory of the feminist 36 impetus. further gained has study, working with several categories of analysis at once and combining the insights of various fields of Secondly, with theory coming to the forefront offeminist analysis, the praxis of Intersectionality arose (first in the 1970s, and more emphatically in the 1990s, with the work of 36 Such work, as well as the striving to integrate theory and 48 CEU eTD Collection 49 CEU eTD Collection http://bocs.nolblog.hu/archives/2009/03/09/hogyan/ így, ahogy vannak szeretem így és így szeretem és így, hogy sz és így szeretem és így szeretem és így szeretem elmosogatni nem tisztességesen tudnak és így, hogy családdal a jött mithirtelen kezdjenek nem neked,aztán tudják csinálnak gyereket vesznek, feleségül megcsalnak, elhagynak, és így, hogy és így szeretem és így szeretem meneküljenek sokszormertnincsmibe nemkellmáscsaka tested, és így, hogy és így, hogy nem tudják kimondani, de érzed, érezned kell, hogy milyen nagyon mélyenígy szeretnekszeretem így, pont így tudod hogyan szeretem and as they cheat on you, abandon you, marry you, have a kid with you, and then don’t know how to live their sudden family life ŋ ŋ ket, igen ket, ket, hogy sosem tudják, melyik fiókban van az alsógatyájuk ŋ rösek, büdösek, és szúrnak ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ket, hogy annyi fájdalmat okoztak, amennyit nem tudok vinni ket, hogy pont nem azét a fél világét, amelyiket szeretnéd, hanem a másik fél világét ket, hogy ha szeretnek, eléd hordják a fél világ kincsét ket, hogy inkább homokba dugják a fejük, semmint hogy megbeszéljétek a problémákat ket, hogy nem találják helyüket egy kisbaba mellett ket, hogy lenéznek, kinevetnek, nem hiszik, hogy tudod, amit ŋ ket? and i love them as they will pile up the treasures of the wrong half of the world, not the half that you long for as they look down on you, make fun of you, because they don’t beleive that you also know what they know excerpts from ablog entry @ and i love them as they, if loving you, will pile the treasures of half the world in front of you and i love them as they’d rather bury their head in the sand than talk over problems i love them as they never know in which drawer to find their boxer shorts as they cannot say it, but you feel, you must feel how deeply they love you 50 as they often only want your body because they’ve got no other escape http://bocs.nolblog.hu/archives/2009/03/09/hogyan/ and i love them as they cause so much pain that i cannot bear ŋ k and as they are hairy, stinky, and stubbly and astheycannot dothe dishes properly as they are so helpless with a baby do you know how i love them? that’s how i love them, yes i love them as they are that’s how i love them March 9, 2009 CEU eTD Collection is the exploration of what kind ofgendered identity constructs become prepare the ground for theanalyses to becarried out in Chapter IIIand IV. One of these aspects i am considering, are governed by the general objective ofthe dissertation and are meant to social changes over a span ofsixty years. The perspective i develop and the aspects of the subject Neither is my intention to provide a comprehensive and exhaustive account of gender-related about gender and identity formation in the chosen contexts. problematizations and queries only partially thematized before, and will lead to conclusions hope, however, that the perspective i develop when tackling the subject will buttress capacity toenrich the existing body of studies with newer empirical or factual findings here. Ido transition to market economy and political pluralism. Itis beyond both myaspiration and the from resulted that changes as the aswell emancipation women’s wayof state-socialist produced Analyses today. by literature extensive own its has periods and post-socialist state- the during women, than others. The evaluation, and even re-evaluation, of the gender-related developments political and cultural discourses. Thereby they better enable certain kinds of subject positions for and constructs of femininity through women-related legislation and politics as well as social- hypotheses of my inquiry is that political systems mediate messages that shape female subjectivity the state-socialist and post-socialist periods. I distinguish these two periods because one of the In this chapter, i set out to assess key dimensions of gender-related developments in Hungary in within which cultural producers can formulate and articulate their messages, and how those of questions inquires about how gender regimes in both periods condition the gender regimes and what are the ways political authority defines or insinuates these? Another set CHAPTER by both local and international scholars gauge the discontents and achievements of the II E MANCIPATION 51 : AN EXPENDABLE POLITICAL GOAL POLITICAL EXPENDABLE AN thinkable under particular under discursive climate discursive CEU eTD Collection that states have always been one of the most important catalysts in shaping gender relations; 2) vary. In my view, those authors have good arguments supporting their position who propound 1) greatly equality political and social for struggle inwomen’s participation state’s the of desirability conditions of despite the fact that feminist theorists’ opinions about the two periods adopted In II.2. i will follow up the self-assigned rolepower. and the ideological arrangementsfollow i will explore the mechanisms and dynamics of women’s share in the abovethe resources of states in the advancementand was replaced byanother type of resource:social capital. Inthe sections to in the former case, while in the latter, economic capital only played an insignificant role in social Fodor found that a combination of economic and cultural capital defined relations of domination exercise their power (2003:18–20). When comparing capitalist Austria and state-socialist Hungary, political systems, dominant classes rely onadifferent combination ofresources to legitimate and and economic different within that, observed has Éva Fodor sociologist societies, socialist state In an attempt to discover whether gender regimes might besignificantly different in capitalist and building blocks of women’s subordinate role in society? economy—from agendered perspective: how have both related to the above-mentioned basic Hungary premise presents itself as an employable axiom to follow up the two political systems in through both material conditions and ideological arrangements (Asztalos-Morell 1997). This A number of feminist authors posit that women’s oppression is reproduced and mediated in society? particular ideological arrangements mayaim to reify ormitigate women’s relative powerlessness messages get interpreted within such environments? Another line of inquiry interrogates whether — the state-socialist one-party rule and the post- and market and democracy post-socialist the ruleand one-party state-socialist the vis-á-vis women’s issues. Ichose to focus on the states’ role in shaping 52 CEU eTD Collection that of men, throughout all professions and occupations” (1977:41). Is it obvious indeed? Do they wish, it is obvious that their number will be spread evenly approximately in thesame ratio as hypothesize that Hungary, state-socialist 1977, about in writing, &Volgyes Volgyes orientation? career positive wage work becomes an internalized objective for womenand individuals come to develop a when a stage at happens What attainable? been have patterns career sort of what and women, women’s participation in paid labor? What sort of work and professions have been open to women’s material conditions. In what ways have the two regimes facilitated or constrained Another sequence of questions concerns women’s employment as a basic determinant of (2005a:61). itself reality as ideology mass media at the that fact the time with impact immediate this explains partly Schadt Mária policies”(2000a:5). state of was the monopoly of partythemselves in official communications as to the often unforeseen and unintendedbureaucracy consequences andovershadowed lived experience:as “people in the region reactedsuch, as much to the representation of renderedeven have may ideology official of force the exposed, Kligman & Gal As officialgovernments. impact on the individual’s social consciousness than themore dispersed ideology of post-socialist and the ideology underpinning them more directly, which may have had a more immediate goals political its conveyed state socialist The ideologies. dominant instilled subtly more or stated explicitly their and platforms political articulated clearly states’ two the accentuate wish to I also 1997:38). on the nature of the institutions and policies of the states under which we live” (Narayan therefore “actions and organizations necessary for feminist political contestation are dependent that feminist political agendas inany national context need the cooperation of the state, and that the production of female subjects has, to a great extent, been concentrated in the state; 3) in societies where “women have the legal right todoanything and everything 53 CEU eTD Collection production and the visual arts in Chapter III and IV. explorations of women’s position and representation in the specific fields of cinematic cultural representation? This preliminary inquiry will besupplemented with more thorough-going other words, towhat extent could they possibly gain control or influence over their public and to what extent women gained access to authoritative positions in professional and cultural life. In cultural of centrality women’s subordinate social position ontheone hand, and Fodor’s insights about therelative Combining my above concern with ideological arrangements potentially reproducing or lessening capital played important,an if secondary, role in state-socialist Hungary too (2003:19). as “political capital”. 37 landscapes of post-communist countries, most often edited (and occasionally authored) by contributions to volumes focusing onthereshaping of the social, economic, political and cultural experience ofthe system change. Asignificant ofthesepieces portion came toexistence as Localizing Europe. provide a general assessment of the gender politicsEastern of the previous regime and of women's and Central After thecollapse ofstate-socialism,on agradually growing bodyofliterature has emerged present to revisited the on scholarship perspective a feminist knowledge-production taking and emerging past An II.1.i state-socialist the Re-assessing II.1 cultural representations under the rubric of social capital, In Eva Fodor’s monograph cited above, the author herself is notso much concerned with authoritative (because decision-making or potentially trend-setting) positions? they gain entry to political office, top-level directorial, managerial, orin other professionally Fodor’s primary focus is the type of social capital that took the form of party membership, also labeled capital in bothpolitical systems on the other hand, in II.3.i set out to explore 54 37 butshedoesremarkthat cultural CEU eTD Collection accomplishments of the state-socialist “women politics” too, they tend to formulate their governmentaltherefore differently affected by economic and social developments and the responding (neglecting how various sub-groups of women are differently positioned within society and policies).governmental policies in the course of nearly five decades) and women as a social group a totalizing view both on the state-socialist period (neglecting the changes that took place in Thus,ultimately just and democratic society. Indetailing “forced emancipation”, several authors adopt evenof a particular historical formation but to measure the success of the implementation ofan if against some absolute “feminist dream”, asif the authors mostwere not to analyze the gender politics exhibit a sort ofcorrectiveof hope inasmuch as they implicitly weigh thestate-driven emancipation the inthatthey gender” “ahistoricize to appear period socialist the on focusing pieces the of Some authors of gender, already signaled in Chapter areI.3.ii. readyof the policy environment have received contributes tothe (re-)production of an ahistorical idea tointernational political and economic forces. The relatively little scholarly attentionregister these actualities within an environment in which social and economic relations are increasingly being regulated by settings, or rarely addressthe themselves to the fact that the post-socialist transformation takes place explicit comparisons between state-socialist arrangements and contemporaneous Western from Western Europe or North America, these collections or the texts included rarely make beyond a regional framework quoted in Jähnert et al. 2001:18). When comparisons are also solicited, they do not normally go (Kaši differences inner-state of analysis the orneglecting Europe, South-Eastern and Central 1993), often lacking, however, a differentiated approach for dealing with the countries of Eastern, therein adopt a country-by-country methodology of description (Corrin 1992, Funk & Mueller J 2000a, &Kligman Gal 1993, Western scholars, with contributions by Western, and to a varying degree, local authors (Einhorn . ä As a consequence, hnert et al. 2001). The majority of these volumes and the articles the and volumes these of majority The 2001). al. et hnert 55 even in cases when the editors/authors come editors/authors ý , CEU eTD Collection approaches and make it clear that scholarly output from before the transformation is not by creative and inventive free, their with strike studies older these change, systemic the justify When juxtaposed with theideological narrowness of the pieces that were written in the spirit to them and detail the reasons underlying their respective failures (Márkus 1970, Molyneux 1981). attainments ofbothEastern and Western , theyrelativize thedifferences between 1984, Sas H. 1983, 1982and 1981, Ferge Molyneux 1977, &Volgyes 1974,Volgyes Scott 1970, Szalai 1970, Márkus layered analyses of the effects of socialist employment policies on women (e.g., Heller 1970, scholarship on the region, and the pieces that ithink belong here pride themselves on providing There is also a distinctive group of literature that much pre-dates this flux ofnew feminist earlier years. for themselves more complex agendas than those carried out amidst therapid positioning of and just as importantly, a good deal of these research projects or analytical enterprises now set early 1990s on. As a result, the amount of empirical data available for further research is growing, contemporary society and politics from agendered perspective has been on the increase from the 38 interest ingender analysis; expedited, though in avery peculiar and potentially restrictive manner, the mushrooming of an region the in studies gender of institutionalization the drove that forces cultural and political The 2000:200). (Watson progression” transition period as well, allowing for puts broader political-economic terms beyond question, generally characterizes accounts of the context and parallel developments at other geographical locations. This “vacuum-effect”, that assertions in a vacuum, i.e., tend to consider East-Central Europe isolated from its historical For a detailed analysis and critique of this process, see Zimmermann 2007. Koncz 1985, Kruks, Rapp & Young 1989). Or, by carefully considering the 38 thenumber of local scholars steadily engaged in researching “an unimpeached narrative of westernization as 56 CEU eTD Collection methodologies, and created corresponding theoretical frameworks. On the basis of this also Asztalos-Morell 1997), some researchers developed novel problematizations and ideology and that abolished private ownership [...] as well as capitalist profit” (Fodor 2003:24, see about the form of male domination in societies that subscribed to a strict antiliberal, communist therefore it might be source the case that “Western that Recognizing post-state-socialism. and state-socialism of subject-matters at key differently feminist theorists look authors the 2007), Zimmermann 2007, Palasik 2005, &Lamoen Paantjens Krizsán, have practically nothingMaghiar 2007) or“women in thenew ” (e.g. Goven 2000, Antic &Ilonszki 2003, to say Magó- 2005a, Schadt 2005, and 2004 Horváth 2002, Madarasz 2000, Adamik (e.g., socialism” and zooming on various well-defined sections within the broad subjects of “women under state- differences between these regimes to the rarely analyzed parallels and continuities between them, regimes of these systems are concerned. Shifting the focus of the inquiry from theoft-repeated 2003) Fodor 2000, Watson 1995, 1994, Molyneux Ferree 1989, & Young Rapp Kruks, (e.g., granted for regimes social-political capitalist and state-socialist between differentiations strict the take longer no pieces these Also, 2007). 2005 and Tóth 2005, social classes, backgrounds and generations (e.g., Neményi 1999, Schadt 2001, Palasik & Sipos scholarship on the region leaves room for considering experiences of women from different feminist recent of deal agreat change, social of experience” “women’s or regimes socialist group in sweeping attempts to account for “women’s experience” of emancipation orwomen’s activity in thetransition period. Instead of homogenizing women as a impose pre-existing frameworks when accounting for the state-socialist way ofwomen’s would that practice a scholarly from disengage agendas complex more with explorations Recent analytical trends. definition less valuable; rather, it is political booms that are more enabling or disabling for various of certain forms of social inequalities differed in capitalist and socialist systems, and systems, socialist and capitalist in differed inequalities social of forms certain of 57 — especially not insofar as the gender “ work, family, politics family, work, ” the in CEU eTD Collection country maneuvers in a context that is largely defined by the pressures of a globalizing economy. path the country has embarked on is not the only conceivable transition strategy even if the does the ensuing adjustment in social organization. Meanwhile it remains blurred that thekind of variations in transition strategies. Thus looming capitalist economy figures as a monolith and so an inevitable changeover having one single fixed scenario, there is a blindness to thepossible unfolding state-economy changes as given. In viewing this transformation as part and parcel of Hungary—which has fostered an understanding that takes the broader implications of the post-state-socialist to asa“package” arrived also have economy market neo-liberal and democracy Multi-party (1989:12). power” earning equal more and power political middle-level social goods that Kruks, Rapp and Young lists as follows: “childcare, maternity benefits, access to rejection of the whole “package” of socialism withno regard to its real benefits and quantifiable time. In the case of state-socialism, such context-blindness is generally combined with a firm from its context as if assuming subject its divests “vacuum”-thinking above-described The restructuring. economic of period the that societies develop in an unhinderedthe socialist state or, for that matter, the most rational, inevitable and“natural”-looking facets of free space at any givenfocus on the most disagreeable shortcomings orunresolved tensions of the women’s policy of take pains at every turn of their investigations to put agiven phenomenon into context, be their It is under this heading that i wish tofurther underscore the explanatory value of approaches that difficulties Some II.1.ii (1994:619). perspectives” distinctive their welcome and voices while Myra Marx Ferree called upon thefeminist movements of the West to “listen to these new challenges to theexisting literature that feminist theory cannot afford not toface (2001:137), expanding new scholarship, Anna Wessely projected that these standpoints would pose 58 CEU eTD Collection deficiency (161–74). deficiency record ofthetimes is thattheauthorscarefully detailverymaterial the everyday aspects ofsuch book essayistic Volgyes’s Nancy and Ivan makes What (1981:171). better endowed societies”, Molyneux says, “must take this background of scarcity into account” societies in emancipating women, especially given the difficulties encountered in materially much systems, help evaluate the state socialist experiment in a more carefully drafted carefully a in more experiment socialist state the evaluate help systems, capitalist and socialist of similarities articulated frequently less aswellthe differences the to attention abalanced giving employ, (1989) & Young Rapp Kruks, or (1981) Molyneux Maxine The kinds of treatment that, among a fewof a state within the global others,economic system” (2000a:67). Éva Fodor (2003), Gal & Kligman (2000a), resources ofcapital, technologyand skilled personnel. limited having while tracks modernizing their on embarked countries socialist that fact the to perspective onstate-socialist developments. Maxine Molyneux, for instance, gave due emphasis them). This circumstance did not escape theattention ofauthors who had a different geopolitical standard of living was not identical in all these societies and was improving over time in some of mindful of the fact that thecountries of the ex-Soviet Bloc were relatively poor(even if the examples, few local authors contributing to the emerging gender scholarship ofthe 1990s were own terms: in theframework of the tensions of socialist theory and practice. For a typical contemporaneous capitalist arrangements in order to evaluate the attainments of the former in its frame of reference. For the most part, these authors juxtapose socialist developments with about the unupdated organization of foodstuff supply that required to go to, and queue in, a number of 40 evenmore their acutelywas presentin case. 39 on, say, conservative different As Gal & Kligman exhort, in post-socialist Hungary there has been “little public discussion of the The authors consider what proportion of families had washing machines or freezers and present details Molyneux considers non-European socialist countries as well, stating that this condition of deficiency sorts of state arrangements, and the and arrangements, ofstate sorts versus 40 While practically all Hungarian analysts establish that the state the that establish analysts Hungarian all practically While liberal versus social democratic ideals, or […] on the different positions different 59 possible effectsofwelfare schemespremised 39 “Anycritique ofsuch oftherecord The Liberated Female Liberated The , comparative a valuable CEU eTD Collection freedom of expression and assembly. Revealing, however, that these values are falsly constructed falsly are values these that however, Revealing, assembly. and expression of freedom oppressive mode of power wielding preventing the exercise of basic human rights, including register the state’s repeated, albeit infirm and inefficient, efforts to alleviate these chores. different types of stores that made everyday shopping heavily time-consuming. Volgyes & Volgyes also or the evaluation criteria of those assuming such universal viewpoint (for the most part, intellectuals juxtaposition frequently constructed in terms of the presence/absence of freedom. According to communism/democracy of kind a is perspective universal claimed a mistakenly from and social position. In the study of post-communism, an arguably partial perception resulting wealth) and race, and, equally importantly, neglecting the partiality of his/her own experiences class(or by defined differences social while neglecting standpoint moral and auniversal claims attitude such with speaker a “middle-classness”); says she at times, (or, as “whiteness” position absent in large parts of the conspicously studyis, however, premise epistemological This of partial. always is knowledge postcommunism situated such (Watson 2000:188). WatsonConceding refers to such though that differentintellectuals writing up “communist” history defines the basic terms of many of these accounts. groups view realitylargely impressionistic as of now. It is the presumption fromthat acertain “ different remains and positionings, attention scholarly little received policieshas state-socialist of facets it is clear thatAnother line of argument about what may hinder adequate analyses of the potentially appealing tackled various aspects of women’s social equality and their needs? and their successor states: in what ways have the corresponding related to and of thestate-socialist governments can extended be to thecomparison ofstate-socialist societies Molyneux’s caution to consider different types of societies when evaluating the women policies e.g., Asztalos-Morell) rather than being insufficient, fewview this defect asalso conditioned partly by budgetary insufficiencies (as does was supposed that infrastructure, literati ) , a fundamental charge against socialist party dictatorship isthenon-democratic, dictatorship party socialist against charge a fundamental to relieve household work and family care, was gravely purely an indication of a task-avoiding dishonest state. 60 class bias class ” of the CEU eTD Collection authorial) positions, and may not get heard in the “middle-class-biased” literature. Hence my Hence literature. the “middle-class-biased” in heard get not may and positions, authorial) (or authoritative from speak normally not do however, voices, These 425–32). (ibid., enough far within the family. Some had no doubt that, rather than going too far, emancipation had not gone treatment with men in the workforce and on the strongly felt injustice regarding their position “emancipation”. Their protestsWomen working both in factory management and on the shop floor did not generally denounce were rather focusedamong the intelligentsia than among her respondents from loweron social classes (1993b:438).the fact that they stateswere that she had encountered, during her interviewnot sessions, more vocally anti-feministgiven women equal the intersection ofclass and gender in herdissertation on Hungarian socialism, Joanna Goven social strata and age brackets, the reception of the “program” itself greatly varied. Interrogating beneficiaries of the state-socialist emancipation program were, importantly, women from various i have encountered,As i said above, scholarly evidence for this line of argument remains impressionistic at this point; strongly determined the individual’s life choices earlier on. however, that barriers political even and religious class, rigid eliminated and arrangements, marriage a fewmobility for men and women of disadvantaged strata, legally curbed patriarchalconcordant family and/or right and opportunity of education. They opened up of earlier unthinkable routes of social remarksextended practices and entitlements includedintellectualsin and professionals among them, had already been entitledthe to them. These newly universalthe right to groups, workas some literature.differently strata social different affected too, butthese, society, and of segments livelihood, and the Although the conditions. 41 progressive and beneficial state were same the of arrangements other some time, the real life-activities of different social groups to substantially different degrees. At the same as universal ones, these kinds of social restrictions, while grievous, may turn out to have affected The progressive nature of these measures becomes evident when one compares them to pre-war social 61 41 for broad CEU eTD Collection direction for several reasons. One is to illustrate how the choice of values and value judgements value and values of choice the how illustrate to is One reasons. several for direction Although theabove passage mightseemasa divergence from my subject, i adverted to this government did utilize (Volgyes & Volgyes, 206). actively encourage the development of professional egalitarianism” that thestate-socialist point to the unique opportunity of states “to bestow official dignity onprofessions and thereby as, up to 1963, outstanding performance in socialist production. in 1948, it has been the highest state decoration to reward excellence in cultural and artistic activity as well elevate the working class did. backdrop of today’s deepening social segregation, the supposed damage that the propaganda to 44 social usefulness and belonging in the people targeted mobile book-sellers visiting factories, opera tickets sold at the workplace, etc.—developed a sense relativeof privileging of the working class—culture was literally brought to the workers in the form of 43 (2000:231). of1989–91 theturn tothehomeafter toreturn on women thepressures and 42 ( discussion a panel at view similar citizens, though the terms of the coercion differ. democratic Hungary also does not seem to offer genuine alternatives to themajority of its emancipation” (most often used to refer to women’s compulsory employment) by disclosing that processes asquestions Fábián implies a similar need to contextualisei theestimation of particular socialexpressedlabor better if it is based on economic grounds or onideological or social ones?”. above. Sheinto paid work for economic or ideological reasons?”, she continues. “Is exclusion from alsopaid revealsrecognising that assessment is a matter of social membership (1996:31). “Is it better to beforced the why”, and isgood bias ofwhat assessment the in biases “cultural talks about but “class bias” term in the widelyWhen accounting for women’s situation in democratic Hungary, Katalin Fábián does not use the used term “forcedare recuperated acute interestininterview-based accounts of theperiod,academic wherethese orother, voices TheKossuth-award Another participant of the panel, Judit Gáspár gave further hues to the picture by adding that such Diane M. Duffy talks about “forced domestication” in reference to gendered patterns of unemployment can be regarded an example of a gesture “to officially bestow dignity”. Established 43 Some other authors (Volgyes & Volgyes 1977, Goven 1993b) also 1ŋ k akádárizmusban 62 44 42 Sociologist Zsuzsa Heged 2005) also relativising, against the ť s put forward a With her CEU eTD Collection Hungarian emancipation project by Volgyes & Volgyes (writing in 1977) is unique. Beside ways toaddress them. prior experience with many of the policy issues pertaining to gender-based discrimination and the preparatory research projects, EU policy making is profoundly disinterested in Eastern Europe’s orleading documents such of drafting inthe as advisors involved or Union, European scholars engaged in theanalysis of gender-related recommendations and directives of the women’s emancipation have been delayed. According to theobservation ofa number of gender I hypothesize another factor why alternative accounts of the state-socialist experiment with evaluation of state-socialism, especially in those produced locally. combine gender and class aspects in their analysis, ararely encountered analytical approach in the offer workers and working mothers in any case. Finally, the perspectives i briefly presented here advocating anti-statist, pro-capitalist policies on the basis of aliberalized economy had little to workers or women and their concerns, Goven underscores, also pointing to the fact that 1993b:440). women—had become “political directly addressed by Goven, of how certain social groups—workers and sizeable groups of January 21, 2008, respectively). 21, 2008, January 46 45 digression was myintent to comment on the process, implicated here by Heged privilege orrely on adifferent type of gender equality ideology. Yet another reason for my above enable subject positions otherthan thoseacquired insocieties that openlylegitimate male emancipation may have impacted women’s self-concept and, as an official discourse, was likely to this case. By a similar token, i will argue in following the that thepolitical message of in workers, individual: the of self-perception the on message political explicit astate’s of effect participant of the panel discussionare i a referredmatter to in the ofprevious social paragraph) membership. make a case for the Secondly, Volgyes & Volgyes as well as Judit Gáspár (a Mária Adamik and Éva Fodor, personal communication (Budapest, March 5, 2005 and Budapest, On the marginalisation of workers in both the public and academic discourse, see also Szalai 2005. 45 During the immediate transition period, no party have addressed itself explicitly to 46 From the perspective ofsuch neglect currently, the assessment of the personae non grata personae 63 ” after the collapse ofstate-socialism (Goven ť s, and more CEU eTD Collection grown out from different gender regimes collide. 48 2000:186). (Watson known” is that destination a and trajectory unproblematic term “transition” has been contested by many scholarly critics on the grounds that the word “implieschronicle thean events in the Central-East European region after the collapse of state-socialism. Its major measures, policy makerspolicies could helpforecast the potential efficiency orexpected failures of comparable EU prove to be deeplyunequal terms. As i reluctanthave said earlier, even if the experience of state-socialist emancipatory to integratecomplex. the lessons What resulting indicatorsis that i will briefly present below suggestat that the reasons for the pretermission from is more stake a here,East/West epistemic inequality. While this inequalityi is certainly part of the problemsurmise, here, some isthis inattention towards the historicalmore experience of the other half ofEurope in the matrix of the than intellectualproduction and definitional monopoly between East and West, it would be plausible tointerpret narrativesin out (spelled contentions my mind in Bearing competing on utopian and irrelevant in the new political economy (Ferree 1994:615). measures of a non-democratic system, were quickly shattered as their demands turned out to be suggestions of GDR feminist groups that the new democracy amend the misguided emancipation of political na similaranticipations of a two-directional exchange of experiences in order toshow how a degree Transitology came to life as a new field of scholarship, or “democracy industry” (T one bears in mind the language of “transitology” (developed only after the publication of this book).Rapp &. Young 1989; emphasis added). The formulation of the subtitle of this volume is remarkable if political changes in East-Central Europe: “Promissory Notes: Women in the edited and authored from a socialist-feminists point of view, and published around the time of thethe path American women are following will be the same” (ibid.). Witness also the subtitle of a book, 47 I.3.i, asinChapter purposes similar for here reunification learning process between the two geopolitical entities (4). a mutual projected authors the Furthermore, states. socialist European inEast-Central extent that some other conditions of “women’s liberation” had been implemented to a much greater pointing to US feminists’ greater headway in the sphere of public life, theauthors acknowledged In Chapter I.3.i, i briefly referred to German unification as a glaring example when feminist interests They even project that Central Europe might become the trendsetter: “We do not mean to suggest that ȓ veté in such visions looms large. The political expectations and concrete 64 I.3.i ) about thehierarchies in knowledge 47 48 I am using the case of the German as well as to recall GDR feminists’ GDR recall asto aswell Transition to Socialism ŋ kés 1998:32), to ” (Kruks, CEU eTD Collection institutional standards operative in (largely Anglo-Saxon) Western democracies; and b) to express protection of the human rights of women. Rather, their objectives were a) to adjust to the Eastern Europe has not, or not only, been to strengthen the equality of women and men and the in the (partly) internationally financed sector of the “new” higher education system in Central and proposes that the motive of decision makers to promote the institutionalization ofgender studies efforts to evaluate the gender-related developments of the state-socialist period. Zimmermann more immediately to my speculations about why only fewstudies dedicate serious analytical education in Central gender mainstreamingand in EU policy but theinstitutionalization Eastern ofgender studies in higher Europe (ZimmermannSusan Zimmermann puts forward a conceptually similar view although she does not examine 2007); a perspective that might relate suppression effectively shapes EU Gender Mainstreaming policies. As Anna Pollert spells out, that would notreinforce the neo-liberal underpinnings of much of EU policy-making. This Western democracies. Hence the general unwillingness, i opine, to give a hearing to standpoints that so far have been farthest from analytical view: theinterrogation of the political order power that structure post-communist feminist discourse means opening up a new set of issues terms, the result of ’distortion’, and not really ’true’ “ (190–93). implied in this “surprise” posits postcommunist social processes as deviatons, “inexplicable “ that those in than [their]different own democratizing Eastern Europe; and c) that the first gender-related policies and social developmenstto many were women; b) that this did not lead to a spontaneous embracement of feminist identity in syndrome”, i.e., Westerners’ amazement over the facts that a) democracy has brought greater difficulties 49 identity political West-East of sameness underlying the ideasof keep that interests and assumptions unspoken challenge anddevelopment that traveled a different route.“Letting east European difference beheard is a real a risk”, contends Peggy Watson, because it means having to interrogate the Watson explains this positied sameness of political identites in connection with the “surprise divide. (2001) divide. thethan of East-West for trajectory may EOpolicies bemorecritical distinction political B.H.] [above, the that be well could it regimes, oftheCommunist legacy thedistinctive Whatever progress. B.H.] Opportunities, [Equal of EO determinant major seemstobea neo- and democracy social between Europe,thespectrum Within 49 so firmly in place” should have appeared” in a democratisation process. The normative assumption normative The process. ademocratisation in appeared” (2000:194). Problematizing the transnational relations of 65 within CEU eTD Collection rhetoric, and 2) the feasibility to reconcile employment and family life. I incorporated 1) for 1) I incorporated life. family and employment reconcile to feasibility the 2) and rhetoric, political in articulated as promises political and goals 1) ideological i addare factors The factors. my own analytical purposes here, i modified this standard list bysupplementing two more serve better To family). and marriage civil law(partnerships, and sphere private the within status women’s position in the economy: labor market, work place, wages, career paths; and d) women’s in legislative and executive power and their lobbying capacity; b) education and Judit Hell (2002:327–28). These are a) equality of equality a) are social These (2002:327–28). Hell Judit related and model listwomen offactors usually referred to whenexamining gender equality/inequality, as chartedby for message In structuring myoverview ofgender-related social changes spanning sixrelied decades, i on political state’s 1945 the of since changes metamorphoses The II.2 2000:206). (Watson the political processes that produce and precondition much of the discontents themselves system change, a feminist critique of transitionrelations of (in)equality but will contest the broader implications, the means and endsis of the not just partial but becomeslayered accounts of the “transition”an period,accomplice however, that will not only focus on male-female to value assignments, may not receive sufficient attention and legitimacy. Without these more can, or cannot, be told, and accounts that do not conform to a particular scenario and the implied the configuration sheintroduces, there are assumptions as to how the narrative of “transition” interests, as Zimmermann implies, i can connect her argumentation to myabove concern. Within studies. To theextent that part of this critical potential would bea critique ofglobal hegemonic contradictory conceptual space to bring out the socially critical potential of women’s and gender a create actors professional of alliances such explicates, author As the atlarge. economy a commitment to the respective values of a liberal social order and liberal-capitalist market 66 political and civic rights, women’s participation training; c) a CEU eTD Collection want to explore aspects and environments that influence the actualization ofsocial processes pre- possibility tocombine paid employment with unpaid labor in the home. I do so because here i set also affect women’s statuscommands and messages. The more diffused means of interpellation that i withingrouped in the second the privatepassive recipients andexecutors ofdirectly or imposed moresubtly dispatchedsphere; political and this is where more democratically structured regimes in a more dynamic wayi than solely regarding them as will talk about the processes from this angle also permits to think about citizens of either hierarchical-directive or social Viewing it. stalling and/or re-interpreting, sanctioning, message, political the to reaction women’s movement and the beginnings of feminist theorising. feminist of beginnings the and movement women’s is 50 political. as recognizable readily are less that channels through 1971]) [Althusser as subjects individuals sense, Althusserian factors that fulfill the above functions (shaping gender relations and interpellating, in the employment-related legislation and policies, and official ideology itself. The second set collects (c.f. W. Brown above), that is: political messages materialized in theconferring of political rights, subjects particular and produce relations gender toshape means aspolitical recognized readily I also found it helpful to group the above factors into two sets. One set of factors can becombine thesemore two functions of social life at least served as a social norm (Ferree 1993:91). have been insufficiently resolved in the GDR, but nevertheless, the idea to enable women to the collision of two differentonce more to thelesson of the German re-unification, the most dramatic change resulting from gender resorting Or, 1992:8). Brown regimes 2000:245; Bock 1999:158, Neményi (e.g. roles family traditional evolved aroundwith compatible lifetracks women’s “emancipated” make to alike, worlds socialist exactlyand capitalist this dilemma consultedwhich emphatically state, generations of women now have been facing the maychallenge, in combining working life and family responsibility because, as a number of scholarly works i reasons i stated in the opening paragraphs of this chapter. Ichose to punctuate theviability of political” (Okin 1989:126) underpinned most feminist thought already in the early second wave of the Surely, the recognition that “the personal sphere of sexuality, of housework, of child care and family life 50 In this capacity these factors can also be conceptualized as society’s 67 CEU eTD Collection definitely progressive at thetime in international comparison (Schadt 2005a:64-68). It abolished men had enjoyed up to then. Replacing a patriarchal legal1953, lies in that it ended order,the legally guaranteed social the privileges, orpositivenew discrimination, family that law of 1953 was legislation, including labor law, the right to(higher) education (1946), and the new family law of allnew of significance The gender. their regardless citizens on rights equal personal conferred capital political Sharing enjoy equalparticipation. political rights to women, rulingpolitical thatrights”. “men and women in theHungarian People’s Republic shall and rights civil TheWomen in Hungary were enfranchisedand in 1945, and the new constitution of 1949 granted introduction,full political Women’s II.2.i in 1954, of identity cards to bothas well. womencontinuities for notable out look i will regimes, two the of ideologies and policies in the andraptures men and breaks dramatic or discrepancies stark positing only of instead Also, formation. political or it is partregime, political and economic given the to of linked intimately and related is directly somephenomenon broader developmentpolitical andthroughout myoverview of how the abovethus sets of factors operated during the two economic and lessregimes directlyAs a basic attemptrelated in to evadeHungary, to thewhat giveni scarcelytermed studied fields of creative/artistic professions and professional elites. “vacuum”socio- i thinkingintendsystems, this second treatment ofthe subject will engage with processes of segregationin within the the previous to culturalsection capital are important resources of authority and powerbe in both socialist and capitalist (II.1.i),keenFodor’s argument, summarized in the brief introductionon to Chapter II., about how social and the topic of jobdistinction segregation, to be first rehearsed under b) “education and the revisit iwill iswhere this token, same the By policy-making. and legislation by conditioned whether a certain 68 training”. Taking up Éva up Taking training”. CEU eTD Collection democracy. The process of the male appropriation of the re-opened public sphere, the levels ofpolitical power (and in smaller towns and villages) continued to exist in thenew lower on women of proportion ahigher showed that rule, socialist under observed already trend, and the representation ofwomen’s rights and needs have considerably declined after 1989. participation political their women, of rights political the curbed change legislative no Although restricted.” more was much capital, political resource, critical most the of attainment their and positions “women were allowed, even welcome, in the workplace and at universities, their entry to political private property was reduced inamount and had adifferent standing. As Fodor registers, while capital as the major resource needed to get in positions of authority in socialist societies in which senior government position. Let us remember again how Eva Fodor defines political (or social) 50) is that hardly any women were found in the highest levels of the party hierarchy or holding authors, e.g., 2003b:4,withother Goven women dropped—as we will see below.) Another qualification she makes (again, in concordance (When political participation gained substantial meaning, Schadt continues, the proportion of Antic &Ilonszki 2003, Ilonszki 2006, Palasik 2007. 52 (2001:32). representatives token only parliaments, 51 rights; political of exercise formal the meant only time at the Hungary in participation political that as well (Schadt2005a:63). withmany otherauthors in Agreeing thefield, Schadtadds, however, Women’s newly conferred political rights did not only include the right to vote but to be elected 1981:173). (Molyneux milieu” social traditional the “legal support to women’s demands for equality in the face of opposition from their families and laws regarding marital cohabitation. Through such legislation theconstitution may have given women’s inequality within thefamily and regulated in detail the conditions of implementing the For a detailed account see, among many others, Kiss 1999 and 2005, Fodor 1998, Lévai & Kiss 2000, Birgit Sauer expresses similar views remarking that men and women alike were, in state-socialist 51 afact with which she actually explains the relatively high number of women in politics. Ferge 1999:13, Jähnert et al. 2001:13, Fodor 2003:147– Fodor al. 2001:13, et Jähnert 1999:13, Ferge 69 52 The CEU eTD Collection become a meaningful aspect of the subordination of only to women. “It is only with democratization that the ‘absence of political voice’ [...] can and powerlessness of the individual was a genuine universal, notaform of oppression pertaining to democratization but one ofits constituents. In the former political system, the voicelessness feminism. Watson directs attention to how women’s exclusion from politics was not an obstacle how the democratic transition inEast-Central Europe did not eliminate but (Fábián, 2). In their engaging analyses, Peggy Watson (1997) and Joanna Goven (1993b) reveal “current attempts to create a liberal democratic Hungary has done little toempower women” also fostered the emergence of conservative political forces. political fostered the emergenceofconservative also transformation, the taken-for-grantedness of the lack of their voice may have been one circumstance that 53 civil most banned state socialist early until the organization umbrella was amultiparty Szövetsége (MNDSZ; Democratic Alliance of Hungarian Women) was established in 1945, and N Magyar organizations, women’s pre-war surviving the of several Besides change. political the of news welcome is certainly level grassroots the on mobilization A genuine 1995). Acsády in quoted (Gigli, shifting from the symbolism and tokenism of the socialist past to amore real and meaningful role only 5 or 6percent behind that of men, and projecting that women's participation inpolitics was showing that, at the time of her report, women's participation in grassroots politics lagged by In an 1995 report on the post-socialist region, Susan Gigli still drew a more optimistic scenario differences which under communism had been a matter of political irrelevance”. democratization in East-Central Europe may besaid toentail themobilization ofthe very authors point out that democracy is not anti-patriarchal Some 2000b). &Kligman Gal 2006, Ilonszki 2005, &Afanassieva 2001, Metcalfe Pollert 2000, 1996, Duffy Fábián (eg., observed widely been have realms private and inpublic relations power masculinization of the parliament, and the re-affirmation of gendered hierarchies and gendered As Wessely (2001:137) and Pollert (2001) portends, women’s absence from politics in the early phase of 70 per se women , and convincingly demonstrate that ” (Watson, 160). Thus, “the ŋ 53 k Demokratikus produced anti- CEU eTD Collection issue-oriented committees) have been monitoring the country, trying to pressure governments to preparation period, external agencies (EU recommendations and directives and international interests is guaranteed. Sinceneither thevindication, 2004nor the enforcement ofwomen’s special social and politicalwhen needs and Hungary joined theIn the lack of substantialEuropean lobbying force, and facing an increasingly withdrawing liberal Union,state, as well as in the coherent strategies (Brown 1992:13). incessantly changing criteria for welfare benefits or rights protection rather than through tight, the state's “legitimate” arbitrary aspect in policy making, allowing foroperation through women’s NGOs have to contend with the prerogative power of the state. Prerogative power is that argue i difficulties, of list general this from Apart 1998:162–65). Fodor 2003:290, (Nagy expertise with employees and funding lack generally they and public, a wider mobilize cannot however, as a 2003 report says, are largely invisible to society, the questions they formulate NGOs, women’s Hungarian women). in trafficking harassment, sexual violence, domestic otherwise, during the transition period, and to convincingly thematize new issues (such as effectively counteract those processes that brought thegreatest losses to women, material or period. Civil organizations now need to possess powerful lobbying positions and strategies to the challenges that the newly established women’s NGOs have been facing in the post-socialist any independent organizing is certainly a strong argument, it is perhaps worth juxtaposing it with not responding to women’s own needs or representing their interests. While the prevention of measures oftop-down series itwas a that on grounds whole asa project emancipation socialist 1993b:47). (Goven emancipation and, at thesame time, to cover up for the daunting problems women encountered on the path to was called to life to convey the Országosstate’s Tanácsa/National Council of Hungarian Women (Fodor 1998:148). This organizationproclaimed goals of genderassociations equality and equalin 1949. treatment MNDSZ first survived, and was later (in 1957) replaced by Magyar N This circumstance led many analysts to denounce the state- the denounce to analysts many led circumstance This 71 ŋ k CEU eTD Collection II.2.ii Patterns in women’s education and employment. Sharing economic/material capital age working of vast majority the unemployment, declared was no there As 1993:218). (Tóth economic/material Sharing the unprecedentedemployment. and level was policy women state-socialist the of attainment infamous, also but famous, most the of One of education women’s economicwomen’s in activity,Patterns reachingII.2.ii 95% by the end of the 1980s state-socialist policy makers’ agendas were, under the general principle inconsistent whatever 2001), Pollert 1999:17, (Ferge Hungary in regimes successive the between comes out. While theinconsistency of government policies on women is a point ofcontinuity practicalities and groups feminist Western by voiced demands to similar “were processes this backdrop that the relevance several gender scholars’ assertion about how emancipation is against It (21). strivings” opportunity equal general the of realization the “promoting law” or appears to be limited to repeated sessions to evaluate the“draft version of the anti-discriminatory together women with other “endangered” social groups such as the disabled and the Roma) secretariats, commissions, and councils, frequently renamed and re-structured, and lumping the authors’ assessment, the activity of the surveyed organizational bodies (government institutional background of enforcing these goals and laws shows (Laky & Neumann 2004). In principles of Hungarian regulations concerning equal opportunity of women and men and the documents often only reflect intentions, objectives and declarations, as a 2004 report on the main even when EU requirements are formally endorsed and put into law, the related government target gender equality and women’s human rights protection—with little tonoeffect so far. But under which greatersocial equality canbeachieved implemented measures, inow turn to the conditions of women’s employment. that hadreal-life consequences. Acknowledging the relevance of these practicalities and actually ” (Madarasz 2002, italics are mine; see also Fodor 2003:12, and Goven 1993b:50) Goven and 2003:12, Fodor also see mine; are italics 2002, ” (Madarasz 72 ” ( Molyneux 1996:247), they passed decrees passed they 1996:247), Molyneux “ to secure the conditions were also founded on CEU eTD Collection managerial positions (Palasik, ibid.), and this is acircumstance Anna Pollert refers to when construction also offered few opportunities for women to be promoted into mid- or top- women had lesser chances to integrate in rapidly growing productive work. Industry and representation in secondary vocational training was conspicuous. Due to this latter circumstance, under- their and professions, graduate of range a limited into only waseased inroad women’s a relatively greatdegree ofgender-typing persisted. While someprofessions became feminized, even if the rising educational level of womenbecame amarkedfeature ofstate-socialist regimes, higher education reached 40%, and went beyond 50% from the mid-80s on(Ladányi, 386). But in proportion women’s however, mid-1960s, the By 2005:88). (Palasik universities to training quotas to increase women’s participation on all levels of training and education, from vocational (1993b:93–108). In theearly 1950s, theNational Planning Department took measures and set studies was still not considered an ordinary trajectory for young women even in the 1950s testimonials of the respondents in Joanna Goven’s fieldwork interviews reveal, pursuing tertiary times as manyCompared with theacademic year 1938/39, their number in higher education was already three in 1946/47,1996:375). Afterthelaw came intoforce, the number offemale university students steadily grew. and almosteducation byAct No. XXII. of 1946, including entry to all types of higher education (Ladányi four Womentimes could firstas enrollmany in Hungarianinthan that of men (Tóth, 219). 1947/48 universities (385). education wasin rapidly growing and, by the mid-70s,1896 women’s educational standard was higher and wereBut accorded increasing degreeas of female employment, women’s participation in secondary andequal tertiarythe rightsan with Parallel 1984:96). Sas H. also (ibid.; indicators trail-blazing to producing traditionally the corresponding rate in developed industrial societies, including Scandinavian countries, maximum” (Frey 2001:9) offemale employment. Women’s labor market participation surpassed women were employed, reaching not only the socially but the“demographically possible 73 CEU eTD Collection [ca. “destructive job avoider”], and the offence only ceased to be acrime in 1989. status became a legally punishable one. The term to define the offender was “közveszélyes munkakerül 54 reframed as an obligation to work. work for all citizens.participation in productive work. Accordingly, the newly drafted constitutionThe ensured the right to great achievementWomen’s emancipation and equality, too, were to be brought about through their equal of theindividual. the of self-fulfillment and right-to-work, self-development the of means primary as the movement, however,Ideologically, came to be sooncombination of two factors: an ideological one and another of an economic-pragmatic nature. Analysts attribute women’s high-level integration into the workforce during state-socialismpaid to the work terrain of visual arts. was regarded,will show in Chapter IV.2.ii that a very similar process has been taken place in theprofessional undervaluation ofsome inof the related jobs (2003:283). Nagy mentions health and teaching, but i the assessment of Beáta Nagy, the feminization in higher education in itself is already a sign ofthe In higher education, women constitute the majority of students studying full-time; in the educational paths. As Laky & Neumann summarize the particular nodes of these processes, educational level areopentowomen today; still, aregender-specific there differences in every at opportunities All the imbalances. gender corresponding the do as 1989–91, after The broad opportunities and high levels of education show a continuity in the periods before and (2001). explaining women’s greater numbers in intellectual professions and humanities departments State-socialist Hungary instituted laws that compelled individuals to be employed. In 1955, unemployed one of the highest educated groups in Hungarian society. (2004:9) society. Hungarian in groups educated the highest one of attainment of the population, one can safely say that on the average young women constitute than men, although more men complete PhD or DLA. Despite the generally low educational education toenter higher likely more aremuch education their continue who those women while education primary only completed have market thelabor menin than more women 54 74 early Marxist conviction and the workers’ ŋ ” CEU eTD Collection 1993b:50–53, Ferge 1999:15, Fodor 2003:25, Palasik 2005 Palasik 2003:25, Fodor 1999:15, Ferge 1993b:50–53, visions, unearthed and rehearsed by a number of researchers (Scott 1974:130–31, Goven suggestions on how to mitigate women’s domestic workload, down to ironing. These detailed Országos Tanácsa) were also experimenting with and considering an impressive array of further Council (Népgazdasági Tanács) and the National Council of Workers’ Unions (Szakszervezetek opening hours of groceries in the vicinities of factories and companies, and demanded better worksites; and made recommendations to sell foodstuff on company premises or prolong the underage children; childcare (with breastfeeding breaks for mothers) and hot meals provided at more flexible and shorter work hours, a monthly household day-off for mothers with at least two upon return). (Gyermekgondozási Segély; fromhere on GYES, with theavailability of one’s job guaranteed work place); introducing maternity allowance, paid and unpaid maternity leave these measures are widelyintroduced to enable womenknown: to combine full-time employment and reproductive work. Some of establishing crèchesreproductive labor, i.e., parts of housework and childcare. Various preliminary policiesand were kindergartensnecessary precondition for women’s(many mass employment would be the socialization ofwomen’s of them at the established maternity leave in 1960 (1989:313). financially compensate for women’s childrearing work, Martha Lampland so informs that Austria 56 (2005:81–82). work. physical heavy-duty of types many men in to replace were women mobilization, exacting targets of the command economies. In preparation for an impending war and military countries; it was this treaty that set eventually irrational and impossible conditions for the thesocialist already country was to equip. This edict marked a turning point in the political economy ofextensively the affected increase labor force: in January 1951, Stalin adjudged the scale of armed forces each European 55 large part of this reserve labor force were women. compensate for thelow level of industrial technology and limited investment into innovation. A growth of the country required the mobilization ofan unskilled and cheap labor force to economic planned the and industrialization rapid as wellthe reconstruction post-war The While most sources (e.g., Scott 1974:134, Palasik 2005: 89) state that Hungary was the first, in 1967, to Mária Palasik points to a political interest underlying the efforts to so intensely develop industry and so 56 The State Planning Commission (Országos Tervhivatal), the State Economy State the Tervhivatal), (Országos Commission Planning State The 75 55 It was recognized, at the same time, that a that time, same the at was recognized, It : 89–99) effectuated (atleast informally) CEU eTD Collection difference, have specific needs or interests as workers, and cannot fully adopt a male lifestyle and lifestyle amale fully adopt cannot and asworkers, orinterests needs havespecific difference, biological difference and their social roles constructed often with reference to this biological similarity countries the most important pieces of the related legislation were based on the principle difference oppositions, Fodor compares how policy makers in state socialist societies relied primarily on the differing ways. capitalist labor policy) in which they fulfill the given function (women’s inclusion in paid labor force)similarity) in are each other’s functional equivalents operating in different contexts (state socialist vs. 58 capitalist countries) as well. author asserts, hold true in a more generalized context 57 conceptualized within different political and economic regimes. notable a on comparison above difference the bases Fodor (2003:25–26). experience” male the on exclusively incapitalist societies, theworkplace experience andeven career trackwere the nolonger based how the mechanisms in […]Unlike changed. also workplace the life, socialist state of part unavoidable and a necessary as wasconstructed of presence their in Hungary and force the labor entered “Aswomen measures: women’s inclusionSociologist Éva Fodor pointed to afar from negligible resultant ofreproduction-related policy in the laborparticipation? marketand in what ways did these measures altered a male-universalwere pattern of employment and public Before engaging with that discussion, i want to introduce a more general query: to what degree women’s life and career-expectations will be discussed in moredetail in thecoming women combine productive and reproductive labor, and the impact of these measures on The efficiency of these plans and measures, including the contradictory effects of GYES to help the introduction ofgraduate work commencing hours. supply of deep-frozen orprecooked meals, the opening of laundries and cleaning services, and In mirrored oppositions the elements under scrutiny (here: the difference principle vs. the principle of Although the immediate focus of Fodor’s book is Hungary and Austria, some of her findings, the (33-37). when encouraging women’s participation in social production, while in capitalist in while production, social in participation women’s encouraging when 58 Thedifference principle recognizes that women, both because of their 76 (i.e., for a juxtaposition of state-socialist and 57 Using the model of mirrored sub-chapters. principle of principle CEU eTD Collection distinguish horizontal and vertical segregation; the former refers to a situation in which men and scientists Social 1997:144). it (Belinszki to assigned status social is the it but female, or male content ofthe particular occupation that determines whether its practitioners are predominantly either the unavailability or unaffordability of the few socialized services replacing household work.which they may have been indeed, given their “second shift” in the household, their caregiving duties,(H. Sas 1984:113–25,and Fodor 1998:143) and women were discursively constructed as unreliable workers— 61 (1976). two the between alink creating capitalism, 60 59 occupations. rewarding financially patriarchy, upholding basis material the as and 1997:32–33) Asztalos-Morell in quoted Wikander, authority. Job segregation itself is seen as the source of hierarchical power relations (Witz and was force labor thefemale occupations, male-dominated to access gain and qualifications their improve Despite early effortsmore feminist theory-conscious Equal Opportunity policy formation worldwide. to evadehandling ofexactly thesetwofactors (sameness/difference) later became arecurrent dilemma in gender-typingtwo different principles of inclusion is ofcrucial importance, especially if weconsider how the andthe about proposition Fodor’s would arguethat I “particularity”. towomen’s attend to readiness despite specificbeen dealt with, but she certainly does not appreciate in state-socialist employment policies a measuresdoes not specify in what other ways the “deviant character of the female labor force” should have to Asztalos-Morell (1997:37). norm” social male the help by regulated economy in an force labor female women Women-related labor legislation was supposed to compensate for this deviant character of the capacity”, Asztalos-Morell writes, “was regarded as some type ofabnormity to be corrected. however, interprets the same mechanism with less sympathy. “Women’s biological reproductive Asztalos-Morell, Ildikó sociologist, Another experience. male the it universalizes whereby men to situated assimilarly women treats similarity of principle the Bycontrast, pattern. career Despite centralized efforts, wage discrimination between male and female employees never disappeared According to Heidi Hartmann, segregation provides the material basis for both patriarchy and On this see Pigniczky 1996:35–36. 60 over-represented in lower-paid occupations and was underrepresented in positions of through systematically excluding women from technologically developing and 61 Studies in occupational history also reveal that it is less the 77 59 CEU eTD Collection gender inequalities (2001). policy makers have come to realize that afformative action is a much needed strategy to remedy structural(in which “women should be ’allowed’ to become more like men”) despite the fact that Western andEuropean Eastern European policy to the androgenic model implied in the EU’s Equal Opportunity paradigm 62 socialism. Theabove processes lead to the feminization of poverty. social groups, however, whom compulsory employment kept employed, and sustained, during market; labor capitalist acompetitive of out pushed typically groups workers—social unskilled The re-structuring of the labor market primarily affected women above 40-45 years of age and the growing private sector; Frey 2001:9) butstate benefits continued to betied to employment. discriminatory practices became operational in recruitment andselection pronounced Meanwhile, 2003:285). (Nagy 1986-96 between was registered gap wage narrowing (Neményi & Tóth 1998:11),female wages has not disappearedit either. Whiledeclined occupational segregation continued to be high somewhat incontinued tothe be segregated in low-income occupations,past and the gender gap between male and 20 years (Bukodistructures offering relative2006:41) opportunities for women (Metcalfe & Afanassieva 2005). Women and a employed. This fallback occurredin awiderframework oftheerosion ofsocialist employment officially women of number the in fallback dramatic the registered 1989-92, of “shock-period” Already the first surveys of the economic landscape after the system change, published during the be resistant to legislative efforts to break it down. but won’t allow them to get there. The barrier is not only invisible and unregulated but proves to blocks the careeradvancement expression “the glass ceiling”. Thetermgives a graphic illustration ofthe invisible barrier that organisational hierarchy. This latter phenomenon is also described bythe metaphorical industry, while vertical segregation stands for their uneven representation on various ranks of women typically work in separate occupational groups and separate branches of economy or In Anna Pollert’s view, the withdrawal of earlier of women: the glass ceiling lets them see where they want to go, de facto 78 positive discrimination measures returns Central 62 (registered especially in CEU eTD Collection expanding professions [...] into which women in particular were drawn” (Goven 1993b:91–92). (Goven drawn” were inparticular women which into [...] professions expanding find satisfying work. […] It waswho would otherwisea have beentime trapped in narrow and impoverished livesof were able to rapidstudy and upward mobilityones (which). The livesfor of these women were improvedthose in significant, meaningful ways. “Many [...] entering rapidlyentering the workplace as a public place also enabled them toform relations other than familial the latter ones, joining the world of paid labor brought a degree of financial independence, while 1999:14–16, Zimmermann 2009). More importantly for members of the former groups than for Ferge 1974:117–32; (Scott measures by those affected differently were situations social various evaluating government policies, and that it depends on a number of factors how individuals in throughout the state-socialist period that one cannot homogenize women as a group when to professions and workplaces that were below their skills orexpectations. It remains true urban middle classes orintellectualswere oftenalso who politically discriminated, andchanneled different meanings forIn womenthe fromfirst lower socialdecade classeswork. of andsocialist in traditionalbeyond dispute, i assert that individual womenrural may have had, and did have, personalrule, reasons to areas thancoming foremployment—and the concomitant “emancipation”—was to participatesocialist women-related in productiveIn closing this section, i would like todebate with some stronglyemployment criticized aspects of state- policies.labor Onecertainly adherenceof to the universalized malethese pattern. is the claim had implementationthat of the difference principle in employmentlarge-scale policy was ultimately swept away by femalefollowing the system transformation (Szalai 1991:156). Any partially successful or failed groups social vulnerable among and conditions working precarious in themselves found increased women’s individual material security even while overburdening them, women have A marked discontinuity between the two economic arrangements is that whereas state-socialism 79 forced . While the fact of the coercion is CEU eTD Collection come to play an increasing role. Joanna Goven closely follows up howthe policy political ambitions shape the policy environment, and, within a global economy, external factors but its denial (2000:202–07). Within multi-party governance, interfering internal economic and even if the process of “deregulation” does not mean the removal of power from the economy, mostly in technical terms and thus was effectively removed from the arena of public discussion, the economic program of market rationalization after the political change has been framed was recognized asovertly political […] asanexplicit aspect of the exercise ofpower”, whereas “economy submits, Watson Peggy communism”, “Under it. veil or (mis-)present to techniques economic policies, although different social and political arrangements might circumstances and aspirations. This, however, appears to be acontinuing and standard feature of and later on continued to be conditioned on wider economic and political interests, command economy was a mere “side-product” in the process of the exacted economic growth, that women’s massive labor force participation in thefirst two decades of state-socialist been has measures employment-related state-socialist of aspect objected severely most A second (1993b:22). outside-the-home labor is only self-evident in thecase of men, whether they willinglyit do ornot employment” also implies a view that nature assigned reproductive work for women, and takes the general argument oncoercion further apart: talking about “women’s forced “only in communism was women’s labor force participation coerced” (2000a:75). Joanna Goven employment”–view. Susan Gal and Gail Kligman disclose how this terminology presupposes that Taking a deconstructionist line, a number of analysts highlight further biases in the “forced civic sphere of association virtually absent. often rather patriarchal familial bonds as well as tight government regulations rendering any other offering responsibilities and relationships other than familial ones— especially inthe context of 1994:603), (Ferree women for support and identity of sources critical were networks Workplace 80 use different CEU eTD Collection formations in their survival and reproduction? elements survived orwerereproduced, andwhat is the responsibility ofsuccessive state of a patriarchal social structure. In what follows i am turning to the questions why and how these forcefully negated outcomes of state-socialist aspirations and policies are in fact standard features the specific political-economic arrangement of the Hungarian state. Instead, some of the most aim here was to remind that not all wrongs conventionally attributed to the period resulted from my politics, gender at state-socialist directed criticism above the of any invalidating than Rather women cannot afford to give up their jobs which in situation general a and birthrates) declining bridle and unemployment female reduce The contradiction has been between interests calling for full-time motherhood (in order to so change. thepolitical after surfaced that contradiction tart a similarly to pointed herself Adamik goals andlived experience. Inanotherarticle targeting post-socialist genderpolitics, however, between partyproclamations andthe pragmatic measures taken, aswell as between ideological humiliation” (Adamik 2000) refers to the same thwarted political promise, the severe discrepancy greatest promise—the greatest “The question”: “woman the and “State-socialism dissertation doctoral Adamik’s Mária of title The 1999:14). (Ferge ideology professed and dominant the with contrast wasinsharp treatment incidental such state-socialism in patriarchies, style policies on women may indeed prove to be a shared characteristic of both Western- and Eastern- The third bitterly spurned aspect of state-socialist emancipation has been that while incoherent “economic assets more or less valuable” (293). social services and benefit payments (Goven 2000). Within this debate, women featured as parliamentary forces(on this,seealso Ferge1999:79)—defined terms ofthe the structuring of recommendations of the World Bank—and their overeager fulfillment by Hungarian (1993:210). 81 CEU eTD Collection limit her discussion and concept of progress to developments achieved by such organizations. women’s groups is an irreducible requirement for what can be called a “feminist movement”, shethe does benefit not of women. While Molyneux agrees that the presence of autonomous and non-hierarchicalstate-administered “emancipation”, and would therefore deny that anything at all has been achieved for 63 (1981:173). women of part the on struggles intervention, whereas in most capitalist countries each related achievement was a result oflong programs and policies recognized women’s subordination as a social-political problem requiring arrangements, and identified a crucial difference: in socialist states, the constitution, the party capitalist and state-socialist compared explicitly Molyneux Elsewhere subchapters. previous the in surveyed as briefly realities economic and political today’s of point vantage the from expect from the state, and how will these rights be guaranteed?”; a question especially pertinent accountable, Molyneux asks, “what underlying premises will inform the rights that women can as essential parts of the struggle toattain equality (1996:246). Without making the state provisions egalitarian and legislation progressive seeing state”, onthe demands made had which “issue of principle”: “[F]romOf the latter view, Maxine its Molyneux assertsinception that the role or “behavior”, so to say,there of states is an has been a coreofficial ideology and rhetoric aboutelement the state’s intention to achieve women’s equality. within feminismemancipatory consequences on the one hand, and, […]on the other, do not so squarely discount the Another set of scholars, however, do not so expressly detach this economic necessity from its 2000:63). (Adamik socialism of merit a genuine not was thus and women, liberate to assistance Adamik’s uncompromising words, this type of emancipation was by no means an intentional of and thus instrumentalizedlines women rather than answered to agenuine demand of theirs.the InMária between analyst makes the point that women’s inclusion intoReading the labor force was an economic necessity intentions. every virtually societies, in state-socialist employment “forced” women’s about talking When promises—undeclared message the political Declared II.2.iii The author admits that some Western feminists would stress exactly this non-autonomous feature of 63 Molyneux’s claim has been subsequently confirmed 82 CEU eTD Collection their dependence upon, and subordination to, husbands and fathers. Elusive as they may be, women as those available within the pre-war social order, as well as the possibility of loosening that the early project of state-socialist emancipation offered a much wider array of options for assessment Goven’s Joanna Simon) (e.g., confirm also interviews the of Some self-definitions. their impacted strongly communication its and change this that show clearly 078–133) interview, Ladik, 035–88; interview, Simon, 214–20; interview, 1970s(Maurer, in the career their started (cultural producers: an urban, educated layer). My interviews with women visual artists who attainment of state-socialist “emancipation”, especially for thegroups of women i examined are relevant for my analysisemphasis). Theexpectations thus created and the life trajectories that thereby became because, duringand, ontheother,they my research, i cameforming socialist states expressed toan objective to incorporatesee women in their modernizing project both as a mosta new social norm and officialsalient ideology. On theone hand, through these channels, the newly underestimated (1993:91). Once again, Maxine Molyneux highlights the importance of advocating centered “ideological anchoring of equality”way and the set of concrete policies to enable an employment- of life; life”, see Lampland 1989:316–20. 64 (2003:136). account into differences specific their taking while politics and work of world the in women of inclusion sanctioned centrally history inasmuch as the state experimented with an old feminist dream: the purposeful and in experiment a unique was, it though tainted politics, women’s state-socialist calls Fodor Éva that by a number of other analysts. Starting out from a similar recognition, Jeanette Madarasz submits For a post-structuralist and anti-neoliberal critique of the very idea of “an employment-centered way of wider Bio-Political, specifically economic and political, considerations. (2002) oppose related legal and social changes but initiated them itself without women’s support, as part of […]. The main difference groups feminist byWestern voiced todemands GDR weresimilar the in processes Emancipation was the role of the state, which, in contrast to Western societies, did not 64 its significance as a social norm, Ferree continues, should not be created expectations towards bringing about gender equality (1981:173, my (1981:173, equality gender about bringing towards Myra Marx Ferree 83 places equal emphasis on the thinkable CEU eTD Collection But authorities retained, in their discursive backdrop, rather conventional views ofwomanhood how women became, in the shorthand of Arpad & Marinovich, “technically liberated” (1995:86). is this work—and productive in involved be to are women that basis, theoretical Marxist century family support policy or gender policy (1999:17). The Politburo knew, from the nineteenth- thinker has attempted to come forth with a comprehensive leftist (socialist orsocial democratic) background of policy measures were inconsistent, and, in Zsuzsa Ferge’s view, no political was far from consistent throughout thedecades of socialist rule. The political aspirations in the However, the ideological basis of the emancipation program and the political will toimplement it reference in political and ethical argumentation (Adamik, 4). above, Adamik 2000) was announced, and when women’s emancipation was still a recurring cited title dissertation Adamik’s Mária (see promise” political “the inwhich period short the social and economic life could be realized (Molyneux, 1996:247, see also Schadt 2005a:70). This is in equal participation their which under conditions the secure to was state the men; with equality period (1981:171), and that this commitment was to grant women more than mere juridical to the commitment to improve the position ofwomen in theimmediate “post-revolutionary” Molyneux also remarks that, under state-socialism, developmental goals were most closely aligned or communities accept or require (Berán 2006:247–51). cognitive image of themselves and their relations, and define the behavior patterns certain groups scripts” is used to describe how particular ideologies influence public discourse orindividuals’ frameworks out of which individual and group identities emerge. The concept of “cultural processes of adopting roles and self-images, and underline theimpact of the ideological writing about identity construction on a more general plane, point totheinteractive nature of the Authors adjustment. societal rapid of in times affected profoundly as identified were thinking social-psychological studies (Neményi 1999, Duffy 2000), where both expectations and ways of expectations and ways of thinking have been addressed—explicitly orimplicitly—in a few other 84 CEU eTD Collection exclusively onquestions concerning reproductive functions. emancipation which in argumentation ethical-political initial the from away aturn registers author came toconcern women only, and which only constituted mothers as female subjects. The GDR too (Ferree 1993). “GYES the calls Adamik contention, and attention was diverting from conflicts issuing from gendered social role. What question two: mommy politics” ( 66 65 on male-female became dominant, from the end of the 1950s to theend of the 1980s, inwhich the original focus that matter, men. Mária Adamik’s inquiry seeks to answer the question how a particular discourse changing contents of the state’s latent orovert messages for women (Goven 1993b)—and, for emancipation program and the erosion of the state’s political promise (Adamik 2000) orthe Mária Adamik and Joanna Goven outline two comprehensive scenarios of the trajectory of the social and the goal to abolish significant social inequalities (Goven 1993b:319). “the ruling party had almost entirely jettisoned the ideology of socialism,” including the notion of 1980s, apart from women’s emancipation that had been repeatedly subordinated to other goals, interests of the particular kind, were secondary as compared to the common cause. But bythe women as a sort of particularity orexception; and therefore their interests, just as any other sustained political commitment, these authors note that party authorities have always regarded family form endured as the social norm (Kruks, Rapp & Young 1989:9). Apart from the lack of a communications (Molyneux 1981:178) and, albeitdisguised to acertain extent, the bourgeois and gender relations: rudimentary theoretical principles and biologism were conflated in their Asimilar shift from “stage one: equality politics” (urging female training and employment) Theto paid“stage maternity leave (Gyermekgondozási Segély), see more in II.2.ii and II.3.ii. ”. Inthis narrowed-down understanding, marital relations were no longer a subject of was a standard point of reference towards what came to be referred to as “ relations Muttipolitik was removed from the social-political agenda, and in which this agenda 65 discourse” ; actively encouraging women’s reproductive duties) was detected in the eventually superseded any such consideration and focused and consideration such any superseded eventually 85 66 the women’s women’s CEU eTD Collection Kadarist state was atstake. state Kadarist emancipation became one of the expended political goals when the legitimation of the liberalizing much of social pathologies. the state’s responsibility, contributors to the debate were blaming “emancipated women” for failures (410). Instead of thematizing a number of plausible factors that would have pointed to Goven suggests, it helped to deflect responsibility for the state’s own economic and welfare polemic possessed anti-statist overtones, yet were permitted, even harnessed by the state because, became a form of opposition to the state. unfolding in the printed media, and created a situation in which a conservative gender ideology of the political opposition, feminist discourses across the two regimes. Adiscursive anti-feminism, practiced by both groups feminism in Hungary” (Ferge, quoted in Goven, 365), Goven unveils the a movement, while (at least since 1949) there has been no spontaneous and movement-like befuddled by theparadox that “anti-feminism arose spontaneously and with thecharacteristics of conservative social climate (among numerous others, Watson 1997, Pollert 2001), orseem to be most authors writing on post-socialist transformation point to a newly emerging neo- While anti-feminism. of a politics society, topost-socialist down passed and produced, way that beyond their reproductive duties. reproductive beyond their emancipation but was based on a firm belief in women’s inferiority and secondary role in society’s life squarely anti-woman or mysoginist, as their attack was not only directed at changes effected by 70 (1997:478). them” after look athometo stay and babies more tohave women This idea propagates the family wage, the abolition of abortion and public child care in order tothat encourage a woman’s ‘natural’ place is in the home and that her primary role and function in life is motherhood.“traditional” gender ideologies: these are meant “to describe trends of thought that emphasize the view 69 interests of the nation both against communist emancipation and internationalism (Goven 1993a:287–88).the idea of individual rights and bourgeois civic traditions, and a more “populist” group, defending the 68 Hungary. in Communism” “goulash prosperous between 1956–88. The era under his rule was marked by the development of amore lenient and general secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Labor Party (Magyar Szocialista Munkáspárt, MSZMP) 67 Joanna Goven (1993b) tracked down how gender was reconfigured in theKádár-period On this note, I might hazard the suggestion that these discourses were not “only” anti-feminist but anti-feminist not “only” were discourses these that thesuggestion hazard I might note, this On I am borrowing Éva Fodor’s definition here to clarify my usage of the term “conservative” or The spectrum of the political opposition contained a group of liberally-oriented intellectuals embracing János Kádár (1912–89) rose to power when Soviet troops put down the 1956 uprising; he was the 68 came to form a solid part of public debates in the 1980s, mostly 70 Goven tracks down through what kind of discursal practices 69 Inacontext of worsening economic conditions, this 86 continuity of anti- 67 in a CEU eTD Collection (Molyneux 1996:248); an “masculinistaddress democracies” have given strikingly little space to women’s needs and interests very different frompolitical democracy and market economy exhibits a distinctly regressive character; the earlier politicalthat a still better life would beavailable tothem” promise(2000:225). On thecontrary, the transition to and intent to national surveys, women were indeed “welcoming democratization and marketization in the hope political expectation, nevertheless, Diane M. Duffy reports that in early transition period cross- articulated from the early 1960s onward invarious public forums. This might sound as a naive social-political rights, although suggestions aiming at such amendments have been repeatedly procurement of women’s social equality and asustained commitment to the recognition of their revise and amend an erroneously implemented but in itself approvable political endeavor: the Opportunities (1999:30). Opportunities Equal of portfolio without Minister on later time, at the Labor of Ministry at the Opportunities Equal of Secretariat the of director Lévai, Katalin says questions, those in decisions political makeshift passed have governments whileconsecutive implementation, their and measures Parliaments none of the new parties have laid down stable views about equal opportunity even within the “democratic opposition” (Goven, 418–19). Inthe post-1989 Hungarian hostility overt or trivialization, indifference, with met was rights women’s of issue the landscape, Western countries in which feminist struggles were a conspicuous part of the social and political to travel and with contact regular despite and groups social disadvantaged of rights the with concerns professed the Despite sense. literal a very in in/equality political and economic, social, women’s issue of the toward attitudes of a continuity created 1990s. This early inthe spectrum responsibility alone (ibid.). family, as if in Hungary women lived in families only, and as if taking care of the family were theirthe date of his writing, the image of woman party documents reflected was limited to her role in the 72 political role permitted by the system” (112). overtly question the ideological bases of the system, but does accept the leeway for a semi-autonomous 71 The two strands of “para-opposition” To consult the documents of individual parties, see Kiss 1999:82–83. In the author’s summary, up to Here, Goven borrows aterm from George Schöpflin to refer to 72 Thenewdemocratically electedgovernments madeno attempt to 71 later came todominate the post-socialist political 87 a kind of “opposition that does not does that of“opposition kind a the new CEU eTD Collection the service sector that had its peculiar trajectory during totalitarian Bulgaria and the transition period. 473). (ibid., countries unwittingly—torestructuring. This shows that communist employment policies did contribute—albeit a relativeexperience andseniority inthetertiary sector—that becamerevalued economic through the reduction education, of levels high resources—primarily are These 1997:471). (Fodor indiscrimination” gender inequality of forms and disadvantages other counterbalance to situation] thenew use [in can they which in a fewsocialism left women with some specific assets that they are “moreexamined likely tohold than men and post-communistmarkets had brought for women. As Éva Fodor proposed in a 1997 article of hers, state- capitalist to redistribution socialist from transition the that legacy socialist the of advantages Some authors would nuance this grand simplifying evaluation bycapturing some relative 1998:153). Fodor 75 left a legacy of relative gender equality. economic decline, and relatively in terms of gender equality. Despite its limitations, she adds, therank showed further deterioration. Women lost, Pollert concludes, both absolutely , in the general America (as part of a general drop in HDI). After 1995, HDI was ascending in the region, but the GDIIndex) and GDI (Gender-related Development Index). By 1995, GDI in CEE dropped to below Latin-the indicators depends on a host of factors). The indicators Pollert cites are HDI (Human Developmentoverall impact of the transition to capitalism (to be the consulted toassess report with monitoring such qualifications, presents (2001) Pollert Anna States. as the ofIndependent interpretationCommonwealth of social side of the political transformation and market reforms in Central and Eastern Europe and the 74 liberation has not played the same role in liberal thinking (Kruks, Rapp & Young 1989:7). conceived of women’s liberation as an political movements and political . While socialist political movements have historicallymodernizing project. Granted, this is also attributable to the difference between socialism and liberalism as 73 1999 MONEEreport competitive market economy are women, and—as Mária Frey, citing the acute diagnosis of the is often summed up in the terse statement that the ultimate losers of the transition to a assessment This interpreted. differently be may that aspects dormant any hardly and researchers, that the transition effected in the policy environment, there is very little disagreement among incorporate women into a process of social and economic transformation. Inherbook The UNICEF’s MONEE Project (MONitoring Eastern Europe) was launched in 1992 to map the C.f. Molyneux’s emphasis above on the socialist state’s expressed objective to incorporate women in its The Red Riviera Red The 75 The actuality of this contribution, Fodor suggested in her 1997 study, was 74 specifies—especially women upbringing children (2001:14; see also see (2001:14; children upbringing women specifies—especially , Kristen Ghodsee takes the example of tourism in Bulgaria as a branch of integral part of their revolutionary projects, women’s rights and 88 73 Astothechanges CEU eTD Collection after 1989. (I thank Eva Fodor for bringing this book to my attention.) experience of working with foreigners and foreign language skills) which helped them survive, evenpolitical/social thrive, and cultural capital (tips in hard currency; party membership and professional network;Having taken the lion’s share of these jobs, women have been able to acquire kinds of economic, 2006:41). (Bukodi showed a greater impact on the labor market chances of women than they did in earlier decades have levels attainment educational recently Also, 2003:285). (Nagy workers male of indicators market experiences have undergone agreater and faster improvement than the comparable bad situation than equally law class women do. It is party because women’s educational and labor their of manner, in aflexible best, the tomake less able aremuch class strata lower male some new women-upper class stratum, Fodor contends (1997:470). Even in lower social segments, the new stratification among women (and compare this with male stratification). There is now a with greater circumspection. Instead of reinstating this paradigm, these authors urge to look at 1995:48). Some analysts (like Fodorabove) treat the “women = losers of the transition” equation projects, “escalate toalevel which would be unacceptable in most Western countries” Wallace asClaire might, Europe inEastern women against discrimination social and economic inverted in anEast-West comparison. Having expended emancipation as a political goal, became that baselines policy of outcome is an decades last two the of development reverse This generation of women will nolonger possess such relative advantage. Young men were rapidly enteringregistered that thetransition tocapitalist temporarily marketonly benefited women (9–10). the service sector,Four years later, in an article co-authoredleading by Fodor (Emigh, Fodor & Szelényi 2001), theauthors the analysts goingto to be conditioned projecton whether or not women would beable to hold onto these resources. that a next 89 (Wallace CEU eTD Collection or monopolized cultural capital. job segregation in relation toprofessional elites and creative professions as an indicator of shared in a selected sample of printed media (women’s magazines). Finally, iwill revisit the question of issues women’s of representation the rights, reproductive and sexuality of issues law, family new Among the more personal or private level of changing(?) gender relations, i will briefly revisit the society” (299). rather traditional views about homemaking and motherhood as women’s major function in praxis—both on the level of ideology and general public opinion—this ideal is coupled with 1970: “While official ideology fully embraces the notion of women’s emancipation, in everyday on the familiar binary gender order. Mária Márkus directed attention to this duplicity as early as in relied much very second the while first, the in goal as apolitical figured Emancipation platform. an “everyday” ideological discourse that may have been more widely endorsed than the official was second the -, of platform formal the was level One (1993b:14–15). 1960s the since Hungary socialist in circulated that discourse ideological of levels contradictory often doing so, iwill also look out for theworking of what Joanna Goven identified as two parallel but and the discourses attached2005a:61). Nevertheless, i will try and pieceto together a rudimentarythese, picture of how social changes, affected Schadt 1999:7, (Neményi level private personal, more the on women’s relations gender impacted status within the privaterecognize that we have very little solid knowledge about how changing social relations sphere.have Whilemessage subject the with engage manner, substantial more or a incursory who,either Researchers political the to rhetoric codicil Political Society’s II.3.i blame”: to themselves “Only II.3 versus the reality of life-practices. Sharing social/cultural capital social/cultural Sharing life-practices. of reality the 90 CEU eTD Collection the union of two equal partners (2000:203; see also Neményi & Tóth 1998:16). Also, habitude Also, 1998:16). Tóth & Neményi also see (2000:203; partners equal two of union the intellectual and educated circles, toconceive of marital partnership and intimate relationship as psychology” (1977:125), and Mária Adamik points to men’s standard refusal, even in highly male’s Hungarian inthe entrenched firmly remain[ed] role wife’s a of tradition backward of two free and equal parties” affection mutual the on (quotedbuilt union is a marriage “socialist that ruled law family new if the inEven Schadt 2005a:64), Volgyes and Volgyes note that “the participation implied, remained both unthematized and unjustified (Goven 1993b:66). the necessary erosion of patriarchal power that women’s expanding civil rights and public theoretical discussion ofwomen’s inequality and the structural critique of male domination. Thus welcome their prospective new roles, both levels ofthe ideological discourse refrained from any need to be re-definedneed tobe and expanded, private sphere unaddressed. men’s roles remained unmodified and unexpanded, and their potential responsibilities in the an intent focus on women’s traditional (mother and caretaker) and newly added role fixed men as breadwinners and women as caregivers. They also emphasize that, parallel with such women-favoring policies themselves policies women-favoring household/reproductive work as a viable way out of the dead end. the dead out of way as aviable work household/reproductive form, or targeting the humanization of social relations at large are not fettered by pragmatic considerations in offering something like a commune as an alternativeMárkus family proposes ways to find a way out of this fix. It is worthy of note that while her ambitious proposalswomen’s emancipation through paid work had arrived worldwide (Márkus 1970). At the end of her study, 79 1997). men got nowhere nearer to the female norm within the domain work, ofproductive of reproductive thedomain normin to themale near workdrawing (Asztalos-Morell womenwere While hours. working working hours to household management. This, however, did not entail an increase in men’s household 78 77 (1991:153–55). pattern traditional the matched anchored the existence of the family as a unit of social organization, the division of labor the secondHungarian economy economy during the last two-three decades of state-socialism. Relying, for its functioning, on 76 private sphere, researchers claim. By this they mean that some of the social processes, the within changed little (1953), family and marriage on legislation new progressive the Despite In her 1970 article, Mária Márkus gave a detailed and insightful criticism of a “dead end” where An inevitable consequence of full-time female employment was that women were able to devote less Most notably the maternity leave, to be discussed later. Julia Szalai brings the example of the “second economy”, an increasingly important informal sector of 78 Equally importantly, through not proposing that men’s social roles 79 77 and through never explicating why men could and should wereeventually reinforcing traditional family rolesand 91 , she makes no mention of involving menin ofinvolving nomention makes she 76 s if notthe (worker), CEU eTD Collection order to compensate for male egos and masculine authority undermined by formal-level ideology it is plausible to suggest thatmen and for women. Undermisogynist the terms of the argument about adouble-level ideological discourse, and/or counter-emancipationistthat “socialist patriarchy” had a different message, regarding the subject of emancipation, for voices wereNext i want totouch upon afairly under-researchedallowed topic. It maybe argued with some certainty in impairments—seek individual coping strategies). privileges, and—instead of sharing or confronting the resulting private and professional discuss the ways women visual artists naturalize asocial environment in which men have certain subject in Chapters III (to discuss film director Márta Mészáros’ handling of the issue) and IV (to this to back come will I 1977:48). &Volgyes it” (Volgyes for blame to themselves only have they and women to disservice greatest the does perhaps self-oppression of attitude “this that deems dominant presence, parallel with verydifferent, at least partially emancipating identities. scientist), appears to beutterly obsessed with this role socialization thatcontinued to have a from the perspectivechronicler of Hungarian women’s life under state-socialist “emancipation” (looking at these lives mother, housewife andsexual partner (ibid., of a half-insider,witnessing thedocility ofwomen Adamik also relates half-outsiderhow Western feminists have frequently been stupefied by repeatingly schizophrenic tendencies resulting from the“coping” mechanism of unconditional submission). giventhe on 1999:109 Neményi also see 2000:103; Adamik in quoted (Juhász, neurosis” evade his statusobserver: “Accepting, without much revolting, one’s own inferior status serves asas a coping skill to an a(male) viewof emigré laconic the cites Adamik this, On 1977:127). &Volgyes (Volgyes injustices political women used their status as entitled mothers to maneuver within a context of gender inequality (2000). 80 and quietly suffer isto duty a“woman’s that ruled Social scientist Lynne Haney, for example, delineates the practical and discursive ways Hungarian ( from all social strata allsocial from 92 200). In fact, Ivan Volgyes, a relatively early a relatively Volgyes, Ivan In fact, 200). accept ) in subjecting themselves to their men as men their to themselves subjecting in her situation” with the concomitant 80 He CEU eTD Collection puritanical mores. Depicting the 1950s, Joanna Goven tells about the de-sexualized image of a usual portrayal of the period as onethatsuppressed, evendenied, sexuality, clinging to while remarks of the more cursory kind tend to contradict each other. There is, on the one hand, manner, in asubstantial subject the on written been has little relatively is because It socialism. in state- experience aslived sexuality of characterization give aconcise to task is aperplexing It their own career and income (Mihancsik 1999:17). illustrated this conservative turn with thegrowing number of dependent young women without or so earlier (Fábián 1996:24, Neményi & Tóth 1998:15). In a published discussion, Neményi and that women themselves had become much more conservative than they had been a decade 2000:226), (Duffy activities women’s and formen’s spheres separate exist there that state overtly press, television and print advertisements as well ascampaign interviews with politicians, now countries with its traditionalist attitudes (Pongrácz 2006). The messages coming from the popular European Eastern among out standing Hungary with era, post-socialist the into continued Conservative, even anti-feminist, approaches both to gender equality and gendered social roles sexual wascontract kept in place. the expense of women at while wasreached trade-off This (2007:67–68) face” a human with socialism “constructing of image a “brotherhood of men” waswas how an oppressivecreated regime sought to buy theand patience of theits male citizenstraditional and this because to illustrations cartoon keep in bodies naked up women’s useof excessive the the tolerated politics unequal landowner) Matyi is the name of a folktale-hero, a peasant boy who repeatedly tricks over a vicious representations of sexuality in ahighly popular humor magazine of the times then. purported to this response 81 and the real-life effects of the related state measures. To my knowledge, no research has been conducted in Hungary to map and size up men’s psychological , Ana Magó-Maghiar suggests that a sort of agreement was offered for men. Cultural for men. was offered agreement asortof that suggests Magó-Maghiar Ana loss of authority, although the “fact” itself is commented upon every now and 93 81 In a Master’s thesis focusing on focusing thesis a Master’s In , Ludas Matyi Ludas (Ludas CEU eTD Collection obsession with sex and the reputedly wild sexual life of urban intellectuals keep surfacing (Goven of the 80s, references to the unleashed sexuality of emancipated women, young people’s in the1970s and 80s. When Goven provides extensive quotes from the anti-feminist press debate Volgyes & Volgyes and Magó-Maghiar list sexual tourism as a flourishing “business” in Hungary 82 at least to be as liberal as that of their Americansociety was fallingcounterparts, apart. […] The generalif not moreattitude so” ofrelaxation (74–modern of mores”: “Even in villages75). Hungarian […] the hold of the anti-sex morality of the traditional youth toward sex tends the decades of socialist rule. In 1977 Volgyes & Volgyes report about a “nearly complete Obviously, attitudes towards “socialist mores” and sexuality have also changed over time during was coupled with, and mediated through, sexualized images of women (ibid.). a form of political subversion. On the pagessexual revolution. And in privatizedof discourses and practices, (hyper)active sexual life elevated to sexualized alternative discourse, one which drew on the contemporaneous transnational trend of citizen as asexual and sanitized, popular culture, including pop-psychology, was articulating a morality and private life practices. Competing with theconstruction of the sexually ideal socialist official between atension well as as 2007:26–34) (Magó-Maghiar wasdocumented discourses controlled by that of the state. Yet in this respect again, the continued existence of double not turned over to women: instead of the controlling gaze of individual men, they were now self-acceptance and free women from the imposed aesthetic of the male gaze”, for authority wascautions that this however, Goven, cannot (1993b:71–76). self-decoration or make-up denouncing while cleanliness be seen as the equivalent(Democratic Association of Hungarianof Women) mediated, calling“Western for modesty, functionality, and feminists’woman and the prudish advice onefforts appearance and behavior that the publications of the MNDSZ to encourage See also Szilágyi 1978 and 1993. 94 Ludas Matyi Ludas , too, quite radical political criticism political radical quite , too, 82 Both CEU eTD Collection protest of citizens, a singular occurrence of its kind (Bozzi & Czene 2006:56–61, Körösi tightening of the abortionmade abortion practically availablelaw ondemand. As in many other countries in transition,was the high on legislation the liberalized fairly growth), population agenda desired of reasons for banned was completely of the new Parliament,abortion when (1950–53, Ratkó-period ill-famed the after but, 2000:172) Adamik 100, (Volgyes, but a concerted over reproductive rights. Granted, contraceptives were only openly sold from the late 1960sto acknowledge the existence ofdomesticon violence, rape,orsexual harassment, and the falter and subordination women’s of facets the sexual recognize to resistance the sexualities, normative sexualization, in state-socialism, of the public sites of life but theintolerance toward non- quoted in Adamik 2000:181; Tóth 1993:216), György does not so much object the de- Like others commenting on the subject (Molyneux 1981:180, aswell as Goven and Fodor, both (52). ideals political and views conservative rather subversive press product turns out to have been complicit, in this respect, with contract with the implied universal right of men to women’s bodies (71), whereby this otherwise “agreement” between theregime anditsmale citizensrecreatedthe conditions ofthesexual tacit the that establishes also She (2007:29). tone critical severely this with popularity magazine’s emphasizes the politically transgressive tone of the magazine case ofsexualized cartoons, too, may be placed in ahighly complex frame. Magó-Maghiar intricate web of interrelations (György 2002). Drawing on Magó-Maghiar’s study once more, the more a lot form communism under sexuality of aspects suppression, as ridiculous perspective, cautions, evenifthe de-sexualization public of discourses may comeacross, from today’s been in general use (Junod & Marks 2002:117). approved by Food and Drug Administration in 1960, three years after the oral contraceptive 85 84 207, Horváth 2005:31, and Volgyes & Volgyes 74–75. of the socialist model town, Sztálinváros [Stalin City], now Dunaújváros. For this, see Horváth 2004:197– 83 228–35). 1993b, This is an approximately one-decade delay compared to the US where the Pill was invented and Galéria Centrális, Budapest, November 28, 2002–February 16, 2003. Interestingly, this includes the famed sexual licenciousness of the inhabitants—not only intellectuals— 83 As Péter György, reviewing a recent exhibition of“Sex and Communism” 95 Ludas Matyi Ludas , even explains the Enovid had 85 84 CEU eTD Collection & NANE 2002). As Géza Juhász,of a pertinent legislation, particular acts can be, and are, played off against women’s rights (HCM founding memberdirectives to ensure a uniform legal environment for the free movementof oflabor. In the absence HCM (Habeas Corpusrejected by the general political and legal opinion shapers, disregardingMunkacsoport binding European Union 2003:285); (Nagy Code Criminal Hungarian than sexual harassment in the workplace, for which there is no formal definition in the http://www.stopvaw.org/Hungary.html 87 2008; dr. Enik 86 violence. virtually “sabotaged” the parliamentary resolution about the national strategy against domestic fact that only one task was—inadequately—tackled, and criticized the government for having major women’s rights organization issued a statement (HCM 2004) inwhich they pointed to the the deadline to introduce the relevant bills and fulfill anumber of pre-defined tasks expired, four national strategy for preventing and handling cases of domestic violence against women. After led to a parliamentarypolitical discussion onthe question. This concerted action, together with a 2002 CEDAW report, debate.Lamoen 2005:74). In 2002, civil organizations launchedIn a public campaign toinitiate public and April 2003,the time when the problem started to earn some public attention (Krizsán,the Paantjens & van Parliamentsame year in which the European Union started to deal with theissue), and this date also marked adopted 1997 (the in in Hungary a offence asalegal was recognized rape Marital matters. document rights women’s to draftwomen’s organizations (Fodor 1998:154–55), and did little toobservea international standards in Legislators, however, have hardly been receptive to civil initiatives and thelobbying efforts of predecessor in some other matters, and show a definite progress in gender-oriented public policy. asits just aspurposefully act could state Hungarian post-socialist the where one be could rights sexual harassment were1996:293), thwarted a complete ban. As lawsfirst and legislation onrape, violence against women and passed from the early 1990s internationally, this area of women’s For the current state of legislation see “Hungary: Country Page;” available online: Reportedly, legislation has not advanced since (verbal communication, Géza Juhász / HCM, February 1, 86 Yet, violence against women is a still better received and more readily more and received better is astill women against violence Yet, ŋ Pap / Hungarian Women’s Lobby, May 31, 2008). [last accessed June 2, 2008]. June 2, accessed [last 87 sporadic initiatives to thematize it are massively are it thematize to initiatives sporadic 96 discussed issue discussed CEU eTD Collection measures. communicate messages totheircitizens via legislation, their particular choiceof law, and policy endorsementhuman rights-related legislation was, again, todraw attention 1) tothe dubious equality the of the choice oflaw. Mybroad theoretical aim withprinciplemaking an admittedlysketchy pass atwomen’s capacity and far from my intention to engage in a discussionof of factors that govern a particular samenessmen, which creates,has severe “equality”,consequences while supposedly treating women as men’s equals, actually treatsthemas if they were and for court2)of law also entails what Morvai calls agender-blindtodecisions construction of “equality” (103–04). Such the in varioussex-relatedneutral and value-free “good” laws. As far as women-related legislation is concerned, this choice cases. ways It is broke withbeyond this practice and shifted its basic principles to a beliefstates in technically enforceable, my canblack letter offormal law. The general understanding of the rule of law after 1989, however, material justice-oriented law gave preference for substantive outcome over an adherence to the law and regarded it as socialism hadonly an openly political character; it both recognized the social constructednessone of the of the means characterizesto current Western trends of legalachieve thought. The practice of law enforcement in state- a social aimjustice or a critical and deconstructionist (Morvai approach tolaw, although thelatter perspective 2005:102).that, This in post-socialist legal thinking, preference is given to the formal rule of law over material judiciary. illustrate the hidden/sub-conscious gender bias and at times openly discriminatory attitude of the 88 overwrite human rights at any given moment. traditional rights—e.g., right to property and/or privacy, the presumption ofinnocence—can enforceable pieces of legislation (personal communication, Juhász, February 1, 2008). Other do not form a explained, the measures introduced coherentsince the political change in 1989 toprotect women’s rights system;/Habeas Corpus rather, Working Group they for women’s exist human as rights sporadic protection motions,and legal aid service)resulting in hardly See also Morvai 2004, where the author presents in detail three case studies/court judgements to 88 Both Juhász and Krisztina Morvai (2004) remark 97 CEU eTD Collection Goven discounts the liberating potential of the squeamish advice that theofficial woman’s will to tackle problems that adversely affect women. Ina passage i quoted earlier on, Joanna place within a context of absent regulation (or lacking law enforcement) and an absent political take transformations all these that noting also (2000a:82), experiences earlier with discontinuity representations—of the increasingly(female) sexualizing and objectifying women. In the emerging uses—both in practices and body and ideas democraciesabout of Central-East Europe (and particularly inHungary), with advertisements sexuality, Gal & Kligmanspell out how pornography and prostitution rank among the fastest-growing industriesdetect in the new a starkrepeatedly 2005:50–51) Joó 1997, Burrows 1995, Acsády 1993b:71–75, Goven (e.g., scientists social lifeworld, tothe back connecting and administration justice of field the aside Leaving also conforms to the key international trend today). workers. The country thus situates itself at themost lenient end of the legal spectrum (whereby it prostitution is a legal gainful employment in Hungary and prostitutes are tax-paying unionized 1999, since offence; aminor as wasre-qualified 1993, prostitution In 1998:111). (Betlen crime naturalized subject of sexualized jokes in in 1955. the punishment of those who financially profit from prostituting others. Hungary joined the Conventionrequired that prostitutes be de-criminalized and registers of prostitutes be abolished, and instead called for 90 protection of prostitutes, state and functioning as “ functioning and state while she provides empirical evidence to inform about prostitutes having virtually been “employed” by the 89 suppression of prostitution (Betlen 2007). training and were re-directed, forcibly, to legal employment. Clearly, this did not mean a complete changes, he reminded how, in the 1950s when brothels were closed down, prostitutes were given related socialGéza Juhász pointed to another change in legislative attitude that concerns yet anotherand women- judicial concern, the attitude toward prostitution. To illustrate the related The UN’s New York Convention of 1949 aimed at constraining trafficking in women. The Convention Betlen (2007) substantiates this by quoting reports issued by the National Institute of Criminology, pro tempore” pro 90 in state-socialist Hungary prostitution was forbidden, and as such, a spies. Ana Maghó-Maghiar lists prostitution as a frequent and almost Ludas Matyi 89 Also, while the New York Convention called for the (2007:53) 98 CEU eTD Collection period leading up to 1956, to up leading period follows up thetransmutations of image of woman in three 20th-century Hungarian-published women’s magazines, Judit Kádár Hungarian portfolio ofa Dutch publishing company. In pursuing the metamorphoses of the women’s organization in 1949; since 2000 it is one of the numerous women’s magazines in the successor, still published under the samename. the under still published successor, post-1989 its itwith comparing women, targeting explicitly times state-socialist of magazine only public debate on the related topics, i am casting acurt look at gesture towards acknowledging the major role of the media in initiating, sustaining or stifling barest tomakea wishing Yet, pastsixdecades. the media during Hungarian in the mediated been issueshave women’s or question” “women’s the ofhow analysis asubstantial out carry Within thescope of the present inquiry, other than pointing to afew aspects, i will notbeable to consumption. advertisement that rampantly uses sexual representation as an instrument to increase media and in visual culture in general and, inparticular, by the absence of the type of socialist period was very much conditioned by the relative insignificance of advertisement in the that a less oppressive approach to, and representation of, the body and sexuality in thestate- representation in both the state- and post-socialist periods. Here i would only elliptically submit governing perspectives in Chapter III, where i will be surveying women’s cinematic the myth, or terror, of beauty. Providing evidence tosupport this claim diminishing of virtue by indeed liberating been even have may practice this that suggest would I elsewhere Goven expresses a view that is more appreciative of this less objectifying practice: organization of the socialist state issued to women issued to state thesocialist of organization scrutiny than in western societies. (Goven, quoted in Adamik 2000:181) absent from overt practices. […] Women’s bodies largely wereand under forbidden less publicly strictly were approved pornography, or prostitution, advertisements, in particular in body, the female of commodification of the forms Certain 1ŋ k Lapja 1ŋ k Lapja was essentially a weekly political picture magazine to serve to magazine picture political aweekly wasessentially too (Kádár 2002). InKádár’s characterization, in the 99 1ŋ vis-à-vis k Lapja their appearance and self-care. Yet, was first published by the official 1ŋ k Lapja (Women’s Review), the will be one of my CEU eTD Collection ever go beyond dietary and body shaping counseling, beauty and sexual practices, horoscopes, women. The number of publications targeting women has increased but their contents hardly “successful” middle-class), least (orat wealthy young, audience: of range alimited address country and across the region) teems with advertisements, and both the ads and the very contents retailers (90). Today’ssuccessor nationalization of the industries left no room for competition between manufacturers and Kádár also emphasizes the disappearance of advertisement from expectations. social traditional by unfettered relatively indeed, liberating and liberated minded, advice onrelationship and life management conveyed in these columns strike oneas open- means to formulate messages and thus influence patterns of thinking and behavior. The kinds of column, aswell asthepersonals and theeditorials deserve special attention. All aredirectthree offer of a publishing company. a publishing of offer maternity leave allowance, the problematization of pornography, even a tirade on the gender-biaseddenigration book indicated by the forms of addressing them, women’s health issues, the daring critique of the 91 discussed from an informed feminist perspective. and problematized were issuesthat of anumber across asicame observations Kádár’s Judit editors would not declare so. My own survey of some 1960–70s volumes of literally afeminist one (even reviewed the Western second wave), Kádár contends, only the emancipation and equality, continuing to address a wide spectrum of women. The magazine was of ideal the to committed remained it while 89.), (ibid., magazine” cultural and societal modern mirrored the consolidation ofthe society, and by the 70s it became a “liberally-minded, open and photos of these very women. From the 1960s on, the growing independence of the magazine industries and services,image of woman: the ideal of the working woman. The weekly targeted women workingin in the agriculture the ends andof the ruling , mediating an idealin radically different from the pre-warthe professions, and illustrated its pages with the Among other topics, reproduction, the double burden of working mothers, women’s “naturalized” 1ŋ k Lapja (like most new women’s magazines published in the 100 91 Like Kádár, i found that the “Private matters” 1ŋ k Lapja 1ŋ in the 1950s as the k Lapja confirmed CEU eTD Collection economy orindustry. in which men and women typically work in separate occupational groups and separate branches of invisible and unregulated barrier won’t allow them to get there. Horizontal segregation refers to a situationhierarchy. The glass ceiling lets women (or members of other groups) see where they want to go, butBoth an expression stand for a social group’s uneven representation on various ranks of organizational 94 weekly, now available only online; as well as most recently emerging periodicals for sexual minorities.women”; first published independently, later as an irregular supplement of a social-political-cultural see Acsády & Bullain 1993, Bozzi &Czene 2006:56, 91); edited, mostly as a “community project”, by the members of the Feminista Hálózat (Feminist Network);admittedly feminist journal of the post-1989 period, sporadically published between 1991 and 1998, 93 men. of only consisted connects this result with the fact that the editorial boardauthor The ofwomen. the about it) magazin, puts Szabó as at (asnapshot, the image an time but onwomen of her focusing magazin exploration,a traditionally likely to absorbcourse of the feminization of professions shows thatfemale none of the jobs and positions that are laborand hypothetically that of a “glassin wall” between creative and other professions.large quantitieslay theground for my explorations, in Chapter III and IV, of the workings of the glass ceiling, areto is also discussion This capital. social very and cultural of acquisition their expedited education, of high in socialways women’s large-scale participation in social production,prestige combined with their escalating level andAt this point i am returning to theissue of jobfinancial segregation. todiscuss to what degree and inwhat recognized or articulated. even is not ideology implicit this while (1993:244) roles” women’s about traditionalism new the amplify and reflect forces “market magazines glossy current in claim: Einhorn’s to toil. The trajectory and present incarnation of beauty (Naomi Wolff, quoted in Kádár, 92)—that the “successful” woman of the 21th century burden”—performingis as an accomplished housewife, a devoted career person and a professional achievements, in their interviews they often express the frustration issuing from “the triple unattainable role models for the average reader. While these women prove to beproud of their engage with thelives and concerns of celebrities or otherwise “exceptional” women who embody 92 gossip and celebrity columns. The metaphorical expression “the glass ceiling” describes what social scientists call vertical segregation. Afew, usually short-lived “alternative” publications variegate the offer. E.g. In surveying the less sleek weekly thought , by men especially, to be interested in (Szabó 1993). Therefore 1993). (Szabó in to beinterested men especially, , by 93 92 Women’s magazines now subserve and only Kiskegyed , Andrea Szabó remarks that these are topicsthat these women are remarks , AndreaSzabó 101 7ť 1ŋ sarok k Lapja (Stiletto), a “magazine ofautonomous “magazine a (Stiletto), gives a testimony toBarbara atestimony gives 1ŋ személy Kiskegyed (Damsel; the first isnot so much 94 Thegeneral CEU eTD Collection creative industries are astrong and growing factor in German and European economy. The work Culture in Germany), first such inquiries was the Enquete-Kommission ’Kultur in Deutschland’ (Study Commission on 2009), some of which Helene Kleine reported about in a public talk (Kleine 2009). One of the &Schulze Puchta Kleine, 2008, Grüner, & Söndermann Gerig Weckerle, 2008, Manske 2007, cultural/creative industries initiated in German-speaking lands in the past years (Söndermann Rowley 2004, Evans 2008), and the research projects on the economic aspects of the film-related studies i am going to consult in Chapter III.2.iii (Lauzen 2002 and 2006, Knudsen & attention in either periods in Hungary or abroad. Rare and fairly recent exceptions are the few intellectual, and especially creative occupations donotseemto earnany serious scholarly It is perhaps some sort of a productivist bias within theresearch on women’s employment that requiring higher qualifications and offering higher wages (Andorka 1982:72). employees actually improved the career chances of men, allowing them to move on to positions been an especially typical occurrence within the professions that an increased number of women 95 them, their relative disadvantage opportunities have considerably expanded compared to what the pre-war society had to offer decision-makingdisadvantaged situation was, and continues to be, most pronounced in positions of authority and withinthe question ofwomen’s location in social hierarchy unanimously state that women’s the spheresfollowing the locale where the person was raised (Fábián 1996:11). Other authors engaging with of political,Utasi pointed to sex as the second most important factor determining elite status closely economiccites a study dealing with the composition of elites in contemporary Hungary. Its author, Ágnes and Fábián Katalin society, in powerlessness ofwomen’s problems the assessing In socialremuneration. life. Even if women’s http://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/parliament/bodies/study/culture/index.html 95 launched by the German Parliament, having recognized that cultural and vis-à-vis menhas made little progress (Schadt 2005a:67). Ithas 102 CEU eTD Collection considerable numbers (Haraszthy &Hrubos 2002). institutions or national academies (Novák 2002:340), and in few scholarly fields do they appear in highest echelons of the profession and work as full professors, senior fellows in research segregation are clearly visible here too in the early 2000s: very few women have reached the increasing. Yet, the occupational pyramid and the pattern of both horizontal and vertical of their new opportunities, the proportion of women in the learned professions has been steadily academics was opened up forwomen in the time of state-socialism and women took advantage Within thefield of scholarship, career paths follow a comparable pattern. After the world of nearly half of the actively employed population (ibid.). be explained with the differing economic activity of the two sexes since women have constituted participated in higher education in the same proportion as men. Neither can men’s better chances with their differences in qualification as, with theexception oftechnical universities, women have Women’s lesser chances (also documented in Neményi & Tóth 1998:11) cannot be explained we still have notwitnessed a real breakthrough into senior corporate positions (Nagy 2006:48). that although women’s numbers and proportion have been gradually growing in these positions, trend of women’s professional progress in leadership and management in the field of economy is general The trends. general some toestablish andscholarship/research economy fields: in other Hungarian context, here i am drawing on inquiries mapping the constitution of professional elites In the lack of similar prior research done on those working in the creative sector in the subject. of Kleine and Manske as well as thefilm scholars also engage with thegender dimensions of the 103 CEU eTD Collection 1995:121), contemporaneous Western societies did not view reproductive work in the same way. reproductive labor and “make family labor an economic function of a woman’s life” (Dolby Whereas state-socialist governments indicated a willingness to recognize the value of (2000a:65). relations” gender and patterns, demographic justice, ideas about commitments, economic issues; in theformulation of Gal & Kligman, “they simultaneously engage moral earlier section (II.2.iii), such premises and the related policy decisions address more than career, depends on the welfare distribution premises of the particular state. As i put forward in an wage labor, or would take less accommodating attitudes toward the idea of combining family and formations would make conscious efforts to enable women combine reproductive work and the problem did not disappearparticular feature of socialist states having sent masses of women to work outside the home, and with the break-upwith gainful employment) turns out to bea common question indifferent systems, rather than a of socialistwork reproductive reconciling i.e., shift”; “second or day” “double (or burden” rule.“double the of But whether particularunpaid female labor in thehome” (Brown 1992:20). Viewed from this perspective, the problem state organizationally and normatively structured for male wage earning and privilege, and assumes labor, sustenance, and repair of community ties—within aneconomy that remains domestic childcare, work, work—wage life's allof doing are women middle-class and working- wage work, and the majority of women do both”, and consequently, “ever-larger numbers of division oflabor in which “almost all women do unpaid reproductive work, almost all mendo in out-of-the-home “productive” labor had to be inserted in a historically developed sexual industrialization and modernization processes at all locations. Women’s increasing participation in theWestern world (now including here the whole of Europe), and it was connected to In the second half of the 20th century, the number of working women was growing everywhere burden “Double II.3.ii ” versus “ choiceoisie ” . Reconciling work and family life family and work Reconciling . 104 CEU eTD Collection socialist state, lead toan adjusting work environment upon women entering the labor force. In I have already engaged with Éva Fodor’s about how the “difference principle”, embraced by the some progress in respect of a)—c), little was achieved in relation to private sphere. While the policies and programs adopted under state-socialism brought about working conditions; i.e., part-time work; e) renegotiating the sexual division of labor in the motherhood, and the availability of returning mothers’ employment; d) introducing flexible childcare; c) ensuring the relative financial security of women in the event of pregnancy and early a) thesocialization, orthe mitigation in some other ways, of housework; b)the same approach to identified five possible points of intervention where a willing state could indeed assist. These are socialist state helped women, in effect, reconcile the two tasks. When exploring the issue, i of family life and career. As a next step, i will have a closer look of the ways the Hungarian difference between the pre-and post-1989 states’ commitment to I am introducing these two patternsfix. same of “solution” because, i think, they aptly characterize the The suggested offer, however, contains nooption of women in the frame of the choice, they allegedly have tomake, between home-making orcareer. the home, urging them “to buy into the old as new”, and how the underlying ideology portrays choiceoisie Elspeth Probyn calls the new traditionalist discourse presenting this plight as a genuine choice, regarding it an essentially irreconcilable predicament, requiring a choice between two options. Another approach to the dilemma of work and family life is leaving the dilemma as it is, (1997:127-131). Probyn points out how this approach aspires to re-position women in 105 choosing both , and does not drive making feasible the latter two aspects. latter two the thecombination men into the CEU eTD Collection incomes to take a longer maternity leave. grant and came to offer another option beside the flat-rate GYES, especially to incite women withthe structurehigher of childcare facilities, see e.g., Szalai 1991 and Nagy 2003. GYED was an earnings-related socialization the while Thus, system. social traditional very a perpetuate relations gender existing absence of a coherent vision ofwhy emancipation should happen, and an understanding of how wasthe factors) economic and class relations with engaging (only doctrine Marxist un-updated As i have already submitted, onesevere consequence of the adherence of the ruling party to an to manage household chores or childcare duties (Pollert 2001 and Goven 1993b:50). Researchers only documented some informal and minor formal concessions for taking time off flexible working conditions and reduced working hours. Work was compulsory and full-time. with experimentation no to little allowed state-socialism in employment of structuring The 1993:217). (Tóth families within effectively drove themout ofthe labor force, hence reintroduced a conservative division oflabor ibid., Scott 1974:135)—them to take a longerto channel mothers back to the household, enabling—andpaid in some cases pressuringchild (Adamik, care leave. In assisting1974). The child care benefitmothers, elicited criticism because it was seen to become anGYES effective measure Scott 2000:151, Adamik in quoted [1971], Szalai 1970, Márkus (e.g., on early criticized was also 97 1993:215, Bicskei 2006). childcare facilities and that the quantity of these 101only started to be enough from the 1970s on (Tóth 96 months of age. enabled women to stay home after the five months of paid maternity leave until their cild was 30 GYES labor. reproductive mothers’ of utility public the reward, financially and acknowledge, to 1977:153) &Volgyes (Volgyes attempt “enlightened” ahighly and 1991:165) (Szalai 1960s The flat-rate child care grant, facilitateor combining full-time employmentGYES with household responsibilities. prided itselfthe as samethe sectionmost significant (II.2.ii) i haveinnovation also listed of thethe kinds of pragmatic measures that were meant to For a detailed description of both GYES and the later introduced GYED ( Ialso have to note, however, that several authors documented complaints concerning the quality of 97 Upon its introduction, GYES was extremely popular with young mothers, but 1 06 gyermekgondozási díj 96 ) as well as CEU eTD Collection frequent and more lasting absence from the labor market than in earlier decades (Frey 2001:14); (Frey decades earlier in than market labor the from absence lasting more and frequent amore about brings today childrearing is that discourses public and political traditionalist A common outcome of the revocation of many of the family allowances and theescalating neo- 2001:55). devised also 1993, was in introduced to motherhood), full-time for (remunerating GYET allowance, family reduce the sociallabor policy formation with factors shaping economic growth orbudget deficits. A new form of force women-related indovetailing werejustaspersistent recommendations and IMF Bank World surplusHungary, post-socialist in how, show (2001:231–35) createdZimmermann Susan and (2000:289–94) by theshaped by the dictates of the economy at any given turn, the analyses of restructuringJoanna Goven were they that been has policies women-related at state-socialist directed criticism frequent of economyIMF recommendations and adjust toaneo-liberal global economy. Although one of the most (Schadtcapitalist non-welfare states in cutting down on welfare benefits in order to meet World Bank and previous regime, ushering in elements of market economy. Governments of the transition outdid was already falling prey to other economic and social interests during the last decade of the factors hindering the lessen, and of, stock take to wasready women’s government state-socialist early the While 1997). full participationgradually channeledtocover pensions, unemployment benefits andpoverty assistance (Haney in the paid laborbenefits force, state family the of assistance many and 1997), (Belinszki women) older wereand mother-to-bes or mothers young revokedto women economy. As a result, fewer employmentor opportunities were open to women (especially for diminished.Social benefits and employment policy were profoundly re-structured in the transition to market Social spendingdivision oflabor and the need to equalize did notof housework and childcare could get on the political agenda, the renegotiationentirely of the sexual disappear but it was responsibility within the home was ignored. 107 CEU eTD Collection 1998:153). acquisition of products in a economy but on hunting for affordable prices (Pollert reduced2001, Fodor household incomes, making all meals at home, and much of their time is not spent on the 98 accommodation of both the traditional and modern elements of this norm (Neményi & Kende formation. In the respondents’ own evaluation, the indicator of a successful life was the relation between the sexes in these matters, combined, however, with atraditional family a combination of free career choice and an own income for either sex: a vision of an egalitarian about the presence of a compelling either/or choice. What they interiorized as a social havingnorm to reconcilewas family and working life, members of the older generation did not report area most affected by changing social conditions. With all the various kinds of problems of summarizes her related observations as follows: women’s out-of-the home roles is usually the the testimonies of their respondents, of what i referred toas “choicoisie” above. Mária Neményi the next section; here, i only want to feature their observations about the absence or presence, in upon reaching young adulthood around the system change. I will comeback to their findings in early 1970s (and researched by Kende), also found itself on the crossroads of changing worlds in the born generation, younger The 1999:20). (Neményi society Hungarian post-1945 and pre- young adulthood towards the end of the same decade. The mother’s cohort bridges two worlds: mother’s generation were bornin1945–46, reachedadolescence intheearly1960s, andentered who became, for the most part, professionals after finishing their studies. Members of the classmates high-school onetime their are samples researchers’ The 1999). &Kende (Neményi representing two different, but consecutive, generations: those of themotherand thedaugther construction of gendered roles”. They expanded their inquiry onto two groups of women materialTwo Hungarian evidence, sociologists,labor market chances (Pollert 2001). who aregained also motherin other words, women’s family position and number of childrenand are increasingly affecting their daughter,from undertooklived a research experience, to add to the abstract concept of “the social According to several accounts, women’s double burden have not diminished; they now have to manage 98 108 CEU eTD Collection period, Mária Neményi and Olga Tóth direct attention toquestions about how the generations post-1989 the of aspects psychological social the of analyses of asimilarscarcity Noting 2005). earlier alternative to combine various roles. wife as having more optionssomething”, theyounger researcher even interprets the new opportunity to become astay-home (ibid., 118), the home overlooking the detail that his option also expansion of choices” (Szalai 1991:165). 100 feel pressed into this choice but can think about these not do twowomen when relates, functionsNagy Beáta of life opportunity, rare as isa It reconcilable 2000:227). (Duffy context employment and boosting primarily domesticaton while leaving few true options in the current economic and 99 ( awareness gender and socialsituation women’s of terms in up arrears of Zsuzsa Hegedüs, these are factors that may be safely considered feminist achievements making socialist rule also caused long-term changes in their attitudes and behavior patterns. In the view social interventions that strongly affected women’s life trajectories and relationship structures during gendered of Jeanette Madarasz submits(2002). However,plausiblethat themassive itis to expect social constructions and Mental changes and their durability are notoriously difficult totrace andperceptions are seldom analyzed, as Changing identities and message: roles the Receiving II.4 career aspirations. the new dilemma it encounters: the antagonism ofhaving tochoose between domestic roles and and ideological conditions of female employment. This cohort does not appear to problematize stratum re-constructsmiddle-class aneducated of generation ayounger women, towards expectations social modified a more traditional1999:139). Some twenty femaleyears later, influenced by the example of the mothers’ struggles and the identity amidst, however, transformed material Other sources, too, report about a clearly felt pressure on women to choose between family or career, Julia Szalai, in her detailed account of child care benefits, sees GYES as bringing forth a “deliberate or publicly recognized career. At times admitting an indistinct urge to“prove 99 Instead, as if by default, individual women strive after two separate worlds: separate two after strive women individual default, as ifby Instead, 100 109 1ŋ k aKádárizmusban (1993:152). replaces an , CEU eTD Collection earners. The workplace becameimportant as a site wherewomen existed as an entity in According to several accounts, women took great pride in their role as workers and income (2005:49). self-perception” and experience their structured view: “Women perceived themselves as men’s equals”, claims Joó, “and this perception a similar expresses Joó Mária philosopher The 167). (ibid., Adamik argues isconcerned, women paid labor led to irreversible sequels as far as the identity formation of the affected generationNeményi & Tóth 1998:15 ofalso confirm this claim). And as such, inclusion in the public sphere of objective, a conscious decision ofwomen” (Griffin 2002:383, theresearch result presented in reason”, Gabriele Griffin also contends, “women’s employment gradually became an internalized the “Whatever 2000:131–32). (Adamik intention political original the to compared shifted, will, and point out that the meaning and significance of female participation in wage work has claiming this, they do not negate the emancipatory effect itself but the truthfulness of the political “emancipation” as an inadvertent social effect of the extensive industrialization in theperiod. By view of socialism asan alternative project of modernization. These scholars also depict several other scholars, more specifically engaging with the Hungarian situation, also advanced the an alternative approach to modern emancipation (2002). Madarasz writes about the GDR but “Sozialismus als Gegenkultur der Moderne”, that posits the state-socialist way of emancipation as of description Baumann’s usingZygmunt argument, an develops Madarasz, Jeanette existed”, “actually that systems socialist bankrupt irredeemably not would who scientists social the of One draw on their works. notwithstanding, some researchers attempted to these changes; in this section, i am going to difficulties indicated The 1998:1–2). & Tóth (Neményi lacking conspicuously more even been “winners”, remarking that the interrogation of these aspects from agendered perspective has and “losers” as who cameout to; or recourse had they strategies group or individual of that were socialized during the years of state-socialism adopted to the new conditions; what sort 110 CEU eTD Collection in a society in a given period. the brigade journals prove to be valuable sources to research that history as well as the constitutive part of national history. For such scholarly approach, modus operandi collective. Csóti sees the relevance of recent social historical research to explore the character and the and awarded individual achievement, the movement Stakhanovite of the (2005:221) view of labor organisation in socialist Hungary after the 1956 revolution. 102 101 of a Kossuth award-winning workers by official discourse. Almási’s documentary draws a picture of the one-time community construction and led to a deeply ambiguous relationship to the identities ascribed to women issues ofconsent, accommodation, and opposition also played a significant role in their identity identities of working-class women had been actively shaped by this experience. At the same time, community meant for these women workers. When presenting her findings, Tóth argues that the 2001) make plausible the foundational experience that becoming a responsible member of a film documentary Almási’s Tamás and 2007) and (2005 Hungary state-socialist in women factory with interviews history oral Tóth’s Zsófia Eszter Both 1999:67). Neményi 1977:77; Volgyes going to work for reasons other than the external coercion or financial necessity (Volgyes & gendered relations (Adamik 2000:132–145) and felt an intrinsic value and internalized objective in in their marriages or finding appreciation,families, self-recognition and peer support at the workplace, which they often lacked they came themselvesto and found a (female) communityre-evaluate other than their immediate family. As women were not only their gendered roles but their related conflicts issuing from the equally compelling presence of modern and traditional female traditional and modern of presence compelling equally the from issuing conflicts related routinely struggled with. This is notsaid tounderestimate, however, these difficulties or the brigade members, overshadowed the difficulties of the “double burden” that working women having access tosocial and cultural mobility have, according to the testimonies of several of the genuine solidarity (also in seeing through the duplicities and the hierarchies of the regime), and The work collectives (or “socialist brigades” or “brigades of socialist labor”) were the dominant See footnoteforms 44. of the brigades of socialist labor, in that such research treats the 1945-1990 period as a the work brigades’ the work of the 1950s. As opposed to the Stakhanovite movement that measured that movement Stakhanovite tothe As opposed 1950s. of the 101 movement as a continuation, or rather replacement in the Kádár-era, workcollective ofatextile factory. work brigades’ 111 movement evaluated the performance of a work a of theperformance evaluated movement Kitüntetetten the Csaba Csóti (2003) and Tibor Valuch work brigades’ (Beingdecorated, Almási 102 Thereward of finding movement as well as well as movement mentalities prevalent CEU eTD Collection mothers-in-law. activites in these films; such activities are either invisible or taken care of by the protagonists’Eszter mothers Kulcsár (2005) or notes that we hardly see the working woman doing any household or childrearing 103 as the director puts it in her synopsis (available online from documentary also zooms on an older generation of women—a “forgotten” or “latent” generation working women,once held in suchprominence by the state, farein the newdemocracy. Papp’s generation shift, and Almási’s documentary mentioned above, focusing on how a group of (briefly summarized in II.3.ii) exploring gender role constructions across a mother-daughter methods of two inquiries i introduced earlier on: the oral history interviews of Neményi & Kende The project of documentary filmmaker Bojána Papp merges the objectives, approaches and Nagy 2003, Schadt 2001 and 2005b), this expectation now seems thwarted. 1999, &Kende Neményi 1996, Fábián (e.g., scientists social several of findings the on Drawing (2001)? in gender equality progress previous the that expect to plausible equally canbe would it Or strategies. and expectations be recouped within theand neo-conservative discourses and socialframework ideals—have had an impact onwomen’s life of democracy,reverse processes during the economic transition—a dramatic increase in female unemployment as Anna Pollerttheir changing self-conceptions asks and identities, it is plausible toexpect that the documented & Tóth, Schadt) made a strong connection between women’s entry into paid labor force and Since many of the researchers whose works i have consulted (Adamik, Joó, Madarász, Neményi 1993b:47–52). were also notacknowledged and could not be openly addressed (Schadt 2005a:72, Goven roles. In relation to the films of the period heralding the new female ideal, the working woman (and mother), toward women’s work has been declining in the late 1990s. relation (Nagy, Thepositive […] life. in 287) task real onwomen’s opinion traditional the share people Eventhebest-educated market. fromthelabor numbers ofwomen aslarge withdrew ways to traditional back changed have behaviors also but attitudes not only 1990s, early the Since 103 Difficulties and conflicts arising from contradictory role expectations 112 and identifications CEU eTD Collection equality (167). and childcare—to fashionable trends rather than any substantial change indicating higher levels of actual 105 104 will indeed be able totake advantage of expanded opportunities in thesocial sphere” (165). In private sphere. This coexistence is “conflictual because nothing ensures the individual that she the in relations unequal of reality social the and domain) public in the changes demonstratable accommodates the abstract ideal of the equal opportunities for the sexes (as a resultant of contemporary Hungary, the author concludes, young people’s consciousness simultaneously http://www.szojavit.hu/page.php?id=37&print=1 gendered social and family roles, and only few of them would entertain ideas about equality. ideas about would entertain of them few only and roles, family social and gendered Schadt found that the majority of undergraduates of both sexes accept the stability oftraditional gender equality, but one which was also rife with the kinds of problems detailed in this chapter. parents of these respondents had been socialized ina social context committed to bring about and more importantly, the 1960s onand her perspective is shaped by the postulate that the to political, economic and social changes. Schadt focuses on changes occurring from the 1940s, modified in theprivate sphere after opportunities and roles expanded in the public domain due sample ofHungarian university students to find out whether gender role perceptions have In a 2002–03 research project, Mária Schadt (2005b) elicited the opinions of a non-representative stigmatized after having lived all her life in a system that criminalized non-workers. respondents tells about how sudden unemployment made her feel deeply ashamed and as having fallen out ofsociety’s, and the market’s, field of vision in general –, one of the combined with pre-pension job loss and the dissolution oftheir work-based communities, as well their experiences of post-socialist Hungary—the adjustment tonew economic conditions, often voicing In views. and strategies life their renew to compelled repeatedly been had and mothers, conservative to their daughters, although they must have looked overly “modern” to their own mother. In the director’s characterization, these are women who may now come across as Schadt attributed the appearance of new male roles—limited to a heightened presence within family See footnote life 54. 113 )—women in their 50s: thecohort of her own 104 105 In CEU eTD Collection who perform the given role “harmoniously”/”with ease” or “with internal conflicts”). While the distinguished two groups (the conservative and the emancipated) with two subsets in each (those isolated three groups (the egalitarians, the submissive, and the independents), Kende distinguishable subgroups based on the decisive elements of female role construction. Neményi In the article Neményi & Kende co-authored, both researchersown experience, Neményi substantiates this statement with evidence gained from her interviews identifiedby constraints but by genuine choices and equalized chances (1999:147, 126). a number ofpromises and anticipations of adulthoodwell- in which a women’s life no longer appeared as framed given historical moment.Shedefines this moment asa medley ofperhapsdeceitful yetappealing carefully circumscribed social groups they worked with: classmates in a high school. 107 attention.) 106 constructions and behavior patterns that were role female of terms in question research her formulates Neményi all, of First study. own my for within their respondents can be meaningfully related to questions which shaped the groundwork especially valuablepresent formy purposes is thatthecategories they created toidentify subsets insights their makes and studies these among 1999) &Kende Neményi 1999, (Neményi Kende Anna and MáriaNeményi of works the for me, apart, sets What aswell. democracies European them also mentioning that a similar tendency has occurred in other newly emerging East-Central The existence of a conservative change is established by a large number of researchers, some of do not only tolerate but actually ask for male dominance (168). psychological attitudes of women that i also referred to in an earlier section (II.3.i): many women pointing to women’s relative disadvantages, Schadt divulges the same self-diminishing Iam ready to accept that the views of Neményi & Kende have to be understood in relation to the See also my motto to this Chapter. (I thank József Böröcz for bringing that piece of writing to my equality she has experienced in her childhood, school years, and working life in Hungary. of thekind come near nowhere could there (128) sheencountered the discourse, environment social element of anessential was and women’semancipation roles werenearing social and male As a respondent who lived in Sweden in her later adult life related, although in Sweden female available / possible / conceivable / possible available 114 106 (“lehetséges”) inthe 107 Apart from her CEU eTD Collection maladjustment, Schadt de-naturalizes the external pressure to adapt to contradictory role expectations. role tocontradictory toadapt pressure theexternal de-naturalizes Schadt maladjustment, experience” (2001:55). While Kende’s terminology implies blaming women themselves for their conflicting role expectations, as [pitting roles against each other] contradicts to the decades-oldroles”, localshe says, “may cause, in the long run, serious mental disorders for women wanting to suit to 109 women’s voluntarily submissive psychological attitudes. 108 set values but norms available readily by lined not route, a difficult on embarked […] group this and self-fulfillment had priority over the capability toreconcile imposed roles. “The members of personality of aspects lives, their evaluating When 1999:136–38). (Neményi roles gender assigned so—socially less or fully consciously disregarding—either and path “independent” an chosen patterns, anumber of women were sorted to a third group, that of the “independents” for having concerning these roles. InNeményi’s interpretation ofher cohort’s gender role construction stereotypes onbroad fall back to ready and are role assignments, gender essential challenge patterns). opportunities, surviving traditionalist expectations, and inevitably changing life and career oriented life-style for reasonsitooidentified earlier (the ambivalence ofbroadening conflicting-emancipated groups who cannot easily make a choice between a family orwork- surfacing in thesection about “choiceoise”. Kende puts women in the conflicting-conservative or distinguish harmonious and conflicting gender role performance drives us back to issues already “submissive”). vs. (“egalitarian” label very the through mindset “emancipated”), the older one(Neményi) tries to convey a more specific picture of the portrayed scholar (Kende) readily relies on fairly broad oremptied-out formulations (“conservative” vs. highlights the difference in the researchers’ perspectives: while word choice of the younger them (egalitarians/emancipated; submissive/conservative). The particular word choice, i think, that clear elements they built their respective categories on, do correspond. From their descriptions it is felt necessary (118), and arrived to different structures to characterize their sample, many of the researchers worked independently and did not intend toalign their analyses more than what they Mária Schadt does not trivialize the existence of such conflicts: “The revaluation of traditional family Witness also how the framing of this latter juxtaposition echos my earlier concern over Hungarian 109 some categories cover very similar attitudes despite the unidentical labels assigned to Ona closer look, however, not even this “emancipated” group would question or 115 108 Kende’s keenness, however, to CEU eTD Collection cognitive dissonance both at the“conservative” or the“emancipated” poles, as Kende showed. and identifications role discordant to lead still may however, choice, a make to Consenting centered life-style. “new” ones (afamily centered life-style for women), ora diametrically opposite one:a career- certain gender role constructions. The post-socialist democracy appears to offer old roles as state-socialist regime,despite its many and severe defects, opened up—”made thinkable”— between purportedly irreconcilable life expectations. Ipropose once again that it is because the than post-socialist Hungarian society retracting certain roles and pressing for ahard choice effectuated a Neményi & Kende, it can beargued that appealing promises and a host of fulfilled anticipations of findings onthe Based created. it theanticipations some of meet to measures as practical appealing promises” for women and, at the same time, implemented macro-social changes as well segments of the female population. female of the segments 111 marriage (Neményi & Tóth 1998:8). all contributed to the escalating number of divorces and to women’s changing perception on environment—includingtraditional women’s growing educational levels, active employment, geographical mobility— 110 identity-constructs were “independent path” within the yonger cohort leads me to assume that non-traditional or liberated achievement may be. this uncontrollable legally and unquantifiable how no matter achievements, as feminist qualify and the attempt at self-structuring one’s identity as a woman that Neményi documents, indeed autonomous female subjectivities in contemporary Hungarian society, the kind of self-possession Kende, 140). In the lightNo comparable group, however, was identified by Kende withinof her own cohort (Neményi & my concern, spelled out inthe same time contradictory,I.1, role expectations” (137–40). about the scarceby and for themselves. […] They livedmanifestation their lives outside the frame of socially prescribed, but at of This, however, presupposes that we accept that Neményi’s sample may indeedrepresentabroader sample that weaccept however, presupposes Neményi’s This, In another article, the same author directs attention to how changes in the legal, economic, and social less hegemonic or totalizing gender order 111 The condition that the two authors found no similar incidence of better enabled by the socialist bythe society thatissued “perhaps deceitful yet 116 —as experienced by a given strata of women— 110 CEU eTD Collection a whole”, the actual composition of the sample is not revealed in her article. out by the Central Statistical Office. Although the author statistically projects the findings ontoclassmates “society in the as inquiry of Neményi & Kende. The author draws on the 2001 Census and a study carried 112 another study (Tóth 2006). This sort of interpretation of the younger generation’s identification patterns is supported by social privileges (35). but it did transformFodor the actual processes of its reproduction, and alsoeven establishesdomination male of practice ongoing the eliminate to little relatively done have may difference that as women were drawn II.2.ii.).into In her overall evaluation ofthe two schemes,the Fodor says that inclusion through labor force in attitudes and mechanisms to include women in social production (2003:25-38, earlier discussed in concept juxtaposing the principle of difference At this point, i would like to regardNeményi & Tóth 1998:17, Kapitány & S. Molnár 2002).Tóth’s observationsalso (see styles life certain to valuesattached the and behavior validated actually again—between against the dissonance backdrop discrepancy—cognitive marked aclearly witnesses Tóth Here Hungarians. by valued of Éva Fodor’s the same time, attitude surveys continue to show that family life and child rearing are still highly proportion oftwenty- and thirty-year-olds is new to Hungarian society, contend both articles. At Neményi & Tóth 1998:6–7). The consequent appearance of single status among a significant men earners, and some of them forfamilies with children), processes of individualization today allow economic considerationssecured. While instate-socialism ahigh percentage(much ofearly marriages were contracted out of of the state benefitssay, the economic basis of individualization has now been createdwere while nosocial safety net is designed for familiesprotect and/or support mothers, and young women ingeneral, on the labor market. That is to with two wage to fails economy week arelatively time same at the but opportunities career individual their push women toward “non-feminine” career patterns. Women’s high educational levels improve Olga Tóth’s article accounts for a broader population (a sample of 1023 persons) than the groups of groups the than persons) of 1023 (a sample population a broader for accounts article Tóth’s Olga and women to postpone, or reject, the traditional form of marriage and family (see also (see family and ofmarriage form thetraditional orreject, topostpone, 112 Olga Tóth’s article suggests that today’s labor market conditions labormarket today’s that suggests article OlgaTóth’s 117 versus the principle of sameness as two different reduced the degree of male CEU eTD Collection alternative model of emancipation that was implemented in state-socialist East-Central Europe. 114 characteritics and the waiving of certain feminine features and behaviours (2005b:167). 113 women in both periods as well as newer faces of inequality that surfaced, or crystallized, after the affect adversely to continued ills that social toidentify i alsoattempted factors, these from Apart corrupted an otherwise commendable project: an alternative approach to modern emancipation regimes. While trying to find possible answers to this question, i was also looking for factorsconstructions became thinkable, thatnow” realizable, or remonstrated and counteractedand under these gender “here the of organization in state- and post-socialist Hungaryissues tofind out what sort of gendered identity feminist some In thischapter i have overviewed, from agendered perspective, some aspects of social identifying and Conclusion II.5 one’s female body and act as part of the brotherhood gains a very literal meaning. immutably postponed) childlessness (for data, see Pongrácz 2002:18), the requirement to disavow Fodor, 34). Concerning the growing number of cases of (intentional or unintentional but that women “disavow [their]this dailiness” (Brown 1992:20). Recognition as subjects on the basis of sameness also requires bodies and actlives in the householdas and […] transcend the socialpart construction of femaleness consequent to of the brotherhood” daily their from abstract and terms socially male “on participate women that requires life public (Pateman, quotednorm. in to adopt, instead, the principle of similarity and tends to be modeled according to the male working women. Professional life in post-socialistHungary as presented by Schadt, Tóth seems happened through the difference principle recognizing their specific needs and interests as state-socialist Hungary, their presence could change the workplace exactly because their inclusion See my reference in II.4 to Jeanette Madarasz’s paper dealing with the issue of modernity and the The young respondents in Schadt’s survey found that retaining equality requires “masculine” 113 Thisechoes arecurrent entryin feminist criticism. Entering anallegedly gender-neutral 118 114 CEU eTD Collection 115 salaried or women worker white-collar of stratum inthe time the of society Hungarian One is most likelyto findthecorrelate of this social layerin purportedly “classless” the in theWest was a social, intellectual and cultural critique instigated by white middle-class women. Litosseliti 2002:10). As many ofits critics accented, the second-wave ofthe women’s movement cannot say at a given period “in the mass “timelines”: of spoken things” (Foucault, quoted inemergence of “new” discourses—such as Sunderlanda & solution (Musilová, quoted in Pollert 2001). Talking about factors that would condition the the requiring problems as inequality gender of view instances to refuse time, same the at but, rights Musilová termed as “contradictory consciousness”: both men and women have asense of equal what Martina induced messages conveyed diffusely itsmore and agenda declared state’s The impetus. they changed over time, gradually losing their women-favouring and potentially emancipatory as inasmuch unstable also question”—were women’s “the thematized that discourses public of state’s intents—most notably concerning female employment and the authorization ofthe kind by a critique exposing inequalities inscribed in apatriarchal gender ideology. In addition, the segments of female citizens in significant,were also central for the Western women’s movement, and meaningfulthus improved the life of broad ways, these processesHungary. socialist were not backed up subsequently confirmed—questions of women’s equality seemed to have been “solved” in state- several of the authors whose writing i had consulted pointed out and some of my interviews because—as messages state’s the fidentifying o direction the from my subject I approached locally relevant gendered social critique may, and does, draw on. collapse of socialism. A collection ofthese fundamental problems outlines a pool of issues that a Here i borrowed Edit András’s (2000) sarcastic wording. the importance of social and historical conditions that account for what one can or 115 But while the state’s emancipation program answered to some demands that demands some to answered program emancipation state’s the while But “ feminist 119 ” discourse—, Michel Foucault stresses CEU eTD Collection have been facing a legislative environment and state administrative bodies unwilling to civilorganizations women’s formed newly issues, feminist thematized recently more for pressing traditionalization ofpolitical and public discourses concerning gendered social roles. When peculiar connotative transfer of anti-communism, “liberalization” also meant the re- representations (in pornography and advertisement) that adversely affect women. Through a appearance of certain phenomena (sex industry, trafficking in women) and certain kinds of women with small children. “Liberalization” in the ideological sense also meant the sanctioned for especially and women many argue—for researchers but—as allcitizens, for conditions economic global by pressed also forces, state, liberalizing the transformation, system the After democracy. restructuredThe instability and incoherence of women-related policies and discourses carried over in the new its atomizationeconomic of society, led individual women to seek individual coping strategies. general the as aswell system, social andmale-dominated a of critique systemic undelivered welfare self.system Itcreating is perception and behavior patternsin of women, often increasing their self-confidence and sense of this precarious respectbroadened possibilities, state-socialistgender policies have had massive impact onthe self- thatworking bothdiscourses on the micro- inequalities gendered and persistent analysts—how contemporary for necessarily not but individuals, macrosocial of feminism level mayrole have constructions actually did ofgender range hindered awider and not expanded have trajectories and expectations life becamewomen’s was that come thinkable.the realizations in emancipation” women’s way of “state-socialist Even the of asset definite “timely”, one that concluded chapter if ofthe those sizeable social differenceswhile between their own lives and that of their mothers’ generation.changes Myanalysis in this andid changes on their lives, while they also witnessed the enormous and in many respects appealing urged for. These Hungarian women were facing instead the contradictory effects of these Western feminism for the socialist state implemented many of the social changes this movement professionals and intellectuals. For them it was difficult to side with the basic demands of 120 overshadow—for CEU eTD Collection 1998:15). Secondly, sprouting women’s NGOs and pressure groups have higher chances to (Bulbeck hand” issuesat local and onpractical based and coalitions, alignments of series longer ought to take the shape of an overarching movement but rightly disintegrates into “a different reason.Once themultiple basefor subjectivity is recognized, contemporary activism no a for involvement political women’s of ways the and level the vindicate and welcome myself I mindset. women’s to commitment such of suitability better the with involvement political their Europe as politicallyplan have renderedthem passive, Diane M. Duffyproblematize the narrow focus of these organizational bodies and that their(2000) particularistic action welcomes401) ibid., Matynia, 2003:291; (Nagy writers Some being. to came coalitions issue-oriented and even explains theprograms conceived in thespirit levelof cultural feminism. Later on, smaller organizations and single of to limited was largely it and 144), &Czene, Bozzi in quoted (Adamik, profile activist an thwarted eventually that circumstance a 1995:395), Matynia 98–101; Czene, & (Bozzi women academic and intellectual of comprised essentially was movement budding The 2006). Fábián 2006, Czene & 2002,Bozzi Tóth 1997, 1997, Pigniczky (Hochberg commence did activities and organizing During the first years of the democratic transition, feminist identity building and grassroots her,” appears especially germane (Irigaray, quoted in Jones 1985:92). oppress that systems various the analysis of viathe detour take“along women that importance vital the about point Irigaray’s Luce situation”, “post-communist the In (2005:53). there would disclose one’s second-rate position as a citizen and the net of social relations that keep her replace an earlier self-image ofthe strong, equal and liberated woman with acritical one that to and inequalities structural persistent and ubiquitous register to isreluctant consciousness” of genderalso forms part of the “post-communist syndrome”, while there are of a shrinking spectrum consciousness Contradictory socialproblems. gender-related to role themselves commit substantively constructions. As Mária Joó characterized it, “post-socialist female invisible tosociety. In contesting a view of women in East-Central 121 CEU eTD Collection conceptual and chronological terms) in turning the social category of “woman” into a political one. consciously here. By retaining the expresseion i want to acknowledge its primary significance (both in 116 such initiating for sites potential as life intellectual and media mass the indicate and discussion, political constitutingmobilization. woman asGal & Kligman donotsay consciousness-raisinga politically when they direct attention to the necessity of The scholarsrelevant category 1977:50–51). &Volgyes (Volgyes attitudes male reinforcing stressin order to serve the asanachronistic to today’sa ears, “thatbasis enslavecentrality them in their traditional roles” and that are reified by for women’s from their own self-limiting notions”, the authors bid in amanner that sounds somewhat of a strongimprisoning attitudes women possess when reaching adult age. “They have toliberate themselvescivil societyHungarian women which, according to the authors, predetermined the self-degrading and self- and publicII.3.i, inspired by the repeated comments in the related literature about the role socialization of also be addressed through consciousness-raising. Ialready briefly engaged with thequestion in might psychology of levels social and individual the between conflict The 2009:486–99). Maurer characterize Hungarian women’s interpersonal relations (e.g., Neményi 1999:116; interview, strategies and may tone down distrust and competition among women which, reportedly, do relevance and value of political solidarity. Solidarity can then replace competing individual coping affect women as a group. Recognizing collective grievances can lead tothe realization ofthe that grievances judicial or social inrecognizing instrumental is consciousness-raising 2000a:106), As political solidarity cannot beassumed on the basis of shared “womanhood” (Gal & Kligman criticism are far from having become household terms of the general social discourse. offeminist problematizations the issuesand where cases in especially activity, a vitalfeminist normally rank high on their agenda, even if there is wide agreement that consciousness-raising is result in the“invisibility” of these organizations is consciousness-raisingthat intervene on behalf of legislative and social policy formulations favorable towomen. What may Iam using this term reminiscent of the early years of the Second Wave of the women’s movement 122 116 at large does not CEU eTD Collection Sheikh 2005. and artists to sustain a counter-public sphere contesting dominant power relations. See also thedefined articles the rolein of the progressive art institution as follows: it should offer itself as an alliance of curators 119 contributed to this tendency, see Lippard 1980. 118 some perspectives on gender relations continue to be suppressed (ibid., 6) apparent plurality and openness obscure the fact that certain issues remain undiscussed, and especially 117 (2000a:106–07). exchange of action as the counter-public sphere. art has been faring. institutionalized how disregarding intervention, actual and socialresearch of asagents themselves acknowledge the contextual nature of cultural production, and its practitioners willingly saw cultural production,in tendency post-1968 a Continuing life. intellectual of wakes andother in also counter-publics in the visual artsfor sites potential for look to especially, isuggest (1989:165–66), manipulations marketing and political some trends in of aterrain than is nomore as it contemporarypublic-ness a pseudo creates communication mass modern art came to Taking heed of the warning of these authors and that ofRita Felski that in contemporary society create social forms that could foster a politically critical public opinion” (2000a:92). professional, and cultural organizations separate from both state and market, that are “able to the term, one of which is civil society understood as a complex labyrinth ofvoluntary, operate with the concept of the public sphere, indicating several possible uses and meanings of arenas for the formation and enactment of social identities (1993:529). Gal &Kligman too Artist, author andthe last sole refuge of the freedom of speech” (Sugár 2005).curator becomes Marionimportant. Art, when viewed as a kind of von after theOsten, era of artistic overproduction, it is the subversive potential of art and culture that in relatinghomogenizing and universalizing logic of those pseudo publics: “In the post-cold-war condition, her work experience at a Zurich Maria Lind (2005), who have been the director of prominent art institutions in Germany and Sweden, Asuccint description of this tendency can be found in Várnagy 2004. For the ways feminism In relation to the “actually existing” mass media after the regime change, the authors caution that its 118 Practitioners of these trends at times have explicitly identified their terrain their identified explicitly have times at trends these of Practitioners 117 In the understanding of Nancy Fraser, such public spheres are 119 Accordingly, theydefine their practice against the 123 subversive attention subversive resisting manipulations, is CEU eTD Collection autogenesis rather than interdependence, interests rather than shared circumstances” (ibid.). relations, than rather individuals needs, than rather rights are currencies discursive its masculine: power (Brown 1992:19). Therefore, “the ethos of the liberal state appears to besocially formation, the liberal subject appears to be oriented toward autonomy, autarky, and individual relationships and needs, rather than self-interest and rights, comprise the basis for female identity liberal subject. Whereas—within and for thecomparatively nonliberal domain ofthe family— In their criticism, these discourses challenge hegemonic neo-liberal power and its nucleus, the mastery, highlighting—but not naturalizing—that these are attitudes socially assigned to women. patriarchal. They prioritize respect over domination, cooperation over competition, and care over anti- analysis, gender added feminism’s with as, aswell anti-autocratic and authoritarian anti- essentially are trends critical these approaches, their In 1994:59). (Bullain civilization” movements that ideologically start out from theaspiration to move beyond modern industrial Feminism as a social, cultural and theoretical critiqueis often seen as “part of a host of new social that hinders the formation of more equal gender relations in contemporary Hungarian society. of collaboration and ways of relating subjectivities helps me bring in one more persistent obstacle feminine aspects i elaborated on earlier: the creation of a feminist public sphere and the possibility of i referenced in the previous paragraph, von Osten’s narration takes us back to theanalytical subject of my inquiry in the present chapter; i cited it here for two reasons. Like the other authors immediate the to connection factual nodirect has experience Osten’s von Surely, (2005:156). informal networks, the formation of new public spheres and newly embodied knowledge” these not necessarily female-specific projects, however, was their method, their emphasis on I.3.iii) into her understanding of a qualitatively new public sphere: “What was feminist about workshop implicitly weaves the category of the feminine versus feminist modes of expression). Also, her emphasis on the nature of a new method 124 (as i understand and introduced it in CEU eTD Collection cultural criticism. cultural pertain to feminist social criticism, in thefollowing chapters i will engage with those pertaining to present chapter i devoted my attention to aspects and issues within theHungarian context that as theoretical, intellectual or moreaction-oriented aspirations to alter this context. While in the Osten’s narrative converge and intersect with actualities of the social and political context as well This is thepoint where my commentary on feminine and/or feminist cultural practices and von 125 CEU eTD Collection oldalba basszák akkor egymást. “ Nézik, kit lehet megdugni, sohasem fogják megunni aférfiak,állnak a Állnak férfiak Ott állnak férfiak, sör- meg borszagúak ……… Ez a klasszikus kép, innen indul minden ……… akik ott állnak. “ Mindig ott ácsorognak A diszkó el Kisegít kiskocsmában Áruházban, állnak férfiak Állnak a férfiak, nézik a csajokat. Templomkertben, pártszékházban Temet aférfiak. Állnak Es ……… Állnak férfiak, nézik a csajokat. Sohasem fogják megunni Nézik, kit lehet megdugni aférfiak,állnak Állnak férfiak Ott állnak a férfiak, rozsdásvas-szagúak Azt nézd, milyen!” – mondják, és Ezt jól megdugnám!”- mondják egymásnak a férfiak, ŋ be, sárba, strandon vagy bálba ŋ ŋ ben vagy közkórházban iskolában állnak a férfiak ŋ tt, a diszkó után ……… That’s the classic image; that’s how all things start ……… 126 Kiscsillag: “ Whoah, i wanna fuck her!”—they’ll tell each other In the rain, in the mud, on the beach, at the party from the album Men hang around, they smell of beer and wine Men hang around, they smell like rusty iron In warehouses, in bistros men hang around Állnak aférfiak Men hangaround, man aroundhang erect Men hangaround, man aroundhang erect In special need schools men hang around Men hang around and watch the chicks Men hang around and watch the chicks In church yards and party headquarters “ The men who’d hang around there. Whoah, look at her!”—they’ll say In front of the disco, after the disco They’ll be always hanging around Looking out for someone to screw Looking out for someone to screw In cemeteries or public hospitals or public cemeteries In Greatest Hits vol.01., They’ll never get tired of this They’ll never get tired of this and toss each other around. (Men Hang Around), Men hang around ……… 2006 CEU eTD Collection and thus polish over the statistics. Although it is far from my intention to suggest that there is a secured, and that it is not only occasional token figures who repeatedly fulfill certain positions is film-making to access continuous their that indicates thus and diversity, industry sustained (script)writer, cinematographer, editor and producer. A “favorable picture” also shows a screen roles throughout the production process, including thekey positions of director, male-dominated world of film-making, and they too appear in agreat variety of behind-the- means one in which a considerable number of women becomes involved in theconventionally period. As far as women’s participation in film production is concerned, a “favorable” situation of women while i was also taking stock of some specific features of local filmmaking in the given When identifying these criteria i was drawing on feminist perspectives on the cinematic treatment of women’s representation in Hungarian film, i will put forward a number of aspects in III.4. during the period following the system change. To clarify what i mean by“favorable” in thecase production—have presented an overall more favorable picture in the years of state-socialism than cases—i.e., women’s representation and women’s participation in Hungarian cinema Also, both explorations equally closely relate tothe proposition i am making in this chapter: both an interwoven way is meant to suggest astrong interrelation between the two fields of inquiry. in thefilmmaking profession during the same period. Introducing these two explorations in such Hungarian Cinema Industry in the Past Sixty Years”, implies an exploration of women’s inclusion representation in Hungarian film between 1945 and2005. The other version: “Women and in Hungarianconsiderations Cinema in theThe subtitle of the presentPast chapter can be resolvedmethodological in two ways. One way of Sixtyreading it: “Women and Years”, promisesTheoretical to III.1.i undertake an inquiry into women’s C HAPTER III W OMEN AND OMEN / IN H UNGARIAN CINEMA UNGARIAN 127 SIXTY YEARS ( INDUSTRY ) IN THE PAST CEU eTD Collection social reality (or the status of any patriarchal culture for that matter), a two-way connection has connection a two-way matter), that for culture patriarchal any of status the (or reality social Although women’s visual representation is certainly not a transparent and immediate reflection of development. also query how the capitalist model of restructuring the film industry after 1989 impacted on this Iwill professions. creative area of researched lesser the on focusing i am chapter in this labor, reviewed how women’s mass involvement in the labor force was reflected in various areas of paid project that comprised the focal point of the analysis in Chapter II. While there i have briefly cinematic representation can contribute to the re-evaluation ofthe state-socialist emancipation Exploring the processes of women’s inclusion into the industry and the development ofwomen’s film. Hungarian within developments for account to analysis of tool viable be a to proves theory film feminist qualifications, of sort historical/social context. In the present chapter, i will interrogate to what extent, and with what the conceptual focus and the terms of their analyses when applied to an arguably different visit the question of the applicability of Western feminist theories and the possible need to adjust propositions presented in Chapter I and Chapter II of the dissertation. From Chapter I i will re- The present multilayered analysis will also offer the opportunity to further elaborate on contribute to changes occurring in the cinematic representation of women. between the two processes, or what other factors, beside women’s creative involvement, might convergence, however, it is still to be established whether there is a substantial correspondence the two processes side by side in order to register possible points of convergence. In moments of and a reformed quality of the images of women produced by that industry, it is worth tracking direct automatic correspondence between the number of women involved in the cinema industry 128 CEU eTD Collection systems that are produced by the specific power structures constituting agivensociety. constituting by thespecificpowerstructures thatareproduced systems the advances and drawbacks of the numeric survey method and the corpus analysis. c) the degree of feminist film theory’s applicability in an analysis of Hungarian film production; d) feminist debates; b) various takes of feminist film theory on the filmic representation of women; for system representational and as medium film of salience the a) advance: in considered be create a conceptual and methodological framework for this inquiry, the following issues need to of women, i am undertaking representation cinematic the for account to and 1945; with starting period 60-year the of survey a corpus analysisTo monitor women’s participation in Hungarianof filmindustry, i have completedthe a quantitative films produced in the statedwithin a given society. period. To representation in Hungarian film—might inform us about the“ways of seeing” clearly discernible representational tendencies—here, theparticular changes in women’s 121 2006). Ousmanova in quoted (Lagny, both reflects and constructs mental habits, cultural stereotypes and society’s attitude toward certainaccepted topics and internalized by individuals (de Lauretis 1987:12–13). Lagny emphasizes that visualideological culture state appratuses that produce discourses, including representations of gender, which Lauretisare then or Michelle Lagny. Drawing on Louis Althusser,de Teresa Lauretis from considers authors, other many among came, cinema formulations Later as one 1992:13–17). of the [1963] (Friedan objects, wives on the one hand, and women’s consent to limiting themselves to these roles on positedthe other connection between the compelling force of widely circulated images of women as mothers,(Woolstonecraft, sex cited in Bock 2002:74–75). In the mid-twentieth century reinforced this 120 assuch, and ideology of also bearers are films so, If aculture. of myths prevalent the circulates applicability their moviestesting as one important vehicle—beside religion, traditions,and language, tales and songs, etc.—that theory film identified systems, representational various of themechanism on focusing theorists Feminist feminist existing in Trends III.1.i been recognized between the power of images and the social reality women inhabit. John Berger’s term. JohnBerger’s As far back as in Mary Woolstonecraft’s time of writing, such a connection was already implied This is how Berger, in his book 129 Ways of Seeing (1972), refers to representational refers (1972), 121 prevalent 120 Thus, CEU eTD Collection quoted in Chaudhuri 2006:107). into line with a given Symbolic Order by encouraging normative desires and identifications” (Rancière,core around which a nation’s and a period’s ’reality’ coheres... [T]he dominant fiction brings individuals 122 differentiated imagesofwom redefined and identification points and role models for female audiences. The underlying assumption is that correction is sought, which would advance women” (Smith, quoted in Thornham 1999:10). Toward off this process, a sort of stereotype- their male audiences, and to damage the self-perceptions and limit the social aspirations of at thesame time. “The resultant stereotypes serve to reinforce and/or create the prejudices of only offer a limited range of images of women, and these images tend to be false and oppressive films that argues Smith them. receives and produces that reality social the and representations Thornham presents the connection Sharon Smith proposed between the power of filmic Reviewing some of the main precepts of the early pieces of feminist film criticism, Sue to men. themselves by their own actions; instead, they are typically, and stereotypically, defined in relation defining beings complex and versatile as individuals, specific socially and as historically appear man-dependent, but otherwise practically featureless beings. Insuch portrayals women do not and submissive aspassive, characters female toportray tend and entities, abstract and timeless circulating in (visual) culture. These imaginary representations place Woman in the realm of figure bornout of male creators’ fantasies and fears, taking shape in anumber of addressed the relationship between flesh-and-blood “real” women and the fictitious Woman- film criticism in feminist trend early an Thus, stereotyping. sex-role of function the is “natural” early positions, part ofthe dominant patriarchal ideology and the effect of conveying its logic as in any given society constructs and conditions (Johnston [1975] 1999:36). According to these they capture and portray as “natural” aworld that thedominant ideology, or dominant fiction, “Dominant fiction” is a term, coined by French philosopher Jacques Rancière, to describe “the stable e n will be morelikely tobe produced if women 130 women-defined characters and offer positive andoffer characters images of women images 122 CEU eTD Collection screen, are transformed; in other words, they are coded through cinematic mechanisms that composed of a combination of linguistic and visual codes. Images, as they appear on the cinema stereotypes—but they are “texts” in a semiotic understanding: complex meaningful structures that film representations are not just reflections of reality, no mere collections of images or Proponents of this strand (Claire Johnston and Laura Mulvey among the very first ones) argued text (see below) and critiqued thesociological perspective forfailing toconsider this aspect. , semiotics and psychoanalysis, and it asserted the primacy of the analysis ofthe film strand in feminist film criticism. This second trend, the “theoretical approach”, drew on cultural texts and that of the “patriarchal unconscious” that led to the development of a diverging motion pictures through textual codes. Itwas a theoretical interest in the functioning of signs and images and constructs their meanings, or how ideology is being produced and perpetuated in of Women”. It didrepresentation and social reality, was dedicated notto expose those misrepresentations: the “images interrogate, however, how film as a particular medium creates those predominantly practiced by UScritics (Chaudhuri reality women’s any reflect not does such collective patriarchal fantasy”, in which woman, orrather her image, functions as a sign, and as lacking. They also viewed classic narrative movies as “popular mythology, an unconsciously held focused mainly on charactertook the so-called “sociological approach” to film texts (described in the above paragraph) and and story, theof the most widely availablestereotypes forms of visual representation). A first cohort of feminist film critics producedsite of sexuality, and object of desire—is the most pervasiveand (also because mainstream filmis one the positive rolecontestation, movies in which the representation of womanmodels as spectacle—body to be looked at, Early on, feminist film critics took classic Hollywood productions as the focus of their representations (films, in the present case). themselves have access to shape those images, if they participate in the actual making of visual and , seeking tocapture the interrelations between 131 2006:8). The “sociological approach” was CEU eTD Collection in the pleasures of the narrative. “masculinized” position when looking at thewoman on screen and when wishing to beswept up satisfying senseofomnipotence for themale spectator andrequires thefemale viewer obediently awaiting the hero at the end of his Oedipal journey. Thus, film structure grants a events, and possesses theeroticized gaze, whilethewoman standsin for erotic spectacle, spectator. In these narratives it istypicallyactive the malehero whoadvances the story, controls male implicitly always an for pleasure such offers only cinema dominant movies, from drawn be courageous and competent figure thantheviewer him/herself—is a major source of pleasure to processes of identification. While identificationwith thehero—an always more beautiful, a couple of lines above, investigated how sexual difference and sexual imbalance underpins the turn on the positive orrealistic quality of women’s portrayal. Laura Mulvey, in herkey essay cited 123 psychoanalytic” “cine- this For world. film a male-dominated film form, claiming that female stereotypes are not simply born form aconscious maneuvering of cultural text. Indoing so she revealed how the unconscious of patriarchal society is structuring meanings within thefilm text, Laura Mulvey ([1975]1989) urged to uncover the unconscious of a internalization of the laws and beliefs of society. Decoding the hidden structures and latent sink into theunconscious, while it is also theunconscious that greatly contributes to the and repressed are superego, ego and the by censored are which actions and thoughts revealed, plotline—very much resembling the working of the unconscious. As through processes of disguise and displacement, creating subtexts to theimmediately readable and spectator-text address of kind the establish also that factors are These techniques. narrative and well dialogue relationsinclude camera movement and the scale and type ofshot, methods of editing and lightning as that a film proposes. The transformation of images also occurs The term comes from Christine Gledhill (Gledhill 1978). 132 123 trend, identification does not to take a CEU eTD Collection cinema after the political change, portrays this tendency as a region-wide phenomenon (1997:25–26).year by Hungarian studios” (Portuges Hungarian screens in 1990 alone, more than eight times the total number of films produced in an averageCentral Europe: “Universal Pictures planned to schedule the release of some 200 American films on 125 subject”? (Dimitrakaki 2005:272) way that […] eschews generalisations that can be potentially be seen to reaffirm an abstract “feminineequipped to read the interstices of feminine subjects, geography, technology and the moving image in analysisa targets very similar issues of historical, social, and material specificity: “Is psychoanalysis […] 124 addressed by the “Images of Women criticism” that the proponents of “cine-psychoanalysis” first Issues contexts. historical and social their on a focus with movies analysisof textual approaches of British cultural studies, feminist film theory in the 1980s sought tocoalesce the Incorporating the developments within newly emerging media and television studies and the HollywoodIn today’s time of a globalized (cultural) production, new cultural dependencies are formed, and cinemarelevant model, especially “behind the Iron Curtain” where it was notan overwhelming presence. indeed(Chaudhuri has fantasy” “patriarchal universal i.e., collective, held unconsciously asan a posited wasalso practice forcefilm This cinema. narrative Hollywood mainstream of part allforming to pictures, motion of types overdominatea few addressed only in fact “cine-psychoanalysis” filmnarrative, structures ideology patriarchal criticism. Purportedly explaining the general assumptions localabout how the unconscious of Walkerdine,film and Jane Gaines among them, attempted to accommodate both voices of feminist practiceBeside Kuhn, a number of other theorists, B. Ruby Rich, Christine Gledhill, Jackie Stacey, Valerie or the experienceworldwide. of the historically situated, embodied spectator (Kuhn [1984] 1999:148–49). contexts social or institutional their films, particular of specificity historical the of issues engage psychoanalysis”. Anette Kuhn contended that the theoretical approach was incompetent to reworked version of the sociological perspective came toaddress the inadequacies of “cine- determinism of theory and a possible space for political practice. In this gap, a re-evaluated and practice or the film production ofthe day, a gapwas felt between the pessimism and over- As film text-based analysis became increasingly more theoretical and detached from film-making Catherine Portuges offers a piece of data from the years immediately following the system change in Angela Dimitrakaki’s questioning of the capacity of psychoanalysis as a dominant method of feminist 2006:8), although—at the time—it has been far from being a universally applicable or 2003:11). Krisztina Sztojanova, writing about East European 133 125 124 CEU eTD Collection tackling the historical specificities of an entire film corpus—as my aspiration in thepresent aspiration my corpus—as film entire an of specificities historical the tackling a case for time- and spaceless theory turns out to be an unfit conceptual tool for a researcher Feminist film theorists’ practice of picking only alimited number of films for analysis and making asymmetrical. not figures are people defining themselves by their own actions, and that meanings carried by male and female as individualized shown are imaged women the that fact the in but ideal normative some to more “realistic” images. The realism ofany images of women does not reside in their conforming and stereotypical female representations without wanting toprescribe the exact nature of those roles for, women can be similarly refuted. Obviously, one can press for moving away from flat positive and of, images “real” demanding in essentialism at the aimed criticism The meanings. connotative breed and mechanisms signifying hidden run also signs, of systems as complex Motion pictures undoubtedly contain intentional elements, even authorial messages, while they, subconscious procedures governing cinematic representations ontheother,canbereconciled. stereotypes on the one hand, and the preoccupation of “cine-psychoanalysis” with more disagreement between the “reflectionist” approach concentrating on the effects of destructive confirm our own sense of identity” (Thornham, 162). I also think that theinitial conceptual still the case that as viewers we use the identifications [they] offer us in order to construct and even if “movies do not present asingle position from which [they] must beunderstood …it is referencing British film theorist Christine Gledhill’s work, Susan Thornham also maintains that explored how women as cinema spectators both produce and “reform” feminine identities, and, the very concept of identifying with representational forms was not dropped. Jackie Stacey (1999) [Hollywood films] perpetuate and reinforce” (Christine Mohanna, quoted in Chaudhuri 2006:22), images false the with identify and adopt to women encouraging , generate raised tothe mechanically conceived modes of identification in which “movies are thought to deemed simplistic orlacking were depth, theoretical nowrevisited. While objectionswereonce 134 CEU eTD Collection move away from invariably pointing out the wrongs of state-socialism, and urge instead “to language monographs on Hungarian and/or East-Central European film-making propose to guaranteed exposure in the state-owned cinemas. the state. from exclusively film-material!—came celluloid 35mm the well as financing—as and Distributioncentralized, industry and driven, by definition, by the profit motive, Hungary’s nationalized film industrywas was also and film text-related ones. Whilenational Hollywood has always been a large factory in the entertainment consequences of types bothmaterial has Hungary, socialist in equivalents state-funded monopolytheir and butstarkly different production environments within the Hollywoodit studio and distribution system also meantimmediately creates an unfit frameworkthat for my own inquiry. The fact that filmsfilms came to beingMuch of feministin film theory’s near-exclusivefocus on mainstream Hollywood movies had got a 2005. 1945 and between corpus film i will assemble a set of guiding criteria to beemployed during my exploration of the Hungarian adding and criticism, film feminist is suspect. Combining the insights gained from the two once-competing major approaches within indicate a number of instances where the “universal applicability” of the Western-fostered theory iwill caveat, Chaudhuri’s of heed Taking (2006:124). contexts” cultural different with encounters cinema” “may both ratify those theories and call for further interrogation and refinement through major mass-scale medium of propaganda (Rainer & Kresalek 1990; see also Kulcsár 2005). 2001). The movie theater was referred to as “the second home of the workers”, and movies were surely1948, 20%a of Hungarian towns and villages had a movie theater, in 1962 this number reached 90% distribution(Varga networks, new cinema houses opened everywhere in the country, even in tiny villages. In 126 to film-texts) Western to relation in (and West in the fostered theories film feminist cultural production for thesame corpus of films. Shohini Chaudhuri warns that theextension of of conditions social-political real butequally less material and structures, production material and authorial agendas in six decades of Hungarian film production, as well as exploring very real developments, stylistic nodes, thematic various the tracking includes aspiration is.This chapter And of state-owned cinemas there were many: after having nationalized the movie industry and the necessary extensions that the Hungarian context prompts, 135 126 Authors of recently published English- “ world CEU eTD Collection film” and melodrama from the 1930-40s, or the horror or slasher films. within Hungarian the scene.Such genresaretheoften-referenced classic Hollywood “women’s earned the attention of feminist film theorists but have never been any considerable presence suggested by a number of other theorists, spectators are invited to oscillate between male and castatricefemale women do not only feature as frail victims but, taking the form of an abjected female monster ( agency and will be caught up in despair and passivity. Barbara Creed examined how, in horror films, films, at least the narrative is centred around a female protagonist—who, inthese because, by Mulvey proposed nevertheless, “masculinization” thecompulsory gradually otherthan spectator losesthe female 128 testify. followers other European, Western or Eastern, countries as well, as French and Italian neo-realist cinema and its 127 examining is also indicated by a set of mutually missing Another difference between mainstream Hollywood film production and the corpus i am society. however, was characterized by a deeply inscribed concern for politics, history and contemporary and may lead tounresolved closures. Hungarian filmproduction from the state-socialist period, matters ornarrative techniques that require spectatorial efforts to decipher their complex texts, please broad audiences does not normally allow for non-entertaining, if not displeasing, subject to Having issues. stylistic and subject-matter on impact an have inevitably industry, Hollywood important because they allude to thefact that strictly profit-oriented principles, like those of the of crucial importance” (Iordanova 2003:27). Cunningham’s and Iordanova’s remarks are fluctuations (Cunningham 2004:117), and where “box office revenues did matter but were never was relatively immune tosomekinds of drawbacks such ascommercial competition or economic subsidy, government a secured to due which, 1993:142) Portuges in quoted (Nowicki, industry one gets is that Hungary had “an extremely well-structured and well-functioning” motion picture picture the such aperspective, from Viewed 2003:16). (Iordanova disadvantages” and advantages logic of the state socialist system of cultural production as a system that had its own justifications, engage inaproject that would beless ideologically loadedand simplytry to explain thespecific Feminist critics have engaged with the classic women’s film to show that there might be a position for This latter thematic preoccuation did not only charaterise Hungarian feature films but the cinema of 127 or the monstrous-feminine), also stir up male anxieties (Creed 1993). In slasher films, as it was 136 genres. Certain Hollywood genres have genres Hollywood Certain 128 These genres have femme CEU eTD Collection 129 1999:230–33). viewing positions, which then secures spectatorial pleasure for both audience groups (Thornham Hollywood offerings. mainstream of “textual”, or actual spectators, the than culturally and socially historically, should add that i idiom), the existential a more in produced films to exposure actual through addressed actively audiences spectators realism; of practices subsidy; of state a stable with industry (an factors these these all considered Having feature films have also beenfollows. differently situatedHighlighting these particular differences is one of the main goals of the corpus analysis that portrayals, such films; narrative classical these in mostpervasive been has spectacle erotic as women however, productions have earned the attentionwere of feminist criticism partly because the representation of almostproduced in this context and those in Hollywood. As i have alreadyentirely noted, Hollywood movies between discrepancy crucial another about brings filming of mode This (2003:17). missing forabsence of glamour in Central European motion pictures and notices thetheir sobriety instead most state-socialism.part Dina Iordanova points to a consequent development in film style: the specific of the history, socialistcould be regarded as the “mainstream” of Hungarian cinema throughout the decades of and individual the between relation the interrogating often implications, political and topics period. On the other hand, a cinema of moral concern, i.e., motion pictures with akeen interest in social problematizations and propositions can hardly comment on the body of films i am examining. been virtually non-existent in thehistory of Hungarian film, therefore the related Film theory’s “textual spectator” is distinguished from the more complexly positioned social audience. 129 137 CEU eTD Collection can summon most authors recently engaging with thesubject, be they domestic experts (Báthory cultural production of the era by exploring all the related phenomena contextually. For this task i setting out to perform the corpus analysis, i mustconsciously remedy this kind of view of the perspective also results in anundue attention paid to the matter of censorship. Therefore, before propaganda and ideology—which was not the case as i hope i will be able todemonstrate. This pre-1989 periodundifferentiated monolith. Within this framework, an account for the cultural production of the is customarilyusually coupled with anydepicted slice of thea cultural tendencyproduction of the period. Also, perpetuating Cold War-era clichés is to view asthe heedlessly employed.45 Such a biasa tends to ward off devotingyears seriouswell-designed scholarly efforts to analyzing of state-socialism(ibid.), as an unchangingmanipulation considerations” ideological for selectively highlighted been “had output, countries’ socialist from and An importantby feature of this incomplete picture has been that most of whatthe was known at all communistas before” (16). An ideologically loaded approach is a lasting effect of such asymmetric ignorance. minds of people of the , the culture of the and, Eastas Iordanova points out, “afterremains the West won the propaganda battle over theas hearts and little known in the West Eastwards, whereas the culture of the Eastern Block was in fact even lesser known in theWest period normally only mention the limited amount of cultural products that crossed the “curtain” remained after the Iron Curtain was “lifted” (Iordanova 2003:16–17). Authors writing about the cultural production during the state socialist system, she also elaborates on the automatic and often disproportionate appraisal in theWest. in appraisal disproportionate often and automatic 130 Film, European Central East When, in the opening chapter to her book thinking War state-socialist-period Cold the of of critique A III.1.ii Works that were severely criticised or banned by cultural politicians in their home countries, gained an 130 and that even today the conceptual framework of the Cold War is often uncritically and Dina Iordanova argues for a and the easy dismissals of the cultural production cultural the of dismissals easy the and Cinema of the Other Europe: The Industry and Artistry of 138 less ideologically loaded approach to approach loaded ideologically less imbalance that CEU eTD Collection 132 melodramas 131 immediately (1945–48) period coalition so-called the In reasons.) similar very for ideology fact, feminist theory has been interested in the capacity of films to form discourses and inscribe appeal. mass of medium film asa to pertaining a feature tobe out turns it rather system; tools turns out to bea condition that cannot be exclusively connected to one single political When investigated contextually, the fact that movies were considered as principal propaganda a time of stagnation in light of creative atmosphere (Mészáros, quoted in Portuges 1993:3). feature films and a junior film student at the time, disputes facile characterizations of the 1950s as Round emphasis added). Balázs Varga defines these years as the “birth of the practice: films centering on social issues were made, and some of them hit an overt critical tone; slow democratization following Stalin’s death had an impact on cultural policy and film-making and “thaw” immediate The 2005). Varga 2004, Cunningham 1990, Kresalek and Rainer 1990, 1953(Báthory 1949and between fiveyears, amere characterized hasinfact below) discussion so-called production films where this style was expounded in its purest; see definition and Realism for which the official cultural policy of the socialist countries became notorious (and the turns out to bea heavily heterogeneous one, refusing an easy totalization ofthe period. Socialist 1948, in rule socialist of introduction the and II War World following decade first the Already contributed a great number of arguments to successfully counter the inherited biases. and 2005) orforeign analysts (Portuges 1993, Iordanova 2003, Cunningham 2004) who all have 1990 and 2000, Rainer and Kresalek 1990, Gelencsér 1998, Csala 1999, Fazekas 2000, Varga 2001 Onthis see also Ellul 1965, especially pp.102–05. The “art of cinema” is to be understood as opposed to the entertaining romance-comedies and was made in 1955. Márta Mészáros, the first Hungarian woman director to make major produced during the inter-war and war years. 131 The first international success of the nationalized film industry, film nationalized of the success international first The 139 art of cinema art of in Hungary” (Varga 2001; Merry-Go- 132 (In CEU eTD Collection “tolerated” or “prohibited”. For a detailed discussion of the politics of the three T-s, see Sasvári 2003. 134 backlisting of several hundred actors, writers and directors from almost all major studios (326–29).Activities Committee, as well as the investigations into alleged Communist influence, the hearings communistand sentiment and anti-Soviet propaganda in Hollywood incited by The House Un-American the West, and notably in the as well. See e.g., Buhle, Buhle and Georgakas 1992 on the anti- 133 or“prohibited”, “tolerated” as“supported”, producers cultural ranking policy, cultural ofofficial system T-s” “three notorious The self-censorship. The elaborate censorship mechanism was built ona delicate interplay between censorship and early as at the end of this decade (Gelencsér 1998, Báthory 2000, Varga 2001). feature films, but especially documentaries, took to unveiling the dismal events of the 1950s as studios were still state funded (ibid, 117). Continuing a tradition embroiling history and politics, 1970s, the structure of thewere made (Fazekas 2000). The studiosindustry were re-organized in 1971, and by the second half of the resembled language visual innovative through vision creative personal adirector's more reflecting Films 1970s. and more the Western the into continued subject-matter and of style thepluralism and autonomy of degree model,increasing except that system, stifling led ideologically bureaucratic, one-track, artistica simply was this that suggest could mind prejudiced freedom and endeavor”unusually loose and fast (Varga 2001). As John Cunnigham characterizes this decade, “only a (Cunnigham 2004:96).feature films or documentaries as the control and the authorization process of shooting was The industry short making there start aquick had have could graduates Academy Film young since region enjoyed an picture. The Béla Balázs Studio came to life in 1959; this was a studio unique ofits kind in the so much so that this decade is frequently referred to as the “golden age” of Hungarian motion is the decade that saw a number of Hungarian films receive noisy success at international festivals The Kádár-era brought a general thaw and an invigorated cultural life from the 1960s on, and this parties attempted to use film to serve their own political ends (Cunningham 2004:64). following the war years and preceding the introduction of the one-party system in Hungary, all From the late 1960s on, cultural policy categorized cultural producers and products as “supported”, Astrongly politicized treatment of film production (and producers) characterized the postwar years in 140 134 left, after all, enormous room for 133 CEU eTD Collection economy of ownership: from the excessiveit divest and censorship contextualize to suggests perceptively so Iordanova waythat Another attention no longer it[an] audacious political act” (Portuges 1993:87).has receivedbecome so commonplace in the Hungarian press that the projection ofa controversial film was is to view it in the framework of the political those faced by corporate employees (or, for that matter, film personnel working in Hollywood studios).Prison 137 136 banned. was of theirs 135 acknowledged by cultural producers and interpreted as an opportunity to realize creative utopias The liberation, through state subsidy, from being inthe1960s, asrareexceptions across films came exposedand aesthetic quality, innovation and expression. After the tight control of the 1950s, banned or oeuvres. to market film-makers individual not but censored were films individual 2005); Standeisky also see 2004:90; was rare. Film personnel diddemands notsuffer persecution to thesame extent as writers did (Cunnigham various wakes of culture, but film production was one such department where outright repression wasconsiderations (Lórándagreement, however, weredominated by aconstantly changeable multi-layered system of tactical Hegyi, quoted in if conformingIordanova to a kind of “directed culture” (Haraszti 1988:129–42). The terms of the 2001:39).workers and politicians,Differences and occurred cultural between agreement a tacit through wasmaintained mechanism The 1999:212). Beke among the manipulation, maneuver, and compromise for both government and artists (Cunningham, 95, As Iordanova too recognizes, this analogy has already been suggested in Miklós Haraszti’s The mechanism of these few occasions is closely studied in Varga 2005. I.e., directors were not immediately discredited or cut from further opportunities once a particular film (1988) where the author compares the limitations of the artists working under with Central Europe political considerations were the guiding force. (Iordanova 2003:33) were predominant but rarely acknowledged or identified as freedom infringements, considerations market intheWest While in East or political. commercial it be control, of measure a thereis each case, […]In product. ofthe marketing over the control exercises also corporation], a or [thestate product a of to betheowner themselves consider Whoever 135 All factors combined, the over-all filmproduction boasted films of superb artistry relative privileges and apreferential treatment were granted to artists 141 136 and by 1980, “opposition and criticism had 137 The Velvet The CEU eTD Collection America. John Cunnigham also notices the ironic fact that, due to lacking funds for distribution for funds lacking to due that, fact ironic the notices also Cunnigham John America. scope of reach, today’s distribution channels usually limited to Western Europe and North international sort of exposure, and it would take adegree of imperial bias to prioritize, over this called friendly countries, also beyond Europe (Iordanova 2003:28, Csala 1999). This was a truly so- inthe distributed were they times instate-socialist countries, home intheir released even not get and what they recently can get.Iordanova While today points many ofto thedifferences filmstendencies”(Nowicki, quoted in Portugesmade 1993:143). Considering distribution structures,in Centralin the kindEurope of areaudience“has never tried to follow international trends and fads; it created its own terms exposureand East Europeanrelative lack thereof, Polish actor Jan Nowicki characterized Hungarian film industry asfilms one that used to where facile Cold War-era assumptions should becountered. As to cultural dependency, or the area isanother structures distribution and dependencies cultural changing at looking Finally, industry and the different attunement of broad Western audiences to feature films (2003:33). Socialist Party): “For us, culture is not an issue of commerce but one of ideology” (ibid, 271). 138 amends, they simply Iordanova admits that in the West many of these films would not have been censored but, she show most of them a couple of years later anyway. Discussing censorship from this angle, capitalist production: the state would commit production funds, and then shelve the film, only to consistent, nor truly efficient, it allowed for operations simply inconceivable within the logic of particularly neither was Hungary state-socialist of mechanism censorship the that Besides and shield as creators. necessarily having into it;inreturnthey tobecoerced wereaccorded relative existential safety members of the intellectual elite were willing to enter a tacit agreement with state power without 2005:8). (Standeisky Standeisky also quotes the Decree of the 1966 congress of the MSzMP (the Hungarian Workers’ 138 would not have been made been have not would This acknowledgement was a reason, Standeisky posits, that many that posits, Standeisky a reason, was acknowledgement This , given the profit-oriented, giventhe logic ofentertainment 142 CEU eTD Collection women miners filed a lawsuit after having endured continuous insults and unwanted touching. United States. A group of women who came to work at the Eveleth Mines in Minnesota as the firstNorth Country 139 Surányi, who had worked in anumber of positions in thefilm studios and later in the national questions analysis—methodological corpus and method The 1972survey first issue ofnumerical the AmericanThe journalIII.1.iii 2004:155). (Cunnigham and marketing, more films are now “shelved” in Hungary than was ever the case before if you did not want the her environmentmen as follows: “You had to adopt a tough, self-confident,around in fact masculine posture to feel up productionyour manager to work at the national film studios in Hungary, recollectedbutt the attitude of or molest you”started to make inroads to previously men-dominated areas.(Elbert Márta Elbert, the first woman 2003). profession, and this A predominantlywas male environment also affects the reception of the feweven female colleagues in any more so a couple of decadesvery real and pragmatic reasons as well asago very material consequences. anywhere whereconscious strategy of a male-dominatedfemale film industry, the fact of exclusion may nevertheless have labor participating in production processes. While women’s exclusion from them does not have to be a it is indeed hard to imagine such transformation without an increased number of women agreed upon that any such change does turn on the interposition of women film-makers and that is generally it producers, cultural ofwomen numbers a greater with is linked representation debates within feminist theory about whether or how a transformation in thearea of extensive been have there Although 1999:9). Thornham in quoted (Editorial, industry film taken up “on all fronts”: from women’s image in film towomen’s creative participation within cease the oppressive ideology and stereotyping foisted on women byvisual culture) has to be Niki Caro’s 2005 film, is a semi-fictionalized account of the first major successful sexual harassment case in the North Country addresses a similar situation in a different production environment: Women andFilm Women 143 announced that “the struggle” (to 139 Lili CEU eTD Collection senators is 14%. See theyjuxtapose this data with the apparently “more progressive” US Senate where the proportiondirected of female only 7% of the top 200 films of 2005”; “Female “Women toawoman”; filmdirectorsawarded been never [in has Hollywood]:director for][B]est Oscar “[The 4 data: %”—and presented crudely with their guerilla art stance. They would post billboards along Hollywood streets screaming with the 140 underrepresentation within the arts, including filmmaking. groups’ presence in theindustry. They provide one of the few sources recording women’s and people of color in the arts, who also insist onthe basic need to numerically increase these The Guerilla Girls areanAmerican group ofactivist feminist artists rallying to promote women the professional community” (D. Hunt, quoted in Evans 2008). based on personal relationships and social contacts. […] This requires a social integration within women on the outside. Marian Evans’ study also point to the fact that film making is “a business puts often which networking, through conducted is business the of much as (2006), Krum raising money stands out. Fund-raising can bemore complicated for women, contends Sharon more material kinds of consequences of women’s under-representation, the social aspect of to attending and aside, environment a of male-dominated aspect molestation sexual the Leaving He had me sacked. […] His revenge has swayed my life a great deal” (Surányi 2004). was that i was not willing to becometelevision, related how she suddenly “disappearedthe from the picture” for a while:mistress “What happened of the highly influential general director. […] find in general—either in the post-socialist orother contexts. examination of Danish Film and Television (Knudsen & Rowley 2004) and a research report on locate internationally a few research pieces on women’s participation in film production: an to able was only i inquiries, Lauzen’s Beside 2006). 2002 and (Lauzen Ceiling” Celluloid “The campaign in which they refer to the top 200 films of 2005 draws on Martha Lauzen’s surveys, domestic production measurable and and researchable. measurable domestic production 2003:21 and Cunningham 2004:82), which makes both the personnel and their contribution to however,the film personnel were salaried employees (better paid than the average Hungarian; see Iordanovathat it is more difficult to measure with the usually employed indicators. In state-socialist Hungary, 141 Obviously, the Guerilla Girls’ records are far from detailed and explicated studies, and are presented Possible reasons for this omission may be that creative work is not classified as productive labor, or http://www.guerrillagirls.com [accessed August 31,2007]. [accessedAugust 144 140 Such records are rare and difficult to 141 The Guerilla Girls’ billboard Girls’ Guerilla The CEU eTD Collection women featured in leadership positions. Knudsen and Rowley’s study of the Danish situation (be those goal getting involved ina romance or getting a job, etc.). They also looked atwhether the course of a film, and counted whether characters were effective or not in achieving their goals percentage of films made without any male contribution. participation but of their non-participation in various production processes, as well as the very low (0.5%) 143 entitlement. of asense and confidence lacking as obstacles” “internal such and motherhood conditions of filmmaking for women within the industry or outside, by the latter Evans means factorsstatistical like picture (Lauzen 2002). Evans (2008) commentsthat feminist film scholars have not focusedany other on enterprise that would have tried of towas unaware she put but together research”, their in these analysis] dimensions, content on-screen and and thusparticipation provide behind-the-scenes a full of [women’s andpieces bits addressed that have other studies afew been have “there that out points 142 2008). (Evans making an in-progress PhD project measuring New Zealand women’s recent participation in feature film- the team distinguished female characters who had goals who had characters female distinguished team the 2002). The methodology remained quantitative also when it came to on-screen content analysis: (Lauzen world” the change you media, inthe representation women’s change “ifyou that insists Lauzen above, discussed criticism film feminist early within orientation women” of “images of the 100 top grossing films of that year. Not being impeded by the discontents with the ongoing research project, Lauzen’s research team also undertook the on-screen content analysis hence focuses on writers and directors;Evans (2008) isinterested in “women’s contemporary public participation in story-telling”, and her time frame is 2003–07.achieved parity with men in the entertainment business, both on-screen Inand behind-the-screen. the very first year ofchanging facts and figuresher in theface of press coverages suggesting that women had finally hardly and hard the present team her and Lauzen updates, yearly these With years. consecutive both cases than in my inquiry. Lauzen began hersurveys in 2002 and provides updated data from in shorter considerably is overview the of span time The credits. film in women counting started producer. As to their methodologyscreenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and—in the case of Lauzen’s research—executive to collect material,of women in anumber of key positions; the best paid, most influential jobs of director,it producer, is just as simple as mine: the authors The contradiction is underlined by Lauzen’s emphatically stating not only the degree of women’s In an interview taken after having posted the first, 2002 executive summary of her research, Lauzen 142 Theenterprises of Lauzen and Knudsen & Rowley map the employment 145 versus characters who had no goals over 143 CEU eTD Collection that are situated on a lower rank of hierarchy in terms of revenues and professional esteem. however, where women aregenerally less underrepresented. Atthe sametime, these aresectors My survey does not cover short films, the documentariescatalogues of the yearly Hungarian Film Week (Magyar Filmszemle). and TV productions. These are sections, the relation between the gender configuration of cultural producers and what kind of stories, or “whosepresent inquiry, yet, another detail from the interview with Lili Surányi (2004) provides some insight into 146 student Anna Kis for imparting their related observations. 145 employed to use their subjective taste to determine which projects receive production funding. management and executive boards, as well the Film Consultantsthe top is covers of also the thesurvey Danish that Filmgatekeeper Institute central Another theschool. at who teach who arethose industry, they examined the gender consitution of those who decide who gets in, those who do get in underand scrutiny. Acknowledging that the National Film School of Denmark is a central gatekeeper interesting,in the from a methodological perspective, to note the other elements Knudsen and Rowley bring 144 (Varga 1999); the series sources: following inthe data the consulted have i statistics division is determined by perceptible changes occurring between the respective decades. For the The content analysis will follow, with minor modifications, periods defined by decades. Here the changes, but long enough to indicate, compared with other five-year blocks, shaping tendencies. for reasons of easier handling. Five years seem to be short enough units not to hide significant Hungarian film production between 1945 and 2005. Idivided the large periods into 5 year-blocks of period 60-year the blocks, 5-year in overviews, statistics My general. in industry the within diversity of the behind-the-screenMy analysis does not only focus ona number of key positions as i am also interested in the jobs women get andand TVindustry”. in the processes of the funding decisionsgender and who gets the chance to communicate their visions in the Danish film segregation expanded, though unexplained, time span.) The Danish authors sought “to find out who makes examines the period between 1992-2002. (In relation with certain data, they work with an As i indicated above, i will not consider television or documentary production within the scope of the Iam also grateful to film critic and researcher Balázs Varga, costume designer Lilla Khoór and film While i will not be able to incorporate the following factors in the scope of my present inquiry, it is 144 Filmévkönyv (the annual Film Almanac; publisher: Magyar Filmintézet) and 146 Hungarian Feature Films 1931–1998 145 146 CEU eTD Collection she interviewed women about their jobs; both films were executed with novel montage techiques too.the former she created a montage of sculptural depictions of motherhood, poetry and music, stories”in the latter get told. Among her own favourite works Surányi lists a film essay and a short documentary. In with readers. Therefore, whenever a film is mentioned, i will succinctly state why i am referring to context—a situation in which i can hardly hope that allusions to individual films will ring a bell an international from readers address meansto and vernacular in the written is not dissertation present the since isincreased effect This readings. instrumental almost narrow, one-dimensional, or attributes basic to their reduced be might films analysis, ofacorpus drawback As apotential films. lopsidedness. This lattereffort to also register how film text operates onconcern various levels will even out this potential will be aconscious criticism, broughtfilm feminist in strand sociological the follow to able is better analysis in the forefront in the sign “woman”case operates within these specific filmtexts. Although a ofcontent-focused corpus a few selected evaluating women’s representation in the given pieces, in other words the assessment of how the that i consider their artistry along these aspects. Monitoring character-formation includes willnecessitate dramaturgy) of looseness or thecoherence and character-formation (e.g., analysis individual filmmakers. Nevertheless, some of the aspects i am working with in the content of achievement artistic the or films individual of worth aesthetic the determine to intention medium. Regarding feature films as complex documents of social history, it is not my primary representations and film text analysis for the closer focus on thehidden structures of film as a analysis, i will combine aspects of both the sociological approach to the study of cinematic undertake a to examine the cinematic images of women produced bythis industry. For this exploration, i will out set will i survey, a statistical in industry cinema inthe involvement women’s exploring After corpus analysis of Hungarianfilm production after 1945. Intheframework of this 147 CEU eTD Collection liberalizing “thaw” period followed, leading up tothe revolution of 1956. The fallen revolution are characterized by the rigid implementation of ; after 1953 agradually making praxis of the pre-war years without bringing much novelty. The years between 1949–53 years only yielded a low number of films, and basically continued the comedy-dominated film- modifications affect the beginning and the closing of the 60-year period. The immediate postwar perspectives of a socio-political and a style-oriented analysis (Iordanova 2003:8–9). The suggested minor modifications, turns out tobea workable method for the given subject from both the female characters might get sympathetic and nuanced characterization. charactersmightget sympathetic and female comedies, and other films and genres where woman-related subject matters will not get in the focus, but 148 original film title, director, and production year. Iordanova in her monograph Proceeding by decades with the corpus analysis isnot only a matter of convenience. As Dina looking at the cinematic treatment of women. to myself limit to have will and subjectivity male of construction cinematic the trail to able be will not i time this Nevertheless, 1992:16). (Silverman ideology with relationship our renegotiate political implications as masculinity and its dominant representations are key sites within which to masculinity. Any crisis that might occur in masculinity, Silverman proposes, has enormous represented in films, pointed to the importance of alsoaddressing the “technologies” of subjectivity male exploring herself Silverman, Kaja theorist Film masculinity. of reconfiguration the towards work may that films islocating time this neglect largely to had i also aspect will mention films by their translated title only, and refer readers to 147 be relevant for the goals of the present inquiry due to the sort of representations therein. account. These are films that cannot be captured by the set of criteria i am using here, but could Another problematic factor is that certain films might fall out ofthe scope of the present serve to illustrate the point i am making in the respective section of my discussion. it in theparticular context. Also, i will devote a more profound attention to some films that can Here i am referring to movies centering on male/female private relations, or detective stories, To avoid cumbersome data-referencing, when providing more detailed data does not seem crucial, i Cinema of the Other Europe 148 also probed, the “decades approach”, with Appendix 2 for information about for information 147 148 One CEU eTD Collection providing very rudimentary information (what type of tasks and responsibilities these roles In crew, or any change in women’s cinematic representation? appearance of women inkey positions brought about anincreased number ofwomen in the film explain thedevelopment of gender segregated duties? Have themoderate trend toward the swallows”? How did gender segregated posts within film industry develop and what might women’s growing presence in education and the professions in general? Who were the “first of functions have been typically fulfilled bywomen, and which ones have remained unaffected by my statistical survey does not extend to women’s participation as actresses. 149 behind-the-scene functions functions and hierarchical positions. My statistical survey of women’s involvement in the various input is the core of creation, rests on the collaboration of a group of people with varying 1945–2005 Filmmaking industry, is a kindfilm of creative processHungarian in that, unlike literature orIII.2 the fine arts where individual 1989 era in the present case includes the early years of the 2000s. text. Since my overview stops at 2005, the 2000s do notfigure as a whole decade; thus, the post- arrangement in every level of the film industry and onebringing about changes in style and film stylistic developments via the ’decades’ approach. The 1990s isa period of profound re- and socio-political industrial, of aspects from characterized well be can 80s and 70s 1960s, did notbring about total regression (Cunningham 2004:91, Fazekas 2000). The decades of the that had surfaced in theyears of the “thaw”. Yet, a renewed censoring of proposed film projects means another rift within thedecade when directors refrained from approaches of social critique Behind-the-scene functions are to be understood as opposed to the on-screen job of performers. Thus, Appendix 1 Appendix Women as represented in the profession: A quantitative survey of women’s inclusion women’s of survey quantitative A profession: the in represented as Women iassembled brief definitions of the main behind-the-screen positions. Apart from 149 seeks to answer the following questions: how many and which sort 149 CEU eTD Collection production manager (Mrs. Miklós Vitéz), job ofthe production manager: 4 out of the 19 films worked with the one and only woman designer as she was the same person in almost each case (Lili Surányi). The same applies to the the cinema industry. This fact does not in itself hold information about who came first to the discovery that many of these first women were the wives or daughters of a man also involved in the to leads skill This itself. reveals gradually names the behind relations and connections repeating for years and when, having learned to read between the lines of the rosters, the web of keep names initial a few or single one when is indicated scenario former The indeed. discernible somehow making their way into the profession, or a tendency of women’s involvement became important because it might shed light onwhether these “first swallows” were token persons same person for the next 10 years (Ferencné Szécsényi). The variety of the list of names is already in the next five-year term (1950–55), whereas the first woman editor remains one and the did—withdifference,the however, that the roster costume of designers becomes variegated is the post that would shortly accommodate an equally high number of women as costume design production manager again. In this starting interval i only noted two women editors, although this the following decade this person vanished, and only the period after 1981 saw a woman employed a woman costume designer. Orbetter tosay,they employed Miklós Vitéz, but her own names remain unknown. and second names. Thus, all we know about Mrs. Miklós Vitéz is that she was married to a certainné” Mr.is fitted after the man’s full name) comes to refer to the wife, subsuming and effacing bothwide hercirculation first up to just a couple of decades ago: adding “Mrs.” to the husband’s name (in Hungarian “- 150 among feminized behind-the-scenes task. As early as in theperiod of It might turn out to bean easy guess which task became the quickest and most profoundly studios. for roughly comparing production environments in Hungary and in mainstream Hollywood involve and how they rank within thefilm production team), these short entries also set the stage Note the peculiar (and peculiarly patriarchal) construction of Hungarian married women’s name in costume designers was 31.5%, which meant that six out of the 19 films made in this period 150 and thus produced a seemingly high figure of 21%. In 150 1945–49, women’s proportion the woman costume CEU eTD Collection might come into play: the emerging monopoly of a single designer who has acquired the stocks projects—becomes more consequential. As far as costume design is concerned, another factor that it is harder for women to integrate in networking: a crucial factor in securing funding for film In this setting the “social handicap” of women that Sharon Krum referred in a quote above— after the demise of the studio system, often realized with the financial help from cast and crew. political changes, orintensifying jockeying forthe positions under the transformed conditionsspreading of film financing after the of a (partiallygrowing proportion of men in the same positions. This process can be partly explained by the or entirely)hypotheses about the decreasing number of womenself-funded costume designers and editors—and the form to permit only will type data quantitative The shrink. to started budgets when discarded of film shooting characterized their operation. The post of the story editor was one of the first ones to be editor itself, which followed the decomposition of film studios and the kind of group work that female story editors is certainly linked with the gradual disappearance of the post of the story all three formerly leading positions that begs for an explanation. The drop in the number of do not always indicate the costume designer, which makes the related data somewhat precarious. 151 numbers Starting with the period approximately1961–65, maintained and never again dropped below 13 throughout the decades monitored. the post of the in 17story different sorts; in virtually all possible behind-the-scene positions.editor This number was also came todifferent functions.accommodate It is the period 1981–85 that saw women in the highest diversity of positions, high In twenty years’ time, women came to participate,editing. to varying degrees,profession in a steady set of tendency: 13–14it required a considerable amount of time until a larger number of women got in the business. But thefact that men’s name tend to bevariegated while women’s do not, drafts a clear The occasional shifts that occur within this leading three can be explained by the fact that the sources of women. in their own right own in their 151 Afterthesystem change, however, we experiencesuch adefinite dropin , even in such gradually feminized positions as costume design or 151 CEU eTD Collection or scriptwriters has achieved was 7.2% for writers (1976–80) and 12.9% for script writers (1991– writers script for 12.9% and (1976–80) writers for 7.2% was achieved has scriptwriters or Rowley’s query iquoted above:“Whose stories get told?” The highest proportion femalewriters and Knudsen with related is closely asit isimportant Thispost co-writers.) considers also if one converge on zero but it does stay very low throughout the six decades. (The number gets higher works original of writers or scriptwriters female indicating figure The relatively often fulfilled by women. appeared within the industry in Hungary (at the end of the same decade), these two became posts position (alone or sharing the post with acolleague), and when the function ofthe producer and be in total control” hard team the to push onehas job; of type duty masculine isaheavy This manager. (Elbertproduction 2003). In the eighties,a 2003 interview: “For along while iwas the only woman in thestudios to beappointed more women startedfirst woman to come to this positionto remained the only one forbe along while. As Elbert relateshired in in this I have already stated in relation with the post of the production manager that Márta Elbert, the a higher number of men, some of whom have prior related technical experience. work, a shift from the previously largely manual process, certainly made editing more attractive to men more bringing for accountable be can years her research paper, “The Celluloid Ceiling”. more penetrable to women than the top creative positions. This is what Lauzen alludes to with attemptthe title to answerof the question, only implies that the business area within the industry may provewhere sixto studiosbe now have female heads of production?” (Krum 2006). Krum, however, does not Sharon Krum poses the question: “How to explain the number of women executives in Hollywood, Drawing on the figures in Martha Lauzen’s study that show a moderate rise in women producers only, interesting to point out a relative similarity concerning the position of the producer/production manager. 153 Anna Kis. 152 of theearlier state-owned costume depots. Although these positions do not completely overlap in the Hungarian and American industry, it is Hypothesis based on the verbal communication of costume designer Lilla Khoór and film student 153 152 Asto editing, a development of the most recent 152 to the job: the accelerating digitalization of the does not continuously CEU eTD Collection started out at a relatively high rate (30%) and increased that level to 70–80% (costume designer) 70–80% (costume to level that increased and (30%) rate high a relatively at out started state-socialist period, amounting to figures above 90% (editor) and 35–40% (storyline editor), or women involved in the three most feminized posts either showed a steady increase during the stories get told and how charactersconsulted), all these positions are external to the creative process where questions of whose will be representedcategorized are decided asupon. one of the key positions in film making in the Danish and US surveys i have and economic system change in Hungary, the producer ( editor, storyline editor and, after the reorganization of the studio system following the political demonstrated that the tasks that absorbed the highest number of women were costume designer, My quantitative survey ( survey quantitative My the shooting. friends and volunteers, in which settings it is also not uncommon that more than one person do behind the camera are the (half-)independent productions of recent years, shot with the help of at allappear women when Situations strength. physical less considerably require cameras digital have beena creditable reason in the era of traditional 35 mm cameras, today’s frequently used blocks for women to get in certainmight be one of those entrenched perceptionspositions that Martha Lauzen names as the key stumbling (Lauzen, quotedunderrepresentation in here might be thatKrum this job is physically demanding.2006). This “reason”, however, While this might 1 working in the same position in mixed-gender teams is also considered. For the latter calculation,worked see as writers of original literary works or as script writers. The proportion is higher when women 154 95). intrinsic to the artistry of the particular movie. 155 of the cinematographer (a.k.a. camera The function in which women hardly ever appeared is probably another easy guess—it is the post negative peak in the period 2001–05: 1.6% for ; forthedifferencesbetween the see twomodes of calculation, The percentages i am providing here indicate the proportion of films in which individual women In this respect the job of the editor is also external to such representational decisions, while it is surely 154 These highlights were followed with rapid decreases in both cases, which reached a Table 1 and 2 man ) ofwomen’s participation in Hungarin film production ) . Part of the reason for women’s most conspicuous authors and 4.2% for script writers. 153 Table 1 Table Table 2. ). Except for the editor (which is 155 Thepercentage of Table CEU eTD Collection editor, storyline editor—werealready been being builtof for some twenty years).a The “topsubsidiary three” functions—costume designer, naturehad socialism when 1966 (i.e., from starting from period the around functions versatile therelatively perspective of “whose and numbers steady and high stories inreasonably appear to started has labor female summarize, To get (production manager) and the newly appearing post of the producer. however, a serious drop in many positions except for the “household manager” position positions, that cover the periods between 1992–2002 or 1998–2005, respectively, and only focus on five key to an initial low of 6.7% insystem change the figure2001–05. was still relatively high (14.1%, or 17.6% asco-directors) but it dropped When comparedand 1968, their percentageto moved between 6 andthe 15%. In the five-year period followingavailable the Danish and US surveys (2008) also registered a decrease of women directors’Evans 2004). participation &Rowley (Knudsen editors in as her even women respectivemen outnumber and 2002, time-frame and 1992 between 2003–07. positions. The number of women in positions of influence in the world of Danish feature films decreasedproducer where women made a progress. The Danish statistics reveal a marked imbalance in all Topemployment 5 in the five key positions is concerned; as to the individual positions, it is only the role of 158 films produced in the immediate postwar years), a peak in 1976–80 (9%), and 1.6% in 2001–05. that the figures are always lower: a starting 5.2% (accounting for one single case within the low number of 157 times, the production manager, showed an average figure of 3%. opposed to 18% when being co-producers. The closest equivalent to the producer during state socialist 156 writers) in the last period examined. as co- 14.2% (or 4.2% to back fell and times, socialist in co-writers) as 18.1% (or 12.5% of director. The percentage of women script writers increased,Positions where representational options are decidedfrom upon are that a of the writer/scriptmere writer 0 and in 1945–49 to a peak independently but they are part of a mixed-gender team of two or more producers. presence up to 20%; in most cases, however, women producers do not fill the position of the producer appeared in the period of 1986–90, and since then showed an increase of female ( Table 2 Table Lauzen (2006) found no difference between the data from 1998 and 2005 as far as women’s overall The tendency is similar in the case of writers of original literary works to be adapted to cinema, only The average percentage of individually working female producers is 5% in the 1991–2005 period, as ). After the system change, a rapid decrease was observed in all three positions. The post The positions. all three in wasobserved decrease a rapid change, system After the ). 158 theHungarian figures do notshow a considerable difference. They do show, 157 After the appearance of the first women directors in 1966 154 156 CEU eTD Collection women directors in Hungary and the overview of their artistic output. 159 supplemented with some others. When expressed in percentages, the number is still very low istobe factor single this itself—but in promising may sound growth This gradual names). new period, but most of the time two or three new names showed up (and, in one single case, four directors in 1969, and film as feature debut after their made Elek, Judit and Gyarmati Lívia directors, women two thisAnother date at least one new woman director turnedfilm in 1968 andup earned international in recognition since. each 5-year first her made Mészáros perspective. my from significant most is alsothe oeuvre her probably, most and Mészáros, films isMárta feature major of director female Hungarian first The output. artistic filmmakers’ feature female of perspective the from relevance little has oeuvre Zsurzs’s auteur film, writers; these films were subsequently shown in cinemas as well. Since she never worked on an Hungarian classical of the on based TV-adaptations produced Zsurzs part most the For women The firstrepresenting woman todirectors direct full-lengthWomen III.3 films, Éva Zsurzs started her career in the early 1960s. film-making in thea told?”, orwho is giving the creative input. Ihave not yet discussed, however, the major person in rather than insitutional obstacles were blocking her way. how she finally got in the Moscow Film Academy, Mészáros and School Film too Budapest evidences the at exam theentrance howat entrenched patronized she was how recounts she perceptions, where 1987) then” (Surányi 2004). In the second part of Márta Mészáros’ biographical tetralogy ( sounded like a foolish idea. A female director? …Even female assistant directors were hard to findfollowing back day. He indeed asked me what kind of job i would want to take. ’I wanna direct!’ Back then “When,it in 1957 a townsman of mine was appointed director of the national film studios, i was theremake the it feasible for a woman to become adirector, or even make it thinkable that she would becomefrom one. the testimony of Lili Surányi it seems that in the early days even solid social capital were too little to 161 Simonyi immigrated to, and continued to work in, Switzerland (Cunningham 2004:113). 160 See As i have already noted, much of the business within filmmaking is conducted through networking; but Before Zsurzs, Lia Simonyi made documentary and short films between 1939–53, after which date Appendix 1 an autonomous project ofher own, and since she originally produced television films, . uteur system : 159 thedirector. The next section is devoted to the emergence of 155 161 Diary for my Lovers , 160 CEU eTD Collection statistically significant and consistent finding over the years (Lauzen 2002). (as producers, directors, screenwriters, etc.) will bring more female characters on screen. Lauzen found it a 164 directors named in Sharon Krum’s article (Krum 2006) all have relatively short filmographies. Women’s Concerns” in East Central Europe (Iordanova 2003:119–42), or Hollywood’s relevant women 163 Danish average of 20% between 1992–2002. high of 11% was registered in 2000, and the records for 2004 and 2005 are 5% and 7%, but it is below the 162 (5). Szalai Györgyi and (5) Elek Judit (6), Zsurzs Éva films), (8 Gyarmathy directorial achievement. After Mészáros with her 21 feature films up to2005, comes Lívia European region: she is rare among women directors in being able to claim aforty-year probably the most productive woman filmmaker not only in Hungary but in the Central- female oeuvres have been afrequent occurrence both historically and today. Mészáros has been an extensive oeuvre comparablehaving made one ortwo films, and none of them have become household names or have created in quantity to thatWhat needs to beadded to theemergenceof of new names is thatMárta most of them disappear after Mészáros. Existing but small-sizewomen directors (~6.7%). block (2001–05) certainly does not show an upward tendency: 8 out of the 119 movies had period recent most The co-directors). and individual with 15 films directors, women individual directed 110were total the of out 12 films (i.e., 1976–80 period the in bydirectors film feature all 11% of a woman), andeven in the two periods that saw the highest numbers of women directors: women comprised14–17% ca. between 1991–95 (12 films out of a total of 85 with oriented survey, Dina Iordanova states that states Iordanova Dina survey, oriented content- systematic or date statistical ofany instead observations empirical on only Relying than their male colleagues. directors are more likely towork with female (script)writers, story editors, editors, advisors, etc., tend to bring further women into various positions. As my count revealed, many of these another way in which women directors do influence women’s participation in filmmaking: they Martha Lauzen’s survey also clearly showed that having women working behind-the-scenes on a film The female film directors that Iordanova mentions in her chapter overviewing “Women’s Cinema, For the sake of comparison: these figures seem to surpass the Hollywood account where the historical 162 164 156 163 There is, however, CEU eTD Collection consciously does not photograph the female body as a site of erotic spectacle. women—may contribute to address and engage women as social subjects. “Women’s cinema” performance in the public world, female friendship or partnership, the issues faced by aging “reality”—e.g., girls growing up ina sexist environment, mother-daughter relationship, women’s this to related Subject-matters evoke. often creators male idealizations tofantasmatic opposed as experiences, lived located socially of asaspectrum but term normative asany understood to be recognized from the perspective of women’s “real life”—where “real life” is not differences among women. In doing so, the narratives acted out on the screen will be more likely Furthermore, women’s cinema shows women as social subjects, and it does so by recognizing I.3.iii. 165 will address this spectator as and gender, actual viewer’s the of irrespective female, as viewer the address will it women” for “negative” portrayal that the “dealing with women” criterion emphasizes: when a filmis “made some, the structure of address might prove to bemore important than the “positive” or is “made for women” will turn on the Whereas the fact if a film is “made by a woman” or “deals with women” is easy totell, whether it women’s cinema refersopinions vary whether all tothree following criteria has to befulfilledfilms for a film tobeso qualified: made by women,those major concerns might be and what women’s cinema might mean. Feministdealing film theorists’ with what specifying necessitates 2003:9) Portuges women, (c.f. formulations” world’ ‘first by realities world’ and made for women.and thus universalist and ahistoric. Therefore, a conscious effort toavoid “appropriating ‘second The phrase “all the major women’s concerns” sounds somewhat dislocated and uncontextualized, I introduced the importance of various modes of address in mediating the reception of cultural texts in (Iordanova 2003:119) concerns. women’s the major all addressing films to make managed directors female number, limited their Despite other capacities. various in filmmaking in involved actively women were Still, directors. become chancesto hadfewer and marginalized traditionally were who filmmaking, in ofwomen thesituation change notsignificantly did however, This, equality. to securegender designed elaboratepolicies maintained State socialism a woman, and not as Woman (de Lauretis, quoted in Chaudhuri 68). structure of address proffered inthefilm. 157 165 According to CEU eTD Collection female body might be imaged but is not fetishized, and menher movies is arepartly an issue of generallyfilm style and film text but it is manifested in the plot as displacedwell. The inasmuch as in practice” (E. Magori, quoted in Portuges 1993:55). The absence of the controlling male gaze in figures interest the viewer because they act “as if women’s equality existed, not only in theory but characters are often described as stubborn and strong-willed, and the personalities of these Herfemale relationships. ofmale-female quality tothe attention direct also films Mészáros’s destructive partnerships. As the potentially abusive nature of such relationships is revealed, escape from prescribed but grievously limiting life patterns, and surmounting distressing or concerns include such lesser discussed aspects of women’s lives as middle-age womanhood, prospective parents), childlessness, surrogate motherhood, the act of childbirth. Mészáros’s other issues of reproduction such as adoption (both from theperspective of adoptive children and themselves against the compelling social conditions they live in. Their “cases” often pertain to gain recognitiontheir owncase totackle. Fundamentally, theyseek defineto their own identity for themselves, and a degreeoften with aworking-class background. The women have their own history and situation, and of privacy, and embark on a life track that they too set for highlighting Hungarian critics’ incomprehension as well as occasional misogyny or sexism. 166 however, in her home country. earned the attention and recognition of feminist film critics outside Hungary—much less so, (Quart 1988:6).Mészáros Both for too,the of Barbarathematic Quart commenting on women directors’with preference for female characters, Márta her concernsdistinctlydocumentary film-maker, Mészáros took to directing feature films in 1968. Borrowing the words and stylisticwomen-centeredfrom the qualities Hungarian Earlierfilms, oni havemotion already indicated that ofMárta Mészáros is perhaps the most significanther figure picture films,has clearedscene she fromsoon myup presenta space perspective. for women After her debut as a Laura Hollósi (2001) analyzed the critical reception, up to 1987, of Mészáros’s award-winning films, 166 The protagonists of her early films are always classed subjects, classed always are films early her of protagonists The 158 CEU eTD Collection pieces of their directors, and both incorporate documentary techniques Hollósi demonstrates subject-matter (the featureidentity search film of madea parentless by a Hungarian young woman); maleboth are director, the first full-length Pál Erd “different kind of sensitivity” of kind “different (2000:78–86). To do this, Hollósi compared Mészáros’ compared Hollósi this, do To (2000:78–86). relationship ( relationship between women. In Dina Iordanova’s account, in films like counterpoised with an exploration of female solidarity and scenarios of intense relationship feminist filmmaking as a politically driven practice (see Portuges 1993:9, Hollósi 2001:38). 168 film about Imre Nagy, a major figure of recent Hungarian history. prevalent gender regime ( decision ormove on the part of the protagonist who then proves unwilling toacquiesce in the offered are non-spectacular minor victories mostly involving some kind of an uncompromising is What perseverance. heroine’s the reward would that closure aharmonious wishfor spectator’s climaxes. Accordingly, the stories often have an open ending as the director withholds the dramaturgic decline plotlines low-key the and avoided, generally are sentimentality in bringing Just as the display ofthe two women’s bonding is not extroverted, lyric imagery or visual effects since it is legitimized from within” (139–40). back by an invisible wall of self-sufficiency and solidarity. The women’s union is impenetrable relationship of the two women above any heterosexual interests. […] The male gaze is pushed protagonist makes a genuine friendship with a little girl) and the more recent 167 they never becomecentral characters. attention ( unwanted such refuse, and with, struggle shown asthey arerepeatedly they advances: men’s (Nowicki, quoted in Portuges 141). Mészáros’s women are presented as truly notdependent on narratives, as Jan Nowicki, Mészáros’s husband and standard male actor, too, had to recognize This is a trope Mészáros often employs to describe her own practice when demarcating it from This generally holds true for Mészáros’s oeuvre, except for The Girl, The Adoption, Nine Months 1968; Binding Sentiments, Binding Riddance 168 as it informs her approach to her protagonists and their stories ). Laura Hollósi attempted to clarify the nature of Mészáros’s of nature the clarify to attempted Hollósi Laura ). , 1973), or finally refuses a psychologically abusive love abusive a psychologically refuses finally or , 1973), 167 Only women can occupy the central role in these 1968; 159 Nine Months The Girl Just Like at Home Adoption ŋ , 1976 ss. Both films deal with the same and ) . The displacement of men is (1975), Mészáros “raisesthe Mészáros (1975), The Princess The Unburied Dead (1978, where the male (1982), another (2004), a (2004), CEU eTD Collection confronted with the allegedly negative portrayal of her male protagonists, Mészáros explains: “I explains: Mészáros protagonists, male her of portrayal negative allegedly the with confronted registering the above context-specific features shaping the relationships between the sexes. When in sharp very and isapt Mészáros order, a patriarchal of deficiencies various observing Critically mother and not that of the equal companion and sexual partner (Adamik 1994:151). to an unmerited bad treatment, revealing how this all-forgiving female position is that of the problematized similar dynamics within male-female relations and women’s frequent resignation feature is a re-reading,more constrained by the particular social circumstances (Mihancsikin 1999:16). Another such her choices, whereas the life of many other women in 1970s Hungary seemed to her have been director. Intellectuals usually have betterfinancial and social standing and, consequently, wider the problems intellectual women may have had at the time when she made her debut as a in interest lesser her admits herself Mészáros 2004:125). Cunningham society”; “classless the of discussion of gender issues and class relations (whereby she also challenges the official mythology European variant of the contentious category of “women’s cinema”. One is the director’s joint In Catherine Portuges’s view, some features of Mészáros’s motion pictures render them an East woman-related, and relatively daring, subject. women and an objectifying way of filming his protagonist, even if he took up a specifically women as women male-female relations in Hungary in the 1970s: from the act of going to the marriage registrar “the young 169 50). (Portuges, situations difficult with going immaturity, or even brutality of one’s male companions) and the concomitant consent to keep characterized unstatedby an tolerance for humanimperfections (i.e., the insufficiencies, further distinct touch in Mészáros’s movies is women’s attitude toward heterosexual love A 127). 2003:60, (Portuges experience autobiographical of lens the through history of versions how the male director, Erd (1977:125). In II.3.i, i have already referred to the similar observations of Ivan and Nancy Volgyes concerning wives [are] expected to serve and love their husbands, in spite of all the man’s failings” ŋ ss, has a strong tendency to fall back onmuch-repeated images of Diary -tetralogy (four films made between 1982–1999), of official of 1982–1999), between made films (four -tetralogy 160 169 Hungarian social scientist Mária Adamik Mária scientist social Hungarian CEU eTD Collection qualities of international women’s cinema” (Portuges 2003:8), despite the director’s refusal to be authors writing more extensively about Mészáros do note that her films “exemplify the best These are all concerns that certainly qualify as feminist issues of the “her and now”, and the reproductive role, without any female identity or interior discourse attached (Babarczy, 117). women, even in intellectual circles, tobea woman simply means the adoption of the Hungarian society as a motive prompting my own investigation. As Babarczy sees, for many Babarczy’s inquiry thelack about ofany self-structured female identity incontemporary iintroduced There in I.1. addressed i already which and was capturing, (2000) argument Babarczy’s Eszter issuethat same the practically of asausefulreminder serve can comment This similar point she spells out in greater detail in connection with her film A 131–33). in Portuges quoted (Mészáros, personalities” female own their of aware them make children), or “what Iwant to work for is to help women become conscious of their being […] to must fight tochange all this” (i.e., women’s problems related to work, family, school, and we “[o]bviously, following: likethe statements in stance her expresses Mészáros stance. activist ambivalence about feminism and the ostensible women-focus in her praxis and her undeniably expressed her skepticism towards feminism andsaid howshe sees no contradiction between her unknown and therefore invisible (Mészáros, quoted in Hollósi 34, 36). At various occasions, she because, forelucidates why women’s interaction as depicted by herselfa comes across as lesbianish:long itis time,to their hundred year-old habits”. Or, when asked about the “latent lesbianism” in her pieces,films she havenever depicted any of my male characters negatively, i merely showed how they thinkbeen or react due only made by men to whom these gestures are live with another person. (Mészáros, quoted in Hollósi 2000:85) Hollósi in quoted (Mészáros, person. another with live idea about her own self, greatand only secretary then go outor beingto chooseshe good ata partnerhasany other if someone be only can hera woman and today job—what’s think And I self. tryher own recognizing own starts toand find important waysself. to is thatShe she[…] Herfirst mightstory haveleads up anto the attainpoint to herself sincere mostofall, when matureand, isautonomous, she on anyone,because herself she performs it the firstin determined being act of her life a great mother or housewife, being a What intrigued me is that this girl isafull-fledged individual who will never impose 161 The Girl : CEU eTD Collection sequences appeared, accompanied with expressive music. Having given up the documentary tone, documentary style (Gelencsér 2001). Asachange offilmstyle, over-emotional scenes or dream the late-1970s on, by psychologizing melodramas where a dramatic structure has subdued the In Gábor Gelencsér’s view, Mészáros’s quasi-realist psychological dramas were followed, from sensuality” (ibid.). Thereviewer remarkshowmuch Meszaros' stylehas changed overthe years. execution, “the cameraportraying prostitution as an empowering hoversand even liberating profession. As to pictorial lecherously over [the protagonist’s] naked body and savors her example is example distinguishable from the lamentable sexism of their male colleagues” (Horton 1999b). Horton’s removed from documentary“as far became material her of presentation Mészáros’s films, later her of some in manner, as one can that, afterget” an initial interest in portraying a fictionalized version ofreality in adocumentary(Horton 1999a),international discussion going on about her more recent output.and Some reviewers, however, noted that these Whilefilms feminist “are barely film critics duly welcomed Mészáros directorial debut, there is little substantial consequences of her disregard for, and unfamiliarity with, feminism as a director or the specific the of idiosyncrasies further are perspective a feminist from questionable tobe appears below) locale she depicts, discussed be (to or subject-matters other some of treatment theMészáros’s where instances other signs of a change in her artisticMészáros approach,allots for ormale Laura Hollósicharacters quotes Dutch feminist critics’ reproof about thepurportedly exaggerated attention (Hollósi 2001:37).with a different attitude than what is usually rehearsed within “international women’s cinema”. issues her of some handles Mészáros that note sometimes reviewers Western that then accident explanatory value indescribing different social and cultural arrangements (Portuges, 151). It is no been applied to, and by, Western products and producers, and therefore may have little have this label isthat refusal for this reason Mészáros’s film-maker. as afeminist characterized Daughters ofLuck from 1998 where Mészáros offers an idyllic sexual fantasy in fantasy sexual idyllic an offers Mészáros 1998where from 162 But it remains a question whether some structural critique structural . CEU eTD Collection pitted against the self-contained femininity of the natural mother. overall comportment ofthe non-natural mother or thewoman seeking a surrogate mother is acquired through marriage), while the natural mother is “always-already” morally superior. The “worldly” power in all three films (political power, higher social standing, or wealth, inherited or demonizing portrayal (in order that Mész sign-like negative image inthem,recalling the sexist stereotypes ofthesame heteronormative Mészáros tackles multi-layered problemsin these three films; child-seeking women, and non-natural mothers are pictured with a certain aversion. Although from a later period films In concerned. are heteronormativity of expectations the as waysasfar atypical in resolved partnership are portrayed in a rigorously unsentimental tone (Waller 1994:1253), and are often change. As a consequence, issues pregnancy, of motherhood, or childlessness as wellas order—on the contrary, they come across as contingencies that the individual might want to familial relations for that matter, are notviewed from theperspective of a heteronormative social natural mother’s Jewish origin; and origin; Jewish mother’s natural Heiresses bad motives, weaknesses, and cultural and economic differences” (Waller 1994:1254). offered: “the creation of new life—of two women giving birth to each other out of a messy mixture relatingof to each other only via identification and objectification. The author also values the radicalpositive reading story of the film inasmuch it reveals the several limitations people take on through the habit of 172 family-centered patriarchal order might lead to psychological disorders in childless women. 171 Hungary where the relation between the orphaned child and the adopting relative is only a subtext. 170 like films early In time. over matters In my view, this stylistic shift is reflected in the way Mészáros filmed reproduction-related subject Heiresses the unpolished dialogues came across plainly awkward in these psychological dramas of ( Marguerite Waller, while acknowledging the imbalance in portraying the two protagonists, gives a more In this portrayal i saw no attempt to explore and expose why and how the pressures of a hegemonic, In Fetus , afilm set in the pre-war and war periods, power relations are further complicated with the , Fetus the class difference between the protagonists sets the terms of the power relations; in ). áros so áros ( The Heiresses, boldly challenged earlier. Other than given a pathologizing and Fetus Diary for my Children ), 171 1980; thechildless woman is also a representative of ill-used Fetus Adoption , 1993; and 163 , childlessness, childbearing, orother types of offers a thorough analysis of the Stalinist years in Diary for my Children my for Diary 170 this character comes across asa across comes character this 172 WhenMészáros depicts the , 1982) childless or The The CEU eTD Collection crises. job- and partner-related problems but grew stronger as they find their way out of their respective meet female heroines again. As Gyarmathy shows them, these women donot get ruined by their for her independent spirits and at times masculine dressing style (Schöpflin 1930). in until, focus indirect an such even lack films later Her itself. plot you Know “Sunday-Monday”? comedy satirical the film, first Gyarmathy’s in Lívia woman is ayoung narrator the Although would also signal the changes in how a society experiences and structures gender relations. male subjectivity as represented in films: the renegotiation ofmasculinity onthe cinema screen on perspective (1992) Silvermann’s Kaja itto relate also however, can, one taken”; have makers another variation of the knownreserved to her (Fekete, quoted in Iordanova 2003:124). Iordanova interprets Fekete’s position “as stance on feminismsays, that she East is Centralmore interested Europeancertainly interested ingender-related analysis but because shedoes understand women, as she female to interrogate film- the motives behind men’s actions, as those are less 1994), andtheliterary-historically famous ( Júlia Szendrey revolutionary-romantic poet Sándor Pet 174 it is spirituality in the 20th century, and for Diana Groó it is Jewish identity. Ildikó Szabó’s and Edit K 173 Mészáros. with asitis directors women Hungarian other and drawing on female experience is neither as self-evident, nor as frequent a subject least aseveral-itemchoice longoeuvre, itis easy toconclude thatoperating with withthe female perspective Turning now to the thematic preoccupations of other women directors who can boast with at the moments of closeness are repeatedly withdrawn and betrayed. relation between them, any budding female solidarity or genuine bonding is violently crushed as characters: an old woman ( female captured carefully on focus five films her outof asthree subject-matters women-related Júlia Szendrey (1828–68) was the wife (and later the ignominious widow) of the short-lived This is not to say, however, that some women directors do not have their own special interests. In ŋ szegi’s case it is the plight of the Roma people in Hungary; for Orsolya Székely (1969), the narrator’s gender does not have a visible impact on the The Lady from Constantinople from Lady The ŋ fi (1823-49), sometimes referred to as a Hungarian George Sand 164 , 1969), an adolescent girl ( Maria’s Day Maria’s 173 Judit Elek exhibits an interest in interest an exhibits Elek Judit The Rapture of Deceit , 1983). 174 Ibolya Fekete is (1992), Awakening we Do , CEU eTD Collection not grounded exclusively in amoderately growing number of women in key positions within the Saxon movie (as rated in feminist film criticism) and in most recent Hungarian film production is representation in the state-socialist period than both in contemporaneous mainstream Anglo- If so, the tendency that i see of an overall more approvable nature of women’s cinematic treatment oftheir material seems uneven at best. perspective ofan analysis indebted to the concerns of feminist film theory, the cinematic typically havehad a moderate impact onwomen’s representationa in Hungarianshort cinema. Women directors oeuvreshows that the emergence of aswomen directors—with the exception of Mártafar Mészáros— as theirMy overview of women director’sfeature subject choices and their treatment of the chosen subjects film productionnatural motherhood. is concerned.revisits the topic of abandoned children’s quest for their real parents and that of surrogate From the Zsuzsa Böszörményi hasroutes of sexuality andaffection are explored. There is awoman protagonist in both features made so far, and in in while (1990); the latter one ( film, feature first in her daughter abandoned her for search amother’s presents shattering judgment over the institution of marriage and domineering men. Krisztina Deák Bitches attempts at finding a partner, and the ever more drastic rejections they are to face. Ildikó Szabó’s Hat Unhappy most of her films case: Sós’s inMária applies same The television. for produced films or are documentaries they are TV-productionsdocumentaries, a suicidal young woman. Ido not consider further pieces of her oeuvre because or documentaries.based fiction film, Ember follows up the overall recovery of the protagonist of one of her earlier From among her few features, Judit Ember’s interest drives her to social issues in general. In general. in issues social to her drives interest Ember’s Judit (1995) focuses on how three different relationships or marriages break up, and passes a (1980) focuses onthree divorcees around thirty, their friendship, their solitude, their Jadviga’s Pillow (2000), afilm based onarecent Hungarian bestseller, the diverging 165 Guarded Secrets Mistletoes (1978), a documentary- , 2004) thedirector The Book of Esther versus only The CEU eTD Collection (Báthory 1990:55). (Báthory 175 had to set their story in the environment of socialist production. present, in the place took narrative if their films, and novels that It ordained novel). (and film” “production term the forth brought 1949–51, around formulated politics, cultural of expectation 1950s the of movies” Socialist Realist cultural production with its leading genre the “production movie”. A definitive “production the and As i have already noted above,models: the short term between 1949 and 1953content undoubtedlyrole exemplified film new of overview Producing an III.4.i production: film Hungarian text in film represented Woman III.4 and their status or relevance within the corpus. rest of my corpus analysis, following the “decades approach”, will shed light onsuch instances who, in most cases, are not explicitly concerned with feminist ideology” (Iordanova, 125). The finest portrayals infantilized ofor purely physical beings (Horton 1999b).women Iordanova also asserts that “some of the in East to womenfigures reduces thincharacterization whilethe Central manner unpalatable astonishingly an European cinemaOn the contrary, recent films from theregion develop a number of gender motifs and themes in have come fromEuropean film fromwhich one would expect subtle reflections on thefemale condition aswell.male directors (Iordanova, 141). Horton reminds of the overall analytical and psychologizing trend in Central sketchy depictions, and that this sort of portrayal has been onthe decrease since 1989 state-socialist period, women figures were neither exclusively sexualized objects nor uniform and Andrew Horton. Iordanova remarks that in a great number of Hungarian films from the Iordanova of Dina statements by isbacked however, itself, hypothesis The process. film-making During this time span 17 out of a total 29 films could be characterized as “production movies” 166 175 CEU eTD Collection the basic conditions for operation in a pre-industrial setting. This approach to the representation production-related problem and salvages a multiply dysfunctional factory workshop bycreating production movie, middle-class heroine finds her way to the new system, while in the suggestively titled first or political leadership positions. professional in and workers among both under-represented generally still were women that demonstrates 177 and also Schadt 2005a:70 for the functioning of the Hungarian party state. 176 (husband, father orfiancé, etc.). products had to advocate, and present as the naturalized ideology. Inan attempt to replace a long-standing bourgeois ideology and culture, these cultural ideas and beliefs of a dominant social group made film a potent tool of ingraining the novel of production movies can be comprehended from this angle: the capacity of film tolegitimate the for officers of cultural policy—as well as critics of representation. The baldly ideological nature a set of ideas and beliefs asunquestionably held by individuals or groups; hence film’s relevance I have already referred to how films are viewed as bearers of ideology for their capacity to present of female protagonists who enter the plot the enter who protagonists female of recognition as social subjects. As a result, the “production movies” of the 1950s feature a number political re-education in the production movies are often women who have just gained of examples outstanding the that surprise as no comes it mind, in this Bearing 66). 1993:21, women-favoring benefits thestate guaranteed when recruiting female work force (Goven transformation, womenof womanwere already asSuch instrumentalizationsymbolically ofmovies was likely to introduce “newsign ways of” the instrumentalization too. linked toAs the resides in the fact that stateJoannathose in power “help” recognize what is new” (Forgács 1999:52). as its agents Govenreflect a peculiar development pattern and throughworld view. […] And the manipulative function simply described,the Forgács formulates a similar withinpoint: “Films had to depictthe what lifeframework ought to become like. [They] of the social Even so, in a study on the treatment of female characters in production movies, Eszter Kulcsár (2005) For more on the relation of propaganda and the inauguration of a new set of values, see Ellul 1965, Mrs. Taylor 177 A Woman Finds Her Way Her Finds AWoman (1949) , the titular character solves anear-insurmountable solves character titular the in their own right own their in 167 , released in 1949, centers on how the status quo status , i.e., not on the side of a man , a new social order. Iván socialorder. , anew 176 CEU eTD Collection implementation of the new myth, the women figures lose their individuality, and feature as agents with how these social subjects come into age(ncy) and emerge from subordination, but with the authoritative positions where they find themselves. Inaddition, because the real concern is not relatively the to women bringing in whoassisted state party is the it films, these of majority the time, their more abstract guiding figure orbeneficactor became the party and the state instead. In have entered the film narrative independent of an obligatory male partner but how, at the same production movies of the 1950s, such reading strategy unmasks how female protagonists may conflicts between multiple discourses. In relation to the “reformed” image ofwoman in the seeks torepress, contain or marginalize (Kotsopoulos 2001)—, and to bring to the surface contradictions—absences and omissions that are an indication ofwhat thedominant ideology differentiated reading. This text-based approach to films helps to reveal ideological another tool of feminist film criticism, the strategy of “reading against the grain”, leads toa more mental and other capabilities. women’s reduce not do they but too, women” of “images with operate thus movies Production 1981:189). (Molyneux West” inthe found stereotypes conventional ofthe some from distinct representation of women, conveyed by these offerings, was nota passive oneand was “certainly circulation in themelodramas and romance-comedies of the pre-war era. The official heroine of the new social order, etc.). The image, however, is markedly different from the ones in (Forgács 1999). (Forgács heroes of these stories are the working people who were held in very little social esteem beforehand”equality and community. “In this respect these films do not stand for antidemocratic values. […]mythos” The (as Forgács refers to society's new ideological "reality") was very keen on the principlesfilms of as another set of characters that had earned little significant cinematic attention earlier on: the “new 179 business (Haskell [1975] 1987:1–2). inferiority that Molly Haskell identified as one facet of the propaganda nature of the American movie 178 own life, which in itself is an empowering act. (wom of women does not in itself move away fromthepractice that turns versatile and complex beings Iván Forgács makes a similar remark concerning the representation of working class people in these This difference is important because it is exactly the systematical perpetuation of an image of female e n) into a signifier denoting a set of fixed meanings (here, the herald of a coming era, the 178 Onthecontrary, these creatures appear to be in control of their 168 179 Nevertheless, this is also a moment where this isalsoamoment Nevertheless, CEU eTD Collection for a long time.romantic sub-plot still remainsAs an indispensable ingredient providing the adequatefeminist happy ending criticsIndependent female characters may enter the plot in their own right in these films, but the pointed out, suchother. closure, whencharacters: through herfigure, thecompeting male charactersexpress the narrativealsostart up help her career ends with penniless loser towhom she is genuinely attracted, or the advances of her elderly boss who might right or ability to self-government; and an unquestioned division of household labor (Kulcsár, ibid.).corrected—views about women’s incapability; the habitude of ordering around women, disregarding their 180 world: she gets married, or returns to her abandoned husband, or is in someother way is agency some gained and sign-function order narrative genres as well. In such denouement,patriarchal a woman character who broke free from her mere reinstating is the “immaculately pure factory girl”we can find areincarnation in ofold-fashioned female traits fused into a new cast. One such figure and so for the romance to succeed. Besideone who eventually the lowers his ambitionsnewly for the sake of the equally ambitiousinvented female partner— sign, the herald of(1959). a coming Inera, this narrative it is the man whosometimes toppled over;is one can witnessto a complete gender-role find reversal in a way to combine is work hierarchy gender traditional and conflicts, these Within 1990). &Kresalek love,(Rainer directives party he is the unequal levels the partners reached in their work performance or in their different attitudes to the Glory 2005). (Kulcsár society patriarchal of society’s project only. Also, these female protagonists act in a strongly hierarchized and When it comes to moments of private life—in private of moments to comes it When granted ample attention as individuals anyhow, only as members of the collective orrole models. The patriarchal nature of the society comes through attitudinal factors: stereotypical—although often (1951), for instance—most of the problems that occur in a marital setting are related to the . The protagonist Vera is trapped in a typical diegetic role of women through fulfilled love, is a common vehicle of ideology in other 180 Given the principle ofcollectivity, people were not to be returned to her place, her to returned The Iron Flower The Catherine’s Marriage Catherine’s 169 (1958) , compelled to choose between a so that order is restored to the (1950) their , Mrs. Taylor, Honour and Honour Taylor, , Mrs. relationship toeach Walking to Heaven CEU eTD Collection 182 (Chaudhuri 2006:40). gap between the patriarchal ideology at work in these films and female desires expressed in them”Hollywood in the 1930-40s for the mass entertainment offemale audiences to bridge the “irreconcilable 181 recuperated centering on heterosexual courtship (Kuhn 1994:34). represented by the “politically immature”, fun-seeking neighborhood youth Beer with acolleague until they consolidated their relationship and finally became lovers. In bond as follows: the maths-teaching scholarly maiden was in venomous professional competition 2x2 Are Sometimes 5 address in the very last moment before the train pulls out from the station. to say good-bye to the train taking Marci back to thebarracks, he gives her his new contact is notunambiguously resolved. Marci does break up with Juli, but when, nevertheless, she comes garden) and gives up the discontinues her prior enjoyments (nightly dancing and drinking a glass of beer in thelocal beer disappointment: and disbelief with heexclaims manners, Juli’s carefree with andisfaced aweek-end, for “So that’sindependence from her suffocating home surroundings. When Marci is permitted to come home what gain girlto asafactory work to you started Juli which during service, military long one-year are like!”young man hardly knows Juli, he Julihas been mainly fantasizing about their budding love during his is onlyexpectations is highlighted even by promisedhis friends warning him about his sternness. In fact, the tohas rigorous expectations toward the otherwisebe devoted Juli. The oppressive nature of these pardoned Marci stance, political rigid and masculinity patriarchal his of Because colleagues. his with brunch if she having and arow for going like activities leisure-time in modest pleasure finding stakhanovite Marci, the amorous lad). Marci is the emblem of officially desirable responsible conduct—he is a among them), the other is embodied by their earnest and socially well-adjusted peers (including Inquiries into such settings came with the international film style of neorealism. This sort of recuperative act was ideologically necessitated in the “women’s films” produced in (1955) thelove-affair is framed by the clashof two worldviews and life-styles: one is into the male/female bond, eventually accepting the normative female role (1954) the viewer witnesses one such instance of reinstating the male/female the of reinstating suchinstance one witnesses viewer the (1954) dubious company she had been associating with. The closure, however, 170 181 Inthelight-hearted Hungarian comedy 182 (Juli, the heroine, the (Juli, A Glas of CEU eTD Collection body is eroticized and the camera fetishistically isolates its fragments (Mulvey 1996:2). woman her screenwhere on the mechanism becomesas cinema theperfectfetish: same erotic spectacle “ascribes excessive value to objects considered to be valuelesss by common consensus”, and identifies In Mulvey. the 183 1994:89). (Kuhn a fetish into body their turn actions may pose a threat are frequently photographed in away that will satisfy the male gaze and recuperatedErring women canbe relationship she chooses herself. through achieved also be quocan status the of the restoration demonstrated, analysis film As feminist (Varga 1999:368, on “leaves the house with a suitcase in herhand and wants to live herown life from this time on” coupling project that she might have her way even outside the frame of guarantee that the heroine will find a satisfactory solution, contain agreat degree of courage, and they only offer a mere escape from the delusions and grievances of domestic life without a may challenge the self-evidence and omnipotence of patriarchal order. Open endings, even if acts, recuperative tosuch As opposed even and they do sowithout punishing them for it. In however, that and a genuine interest in the individual was notwelcome at the time), 1950s. These pieces render women relatively independent and strong (still with thequalification, loses. I have found no example ofsuch punishing mechanism in Hungarian films made in the negated” (Chaudhuri 2006:28). Or, in the slightest, she is just notwinning her case, and squarely be must which presence a “traumatic as narratives, film male-focused usually within across, eventually commit suicide or be murdered, end up mad, outlawed orisolated, and thus will come The concept of fetishism in relation with the operation of the film text was introduced by Laura wins punishing . In the entire decade, films with such anundecided, open closure—when the heroine Fetishism and Curiosity. her case: she manages to leave her paralyzingly traditional family and enters in a love in enters and family traditional paralyzingly her leave to manages she case: her the woman for her social transgression: the feisty, independent female will Tale on the 12 Points, the on Tale drawing on Freud, Mulvey defines fetishism as a mechanism that at the level of the image the of level the at undecided closures undecided 1956)—do occur but are not very frequent. 171 183 Merry-Go-Round I have already discussed in II.3.i how the orother sorts of as well: female figures whose theagentic female protagonist compulsory heterosexual compulsory narrative ruptures narrative CEU eTD Collection Politics of Reproduction”, Central European University, Budapest, 2001.) Budapest, University, European Central Reproduction”, of Politics retrieved from a research-based term paper of mine submitted for the course “Gender, the State,only surfaceand the in reports about foreign (i.e., Western) people on the pages of this magazine. (Dataabout is her love life with a laconic “nincs” (approx. ‘I haven’t got any’ / ’no such thing’). SexualityIndeed, seems in an interview to with the Czechoslovakian beauty queen, she turns down the question inquiring with sex, they do not participate in filthy erotic games, they do not try to snare men” (February 15). 185 “femininity” (glamour and well-displayed sexual allure) as conveyed in mainstream visual culture. “femininity”. I suspect again that, at these points of her discussion, the author unreflectedlyabout reclaims a femininity that died out in the films of the 1950s, without, however, defining what she means by 184 official “communist ” characterized which sexuality of thedevaluation and prudishness of degree the Nevertheless, sex-appeal. over-accentuated, perhaps and conventional, Kulcsár equates the idea of a sexual being with thepractice of imaging a person with attributes of does decorate herself.) Not disputing the overall prudishness of production movies, i suspect that including herself dwells exampleof onthe Kulcsár lacksex-appeal. not do apparently they world narrative their within figures, )sexualized as(over- imaged not are characters while these saythat rather Iwould undesirable. and asexual registers thatfilms (38). In herstudy on female images in theproduction movies,female Eszter Kulcsár(2005) protagonists1993b:71–72), notfailing toalso condemn the“luxury woman”, the central figure in pre-war generallycleanliness instead, demonizing those who behaved and presented themselves otherwise (Goven lookdisplayed as self-decoration (Joópretty 2005:50), and emphasized modesty, functionality, and in thesepropriety of “socialist moral” subdued, especiallythe 1950s, in any emphasis onfeminine allurefilms, but calls these figures frivolous” manner (Varga & Kresalek 1995:369). &Kresalek (Varga manner frivolous” identify as the single female protagonist who moves around and sings in a“truly lecherous and in theirstudy concentrating onthedecadeis thebarsinger in objectifying way inthe periodin question. The only related example Varga & Kresalek mention This ethics is expressed in a 1967 issue of the weekly Throughout her text—admittedly written from a feminist perspective—Kulcsár makes statements Mrs. Taylor’s Mrs. own courtship with thefiancé of a co-worker (for the sake of whom she 185 might explain why actresses were not photographed in asexually Mrs. Taylor and the many romantic subplots in herbrigade, 172 Ország-Világ 184 as “’our women’ have nothing to do Tale on the 12 Points whom they CEU eTD Collection commercial cinema and, instead, preferred dwelling on non-dramatic moments, and created pre-war of drivels the away from broke Máriássy how alsonoted critics and Film historians open ending 1999:17). (Mihancsik Zoltán Fábri and FélixWhen talking about women’s representationMáriássy, in Hungarian filmmaking, she noted that, except for no male directorsMészáros worked on the redefinition offemale identities outside framed images of woman. have createdfeminist perspectives on a numberreally of issues. With her oeuvre, and especially theearly pieces, good female clearly her despite identification feminist any to resistance Mészáros’s recorded already have I characters stand out. male directorswhogave substantial attention tofemale figures ortypically female experiences, working class heroines preoccupied with their private matters and identity search, as well as some exigencies. Against this backdrop, the debut of Márta Mészáros in 1968 with films centering on chance to get in the centre of the thorough analyses of pressing moral decisions or historical little had existence, cinematic sketchy and asign-like of yet out grown quite not characters, (Kovács 1990:5). As my usage ofthegeneric “he” a couple of lines above suggests, female of public actions or politicalat all, was not supposed to be presented for its own sake, it had tofunction as the counterpointoppression, or reflectintellectual keen to change his circumstances (Varga 2001).the The private sphere, if it was addressedpolitical ambiencedeliberations was moral drama or historical parable, and the astypical protagonist was the alertthe director felt indispensableit chapter in Hungary’s cultural history (Csala 1999). The typical genre of these an filmmaking in trend this makes which situations, conflict such of dimensions historical the the individual insistent on his moral autonomy (Kovács 1988:7, Fazekas 2000), often highlighting III.4.ii The 1960s: Historical parables and models for the present the for models and parables Hungarian films Historical of the 1960s: The III.4.ii A Glass ofBeer Mrs. Taylor, 1960s which i have briefly discussed above were both directed by Máriássy. explored the conflictual relationship between those on power and featuring the problem-solving adept factory woman, and the 173 CEU eTD Collection regarded as a pre-figuration, with a milder ending, of Dušan Makavejev’s 1981 Makavejev’s ofDušan ending, amilder with as apre-figuration, regarded already introduced. Apart from resorting to the means of open closure, disabling relationships tofind their own way is the kind of re-occurring open closure i have Cottage Cosy to find films about theloneliness of the woman confined to thehome” (Iordanova 136). As in films are always working women—be it in professional or lay occupations. It is almost impossible female character encountered in East Central European cinema […] the protagonists of these Tamás Fejér’s film is a unique character inasmuch as “the neurotic housewife is not the type of when sherealizes, after anunexpectedromance, how unbearably emptyher life is. Thewife in moment the and husband a professional lifebeside dreary her and a housewife films capture From among the films of further male directors, Tamás Fejér’sagainst early-20th century social and political conditions, murders her master and mistress. novel about the defiled and abused maidservant who, as a revenge and, metaphorically, an outcry limiting female role models. The main character here, a divorcee, is an otherwise exemplary and victory over her binding social environment, and of 2004:130). He is the directorrural life, replete with examples of [...] the marginalized position of women” (Cunningham of traditional Hungarian society through “astonishingly powerful but bleak portrayals of Hungarian Hungarians Zoltán Fábri directed films interrogating social and historical situations. Insome of his films (e.g., pictures of which feature the roaring cheerfulness of Juli and her girlfriend (Bíró 1962:33). 187 ondramaturgy andmessage(Veress2005). influence exerting directives 186 lifelike figures, for instance the “cool”, pert, man-seeking Juli in By contrast, some other characters of Máriássy’s fell prey to the fulfillment of compulsory party Montenegro Woman atthe Helm (1978) or , the boldest possibility to“win” for female protagonists leaving their unhappy and is a black comedy the Yugoslav/Serbien Makavejev directed in Sweden. directed Makavejev in is a blackcomedytheYugoslav/Serbien Bálint Fábián Meets God (1962) also problematize the moral double standard, and the latter defies Merry-Go-Round (1980), healso comments on the status of women in 174 , a film exemplifying a young woman’s modest Anna (1958), a film adaptation of a 1926 CosyCottage A Glass of Beer Men Are Different from 1962 could be 1962 could from Montenegro , the opening . 187 186 (1966) Both A CEU eTD Collection comedy promisingly entitled film comedies, although transgression and breaking taboos does occur in other genres. Inthe neglecting the potential to transgress, an unrestrained (re)production ofideology takes place in Hungarian comedies in theentire period examined have chosen tofeature usual types and, Comedy as a genre may, in theory, offer space for non-normative figures to show up. Yet, most earning the spectators’ dislike, they also get expelled from the youth movement. organized communist youth movement), but they soon prove to be overly sectarian. Beside women seize the power positions in their group in with death (she commits suicide in thescarcely motivated ending of the film). Two feisty young boarding school (an institution toinscribe the Symbolic Order onecould say), and is punished this period. Emília Odor in Odor Emília period. this to be. A number of female characters also get “punished” for their unfit existence in the films of and frustrated monotony, mirrors how unthinkable an existence outside heteronormativity seems creatures doomed to joyless vegetation for they are lacking men.Theirlife, lived in quarrelsome protagonists (female teachers sharing a house somewhere in rural Hungary) are represented as 1950s and 60s. In 60s. and 1950s crime ( the agent that thrusts or ties men into something unwanted, be that “normal” family existence or as such films, later from familiar are that woman-images sexist or misogynist flatly of the Some friends of clashing mores (as in and automatically employed device in other films of the period portraying sisters or female habitual image-pair of women—one with “saintly”, theother with loose morals—is a frequent also confronts a supposedly asexual social order. This approach and portrayal is unique since a point she bursts out confronting the expectations towards her: “I’m not a saint!”, whereby she comrade but has an affair with afamily man, whilea younger coworker also courts her. At one The Cangaroo, The Four Girls in a Courtyard 1975,and Love Emília! Love A Study about Women about A Study Bunny, Gangster Film, Gangster 1963; or (1969) disrupts the order ina turn-of-the-century girls’ (1964) sexism is captured at a different level: the four the level: a different at captured is sexism (1964) 1998, respectively) do not typically appear in the in appear typically do not respectively) 1998, Signal 175 The Confrontation (1967) , 1967). , one encounters three wives about to (1968; dealing with the freshly CEU eTD Collection films convey is one of despair and depression (Iordanova 2003:151). disoriented (Kovács 1988), and they often end in self-destruction while the general ambiance the values and orientation (Kovács 1990:7). Protagonists come across as “whiny” and profoundly social action, political activity or historical clarification; it rather informs about a general loss of more firmly entrenched: the world they depict is notonly indifferent to the potential values of 1960s. Throughout the 80s, tendencies that were already discernible in the 1970s seem to become between Hungarian cinema of the 1970s as compared to the 1980s as was between the 1950s and There is not such a marked difference,approaches of social research. especially the employs film that feature from ofdocumentary sort the and cinema” art “popular as aswell satire the perspective of these filmsthe and the subject of deviance is often addressed.present Favored genres are film grotesque and inquiry,in prevails tone sarcastic A 2001). Varga 1988, (Kovács forlornly around groping but struggle a sensible out carrying longer no conflicts; workaday and private own their in lost individuals but were nolonger thesame type ofwatchful heroes representing the concerns ofan entire society, they narratives, inthese protagonists frequent still were intellectuals Although 2000). (Fazekas their focus to the private sphere ofeveryday people and took to expressly ordinary settings 188 examination of micro-social processesevery-day in thefilms ofthe the of poetry The Historical analysis and committed political film-making 80s: was gradually replaced by the and 1970s The III.4.iii the film, her own demurely unmarried mate. with the she-lawyer the wives had hired to start divorce proceedings, who also finds, at the end of divorce who, in the end, all return to their respective husbands after the husbands all fell in love Foreign film critics came to refer to this latter trend as “the ”. 188 176 1970s (Kovács 1990). (Kovács Films switched Films CEU eTD Collection conceptions concerning the identification processes and the pleasure of the young female heroine in residential care in János Rózsa’s plays More. symbol of the time) evokes an American man-directed woman’s film, voyeuristic photographing of the leading actress (Cecília Esztergályos, otherwise the domestic sex confidences. An individual’s struggle for independence as well as thenon-flattering or non- and her lover’s wife end up having along and hearty night together, drinking, and trading getting an apartment of her own in 1970s Budapest. At the closing of the film, the protagonist 189 concerned. One of the affirmationpossible as far as non-conventional behavior patterns or under-represented life situations are women-relatedidentification these films may offer female spectators with comparable situationsissues a degree of relativelypositive Through cases. specific their having each individuals, specific as socially characters their often given attentionbe considered. They offer points of identification for arange of female viewers toas they do portray in the surveyed at thebeginning of this chapter, some relevant aspects of these new woman’s films can Péter Gothár’s more nuanced and sympathetic portrayal too. The impact of this trend is undoubtedly present in opted for non-gorgeous ornon-conventionally attractive central characters who were given a “New Woman’s Film” emerged within dominant cinema. In these movies male directors often the when mid-1970s was the it mention: abrief worth is cinema Anglo-Saxon in developments parallel the Here too. ofactresses faces the off fades glamour iswhen this and 2000), (Fazekas and in theworkplace, showing what became of the potential and actual heroes of the 60s” that “[t]he camera showed human faces ravaged by thedecline of the 70s, the conflicts at home A stylistic-visual accompanyingdevelopment the turn tothelife eventsofeveryday people was Directed by Martin Scorsese; production year 1975. 189 Alice Does Not Live Here Any More. To make the link clearer, in one scene Gothár’s protagonists enter a movie theater that A Priceless Day (1979) , a story about a woman facing the manifold difficulties of Another genuinely sentient treatment is given tothe 177 Sunday Daughters Sunday Alice Does Not Live Here Any (1979). Recalling the Recalling (1979). female spectator female CEU eTD Collection ethical dilemmas,character, a role but on thedenied factCommunist that toshe femaleis placed in a protagonistsrealisticParty.depicted historical Myroute emphasis situationearlier as she in whichgrowson. sheisLike faces fromnot anon unwittingwhether assistant or not she nurse is toa lovablea staunch protégéeand “positive” of the a house for the two of them where the heroine, as we learn from the denouement, will never move in. reservations. Throughout reservations. and doubt of full her gaze of neglectful totally but affectionate he is theestate: at life future Róza’s detail mother, wife or lover. In women do appear in situations of historical importance in roles other than a male protagonists’ “private” sphere, repeatedly come to the focus of films made throughout the 1970-80s, and that Another noteworthy development is that women’s concerns, traditionally relegated to the responsible for her property. Eventually, the light-headed young man grows to like her a lot. Auntie Sarah, however, turns out to be fairly intrepid as well as firm in herviews and values, and an old woman and her nephew who visits her with the hope of pumping some money out ofher. happy—and deserts the story by disappearing in the fog...) after having been highly praised byanolder colleague, suddenly comestofeel unexpectedly back to the world of theater. (The situation finds a merely poetic solution in the film: Mrs. Déry, Róza agrees to go with him but the vista of a quiet and suffocatingly idle old age soon drives her to take Róza finally with him tothe rural estate he had created for her throughout the years. if only waiting for this moment, her long-abandoned but still devoted husband shows up, eager theatrical trends as well as others’ perceptions of her age make her feel gradually same intention is enhanced in enhanced is intention same how patriarchy or patriarchal partners would encircle women in some pre-fabricated frame of life. The 19 the (1975)is a delicate piece about thecrisis of the titular character, a celebrated Hungarian actress in 191 production within which turning to such topics seems largely improbable, if not unthinkable. 190 1970–80s is the lives and concerns of middle-aged or elderly women. It is interesting to note that this film and Márta Mészáros’s This frequency presents an especially high contrast when compared with recent Hungarian movie th century Mrs. Róza Déry still feels in full possession of her talents and force but newer Nine Months Vera Angi Mrs. Déry, Where Are You Are Where Déry, , as Laura Hollósi registered (2001:42), the man is busy with building (1978) the titular character follows a dislikable, albeit carefully 178 in the scene where Mr. Déry takes his time to his time inthescenewhereMr. Dérytakes Nine Months Sarah, My Dear My Sarah, use a similar metaphor to image to metaphor asimilar use 190 Mrs. VeraAngi (1971) tells thestory of Déry, Where Are You? marginalized. As and Márta and 191 CEU eTD Collection extraordinary novel with many feminist overtones In of Republics, toembracing anti-fascist and communist views and concerns in interwar Hungary. to being engaged in early-twentieth century political movements and the 1919 Bolshevik Council aristocrat, Countess Katinka Andrássy from being a devotee of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy answer she proposes is as follows: historical situation ora contemporary social drama, Iordanova asks: why women then? The specifically woman-related concerns into the narratives that place them in the centre of a a more poignant take onthis development. Indicating that women protagonists bring very little to deliver serious social criticism ofcertain adverse periods” (2006:126). Iordanova, however, has in the1970s and 80s was a preoccupation with women and history or society, “most often used Dina Iordanova has also noted how one representative feature of East Central European cinema feminist critique of man-made history and politics. Hungarian reform movement. Through comments attributed to Psyché, the film gives an implicit indicated in the original book) when the heroine, Psyché becomes involved with the pre-1848 viewera tobit more distant history; community ofrelocated people. power. The operettist, however, acquires this power in order to advance her temporary to real power, resort to the illicit way ofusing sensuality and sexuality in order to gain some find the story a historically grounded depiction ofsituations when women, out of a lack of access comedy showing howaprettyoperettist getsherway even undersuch drearycircumstances, i not happen: the life and work of two fictitious women authors” (Hock 2008). (Hock authors” women fictitious two work of and life the not happen: 192 centering one a case of forced relocation. Although reviews tend to regard autobiographical Mészáros For a detailed discussion of the novel’s feminist overtones, see my article, “A history of things that did Narcissus and Psyche , director Gábor Bódy did not only base his screenplay on Sándor Weöres’ Diary The Red Countess -series, The Red Countess The Red Oh, Bloody Life 179 (1984) and 192 but expanded on the scene (only passingly tells thedevelopment of a real life young (1983) revisits the 1950s, the latter the 1950s, the revisits (1983) Narcissus and Psyche Oh, Bloody Life (1980) take the take (1980) a thin CEU eTD Collection Some sporadic cases appear in the 80s in movies like movies in 80s in the appear cases sporadic Some In the same period, the 1960–70s, however, one rarely finds such examples in Hungarian cinema. (2004:25). space” narrative the relationship between two men. [...] Women as potential love interests are thus eliminated from replaces the traditional central romantic relationship between a man and a woman with a buddy [...] film buddy “the writes, Gates Philippa equality”, for desire their for women punish “To 66). the screen at least, for the growth and influence of the women’s movement (Haskell 1975:363– proposing that these are representational techniques of patriarchal order to retaliate women, on gradual change and a direction towards portraying women as victims of male violence by this for account others and Haskell 1997:41). (Konigsberg position a subsidiary to relationships male-female relegate and relationship major asthe males two of friendship the features century “woman’s films”, the “buddy movie” gained ground in the 1970s. These are films that the vamp of the 1920s replacing that, found Haskell time. over changed have films Hollywood in figures female andof roles the “ordinary” a widely accepted view. In her book opposite sex. The phrase was coined by critic Molly Haskell, and the related commentary became characters are male friends who prioritize spending time with each other over associating with the trade-off between male citizens and cultural politicians to keep in place and unequal sexual contract. 193 Another genre Western feminist criticism picked out was the Remember also Ana Magó-Maghiar’s analysis (introduced in I.3.ii.) of the case of abandoning widespread gender conventions (2003:133). conventions gender widespread abandoning of female thetreatment with associated safety themes,relative of the Thefact regime. the with confrontation however, storiesonly confirms of femalewas that about state [life socialismstorywomen, was about situations]men it could be seen as adirect the indictmentIf of socialism. the socialof state system; themes as long permitted the asit had among itfall somehow would ofwomen notplight would gonemeant the fardepicting notone hand, On the conventions. gender general toenoughunspoken the and Communism comepractice in acrossunder film of sanctions unstated the with both to do something has socialthis It seems as criticismdirect social and still criticism avoid an open or a revolt. To tell From Reverence to Rape, versus 180 “extraordinary” types of women of the mid- 193 Cha-cha-cha Haskell followed how the images and buddy movie (1981; or, paradoxically, in paradoxically, or, (1981; Ludas Matyi where the central and the and CEU eTD Collection however, that violence escalates in general in films made after the system change. his dreams and illusions about thevirtue of the adored girl have collapsed. It is fair toadd, been idolizing. However, the scenespectator in which the teenage protagonist participates in thegroup rape ofa school-mate he had is invited to sympathize with whereupon the frustrated husband stabs—the woman. The narrative of his creditor who then exacts the payment “in kind” having sex with theprotagonist’s wife, hero is at odds with them or with treated like afact of life by (male) reviewers or asa self-evident means to punish women if the dwells the cruel executionon ofthemysterious and beastly promiscuous young woman).Rapeis not only raped but also tortured in front 2007:112). (Varga of abuse sexual obscene and her family, and in is concerned. Intheremakeare longer they no given carsas gift butaretreatedwith merciless entitled 2000, both in re-make its and comedy from veneration to abuse, between the 1934 version ofa highly successful Hungarian romance declinerecent in Hungarian cinema, traces a trajectorysimilar to the one proposed by Haskell, women is always sexualized too, and most often is excessively brutal (in Day, women, however, will become the general course in films shot after the political change ( by "too much emancipation" (Posadskaya et al. 1994). dramatic increase in cases of domestic violence and rape—as symptoms of avindictive misogyny eliciteddiscussion of women’s issues in general, to the slurring of the female body through pornography, Feminism, Russian to the changes (Goven 1993b:89). Several contributors in a 1994 edited volume, reactions to the changes “emancipation” brought, as men had considerably less reason to welcomeincreased those rate in marital conflicts and domestic violence in Hungary has been partly explained by men’s 195 III.3. toin referred 194 like films man-made woman-centered Retalilation, however, does not only run high on the cinema screen. In social science literature an The nature of this paradox is explicated in the comparative essay by Laura Hollósi (2000) already 1988 ; After the Day Before, identify a number of newly emerging phenomena— from the 2004;etc.). the world. A taxi-driver in A taxi-driver world. the The Princess Anna Varga, in an essay brazenly suggesting ageneral suggesting brazenly essay an Varga,in Anna 195 Car ofDreams The nature of the violence perpetrated against 181 194 and Devil’s Ferry (2000) A FullDay After the Day Before . Women in Russia: A New Era in As far as the role of women (1969) him Devil’s Ferry abominable media abominable Cha-cha-cha cannot pay his debt to (and not with her) for . Violence directed at winds up in a the woman is thecamera A Full CEU eTD Collection explicit. InErzsébetBáthory’s view, collapse sincethe oftheEastEuropean socialist regimes, situation in which political expectations or forces will also continue to exist, be they subtle or have to continue tocome from the government and other third sources. And if so, this is a could beexposed to the full impact of the market”, which means that considerable support will the new funding system, Gelencsér reminds that “Hungary is not a country where film-making Hungarian film? Can we talk about a new beginning?” Gelencsér’s answer is no. Talking about to the changes going on on the“anything of importance has happenedsocial at all to Hungarian film which could be considered related scene? [sic] Canproduction processes took placewe in a male-only setting.observe Gábor Gelencsér (1998) asks whether a change in thethat seems to re-create a homosocialattitude environment in film-making, when both the shooting and of condition a circles, in quasi-friendly shot undertakings self-funded or to producer-driven system unsuitable for massthe topics theyfrequently addressed and which made themanasset to cultural history, proved appeal. The environmentmarginalized position, these films now had to compete on an international image market, while of the production itself shifted from the studio Hungarian cinemas. also the data, provided in footnote 125, about the sudden dominance of overseas productions in 196 2003:145). (Iordanova audience well asinternational as domestic were replaced by private ones or foreign-owned multiplexes), Hungarian movie was losing its national distribution system was no longer operational, and centrally run state-owned cinemas 2004:142–44). As film production became divorced from exhibition and distribution (for the to learn about fund-raising, marketing, advertising, sponsorship, and promotion (Cunningham market environment. This change involved, among other consequences, that filmmakers now a profit-oriented in meaning sold and be produced to had now pictures of motion and abruptly, decreased dissipation the it discontinued, immediately not was and state-subsidy Although industry. the of level every effected reconfiguration In the periodstructural starting with 1990 the collapse of state-socialism brought a mightyafter: change that and 1990s The III.4.iv The international distribution of East Central European films reached a record low in the 1990s. See 182 196 Starting out from a had CEU eTD Collection 198 197 mass Western was mainstream however, off-limit, thing only the believed; widely been has Iordanova notes, cultural importsin the from latest the West decade were not made and productions alsoindividual examining and features stylistic as and content-related to half,Turning limited a passionduring socialist for violence times as hasit been (114). noted by a number of critics.may turn out to be even braver than art cinema in pointing to theAs deficiencies of their societies” sweeping and poignant study entitled the time of post-Communism as a new and separate period (ibid., 9). Anna Varga, theauthor of a change in basic operational premises that marks, more than any specifics of the artistic output, destruction of the old film culture bya “ruthlessly triumphant commercialism”, a drastic enough the is discontinuity see does she Where (2003:150–52). dramaturgy in weaknesses exhibit disappointment over that these films rarely offer an original cinematic approach and repeatedly thematic areas as well as newly surfacing contemporary concerns, but expresses her ushered in bymarket economy and wild capitalism. Dina Iordanova notes a continuation of conflicts societal new the of analysis athorough offered pieces of number low similarly a and only a few films were made which took to criticizing or properly examining the previous regime, lukewarm and hesitant at a time finds whencomedies equally half-hearted, remarking thethat “Hungarian popular films arecult cautious, films of the era (suchprevailing as system; what practicethey presents people as mean and dopey, meanwhile the creatorsoffer stay clear of challenging the instead is a bunchculture, anoutgrowth of amessage- andethos-phobic, cynical culture. Recentfilm of underdeveloped waywardthe detrimental ideas. Varga effect aswell offerings cinematic recent of weaknesses stylistic and conceptual the of about Iordanova the shift to market economy.Hungarian Varga registers a generalCapitalism decline in film against Arts, and the Conflict in Film Culture Directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, released in 2005. Directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, released in 1999. Films: One Hundred Years of Solitude. of Hundred Years One Films: 183 (2007), seems to agree with Matrix The Hostile Policy of 197 or Sin City 198 ) CEU eTD Collection and shady dealings the homely Anna would never come even close tocomprehend. The destitute and self-sacrifice, will lose her beloved man, an Ukrainian émigré dancer whose bohemian whims years (betheydirected bymen women).or Anna in Barefaced loss, however, is a far more standard concomitant of the female focus in films in these start to (re)direct one’s own life, or finding the way out ofa dilemma or a destructive relationship. offer happy end-substitutes in the form of a sober assessment of the state of things and afresh Mészáros able to overcome the multi-layered crisis. Films bywomen directors, too, ( be may she realizesthat she psychologist, afemale of help the with institution, the In traumas. central female figure in a mental institution, broken down under a host of specifically female open, or merely showing up the way out, prevails. In closures leaving of strategy the Rather, reached. isnever cases win their clearly heroines where exemplary or triumphant or to reach a fine resolution. Thus it comes as little surprise that a point In this gloomy cinematic milieu, female figures cannot possibly hope to come across as (2007:104). recent motion pictures due tosome sort ofanaversion tosufficiently defined subject matters fantastic the and mysticism towards shift overall an demonstrating characters, improbable of variety (Cunninghamproliferate. Such stories are tilting on the brink of fairy2004:146). tale and anecdote and are populated by a in reality, unanchored plots and explore, to issues particular no with films disintegrates; In Anna also narrative Film lives. their takes lastframes, the for scheduled accident, car fortuitous Varga’s trenchantof disastrous or unreasonably tragic film closures: protagonists die as a rule; if nothing else, a rendering,born phenomenon of Hungarian “gangsterism” (Csala 1999). Violence also often takes the form meaningto run high in post-1989 offerings. Thiswithers motive partly cultureproceeds boosting uninhibited violence or pornographyfrom (2003:21)—two films components which came that intackle the newly , The Rapture of Deceit by LíviaGyarmathy by 184 , or Red Colibri Awakening Reflections (1976) (1995), in spite of all her efforts allher of spite in (1995), by Judit Elek) are more likely to likely more are Elek) Judit by , for example, we find the Daughters ofLuck by CEU eTD Collection more autonomous Kata whereas the film finale simply holds out the promise of a new boyfriend. Kata, overwriting the ending of the book. The book’s ending held out thepromise of a wiser and something single woman. And in thelast film reel heteronormative order spectacularly defeats the set of dilemmas offered by the book that relates the lengthy job- and men-hunting of a thirty- points thefilm severely fails.Thechosenactressis waytooyoung and prettytoveritably convey trend society” as well. These two differences are welcome nuances but at some other major in society and the related expectations, but with the Secondly, the protagonist, Kata, does not only have to struggle through women’s traditional role intimate and loving circle of friends, and eventually witnessing professional advancement. moments in herlife: helping her dear brother stay away from drugs, enjoying the company of an good, better, happy—pending His arrival onthe white horse—because of other sorts of joyful with therecognition, pensive and cathartic at the same time, that she should deserve feeling the Hungarian novel, the story does not close with the heroine’s entering a romantic affair but in Firstly, points. significant two least at in bestseller British the from differs screenplay the and screenplay of the “Hungarian version” is also based onanovel (Rácz 2002), and both the novel is however, of maledirectors addressing women-related subjects dramatically decreases. Onesuch exception, After 1995 notonly the option for moderately promising open closures dwarfs, but thenumber the window; in heroines escapes into suicide; in the female friendsappeared to be her ally.is And thestabbed vast majority of the rest all die:by in her lover; in 199 young woman in friends spice the narrative. something single woman, and her teetering between two men, while the comments of her streetwisename in 2001 (directed by Sharon Maguire). The novel chronicles the life of Bridget Jones, a thirty- Bridget Jones’s Diary Jones’s Bridget Stop Mom Theresa! Kisses and Scratches Pleasant Days is a novel by Helen Fielding, published in 1996, and turned into a movie of the same (2003) will be further humiliated by hermale companion who had (2004) Je t’aime Je (1994) one (girl)friend shoots the other. , (1991) oneof the female friends thrusts the other out of the “Hungarian version” of 185 Sweet Emma, Dear Böbe Emma, Dear Sweet rules of the game within the“new Hungarian Fast and Loose Bridget Jones’s DiaryJones’s Bridget (1991) one of the title the of one (1991) (1989) , . 199 one of The CEU eTD Collection matters was by and large absent from the public sphere (Portuges 1993:13 and Burrows and 1993:13 (Portuges sphere public the from absent large and was by matters across as some compensatory “catching up” after a period when open discussion of sex-related (Portuges lists films like films lists (Portuges pornography soft-core to access easy now asa areas many in interpreted was socialism state years of the after liberalization suggest that authors These inII.3.i. cited Joó) Burrows, Acsády, Catherine Portuges makes a similar proposition to that ofa number of social scientist (Goven, Looking at certain Hungarian movies from the post-1989 period that feature eroticized spectacle, control—whereas “women who are not in some way reduced are to be avoided” (Horton 1999b). The sexual appeal of these subjects is, as Andrew Horton points out, that they give men total only limited to the abuse of women but that ofchildren or individuals of a very tender age too. covers on public view in the preceding eleven years in Hungary. surveyed the image(s) mediated through 6,500 billboards and advertisement posters aswell as journaland reproduce stereotypes concerning gender roles, sexual behaviour, and sexism. For her overviewhuman she(and especially female) body, and how they enforce normative expectations of bodily appearance,period was given by art historian Erzsébet Tatai (2003) examined how advertisement images violate thedo today, and than practices in contemporaneous Western culture did. A thorough overview of thesocialist latter period objectified the female body a lot less frequently and in much less explicit ways than they 200 mainstream media, including television shows, tabloid press and advertising. most across is alsopresent promiscuity and sexuality with fascination overwhelming An Central European context, Dina Iordanova observes the great emphasis on women’s sexuality. resemble the life situations of actual women. Talking about a similar change in thebroader East presence of compulsorily sexed-up sign-functioning images of woman, who do not nearly The most pitiable development of the last 5–10 years is theproliferation and almost exclusive These kinds of media may also corroborate my claim—that practices in visual culture in the state [...] entering new sexual relationships at any time of day or night. (2003:140–42) in mostlyinterested castasconstantlyhornycreatures regularly playmates, today’s sex-kitten become girls dorm factory overworked […]Yesterday’s adventures. ofothersexual variety a affairs and extra-marital with preoccupied roles than being more complexsocial given rarely are women cinema, post-Communist In [...] by women. faced problems tothesocial paid [is] attention Less [...] changes. substantial undergone has cinema in of women The representation Fast and Loose , The Documentator, The 186 1988; Sexploitation , 1989), and thus came 200 This is often not CEU eTD Collection female figures lack individualized features and thus remain so many sketches (Varga, 119). characters in these narratives carry theattributes of “more modern” women, while theidealized failing the that also observes Varga colleagues. male his of some of mockery sexist and mean the retort verbally to incapacitated isalso who 2000:28) (Chaudhuri presence” a “traumatic as across Else Nothing comprehend, wanting pleasure 202 2006). (Ousmanova practice women’s eroticised representation and the marginalization of their concerns in recent Russian bodiesfilm as marketing tools in Western advertising” (Norman 2000:255). Almira Ousmanova registerscultivated both by a colonizing Western advertising. [Their] performance subverts the portrayal of performers,women’s “shortly after the unification, playfully disrupt whose XX) the (Exterra visual group performance currency women German an East about of the writes female Norman Germany. bodyEastern overviewing several countries in the region, Beret NormanWoman” thematizes the Post-communist sexbook, “Sexing-Up industry’s Iordanova’s in chapter encroachment the from Apart well. as intosocieties 201 relentlessly appearas either/or choices: likingcarefreeness exclusive relationother constituents in this of film,the feminine where soul, the aspurportedly it were, are all setcontradictory in the same kind of desiresmutually of the two girls 1997:116). possible aspects of sexuality is rarely explored but is taken forgranted. men’s, orfrom anynumber of other perspectives, would bewelcome.Instead, thevarious one of themone of isall sensualinstinct, other the oneis the intellectual (2003), the two teenage lassies are pitted against each other in anartificially dichotomous manner: bringing back the era when the film was originally made. InVarga’s other example, ready to re-distributecomedy genderedidentities,but upasanoverlyold-fashionedscript, ends Pant One Skirt, outcome ofsuch attitude (Varga 2007:115–19). Tosubstantiate her argument, Varga refers to the idealization ofconventional femininity and derision over “more modern” women is an Anotable exception is Krisztina Deák’s Undoubtedly, the erotics of spectatorship and visual pleasure have been an issue in other post-socialist 201 (2005) wherethefreshly deceived, single-mother-to-be protagonist indeed comes An approach that would discuss the subject of sexuality either from women’s or (2005), another remake of a 1940s romance which starts out asatransvestite out starts which of a 1940sromance remake another (2005), or happiness (115–16). I would add to Varga’s list would addto (115–16). I happiness Jadviga’s Pillow 187 , already toabove. refered or security, wanting to act raisonneur. 202 In Anna Varga’s view, Varga’s Anna In As Varga remarks, AsVarga Dad Goes Nuts Just Sex and Sex Just One or CEU eTD Collection only as decoration or as a site for male fantasies related to power and sexual control” (Ousmanovaof retrieving 2006). masculinity to such an extent that female characters have been presented in these narrativespost-Soviet cinema, Almira Ousmanova states that film production “has been obsessed with the questions impassionate teenage boy), or heritage blockbuster-to-bes winner Hungarian author, Imre Kertész, 204 patriarchal tradition (Case 1988). actors were allowed to perform and female characters were substituted by masks conceived by a 203 ( times setinhistoric dramas be can characters, one notesanincreasing number of buddymovies ofawidevariety ofgenres. They Parallel tothe decreasing number of films featuring complex and psychologically plausible female increased degree of feminine autonomy (Portuges 1993:57). in which masculine identityis represented,and experienced,perhaps as victimized byan proper womanhood” (Chaudhuri 2006:64). Effacing women so vigorously may reflect a situation Shohini Chaudhuri argues, “is an attempt to contain women within ideas of femininity, enigma, ( film single one in figures women with sheer beautiful her presence( not control the narrative; a naked apparition sitting in afeather cloud and dissolving problems Natasha femme fatale perform, just create a backdrop for the underground station setting. Apart from unwitting little or speak not prostitutes—do old and young characters—occasional female the restof the first appears; later, in thefancy dress party scene, she is directly dressed as anangel. speaking female figure inthispieceis clad in a Kontroll think of any actual woman, not relegated to one of the two extremes of the angel/whore scale. not could just director the that suggest indeed instance, 2003,for from movie quasi-cult a (2005), The blank polarization and the extremely thin characterization of the women featured in This situation This One cannot help thinking of the time in theatre history, recalled by Sue Ellen Case, when only male is a clip-like narrative taking place in the Budapest underground system. The only (1998) coming from the family of titular women characters who only structure but do s, one encounters a host of fantastic images. A “medicine-girl”, or a girl shaman, in and this sort of representation sort of this and Never-never Gloria, Never-never The Pizza Boy Fateless, relating the Holocaust from the perspective ofan almost is not unique to Hungarian society again. Talking about 2005; a film based on a novel of the Nobel-prize the of anovel on based film 2005; a teddy bear costume teddy 188 , 2001). Reducing women to such sketches, as 2000); oras many asseven sketchy iconic 204 ( The Bridgeman The in the subway scene in which she , 2002; that i will come 203 Beside her, Kontroll CEU eTD Collection roles in recent Hungarian movies. not so much indicative ofher individual talent, but rather of week in 2004 went tothe almost underage amateur performer in Böszörményi’s these productions. The fact that the award for the Best Actress’ Performance at the national film in earn to actresses professional for money little leave also names, female any hardly without roll representational imbalance translates into very material consequences: feature films whose credits which “indicates a lack of interest in communication between the sexes” (Horton 1999b). This point when it becomes “a habit of prioritizing male-male relationships over male-female ones”, characters and [a] habit of putting less thought into the development offemale roles”, taken to a Central European productions “to concentrate on the experiences and perspectives of male spectatorial pleasure and identification. Andrew Horton also speaks about a tendency in recent non-travestial for spectators female for ground little leave they representations, limiting such women as flesh to be consumedfigures, it becomes indeed stunning that the creatorsor of these filmsfrail only seem to conceive of angelic creaturescharacters overdominate the screen. When juxtaposed with the number and variety of male to be adored or impressed.unexpected Through take place. take processes production and shooting boththe which in environment male-dominated the more concretely, 206 age amateur in the main female role. 205 above), or light-hearted comedies ( in search of their Hungarianback to later), or parodies of heritage epics ( nation), or feature films with contemporary settings ( homosocial environment. as a glaring example of all-male productions brimming with deeds and actions set in a I amgiving a somewhat lengthier treatment to the historical feature film “Homosocial” here is meant to describe the order of relations foregrounded in the buddy movies and, The film that won the award for best director the same year ( American producer will sponsor his film). In all of these offerings, male actors and 206 The Bridgeman The 205 A Kind of America is a gigantic enterprise in terms of length, lavish length, of interms enterprise is agigantic Hungarian Vagabond Hungarian 189 , 2002; , Dealer about a young director hoping that an the paucity and irrelevance of female , 2003; about the seven chieftains , 2004) also featured an almost teen- almost an featured also , 2004) The Bridgeman Guarded Secrets Kontroll for i see it , see is CEU eTD Collection Hungarian Prime Minister at the time of the fim’s release. was not without some attempt at political propaganda, aspiring to liken the figure of the titularexceeded hero theto annualthe state subsidy for the entire Hungarian feature film industry (2004:157). Thereceived offering at a time when filmmakers were struggling for funds”. The budget, two billion Forints, vastly 207 full beautiful fragile chinaThe count’s “proper”, “socially integrated” woman, always cladinlight-colored garments,a is doll of few words. Sheintegration or death ordisasteris and social alienationoften (Nancy Miller, quoted in Evans 1997:78). reduced social and tomarriage either was century tears,18-19th in characters female of destiny narrative sighs a lot, faints instance of punishing desirable but unruly female characters; as feminist criticism revealed, “the sexuality, always dressed in so relation, sinful was a woman in the hero’s life. We learn that he had had an affairwith his own brother’s wife. This were both devoted to the motherland and meant to impress Crescence. But she was not the only acts hisformidable that suggests film the entries, diary count’s the basisof Onthe Crescence. that the main drive of his patriotic actions was to achieve the admiration of a beloved woman, tentative intention tode-mythologize the figure ofSzéchenyi drove the film’s creators to imply common struggles, advance and accomplish momentous actions. In historical records as we know them always only include prominent men who, in the great number of three (or four) illustrates feminist historians’ repeated observation about how female characters in roles other than lovers, wives or mothers to the hero. The above ludicrous into the two-and-a-half hour long piece. Historical cinematic tableaux of the sort usually dismiss plot. As many as “three” (in fact, instead,provide, a 2 + 2x ½ ) speaking female figures19th century. Sporadic attempts to deconstruct the solemn historicalmade figure of Széchenyi, and their humble way Hungary’s development and his participation in the country’s independence struggle in the mid- István Széchenyi who had earned the epithet “the greatest Hungarian” for his contribution to production and a uniquely enormous budget. enormous auniquely and production As John Cunningham recorded, “many Hungarians were angered by the amount of money the film had flesh-and-blood and somewhat moot personality can be tracked down in the the woman the black , and soon she was to die an ugly death too.This is another had to be depicted as a fury with a suggestedly unleashed 207 190 Thefilm’s title refers to the protagonist, The Bridgeman , however, the count CEU eTD Collection and gains no place in the context of the entire film. cameraman’s fault, but because it is so unemphatic, it most likely goes unnoticed for less keen viewers,Zsuzsanna indeed. Her presence in the Parliament sequence cannot possibly be an accident or theattire in the scenes unfolding in the halls of the Parliament, which leads us to assume that she politicallypersonifies active woman. Her only green dress is dimly discernible among the homogenous black male accompanies Kossuth may be his partner or sister; if the latter one, Zsuzsanna Kossuth was indeed (whoa exhibited far more radical political views than the aristocratic Széchenyi). The woman who woman appears briefly on the side of the count’s political counterpart, the “middle-class” Lajospresume, Kossuth is linked to the unaccomplished deconstruction of Széchenyi’s figure. A not particularly beautiful 209 films in the form of an authoritative voiceover. 208 [1975] 1989:20). [1975] within the screen story, woman displayedand [in cinema] has functioned on twoas levels: as erotic object forerotic the characters object the “traditionally criticism: film feminist of for tenet another illustrates also purposes decorative the spectator within1993:224). in Einhorn cited the (Mamonova, characters” auditorium” (Mulvey bynegative always represented almost females[were] “strong when tales folk first the since love(r)s dismally evokes the antiquated virgin/whore dichotomy and the stereotype employed be searching for long months before hefound Her in Russia. Theportrayal of the count’s two thought to be able to cope with such ademanding actor’s performance and the director had to had tobedisplayed todecorate thescreen beside countSzéchenyi. No Hungarian actresswas actors’ community (and rewarded them with earlier unconceivable wages), a new female face that voice (Silverman 1990:309). (Silverman voice that incessant reference to the female body and thus lessens the discursive authority of the owner of women in mainstream practice are usually “thick with body”. This sound quality possesses an image, Silverman examines the soundtrack and finds that thevoices and sounds attributed to Kaja Silverman’s analysis of women’s voices used in the cinema. Going beyond the level of the twice and looks seducing once. The character of Crescence could serve as a literal illustration for One of the “half” speaking female characters in Silverman also remarks that there are hardly any instances when women possess a masterly voice in 208 While the film featured a thick cream of the domestic male The Bridgeman The 191 209 has an interesting presence which, i presence which, has an interesting Theforeign actress’ presence for CEU eTD Collection within the hierarchy of the profession. Taking into account, however, that some of the positions filmmaking profession: the existence of a limit to women’s inroads to positions ranking high term that Martha Lauzen introduced to name the “glass ceiling” phenomenon within the Hungarian film industry. This shows the presence of a “celluloid ceiling”; celluloid ceiling is a My quantitative surveyformerly unprecedented degrees has impactedrevealed women’s representation on the cinema screen. a certainMy second question was whether being placed in positions of public and cultural visibility to kind of configuration of gender segregation withinsociologist Judit H.Sas directed attention to: deserve probing because of the kinds of discontents with women’s labour force participation that to seemed professions lesser-researched These professions. artistic in inroads their affected growing participation in all levels of formal education and their involvement in the labour force chosen locale and period,against thebackdrop of the ideological and material conditions of cultural productionand in my i also wantedcontribution to test two to filmhypotheses. art—, my studycritically examining the representation ofwomen inhad cinema and bringingOne to light women’s its isadded whether foci. I wanted women’sand serves a combination of purposes.to Apart from theusualevaluate objectives of similarinquiries— my surveycorpus film this of perspective a feminist results from overview critical first the is survey My ideology. production ilooked at the reciprocally constitutive relation between reality, representation and (Maggie Humm, quoted in Stafford 2001:233). Through asurvey ofsixty years ofHungarian film signifiers” ideological but life ofreal mirrors simply not were “[i]mages that arguing ideology, of The work of feminist semiotic theorists combined discussions of representation with an analysis Conclusion III.5 those requiring intellectual investment. (1984:104) […] or decision-making authority, of topositions access differing men’s and women’s historically produced gender relations. Women’s mass or entry in the discrimination labour sex-based forcein did little changes major to about brought not has however, step, first Women’s mass employment should only be the first step in realizing gender equality. This 192 CEU eTD Collection psychologically plausible female characters. This sort of on-screen female presence may be and their relatedcinematic representations. A good proportion of male directors’ films placed women characters problemsworth consideration here. Women and women’s concerns were far from obliterated within these in the I submitted, however, thatfocus the work of some male directors, especially from the 1970s and 80s, is of the narrativessidetracked. whileinstinctual exploration intogendered identities and relations, which later withered, or even also featured“speak[ing] complex ofpictorial treatment of her subjectswomen’s are concerned. Thus Mészáros’s initial genuine interest in and liveswithin mainstream film-making.with Later on, however, she lost touch as much as the conceptual and a gritty by truthfulness”her previous documentaryimpacted clearly endings, tied-up neatly or climaxes, dramatic imaging, glamorous lacked period (Quartpractice and 1993:58) marking intersecteda break remainedaway from representation often environment, social agiven within identities female interrogate films early anMészáros’s with almost thepractices considerationextensive oeuvres (which is an internationally known phenomenon with women filmmakers). of production. Exceptother for Márta Mészáros, however, Hungarian female directors have not built identityHungarian filmmaking profession tolet women also enter key positions of feature filmfactors. number of womenMészáros’s in relatively short time, it took more than twenty years for the relatively young filmMy findings show that although some behind-the-screen positions absorbed considerable language in thisare treated and thecharacters represented. subject-matters those ways particular the about aswell films feature in addressed be to matters number. This latter territory was the one where decisions are made about the range ofsubject- women has proved to beable to take and those they have never entered in any considerable the Hungarian case, editor), i would rather talk about a “glass wall” between positions that women had access to can beconsidered to be important positions (that of the producer and, in 193 CEU eTD Collection created its ’national’ character rather than formal attributes” (Németh, quoted in Kovalovszky 1999:193). in Kovalovszky quoted (Németh, attributes” formal than rather character ’national’ its created Németh explained, art making then was “an existential, ethical and aesthetic issue. […] This is what 210 been influenced by male ideas of cinema, rather than theother way around” inasmuch as their filmmakers, including Hungarian ones, Andrew Horton (1999b) noted that they “seem to have as in their characterization. As to the in theserecent years. This is reflected both in the very worknumber of female characters filmsof muster as wellsome prominent Central numberEuropean of male directors engaging with women-centered subjects has conspicuouslyfemale diminished the above kind of representations seems to decrease. As i concluded in my content analysis, the When contrasted with thefilm practice of the 1990s and 2000s, the frequency of films offering decisive. equally picture in which the constraining-controlling forces of politics and economics turned out to be the ties between politics, economics and cultural production in both periods helped to draft a Exploring practice. film in tendencies oriented analytically and realist to conducive circumstance produced according to the profit-oriented logic ofentertainment industry. This was a submit, the political economy of cultural production in state-socialist Hungary: films were not in similar years) post-war immediate and inthe pre-war Hungary in ways circulation in (also cinema mainstream as those modes of productionsuggested andconsumption that, in many respects, transformed the codes of classical byThis form ofexpression was no result of any explicit feministfeminist cultural intervention, yet it yielded 1960-80s. the in prevailed that language film and style film kindof was the “counter-cinema”. characters women important,More however, thanthe frequent occurence ofsympathetically depicted complex Yet anotherdispensed, to some degree, with oppressive and factorobjectifying “images of women”. also that representation cultural was, diversified a more to contributed women of visibility public i augmented as the as well rhetoric equality and policies government instate-socialist question” attributed to various factors. Iwould argue that theintense thematization of“the women’s Many works in all art forms at the time were delivered out of moral concern; as art historian Lajos 194 210 CEU eTD Collection re-affirmation of gendered hierarchies in both the public and private realms. sphere, the wholesale contestation ofthe aspirations and attainments of state-socialism, and the at large in the transition period, explored in Chapter II: the re-masculinization ofthe public (including the dimensions of production) reflects many of the changes that took place in society beyond the internal changes in film art, the overall status ofwomen within film industry treatment ofwomen’s issues and women characters in these films. Ipropose, however, that been affected by this acute crisis” (Sztojanova 1997:24), which, i add, necessarily flattens out the have details eventechnical and visions, “values,concepts, that recognizing ingeneral, Europe A numberofauthors have expressedconcern over recentprocesses in films fromEastern struggle toretrieve masculinity in the new “post-emancipation” democracies. researchers believe that therenewed erasure of women from film narrative is part ofasymbolic treatments of gender-related subject matters often falls prey toa “self-imposed sexism”. Some 195 CEU eTD Collection Száll, száll, száll,száll... Száll, Ha lezuhanok, majd Hruscsov ápol Bizalmat kaptam most a párttól lebegsz A súlytalanságtól Nem kell a vodka, és nem kell a szesz száll, száll,száll ... Száll, dolgozó, munkásTi emberek Az égbõl is rátok gondolok A Lajka kutya integet Jobbra egy mûhold, és balra egy szputnyik száll, száll,száll ... Száll, álla a A férfiak érföldig Gagarin felizgul Bajkonúrban Itt van az óra, és közel az ég Forog a radar, és dübörög a gép Ť száll, száll,száll Száll, Száll az száll, száll,száll Száll, Ha az elsõ nõ az égbe száll Örül holnap a béketábor Az Sötét az éj Bajkonúrban rutazni jó ť rhajó már készen áll ť rhajó 196 Tereskova A satellite on my right, a Sputnik on my left, Mens jaws drop all the way down the ground : Száll az When the first woman launches into orbit The camp will rejoice tomorrow If i crash, Khrushchev will nurse me The time is ripe and the sky is near The party has put confidence in me The radar spins, the engine clunks I think of you even from the space I need no vodka, i need no booze Gagarin gets horny in Baikonur Weigthlessness makes makes me stoned Weigthlessness ť The night is dark in Baikonur rhajó (The spaceship flies) The spaceship is ready Laika dogLaika iswaving Flies, flies, flies, flies… Flies, Space travel is cool The spaceship flies spaceship , flies, flies… flies, Flies, Laboring workers Flies, flies,flies Flies, flies,flies Flies, 2000 CEU eTD Collection artists within the semi-official vanguard art and of those who started their career during the during career their started who of those and art vanguard semi-official the within artists changing creative environments have impacted the subject and speaking positions of women and discursal boom now seems to be fading. Throughout this chapter, i will be exploring how the artscene has significantly lowered. After adecade orso, this never really radical art practice re-discover women artists from earlier periods. Institutional resistance towards women entering forming around their work, and a feminist critique-inspired art historical research started out to actively producing women artists. At the same time, a feminism-informed critical discourse was dominated semi-official counter-culture of the 1960-80s, themid-1990s saw a growing number of sporadic presence of female visual artists ineitherthe official thestrongly art sceneor male- gender-relatedcontemporary visual arts, i identify a somewhat similarly swinging development of women- or practicesand an increasingly conservative discursive climate. Looking at another art form in this chapter,and discourses,of production structures and film financing as well as a women-disfavoring social transformation with,have conspicuously dwindled after the system change of 1989–91 amidst achanginghowever, environment appreciable inthe context of ananalysis fromafeminist perspective. Thesetendencies, however, different film-making,temporal some tendencies in the film production of the period overviewed are indeed sequences:of women-focused subject-matters—haveemerging not exhibited any sustained commitment an to feminist and arts pursuit andpersistent less conscious directors’ afterother some despite and visual Mészáros Márta of pieces practice, art a and Hungarian criticism In Chapterart contemporary in feminist III in discourse i arguedstrategies feminist thatand althoughquestions Issues IV.1.i Hungarianmethodological and women Theoretical filmIV.1 directors—except for the early CHAPTER IV A OF H UNGARIAN WOMEN VISUAL ARTISTS FROM RTISTS , ARTWORKS , AND SUBJECT POSITIONS 197 1945 : TILL TODAY T HE ACTIVITY CEU eTD Collection Lauretis 1984:7. and change have been brought up, and practised, by various other authors; see e.g., Wallis 1984, de 212 colleagues. also locate the artist’s output in the local scene or consult literature produced by their Hungarian women’s art. This in itself could be a viable task, but the contributing art historians make little effortlanguage) catalogueto seems to be to comfortably lodge Kriszta Nagy within a of internationalthe artists to be discussed later in this Chapter) is a case in point. The purpose of the (Hungarian- 211 viable point of cultural intervention, readings of their work (Dimitrakaki 2005:275). If they do so, reception itself may turn out to be a feminist politics in anartscenewheremost actors repudiate political—feminist orotherwise— of local histories or readings, the hesitation remains whether there is a sense in looking for Leaving aside for a moment concerns over hegemonic narratives and their potential suppression methodological move, yet one that is relatively rarely practiced. This also means consulting local art professionals’ writings on thesubject; this is a rather obvious Hungary. post-socialist and state- of context discursive and social broader the of examination and tools ofIn order to indeed proceed differently,(Western) in myinvestigation i will combine the interpretive aspects automatically employ the conceptsfeminist and perspectives of Western feminist art history and criticism. artapproach than what is found in the existing critical literature. Most pieces of that body theoryof writing andmoderate “boom” of the 1990s. In my discussion of their activity, my aim is tothe assume a different insights i have gained so far from my other country, for that matter) have feminist art without feminist audiences, Dimitrakaki asks Dimitrakaki audiences, feminist without art feminist have matter) that for country, other any (or Hungary can arises: also party athird of role the critics, committed and artists apolitical be useful tools in recasting the meaning of the political for the given context. Beside, however, feminist public sphere and articulating expressions in the feminine, as introduced in I.3.iii, might Western feminist art historiansas political—just the of notion received the re-define did to have will critics so indoing in that adds, the 1970s. I myself find that the idea ofto readings thatcontributing involve the politicization ofthe image. It might even be the case, Dimitrakaki to the historical dimensions of such repudiation, given that the artworks created do lend themselves “Interventionist criticism”, the use of criticism as positive means for cultural resistance, social critique The recently published exhibition catalogue (Bencsik 2007) for the solo show of Kriszta Nagy (one of 212 and it becomes the task of feminist art criticism to explore 198 211 a CEU eTD Collection through, theoretical discourses. theoretical through, 213 art world today, these no longer bear the characteristics of a conglomerated platform. Although feminist artworks and feminist projects have acontinuous presence in the international partly as a reflection of the diversity of theoretical positions within contemporary feminism. inventory of subjects and artistic positions have also been expanding and focal points shifting, issues have remained a lasting concern with many women artists, some have faded, while the and strategies forms, these of Some expression. artistic of strategies and forms and movement domains. This collective politics linked the aspirations voiced by the second wave of the women’s generation of WesternAs feministmy above referenceartists was to a Angelacollective Dimitrakakiexpressly gendered perspective. politics points that extendedout,art that the occurredintocontext extra-artistic in ofthe the 1960s–70s,to this changing paradigm.activity Some of these issues connect toa broader shift in theconception of while of a firstsome otherapparatus that the Feminist Art Movement ascritical well as feminist art theory and criticism contributed premises analytical the and practices artistic the of stock taking iam section inthis weremanner, cursory conceived from an problematizations and the related insights were some ofits major building blocks. Ina frankly approach did not only encompass the techniques and purposes of feminist analysis but feminist the thoughts developed in semiotics, cultural theory and the social sciences. Thiscomprehensive tendencies opened up thestudy of art and cultural production towards inquiries implementing gained ground from the 1970s onin the international, primarily the Western, scene. These new In I.2.iii, i gave a concise account of the critical tendencies in art history, theory and practice that artworks and oeuvres were part of a collective politics that reached far beyond the art world. a void: in exist not did certainly it continues, she was, art feminist Western Whatever 282). (ibid., Since the 1990s contemporary visual arts in general have become overdetermined by, and generated have by,and become artsingeneral overdetermined contemporary the1990s visual Since 199 213 CEU eTD Collection 1991. 2001, Parker & Pollock 1981, the essays in Broude & Garrard 1982 and 1992, Chadwick 1990, Broude 215 manifestation, see Buchloh 1990. early 1980s with a continued critique of art's material, social, and discursive contexts. For a theoreticalrepresentations of historical memory are disinterested and objective. This critical trend re-emerged1960s and in earlythe 1970s—exposed the myth that culture is neutral, and that the museums and their 214 Critique Institutional developing simultaneously the and theory art critical of inquiries the voices—joining critical materially-oriented More non-aestheticizing ways, had a prominence among newly introduced issues. women’s sexuality and bodily experiencesasubject forartisticrepresentation, oftentreatedin defined tradition) were strongly opposed in the modernist oravant-garde paradigm. Making art works (as opposed to purely formal considerations or the “universal” concerns of a male- Such “trivial” subject matters, the particularity ofprivate accounts or personal implications in the more lasting bid which also gained currency for artistic expressions delivered in a personal voice. social and private life—“from vagina to thelipstick”—into an artistic subject matter has been a strategy of consciously turning any object or issue that corresponds to a woman’s experience of Movement, but are generally seen, from today’s perspective, as rather essentialist enterprises. The organic connection with nature, soil, and fertility ran high in the early period of the Feministshapes Artthat can besupposedly derived from the forms of the female body, as well as the assumed and elements or symbols matriarchal archaic in investment The itself. making art of conditions social/material/institutional or inthe matters, subject specific characteristics, in formal it located tohave thought theorists and artists Various surfaces. waysit the are what ifso, and making, An early line in feminist inquiry interrogated whether sexual difference is detectable in art These renewed historical narratives out todiscover female precursors in art making and join inan existing butsuppressed tradition. objectifiable universal quality claims. In the wake ofsuch explorations, feminist art historians set heart of the institution of art and its assumed normalities: canons, hierarchies, and purportedly Some of the most famous and influential authors and pieces are: Nochlin [1971] 1989, Greer [1979] “Institutional Critique” has been a strand in art practice and criticism. Its “first wave”—in the late 215 took into account the circumstances of most women's lives 200 214 —saw sexual difference being located at the CEU eTD Collection and selling of finished art objects. performed by artists (and thus becoming increasingly about “being an artist”) rather than by thegroupings. making At the same time, from the 1960s on, art in general was coming to be defined by acts (c.f., the Guerilla Girls, mentioned in III.1.iii), or activist groups drawing on tactics first used by (anti-)art216 that the postulate wasthe ofthese one aesthetics; afeminist of thetouchstones considered she In the first volume of they expanded the notion ofart practice. events, asliveart protests and agitations demonstrations, public orinterpreting subject-matters or non-aestheticizing, language-based forms of expression. Through advocating the above-listed traditional women’s crafts, orturned toemerging lens-based mediums and ephemeral materials, rejection of the genre hierarchy of grand art, they re-valorized, and came toconsider as art, artists’ networks and organizations where they worked cooperatively onan equal status. In alternative own up their set artists Women tradition. amale-dominated of as loci sculpting) and painting as easel (such genres “high” traditional disregarded and galleryspace the deserted artists women many hierarchies, established and structures institutional art’s of defiance in Partly the abject body to pursuing an “unsensational re-evaluation oftheeveryday” (Reckitt 2001:156). and liberating the female body from the conquering male gaze, in ways ranging from depicting was about confronting women’s traditional artistic representation with “flesh and blood” reality representation and eroding the authority of certain dominant representations. The contention Another strand of critical investigation worked on exploring the function of cultural myths in works. their collect or and-sell, work, which prevented, for a long time, both institutions and individual actors to exhibit, buy- misconceptions about their genetic inferiority and purported incapacity toproduce truly great long-standing asthe well as asartists, training formal from periods, historical earlier in exclusion, public spaces and events that the grand genres of a masculinist tradition depicted; women’s as mothers, household workers, and caregivers; the inaccessibility for them ofa great many of This latter strategy has been common with other activist art groups endorsing highly political agendas Women’s Art Journal, Women’s Art Lauren Rabinovitz put forward a set of aspects that aspects of aset forward put Rabinovitz Lauren 201 216 CEU eTD Collection not always aware of, orcareful about, the fact that throughout its short history, the agenda of be viewed through the lensa gender discourseof emerged within the feministHungarian art scene and when artworks produced came to criticism. Some of these recentHowever, developments are noteworthy because the (late-)1990s was theperiod when this incipient critical discourseviewer’s faith to dislodge his or her certainty”, as Thomas Lawson suggested (1984:162). was the manipulate can artist radical the ascamouflage, vehicle unsuspecting […] an to resorting propriety that painting appeared to be able tounsettle conventional thought from within: “by critique of the politics of representation (Deepwell 1996a). It was also for its popularity and strategies to mobilize theories of communication, the analysis of the signifying field, and the expression of the artist,In feminist artists’ handling, however, painting was nolonger about the rather,pure unmediated it operatedpotential. feminist a topossess seen wasnow itself painting of genre The issues (176). historical as a critique and social address to imagery of stereotypical re-appropriated conversely, or, gender of definitions this very notion throughscene (Reckitt 2001:156). Towards the end of the decade, artistsconscious were pushing the limits and sculpture as partof a general “return toobjects, rather than words” that occurred in thebroader Throughout the 1990s many women artists returned to the traditional media of painting and structures, enduring objects, and expressions of the creative subject (Linker 1984:67) society and culture, and annulled amajor of Westernaesthetics: tenet thatartworks are unified with interaction complex art’s emphasized also criticism art feminist society, within autonomy new approach to the creativean individual consciousness expressing his singularindividual, visions (Craig 2007:237). In relation tothis and contraryauthorship developed that sees the artist as a socially constructed individualto rather than imaginingformalist theorieslone “genius” and thought of art as pure private expression. From thisof a feminist version of art claiming art’sThis emphasis on the interpreter (1980/81:39). meaning of creation the in recipient its by participation active encourage artwork was to counteract a cultural myth that glorified the artist as a 202 . CEU eTD Collection European feminist art critics; Deepwell 1996b and 1997b, Stiles 1977, Ørum 1997, and Cottingham 1997. 1990:354). (Chadwick spectacle and object as figure woman the treats that practice since the 1970s, to use images of women in concerned,their a great majority of artists (men andwork women alike) have been consciouslyin refusing, order to altogether evade an imaging 219 feminist or a mysoginist (Stiles 1997:87). established and entrenched, their sign may well be read as meaning the same whether produced by a 218 and form as the “essential” elements of art. mimetic, anti-narrative and anti-representational visual language, and was concerned instead with colorcentury modernist and avant-garde art, in rejection of depicting the material world, adopted an anti- 217 images of themselves in an act of self-possession and empowerment. This different approach to slogan of the day (at times attenuated ascritiquing oppressiveit or denigratingwere) forms of representation, self-representation became the case. earlier feminist critique of art history too, contemporary art criticism is less concerned with this ways women have been represented throughout cultural history was a major concern with the (Thornham 1999:10), hence the feminist preoccupation with cinematic representations. While the interviews the and people, and emphatically women, to see themselves through the representationssurvey offered therein quantitative feature is its capacity tocarry andthe reproduce certain myths in (apatriarchal) culture that condition concerning As i asserted in the Introduction to this dissertation,questions one of cinema’s distinctive and powerful Methodological IV.1.ii ahistoric, distorted and simplified comparison. conclusions about the lack of feminist art inthe local scene were drawn onthe basis of an counter-institutionalistlargely tothe compared pluralized hasbeen and changes undergone has art women’s or feminist and relatively unified program of the first decade (the 1970s). Thus the For this, see the debate in the 1996–97 issues of The underlying convinction is that since the semiotics of female images have been so deeply This retraction is also partly due to the fact that, after the realistic tradition of earlier centuries, 20th- 217 Also, as far as the changing handling of the female image in Western art practice is Siksi: The Nordic Art Review 203 219 with women artists conveying between American and American between self-produced 218 Instead of CEU eTD Collection about thechanging nature of such representations in Hungarian films, invited a The weight ofcinematic representation ofwomen, coupled with myown initial observation my analysis of the two cultural forms: cinema and the visual arts. the question ofrepresentation/self-representation creates a degree of asymmetry in thefocus of These iexplore, motives. and strategies, oeuvres, individual on focused ismore that inquiry an solicited however, related art practice in the case of a number of women visual artists and asubsequent lapse, criteria, with an emphasis ononly a few relevant oeuvres and pieces. The appearance of a gender- the analysis of the entire feature film production of the period along a number of pre-defined art of cinema was merely fourteen years old in 1945, the starting date of my survey. By 1945, longerthe history than the art of cinema. Filmmaking started in 1931 in Hungary; this means that the neither feasible norreasonable in the case of visual arts for several reasons. Visual art has amuch involved in thevarious behind-the-screen phases of film production. An identical survey was the case of Hungarian cinema, the survey took the form of a quantitative analysis of women filmmaking onthe other, i undertook a survey of women creators’ presence in the two fields. In of cultural producers onthe one hand, and the ideological and material conditions of art- or In order to see the possible communication” (with the exact date added). formal meetings; i will refer to the information gathered at such settings as “personal Apart from formal interview sessions, such follow-up also occurred on the occasion of less progressing with mydissertation project and with the aim tofollow up their morerecent output. while arose that questions specific more of a set with artists the to ireturned followed, an overview of the oeuvre and artistic position of the particular artist. Wherever a second session other researchers and authors). In most cases, the first interview session was devoted to getting by made interviews onavailable i relied directors, film women of case the (in 2008 and 2001 inter alia inter , via interviews that i myself conducted with the selected artists between interconnections between the number, gender and creative interests 204 corpus analysis corpus , i.e., CEU eTD Collection marginalisation women artists may have faced. For this, i will take theartists’ roster of the and follow a line that is able toregister more indirect orsubtle forms of exclusion or little direct institutional quantified assessment of women artists’ presence in the field. Taking into account therelatively a to offer circumstances local it to adapt and asacue will takethis I received. grants and gender composition of artists exhibiting in prominent national museums and galleries; reviews Movement and published in marginal publications (1987:329). These used indicators such as the Mathews mention similar statistics-based surveys conducted in the early years of the Feminist Art & Gouma-Peterson count. to impossible virtually is period given inthe artists active of number Without setting up quality claims to orother, somedegree necessarily arbitrary criteria, eventhe documentaries, etc.). Thequality claims, from the rest of a filmmaker’screation oeuvre (short films, productions for television, and the existence of an artwork is not such a “hard fact”. Fluxus, Installation Art, Street Art, New Media Art, Internet-based practices, etc. ActionArt,Land Art& Performance, BodyArt,Art, ProcessArt,ArtePovera, Environment Art, Mail of art led, in the last decades of the 20th century, to art forms such as , , Art 222 of film- and artmaking. merely pragmatic at first sight, however, is a result of more essential differences between thefor end the products years not covered therein, no comparable source exists for the visual arts. This circumstance,production between 1931 and 1998 is available (Varga 1999), and the annual Film Almanac can be used forms. While a detailed database containing virtually all pertinent data about Hungarian feature film 221 higher art education in Hungary at the end of the 19th century. 220 inroads, occasional their found have women fine arts profession had its long established institutions, including educational institutions where Hungary intheperiod surveyed. in made 18were of average a yearly ofwhich collaborators) registered its (with unit quantifiable plausible is a film feature full-length screened A pictures. motion than quantifiable well. In addition, theTheatre and Film Academyproducts in 1948, providing an institutionalized education for film personnel as of what is referred to as contemporary visual art are a lot less It is increasingly so with contemporary art practice; the process called the dematerialization of the work This pragmatic difference is also mirrored in the different types of surveys i chose for the two art Astudy by Éva Bicskei (2004) documents the history and organisation of the first “women’s class” in resistance to women’s participation in the Hungarian art scene, i will try iwill scene, art Hungarian in the participation women’s to resistance 221 Also, such a unit is easily detachable, without imposing any 220 205 whereas the Theatre Academy onlybecame and 222 CEU eTD Collection 223 artists i shall discuss in greater detail in the further sections of this Chapter. On the other hand, the one hand, i wish to situatedevelopments and events of the visual arts. Iam drafting this outlinewithin with a dual intention. On 1945 these after developmentsmajor the of overview concise similarly give a to iattempt section, following the In years. Hungary in the arts work andvisual activitythe Inof 1945–95 Chapter of arts, the III.4, history female i visual providedsocial of brief a field survey A the of in IV.2.i the major trends inrepresenters Hungarianas cinemaWomen in theIV.2 past sixty chronologically relevant parts of a canon-creating exhibition series as a starting point, forms of creation so popular with members of the Feminist Art Movement. all thesocial factors and opportunities that underpin artistic creation, nor todismiss collaborative disregard to wish ineither however, said, That creation. of form individual isabasically making art crew, a film in working unlike finally, And is. ascinema budgets large fairly of availability the making of afilm. By contrast, the production ofvisual art pieces is notnearly as dependent on positions from where the acquisition oflarge budgets is feasible, is the precondition of the very the formalized status ranking of a profession. Also, getting in power positions, or at least positions, and as such, lends itself toinquiries about gender segregation and hierarchies within environmentAnother factor that divides my survey methodology follows from the differentof production the two art about the most recently surfacingforms. developments. Filmmakingartists this discourse has highlighted, and eventually complete this list with my own observations From that timeis on, i rely on the emerging feminist critique-informed discoursea and focus on the team workup thegender-constitution of other relevant exhibitions and artist groups up to the mid-90s. with key and subordinate A huszadik század magyar m ť vészete ; seenextsection. 206 223 and look CEU eTD Collection between 1965 and 1996 in the István Király Museum in Székesfehérvár, a county capital some 60 some capital a county in Székesfehérvár, Museum Király István the 1996in 1965 and between The exhibition shorter periods, more closely defined by artistic developments unfolding in the given years. to account for tendencies in art after 1945, while the related parts of the exhibition tend to cover 1999). Knoll Century; 20th the in Art Hungarian period are still due (Aradi et al., 481). The book (Kovács 1983:6). Sporadic studies may exist, but monographs and systematic assessments of the itself making art than writing history and criticism art affected adversely more have to seem scholarly coverage of this period has many gaps, partly because the constraints of cultural policy art history of the second half of the century (Aradi et al. 1983, IRWIN 2006) point out, the contributors of both myprinted sources, as well as anumber of other authors dealing with the and editors the As literature. historical art local within enterprises exceptional quite are they period, contemporary the including art, Hungarian acentury’s of view a comprehensive provide and the intentions of thevolume, two enterprisesand 1996 in Csók István Képtár/István Király Múzeum, Székesfehérvár). are quite similar. Inasmuch as both undertake to language version of the book was published (Knoll 2002). volume inviting eleven Hungarian art historians to contribute to the volume. In 2002 A Hungarian- 224 Pť already mentioned catalogues of the fifteen-part exhibition series I principally drew on the two major sources when compiling this survey. One of them are the realism orart produced under totalitarian rule and severe censorship. together the production of more than four decades into anundifferentiated corpus of socialist and revise some enduring notions of the cultural production of the state-socialist era that lump similarly tothe corresponding entries of my Chapter onfilm production, i also want tocounter Hans Knoll, a Viennese gallerist and a devoted supporter of contemporary Hungarian compiled the vészete (The history of hungarian art in the20th century; in fifteen parts, shown between 1965 Die zweite Öffentlichkeit: Kunst in Ungarn im 20. Jahrhundert im in Ungarn Kunst Öffentlichkeit: Die zweite The History of Hungarian Art in the 20th Century Die zweite Öffentlichkeit 207 224 Asthetitles immediately reveal, thesubject was organized in fifteen parts (The secondpublic sphere: takes the decades approach decades the takes A huszadik század magyar század A huszadik The second is an edited CEU eTD Collection series and the individual chronological chapters of the volume, i looked up thegender Beside consulting the artist selection sample of the relevant editions of the fifteen-part exhibition sources when those are as it unfolds from these publications and complement this account with insights from other are both intended and accessible for non-native audiences as well. I shall use a basic narrative line are in Hungarian and English, thesubjects in detailed and thoroughgoingedited studies. As both publications are bilingual (thecatalogues volume has a German andsuccinct introductions to the individuala periodsHungarian discussed, the texts in thebook present their edition), they art historians on Hungarian art of the 20th century. While the short catalogue essays give very operating in a second, or parallel public sphere (in the sense of the Habermasian 227 more detailed explanation follows later in this section. 226 2008. 225 progressive-thinking leadership 2008) suggest, it was probably for its provincial location that the museum could afford to have a kilometers from Budapest. As both anecdotal evidence century, and closes the book with the 1990s when this distinction lost its relevance. simultaneous presence of an “authorized” and a repudiated aesthetic idiom) to earlier decades of thesocial communication. Knoll’s volume expands the understanding of divergent cultural norms (i.e., away thefrom The volume closing part of the series dealt with the post-socialist years and was on display in 1996. their catalogue essays as one of the aspirations of the exhibitions (Aradi 1977, Kovács 1981). The possible; indeed, this is exactly what theorganizers, Nóra Aradi and Péter Kovács, identified in account of the defectsof the cultural policy ofthepresented decadeand half was already a sober 1970s–80s, the of turn at the time, At this respectively. 1981-82, and 1977 in view the politically most an ambitious“problematic” project as this chronologically defined series of exhibitions. The shows presenting years (the short period of 1945–49 and the 1950s) were on The non- or semi-official cultural underground of state-socialist societies came to be referred to as The leadership and staff were progressive-thinking in their approach to contemporary tendencies in art; Verbal communication, Júlia Klaniczay, manager of Artpool Art Research Center, Budapest, August 20, official public activity, members of “the counter-culture” relied on a parallel set of channels of Die zweite Öffentlichkeit available and provide further, or different kinds of, information. 226 and could enlist the expertise of its staff when launching such , 227 published in 1999, 208 225 collects takes morerecent byacclaimed andrecentlypublished texts(György Öffentichkeit ). Turning CEU eTD Collection broadest term also gave way to a more pluralistic structure from the 1970s on (Hegyi 1999:264). formation of an exclusive idiom of artistic expression and visual culture. This monopoly of vision in the 229 114–18). of hopes(2005:8, full open, and writers and the communist establishment, also characterizes the postwar years as inspiring, intellectuallywar “enthusiasm and sincere anticipation” (Aradi 1977). Éva Standeisky, focusing on the relation betweenpresenting the years 1945–49 evoked a brief interlude of the revival of ealier artistic tendenciesTowards and a a post-Communal Art 228 public—who was greatly encouraged tomeetthe visual arts—could only encounter creative fairly more heterogeneous work continued to be produced in individual artists’ studios, the demand that this form of expression be the only existing, orat least visible, one. and bad. Perhaps more ominous than these requirements of content and tone, however, was the contemporaneous “reality” andsafely orient the people between theclear-cut categories ofgood to life. Paintings and sculptures (including public space monuments) were to mirror similar tothe conceptual frame that brought the “production movies” (discussed in Chapter III) program that Révai announced in 1949 was that of “socialist realism”. This program was quite artists. toward requirements rigid party’s the laiddown minister the Révai, Minister ofCulture and Education, opening an exhibition of Soviet painting. In his speech, art making was marked by two exhibitions. The period started in 1949 with the speech of József From the perspective ofthe visual arts, the1950s sphere? public parallel this within marginalized they were or artists vanguard of circles the in included can also provide information onthe nature of women’s involvement in theart world: were they exhibitions thatare now recorded asmilestone events. Beyondnumeric data, such consideration andgroup groupings in artists’ participation women’s of stock also take to idecided that if they act as a group. It is for this recognition and therecognized that theycanbemore effectiveclosed inacquiring legitimacy for lessfavored artistic trends circle-nature of the counterculture ( discussed the periods in significant as most identify sources constitution ofsome Péter György’s study, “The Mirror of Everyday Life, or the Will to a Period Style” (1992) delineates the This exhibition of Soviet painting and its opening speech came only a few months after another show, (December 1948, Szabadszervezet). The 9th part of the exhibition series prominent artist groups or collectives, as well as group exhibitions that my 209 as a period in cultural policy and, consequently, Table 5 ). Artists under socialist rule socialist under Artists ). 228 The obligatory artistic obligatory The 229 Thus, while Thus, CEU eTD Collection align and did not get shown;works towards the public. In return, as it were, artists aligned with therequirements,or or did not attempted to patron of those visualmaneuver artists who gained membership in theUnion, and as a mediator of their withinas the acted state the film-making, subsidizing this to Similarly 1999:186). Kovalovszky 1999:142, framework and loosen Kovács 1983:478–80, (Aradi surveys annual large of form the in often most exhibitions, its artistic output that, during this period, practically nosolo shows were organized, only group 1952). in established Fund, from1949) and an affiliation managing related financial matters (Képz matters financial related managing affiliation an and from1949) meant belonging to the pool from which regular state purchases selected (Beke 1999:214). and work commissions; eligibility for social benefits, old-age pension and grant applications; and it also 231 (1944–45). rule Cross Arrow far-right the and (1920-1944) Horthy-era conservative-autocratic war-time this “natural” was also a heritage of the perception of national culture in the pre-warmore and progressive Hungarian artists had not earned their due place (1983:5). Put in more political terms,conservatism-combined-national isolationism of the preceding half century, in the artistic canon ofconservatism which of society and audiences at large”. Kovács relates this “natural” conservatism to thea strict stylistic- guidance of communist cultural policy. It was also a remainder of a “struggle with the naturalcomponent of art in paintings delivered in this style.) This aesthetic requirement, however, was notArt”, Andrássimply Rényi (1992) engages with this painterly idiom, and traces the iconography of the socialromanticism (Kovács 1999:141). (In his article, “Historical Painting as a Hungarian Paradigm of Stalinistparadigms dating from the end of the previous century: realism, academism, and a degree of theatricalvisual arts, the mirroring of the life of a restructuring society was expected to be delivered in perceptionsstylistic of women’s social roles that created the contexttraditional the and for emancipation implementing ofwomen’s program embraced that program.officially the between tension As for the coupled with old, if not outdated, perceptions and practices. In Chapter II.2 and II.3, i wrote aboutcommunal the art, as opposed to art as the self-expression ofa idea the and of an exceptionalemancipation, aswomen’s (such concepts individual, “revolutionary”, the even genius) novel, that fact the from were characterizing the “women’s question” and the agenda set for the arts. In both cases, the conflict arose 230 education(Magyar Képz of artists’ groups and brought to life a single union for those practicing fine arts with formal avariety of activity the stifled similarly It councils. centralized up, instead, set and organizations civil independent suppressed state The life. cultural and social including life, citizens’ its In II.2.i, i also touched upon how the party state of the early 1950s was to control all aspects of later on. to referred was critically idiom this as dogmatism), (or schematism of line this fitted that output Being a member of the Fine Arts Fund had very real material benefits in the form of access to a studio Although it might appear as a far-fetched comparison, i can see a degree of similitude in the conflict 230 ŋ - és Iparm 231 Itwas acrafty way tosubdue individual achievement to communal ť vészek Szövetsége/Union ofArtists and Applied Artists, 210 ŋPť vészeti Alap/Fine Arts Alap/Fine vészeti CEU eTD Collection autonomy in professional questions. the central culture financing body, but at the same time it has always retained a degree of societies. Itstarted out as the youth division ofthe Fine Arts Fund. As such, it was dependent on FKS) started operation. The Studio was unique in thesystem ofart institutions in state-socialist Képz (Fiatal Artists Young of Studio the In1958, system. art the within renewed centralization and control, and fomented the re-creation of transparent hierarchies of expressions (Kovács 1982), even if the years following the 1956 revolution brought about 232 today’s idiom, residency programs) and biennials, opened up to cultural producers, and when the in theform ofprofessional trips, participation at international artists’ colonies and symposia (in well asintensifying artistic-professional activities. Thesewereyears when international exchange, especially the 1970s, asaperiod of growing social andpolitical stability and cultural tolerance as the decades, coming the characterize often 2009:104) Maurer interview, 1999, Hegyi 1999, Kovalovszky al. 1983, et Aradi 1983, (Kovács time the at active professionals Art officially accepted forms of expression. creative context but it was continuously pushing, atthesame time, to broaden thescope of centralized body, the Studio fostered a temperate (as opposed to radical and experimental)schematism. 1957 The actually reifying the prescribed framework. asserts, that through these negotiations and the concessions achieved, theparticipants were (1981) Kovács as Péter remained, maneuvering this with theproblem However, limitations. were at times tolerated but penalized at other times. at penalized but tolerated times at were reached a calculable equlibrum until the 1980s, and how acts of self-government account of this duality, and shows how the terms and conditions of the relative autonomy of FKS never 233 (Aknai & Merhán 2002:204–05). the restoration of independent artists’ collectives that were allowed to also pursue art dealing activity In fact, an 1953 party decree party already an 1953 Infact, Katalin Aknai and Orsolya Merhán’s excellent study (2002) on the Studio’s history gives a detailed Tavaszi Tárlat Tavaszi 232 Theexhibition both acknowledged and resumed the pluralism ofstyles and forms (Spring Show) was a manifest termination of the period of rigid broke with the doctrine of dogmatism, and the following year saw 233 Inits capacity todraw emerging art practitioners into a 211 and ŋPť creative vészek Stúdiója, vészek freedom 1960s, and 1960s, CEU eTD Collection garde”—was the garde”—was “neo-avant- generation—the new this of representation collective first The 1987:3). (Kovács the decadeanew generation artists emerged of “with natural the freedom ofthenewborn” years” and characterized the 1970s with an ever expanding degree of latitude. Towards the end of The title of the corresponding part of the exhibition series referred to the1960s as “the sprouting network of influential art professionals (Kovács 1983:6 and 1999:150). was not so much official cultural politics that raised objections to new forms of expressions but a antiquated an to “sticking were and realism alaxsocialist of positions in institutional hierarchy. From these positions, they were now protecting the precepts activity ofthose who first opposed the aesthetic monopoly but, by time, acquired some safe existence to aset of abstract rules put forward by cultural politicians—as well as the continuing this return,the return to the pluralism and vitality of the first post-warKovács years seemed possible. What thwarted continues,realist, non-representational tendencies became acknowledged, if still not highly appreciated, and was exactly the reified dogma, the praxis of granting actual organizers were impeached were organizers the following year, and several dozens of works were removed just before the show opened, and contributed to a revived interest in the visual arts. The same attempt to exhibit without a state jury worksfailed that were created in young artists’ studios that year. The ensuing political and ideologicalmanaged debates to arrange to circumvent such censorship for its annual show in 1966, and presented all exhibitsthe had to undergo a jury procedure prior being shown to the public. The Studio of Young Artists 234 1957 the with above, activities that Kovácsripe with moral and ethical conflicts. The reificationunderscored ofthe prescribed framework of allowable had a unpredictabilitycontinuing of state power representatives’ actions and reactions prolonged an atmosphere relevancecultural life but this no longer led to harshin acts of retribution (Standeiskythese 2005:319–20), yet the decades. artisticAs tendencies. Those in power didintroduced continue keeping records on those active in the unofficial spaces of contemporary art offered room for the presentation of, and vibrant discussions on, new In order to filter out unwanted forms and contents, and to safeguard aesthetic quality as it were, Studio ’66 Studio Spring Show . annual exhibition. the grip of dogmatism slackened, and the existence of non- 234 212 esprit de corps esprit ”: by the mid-1970s it mid-1970s the ”: by CEU eTD Collection served the purposes of mere political representation but displayed works byleading masters who, in, Hungary; the selection for the national representation at the1986 Venice Biennial exhibit and to, return to allowed were artists Émigré 1999:259). (Hegyi initiatives individual for 1989:3). The general climateartists] than the works’ real orpresumed political message thatdeterred authorities”of (Kovács economics and culture was relatively liberal also offering room once every two years in Venice, , since its first edition in 1895. 236 235 categorized as “prohibited”, still were artists afew andonly mainstream, became neo-avant-garde 1980s,the early the By figures had solo shows and organized other art events. cultural houses, clubs orprivate apartments used as temporary exhibition sites where most major key figures, including a small number of theorists and critics. Many of the venues were outlying Yet, this public sphere enjoyed relative freedom, had its own venues, 1999:293). (Szoboszlai activity this living from their make not did practitioners its and channels, cultural intellectualor life ofthecountry, were notreviewed discussedor through official Events that took place within thisbelonging to the “neo-avant-garde” were part of the“second”sphere (or “parallel”) public sphere. did not become Artists 1999:260). (Hegyi ideology party official to submit andid not that activity integral artistic any signify part of the widely knownembracement of most current artistic tendencies. Avant-garde became anumbrella term to allegiance instead to a denounced artistic tradition (that of the classical avant-garde), alongside the half, and a century for valuesupheld aesthetic conservative of rejection the anachronism and feel the need to clarify its meaning. In the given context, “avant-garde” meant puzzling this of aware well are sources major two tomy contributing authors The (2005:278). remarks Europe, non-Western in practices art exploring atheorist Dimitrakaki, Angela as confusing, sound art may century late-20th of discussion the in avant-garde toan References The Venice Biennial/La Biennale di Venezia is a major contemporary art exhibition that134). (footnote takes III.1.ii place See 235 and even in such cases, “it was rather the thorny behavior [of the 213 samizdat publications, and and pleading 236 nolonger CEU eTD Collection merely tolerated artist (2003). artist tolerated merely provided paper, and were distirbuted at state-subsidized prices. All this very much supported thedubbed so-called tolerated, says Bán, were in fact supported since they were printed in state print shops, oncreative state- work for writers, Zoltán András Bán arrives to a similar conclusion. Literary works that were 237 2003:14). Sasvári and as well as the transport and insurance of artworks were covered; see Aknai & Merhán 2002:222 considerable subsidy (apart from exhibition costs, the printing of invitation cards and catalogues artist was to sponsor his/her own exhibition while “supported” individuals and shows enjoyed (Szoboszlai 1999:292–93). As long as thepolicy of the “three T-s” was operational, a “tolerated” arts, whereby culture financing replaced political censorship as a controlling mechanism visual the for subsidies state affected changes structural economic The too. here marks as period historical perspective. But there are a number of reasons suggesting that these dates do serve well history of the country, which, however, ought not necessarily entail a caesura from an art 1990s the and 1989, contemporary languages of art (Kovalovszky 1993:5, Hegyi 1999:269). at the early 1980s, contributed most to the artistic paradigm change and the recognition of (Bán 2003). This peripheral social location ofart, combined with the absence of a potent art- uncertainty for many artists and authors of how to positions themselves in the“new freedom” of deal great a caused policy cultural of oversight the losing while 1999:293), (Szoboszlai culture agendas in itself improve the social status of contemporary visual arts, including progressive artistic became senseless. The removal of the political supervision of cultural products however, did not control over art and artists has expired, and the duality of the “first” and “second” public sphere political of idea the rule, socialist of collapse the After 1999:259). (Hegyi country the of life not persecuted; rather, they were “only” entirely marginalized by and within theofficial cultural were agendas artistic progressive pursuing 1980s; those bythe and permeable undefined become general situation today. Any discernible boundary between tolerated and supported artists had Reflecting over the relation between state-socialist cultural policy and the material conditions of . Rather, these remained, and continue to remain, located on the periphery of national 237 as the following decade, mark a period break in the social and economic These conditions set for tolerated artists do not so much differ from the 214 CEU eTD Collection world, a new exhibition practice gained ground. With the emergence of the curator, followed by the launch of new art periodicals. Similarly toelsewhere in the international art of a number of artists without much interrelation in content). in interrelation much without artists of a number of thematic group exhibitions became the trend (as opposed to general surveys presenting the works the subject of, selecting artists and works, and doing the organizational work for a show, large 238 covering contemporary art ( education, was re-organized and reformed. The renewal of the only officially issued art review galleries, including private ones), and the Art Academy, thus far offering rather old-fashioned system of art institutions: several new venues opened (museums, exhibition halls, institutions, After the system transformation, further most important changes were those occurring in the contemporary visual arts in today’s Hungary might indeed have elements of such an interstice. to its marginal social role and its status asa non-lucrative profession orinvestment, the sphere of of the cultural sphere is lost as capital increasingly saturated the life-world (Carson 2003). But due Western theorists because under the hegemony of multinational capitalism, thesemi-autonomy (2002:21). The viability ofthis space of an interstice, however, has been called utopian by other exhibition thanin those in effect within this system. This is theprecise nature of thethe contemporary art arena possibilities trading other suggests but system, overall the into openly and less harmoniously or of representationalBourriaud borrowed the word and uses it to signify “a space in human relations which fits more commerce:capitalist economic context by being removed from the law of profit; art theorist Nicolas it createsII.5. The term “interstice” was used byKarl Marx todescribe trading communities that elude the freesphere, situated outside the scope of ideologicalareas andeconomic manipulations—as outlined in and timemarket, spans” however, creates the conditions in which art may indeed function as a counter-public On debates about the contested role of the curator, see Tannert & Ute 2004. Ute & Tannert see the curator, of role contested the about debates On 0ť vészet /Art, renamed in 1990 as 215 Új M ť vészet /New Art) 238 conceiving was CEU eTD Collection http://www.artpool.hu/veletlen/naplo/0605a.html as an indirect, and later direct, form of resistance to the aesthetic norms set by political ideology. (See 241 art, and bringing art and life closer together. particular medium, avant-garde movements had a social orientation aiming at “revitalizing life” through 240 outsiders. asvisionary view themselves cultural political background of the underground artworld, art historian Edit Sasvári noted how this 239 figure and on the legacy of the “behavior art” of the counter-culture, renegotiated. Drawing on the modernist image of the artist as a heroic and exceptional creative art, the identity and goals of art and artists, or art world roles were not called into question and internationally, remained fundamentally uncontested here. As a general picture, the function(s) of figurative—dominated thescene. Hence, modernist artpractice, though widely challenged 199:260), (Hegyi official art in the garde tradition mentionedHungarian earlier. Since avant-garde became an overarching synonym for non- scene,joy the of relationproducing artof theobjects.of constantly having to deal with the avant-garde This is enough had had artists local not1996:5), (Néray 1990s the in to intertwining strikingly unrelatedwere politics and modernism to thewas peculiarblurredpart of the series, understanding closing the for essays catalogue ofthe authors the Kovács, andPéter Néray Katalin led ofhowever, the avant- simultaneously. almost andtrends samemovements the witnessed the 1960s on, these tendencies first arrived with a bit ofdelay, but soon the Hungarian scene with international (i.e., Western) tendencies. The aim of these comparisons is to prove that, from (e.g., Aradi et al. 1983, Petrányi 1998), there is a felt need to compare Hungarian developments the catalogues and the edited volume, as well as inotheraccounts of the state-socialist period in essays the Throughout easier. became trends critical and artistic works, theoretical discourses, prevalent as wellto production cultural international of actualartefacts the to Access György Galántai, an artist and art organizer from the period, defined “attitude art”, or “behavior art”, While according to the modernist paradigm, art is about the formal and material problems of a See the very poignantly chosen title of the part covering the 1980s: “Us, the Eastern 240 Works and Attitudes: 1990–96 and mostly non-representational, abstract modes of expression—geometric or political context and were happy to submerge in the sheer , toremark that while in the international scene, art ; accessed December 6, 2008). In exploring the In exploring 2008). 6, December ; accessed 216 241 239 many artists continued to This need to compare, French.” CEU eTD Collection series of exhibitions in Kecskemét in 1992 set out to discover Hungarian women artists from the modernism in the art of the 1920s and 30s; reasons of family life and childrearing (personal communication, January 17, 2008). remarkable number of them still disappears from the scene after gradutation, partly for the good old 242 by official critics denouncing it (Sasvári 2003:13–16). oppositional behavior or attitude itself was came to be regarded as a category of entitled exhibitions of a series launched Társaskör Óbudai Taking notice of the growing2008:A082–85). Benczúr number of actively 2008:A009–050; Radák 2004:B205–07; Szépfalvi (interviews: activity creative with balance to producing women referred toartists, maternity and the related household duties as a factor that they find extremely difficult the galleryHassan, of they the all thematize motherhoodof this Chapter are mothers: Szépfalvi, Radák, Benczúr, and El-Hassan. With the exceptionin of El- their work in this marriage. orearly that way and, in the interviews,academy has been the “submersion” in household work and childrearing in case they entered an The typical reason artists. for professional become young womennumber giving of femaleup creativeemerged. I mean by the “feminization ofthe art world” studentsthat, by the mid-1990s, agrowing work enrolled “feminizationafter ofthe art world” took place and a feminist theory-inspired critical practice graduatingto art schoolsThe tendencies described here aresome ofthe traits thatcharacterize thecontext inwhich the from and anthe ever art greater number of them did Hölgyválasz—Elfelejtett modernizmus a 20-as, 30-as évek m évek 30-as a 20-as, modernizmus Hölgyválasz—Elfelejtett women artists or adopting the approaches of the feminist critique of art history. The series Vízpróba meant to have a closer look at just what this growing number of female artists had been creating. series did not so much try to state anything about the characteristics of women’s art; rather it Gallerist Erika Deák holds that while the number of women art degree holders may be now high, a was both preceded and followed by a number of other shows featuring exclusively 242 Four out of the six women artists whose work i am discussing in later sections in later discussing iam work whose artists women six the of out Four Szombathelyi Képtár, 1998,) and another short-lived another and 1998,) Képtár, Szombathelyi 217 ť vészetében Vízpróba (The choice of ladies–Forgotten (“Water Ordeal”, 1995).The (“Water aesthetic judgement even judgement CEU eTD Collection selection—especially still photography—gave way in manyinstances to projects conceived as representations” (Stepanovic 2005:4). The show mustered pieces of lens-based media, and this “female familiar fairly rehearsing “personal”, the of realm a de-politicized in codes term. With very few exceptions, the participating artists explored, or rather just reiterated, gender exhibition, although the curators themselves were careful not to label their enterprise with this artists that shied away from legitimating, with their contributions, a perchance feminist-sounding In the case of and artworks, leaving out a number of contemporary artistic positions and new media practices. human art” ( exhibition catalog: “Women’s art is nothing radically different from what we understand by modernist paradigm; insisting on the universality of art, Keserü stated on the opening page of the she had chosen as the title for her show. In addition, the curatorial concept was caught up ina meanings and the implications of the citation (“the second sex”) and the term (“women’s art”) work. artists’ women contemporary larger exhibitions continued the list, claiming to have a definite intention to present contemporary works, and so did sporadic smaller shows in various venues. In the 2000s two disputed the disputed strongly 2000) Bordács 2000, (András Critics concepts. curatorial the of ignorance and unclarity only show, or the ambition to collect responses on issues ofgender identity, criticized but the exhibition received no lessexplored young female photographers’ and informedvideo artists’ positions on female identity. This criticism. director. A coupleofyears later, In neither cases was the museumvery after a long break in its operation due torefurbishment, andidea newly headed by a women of a women- Museum, Budapest, 2000), anintensely debated show, was featured as theevent re-opening the 1996) andthe series 19 th and early-20th centuries. Women’s Art Second Sex NE(A)T: Women on Women Cherchez la Femme! exhibition, arguing that the curator (Katalin Keserü) failed to clarify the , 2000:5). This approach severely limited the scope of the selected artists N ŋ nem–Hímnem NE(A)T: Women on Women Second Sex: Women’s Art in HungarySecond Sex:Women’s 1960-2000 Art (Szombathelyi Képtár, 1996-97) displayed international displayed 1996-97) Képtár, (Szombathelyi , it was not thereviewers again, but many of the invited (Feminine–Masculine; Bartók 32 Galéria, Budapest, 32Galéria, Bartók (Feminine–Masculine; 218 (Kogart Ház, Budapest, 2005) Ház,Budapest, (Kogart (Ernst CEU eTD Collection analysis are referenced throughout this chapter. dispositions and feminist trends in art. Writings that yield valuable insights for my present artists’ women Hungarian between relations substantial no “lack”seeing of discourse the follow categories putforward bysuch critique as tool anyother of purelyaesthetic analysis, orthey feminism, authors—even if they acknowledge the legitimacy of feminist art criticism—use the investigation ofthe social structures within which art is produced. Keeping clear of an ideological dealing with contemporary artists similarly refrain from a critical approach that would involve the and basic assumptions of an art historical tradition based on the idea of “autonomous art”. Pieces accounts of art history “proper”, rarely employing methodologies that challenge thevalue system pieces of research contributingtexts and curatorial to a reconstructed In I.3.ii, i concepts.already forecasted my discontents with much of the discourse that emerged from these culturalWhile the history,art historically 2004). these2003, Forgács Bíró are orientedmostly descriptive studiescentury led to monographs on anumber of these artists (e.g., Kovács 1995,are Turai 2002, Hajdu & certainly mid-20 and early- inthe artists women of activity in the interest revived This 1998). important(Reczetár earlier forgottenincluded historical perspectives; in 1992 a conference brought together art historians researching and also volumes these of Some arena. artistic international broader in the as as well Hungarian now re-discoveredarticles analyzing the artworks of the participating artists and attempting to locate them in the oeuvres from the first decades of the 20 Andrási 1995, Andrási 1999, Keserü 2000, Keserü 1999, Andrási 1995, Andrási & (András publications related or a catalogue issued exhibitions above-listed these of Several pity. fortuned women in ways that impose passivity and victimhood on them, and invite a response of “political ethnography” (Cull 2005:56). The authors of such projects tended to portray ill- Women’s Art 2000 Art Women’s 219 , Timár & Bálványos 2004) with 2004) & Bálványos , Timár th century th CEU eTD Collection This increase is largely explained byapeculiar development textile art witnessed, towhich iwill 1970s. the in rise a definite by however, preceded, is which respectively) 4.5 % 8.4 or chapter; The 1980s show a decline (5 or 2 women artists mentioned in the exhibition part or in the book art world. the also re-enter toearlierdisbandedartists’groups(e.g.,LiliOrszág)connected could and/or Schaár) Erzsébet (e.g., years pre-war in the active already artists women 1960s, some the official art scene of the Stalinist period. forced demise of independent artists’ groups, women’s participation significantly dropped within many of them coming fromindependently), there was a small artist’sbut steady number of women participants, artists or non-artists; families or having artist partners in private life). With the 9.6%). Füttyös kalauz/Whistling ticket collector who became noted for a single most popular, quintessentially Socialist Realist picture (Mrs. Annifirst Feleki: glance, but broken down to actual numbers and names, the book chapter mentions one single painter 245 developments in European art. years; its initiators and members intended to revive the fine arts scene and infuse it with the new 244 low number of women mentioned in Hegyi’s contribution. of, and were, at the same time, almost exclusively male-dominated creative environments; hence garde”the veryand “radical eclecticism”. These were artistic trends Hegyi was a major theoretician and organiser 243 the newly forming post-war art world (affiliated with the European School and descriptions from both sources corroborate each other. In the artistic-intellectual scene of applied arts (e.g. in the case of the 1945–49 period). Apart from these slight differences, thesources ( data cases this may explain thediscrepancies in the data on women’s participation from the two general view, are toa greater degree impacted by their author’s specific take on the task. Insome 1945–2000s to be over-determinedscene, by a particular perspective. The art book chapters, while also aiming at a Hungarian the attempted to give generalin overviews of the given periods and therefore are somewhat less likely participation The individual parts of the exhibition series women’s of overview An IV.2.ii Participation expressed in percentages can be misleading. 7.1% does not seem extremely low for the Európai Iskola/European School (1945-1948) was the most important artists’ grouping of the postwar E.g., Lóránd Hegyi (1999) presented a picture of the 1980s from the perspective of “the trans-avant- Table 3 Table and 4 ); 243 especially when the shows—unlike the book chapters—also considered ). The Székesfehérvár show gathers five women, yielding a ration of 245 As the grip of cultural politics loosened in the The History of Hungarian Art in the 20th Century 20th in the Art Hungarian of The History 220 244 orworking CEU eTD Collection world. With a veryrooted in this oppositional attitude shaped the identity of most members of the fewprogressive art exceptionscounterbalance the aesthetic demands of official cultural politics. The so-called “behavior art” (Dóra Maurer,jointly El Kazovszkij,context. Like i noted earlier, from the1960s through the80s, formingwas groups and stepping up Ágnes a consciousHáy,women artists in benchmark events and important groups has a specialIlona significance in the given Keserü),art world despite the factual presence of a number of female artists, the non-involvement of act era. ofthe self-defense,of collectives artists’ or events milestone in participated note do surveys period exhaustive more if not a “lobbying” strategy of a kind, to are all noted figures of the neo-avant-garde. oftentimes these were or the Balatonboglár Chapel Studio; see proportions but they were deleted in subsequent narratives or descriptions. artists. Thus we can quite certainly rule out that women did participate in these events in higher These canon-creating exhibitions or forums (such as the two picture. overall the within than groupings artist defining and events landmark those in lower more comprehensive surveys of the exhibition sequence, women artist’s representation is a lot landmark events and canon-creating artistic achievements take note of fewer women than the Novotny 2002, Klaniczay & Sasvári 2003, Hornyik & Sz 247 artists. visual (male) wakes of intellectual life (mathematicians, architects, philosophers, filmmakers, etc.), but its coreGo were total of 50); only three of them, however, were visual artists. InDiGo stands for 246 artists and events ( of women than the articles in the volume which tend to limit themselves to “most important” It attracts attention that the parts of the Székesfehérvár exhibition series include a greater number events or artist groups. in defining than overview general in the ratio different women’s on remark brief a after return The exhibition catalogues, invitiation cards, or recently published comprehensive source books (e.g., The creative workshop InDiGo had a relatively high number of active female participants (19 out of a ndolkodás / Interdisciplinary Thinking, and the group indeed involved young people from various 247 Apart from shedding light on the essentially male-dominated nature of the alternative the of nature male-dominated essentially the on light shedding from Apart Table 3 not prominent members of the art scene, unlike the male participants who and 4 ). Just as the book chapters in chapters book as the Just ). Table 5 246 In other words, only few women artists that the ) hardly featured any women artists, or if they did, 221 ŋ ke 2008) clearly list the names of participating Iparterv Zweite Öffentkichkeit, shows, In ter Szürenon, di szciplináris focusing on the R-show , CEU eTD Collection Vital textile 248 in textile art exhibitions, yet the ratio ofwomen and men artists tended to be the opposite than in part took neo-avant-garde the of artists male several affiliation, conceptual its heightened to Due bereft of any aspiration to be visually pleasing. Anna Wessely (1981) reviewed the1980/81 workshop, a practically black-and-white exhibition, 2002:30). Fitz in quoted Bán, (András itself” material the of qualities coaxing the from distance skeletons of textile” or abstract formulae representing the idea of textileconceptual and experimental, takingThe boundaries of thegenre have expanded, and textile arthasgradually become highly “an asceticthen enjoyedconsiderable freedom while therelated creative praxis was alsoofficially supported. the authorities did notexercise control over the workshops and showrooms of textile art, which been regarded asa branch ofdecorative artswhere counterculturalno activity might take place, artistic expression that were lesser tolerated in fine arts “proper” (painting and sculpting). Having mid-80s, the domain of textile art accommodated those concepts and progressive forms of objects as opposed todistinctive works of art. In Hungary, however, between thelate-1960s and applied art or a kindTextile art of craft rather than “grandforming around textile art wasart”; unique in this respect. its productswomen were not part of these forums and did not shareare this group identity. The community practical or decorative these shows;e.g., organizer of the transformation, i suggest, has “desexualized”, orrather de-sensualized, textile art. As the This with. engaged also tendencies abstract-geometric and constructivist conceptual, period’s the that those were addressed ideas it and problems the arts; applied to the expression of form this Kovalovszky 1999:206–07). At this point, it remained only the material—textile—that connected This was also indicated by the appearance of (Eleven textil, 1988). by default Textile after textile Textile after textile has always been a women-dominated area and is usually viewed as a form of as aform andisusuallyviewed area awomen-dominated alwaysbeen has (Textil textil után1978), textil (Textil 248 anindependent carrier ofartistic thought (Fitz 2002, show introduces them, some of these works were “mere thematic 222 exhibitions of textile art and by the very titles of Textile without textile (Textil textil nélkül, 1979), CEU eTD Collection within the unofficial art scene. that the creative workshop of Velem is particularly interesting in exploring the gender dynamics almost exclusively male-dominated art form. It is from the perspective of membership, i propose, Performance/Happening/Action Art scene in thecapital city in the1970s and 80s remained an female artists engaged with and Action Art whereas the however, Velem, In pieces. in male-authored participants as un-agentic unless performances belonging to the Feminist Art Movement), no women in the Budapest scene were seen in form of expression with international women artists at the time (and most especially those resembling of themale circles of vanguard artists. While performative genres were a preferred women working at theVelem workshop seem to have formed a community of practice established some thematic links with the gender of their creators. instead a medium ofconstructivist and conceptual experimentation, some of the works produced form was stripped of the qualities that usually relegate it to the sphere of “progressive” its in art textile though Even 2002:16). &Sunderland Litosseliti in quoted Ginet, reproduced through membership in different communities of practice (Eckert and McConnell- constructs his/her identity through these communities. Gender is also being produced and social capital; the individual as an active participant in the practices of social communities is practice of communities in learned and is shared that knowledge The a community. such for (1998:45); a band of artists seeking new forms of expression is one of Wenger’s own examples defines communities of practice as groups formed “by the sustained pursuit of shared enterprise” practice 249 view the Velem workshop—the site of biannual regular exhibitions. Partly because of this reversed gender-imbalance within textile art, i tend to 250 1970s till the mid-80s. 37). This mirrorspace is a trap; everything seems to be strikingly public yet hopelessly concealed.”distressingly lonely women-shaped shells [rough canvas or silk formed and hardened by enamel] (2002:and obfuscatingly bare space [defined by a deceptive array of transparent and opaque walls] stood Velem is a village in Western Hungary. The biannual That is how Péter Fitz describes a work ( . 249 Etienne Wenger, cognitive anthropologist, one of the originators of the concept, Tükörtér/Mirrorspace 223 artists’ camps here took place from the early- textile artists’ symposia—as a symposia—as artists’ textile ) by Lujza Gecser: “In a raspingly clear-cut 250 Even more importantly, the l’art féminine , and became community of CEU eTD Collection perform them. perform of amusical script: it contains simple instructions and the performer (any performer) is supposed to 251 also Sturcz 35). (ibid, art” Hungarian in women of equality intellectual the of recognition the to thinking, as well as hercreative “perseverance and ‘masculine’ consistency [...] largely contributed direction, while her personality and dynamic activity as anart organizer, her systematic, rational andabstract rational a “masculinely” toward slid art Her 2000b:42). (Sturcz painting” edge hard of various materials, and switched over to“masculinely monumental geometric formalist post- “eliminated the ’feminine’, sensual, erotic, voluptuous allusions” and the enigmatic combinations theory, Sturcz sees this creative turn in gendered terms. According to him, with this shift, Maurer geometric shapes, color qualities, andspatial effects. Inspired by feminist interventions in art with experiments painterly to took she direction: artistic Maurer’s marked turn a creative 1970s, mid- the Around allusions. erotic or sensuous involved sometimes pieces latter these reading, “ based and analytically inclined photo-actions, studied objects of nature, and made a series of of Events Early in her career, in the 1960s, Dóra Maurer (b. 1937) acted out asmall number of Fluxus-kind- feminist critical perspectives in Hungary in the 1970s. informants fromperspective the ofthe availability andperceived relevance orirrelevance of suggested, and my interviews confirmed, both Kele and Maurer turned out tobeenthralling the artists. As these and other unprocessed archival documents—that i will introduce below— the Artpool Art Research Center, Budapest, and retrieved information during my interviews of which i found unprocessed documents (scripts, drafts, photos, and invitations) in thearchives of based Katalin Ladik,Orsolya Drozdik to be discussed in IV.3.ii, the sound poetry performancesand of the - the scarcelyThe few exceptions to men-authoredrecorded performance outside the textile workshop were a piece by pieces by Judit Kele and Dóra Maurer, about Actions in Nature Actions “Event” is a genre invented by the Fluxus network of artists. The concept of the event is based on that 251 with female fellow-student, her VeraVásárhelyi, didseveral series ofconceptually ” with materials such asvegetation, fur, animal parts, etc. InJános Sturcz’ 224 CEU eTD Collection the -based union ofwomen artists “IntAkt”, practice were about. These documents are the artist’s type-written interview with themembers of 1970s, took an effort to explore what the feminist critic of art history and contemporary art documents i found unidentified) Maurer, with interview my until in (and, unprocessed set of another theHowever, Artpool archives shows that withMaurer, strictly aestethic questions of form and color and the like. for a short period in the late- a m experiences. Pécsi M the Austrian capital and the Hungarian scene just as most of the male artist circles (e.g., the Zugló Circle, 252 woman creator, was viewed as a psychologizing exercise, as Maurer admitted elsewhere ( Pollock 1996:69–72, Bordo 1995:482-83). Interrogating femininity, or what it means to bea contradict theprecepts ofanallegedly gender-neutral world ofexperiences(c.f. Wessely 2004:43, opt for disregarding, when in public, their personal experiences as women in order not to professional male world. As it has been often observed, women artists and professionals often professionals’ frequent—and often unconscious—compliance with the expectations of a around the time of hercreative shift [ibid.]), one is tempted to see in Maurer’s case women 26). Even so (and having been informed about her husband’s intellectual impact on her work marks theartistic turn—her own attraction towards such abstract ways of expression (ibid., 516– geometric shapes for more representational forms until she finally accepted—and this acceptance arrangements goes back to her high-school years. She tried to leave behind lines and basic according to her own narrative, her preference for forms of geometric expression andspatial for, evaluation this with disagrees Maurer 2009:501–10). Maurer (interview, world professional amale of standards the to part, Maurer’s on was asubmission, turn this that suggested Apparently, Maurer who was partly based in Vienna since 1967, mediated relevant information between ť vészetben ť hely) did by acquiring, translating and sharing international art publications or personal , 1979), and as such may not bewelcome in aprofessional environment preoccupied 225 252 her notes taken after the interview, a tape- “F”: N ŋ k CEU eTD Collection female artist faced. Many of these issues are transposed into her works in the form of a set of aset of form inthe works her into transposed are issues these of Many faced. artist female a as she difficulties and issues importantly—social and—equally artistic existential, with struggle complex the around narrative her built Ladik her, with interview my In scene. underground to Hungary regularly; before that date she only had sporadic appearances within the Budapest Montenegro) till 1992, when she moved to Budapest. Since the mid-1970s she came to perform and Serbia (later Yugoslavia Sad, Novi in lived 1942), (b. Ladik Katalin performances, sound Another Hungarian woman artist engaged with Performance Art, , visual poetry and professional self-development. intrigued by theworking of a gender regime in Hungary that legally guaranteed women’s rights to Also, Maurer’s interview documented howtheAustrian feminists andfellow-artists were levels. onboth face they inequalities the and workers creative and subjects social as women of broadcast The manuscripts of both Maurercriticism. feminist of issues andprivately, Simon as well as thereveal, she made substantialspeakers’ efforts in thelate-1970s todisseminate, both publicly and more contributionunfamiliar creature”(email correspondence, December 3, 2008), but,as theabovedocuments in the radio openness and was not more personally motivated than “the interest of a bug collector in any 1979). Lóránd Hegyi, and another unidentified voice. 254 (unofficially operating) commercial gallery in Budapest. home, and between 1980–83 she was one of the initiators and organizers of Rabinec Gallery, the first 253 recorded radio broadcast, and a type-written response from Zsuzsa Simon about women’s position in the visual arts ( moderated and initiated Maurer that was adiscussion broadcast 1979radio The 1979). from date documents (all 20, 1979” March on meeting feminist Maurer’s Dóra at myself iasked questions Her discussion partners were artists Judit Kele, Zsuzsa Szenes, art historians Ágnes Gyetvai and Zsuzsa Simon (b. 1943) is an art historian. From 1979 on, she hosted exhibitions and lectures in her 254 Maurer today says that her interest in feminist thought was part of a general intellectual “F”: N ŋ k a m ť vészetben show a clear understanding of feminist thought on the identity “F”: N “F”: 226 ŋ k am ť vészetben /“F”: Women in the arts, 253 entitled“Four CEU eTD Collection 1979), adding that she could notcompare women’s current social situation with an oppressive 110–18). “Emancipation has been achieved”, had declared Simon in hermanuscript (Simon 2009: Maurer 2009:070–85, Simon 2008:A076–156, (Ladik granted for emancipation women’s Simon and Dora Maurer. In the interviews, they all related that they took the instantiation of ofZsuzsa that matches narrative personal Ladik’s autonomy, sexual issuesof disregarding When speaking subjects, instead of featuring as mere objects of depiction or spectacle. as themselves could assert they bodies, actual their of staging the Art: through Performance juxtaposed with one solid reason why international women artists have often chosen to turn to when sharp isespecially This restriction (ibid.) tolerable way) washardly motivated clearly extras in his films without noapparent function. By contrast, a woman using her own body (in a female naked stark using was Jancsó, Miklós director, film Hungarian acclaimed the of features artistic distinctive the of one Ladik commented, time, At this in Hungary. recognition official her epithet “the undressing poetess”, and theartist identifies this the Ladik Itearned in Budapest. outrage caused event the cities, Yugoslav above the in welcome the profile of alternativeand was dressed in afur gown thatrevealed one of her breasts. While this piece perfectly fitted theater and art(Ladik) recited her sound festivalspoetry pieces, accompanied them in rudimentary musical instruments, (Bitef; inFestival Hungary. The performance was a quasi-shamanistic fertility ritual inwhich the performer of Expanded as well Media)(ibid., 336–465). As she recalls, this performance brought her quite a different reputationand was native Novi Sad but in and , and not only in professional circles but in tabloids performed an untitled piece that brought her relative renown inYugoslavia—not so much in her On the occasion of her first appearance on the Hungarian unofficial scene in 1970, she as the “scream therapy” (ibid., 265) to vocalize, very literally, gendered conflicts in her private life. figures (the angel) orgender-neutralized linguistic devices (interview, Ladik 2008:a000–50) as well recurrent motives: androgyny, the anima/animus duality, or the usage ofgender-neutralized 227 entrée as a lasting reason hindering CEU eTD Collection returned to the respondents’ own lives was the experience of male partners’ professional jealousy. narratives the Where 2009:209–18). Simon 2009:192–213, (Maurer colleagues of cases to referred point, the narratives did not so much recounted the individual respondents’ own life stories but this at Interestingly, artist-partners. male to aspirations professional women’s of subordination “onthologically given” (interview, 154). Relations in the private sphere often called for the (interview, 330–46). Simon thought of men’s social and professional privileges as something diffidence” “personal of act an them observing deemed and barriers”, “self-imposed standards double these regarded Maurer 104–10). (Simon, behavior female and male for standards double offered entrance onone’s own right but required a degree of “masculinization” and maintained prepared for, domesticity and relative passivity. A male-dominated professional environment overcome an environment that hardly conditioned them to creative work, but expected, and to had they career, artistic an start To other. each corroborate necessarily not did practices creators, admitting that a theoretical endorsement of equal rights and actual everyday life These delibarations center around the social, professional and personal relations of women- Nevertheless, a host of gender-based difficulties or inequalities come to surface in the narratives. proved to begood, was a major reason why feminist thought did noteventually appeal to her. as a woman has never encountered resistance or discrimination as long as her professional output Maurer’s account, the discourse on women’s equality was indeed liberating, and the fact that she existantial and within reach. Both Simon and Ladik saw the task and possibility of creating one’s own financial education and employment newly opening for women (interview, 2008A:076–90). 256 wedlock (interview, 2009:076–84). 255 promised tobring women’s equality ( generation, the internalized desire for “emancipation” as well as part of their lived experience previous onefor she had not lived through that. Especially when compared with the previous Ladik comes from a working class family, and very consciously took advantage of the opportunities of Under this label, Simon also included lifestyle issues such as marrying or having children in or out of 255 independence as a social norm generally endorsed by women around them. Qŋ i egyenjogúság 228 , as it figured in myrespondents’ accounts) 256 In CEU eTD Collection meet members of the semi-official Budapest art scene, became a ground for divorce (interview, A271-88). (interview, agroundfordivorce art scene,became Budapest of thesemi-official meet members 257 requiring individual solutions (interview, 274–86, 318–26). It remains to be explored what were maintained that herself, just like others around her, have viewed these as private conflicts While Maurer hardly refused any of the gendered problematizations of feminist thinkers, she or constrained. these apparently bore upon whether ornot the individual saw certain subject construction viable state’s emancipation discourse orits policies certainly did notproduce their likely that these women have always been strong-willed and self-sufficient persons. And while the ), and partly based on my own impressions on the occasion of our encounters, it is most interview, Maurer 2009:219–26; onLadik: János Sugár, personal communication, August 26, Simon: on 2008:005/12; Radák interview, 2000b:35; Sturcz Maurer: (of artists these of portrayal colleagues’ some on based Partly subjectivity. people’s shape that traits personal individual quite environment, even a social constructionist feminist researcher (like myself) has to leave room for required embarking on adifficult path. However, beside pointing to a positively influencing social self-fulfillment ranked higher than the adaptation to socially assigned gender roles, even if that Neményi characterized the women she sorted in this group were people in thelives of whom describedin“independents” MáriaNeményi’sresearch(1999:136–40; inII.4).As summarized The testimony of these women helped me to fill up with empirical evidence thecategory of was not ready to take infringements of her creative freedom. much resented if her partners were jealous of the little time she could devote to art making, and marriage and family relation and take on the extra effort to produce creative work, but she very motive structuringmajor as a issue this set herself Ladik A242–66). (interview, Ladik of life the in divorces actual to led and 276–93), (interview, Maurer for even manage to ourdifficult situation a be to proved This interview. As the artist related, she was ready to enter a traditional One such case, when she was invited for the first time to participate in a happening ( 229 257 overall subjectivities, overall UFO , 1968) and CEU eTD Collection historians, writers) who, as she recalled, art (artists, were women of a smallnumber to references receptive made Maurer examined. be to question to feminist ideas and were more insistent relevance when collective political identity was atstake (András1995:26). Herelies yetanother counter-cultural this to fall victim to asserted, within unofficial underground art, all forms of minority or sub-cultural identities tended a common “oppositional” role construction (c.f. “behavior art” above). And as Edit András social group whose members did seek political connections of some kind toone another sharing From one respect, however, the progressiveof the marginalization of women and women’s concerns within the counter-culture. art worldmisrepresent as naturalizedcan gender imbalance (“onthological given”), the more subtlebe processes seen as a culturallyreality oflittle overt institutional discrimination may have helped to overshadow, and marginalizedequal treatment “as long as one’s output proves to be good” (c.f. Maurer above) and the lived 1970s–80s in contemporaneous social reality. social in contemporaneous 1970s–80s another potential answer lies in the general disinterest of the Hungarian avant-garde of the 259 258 of society that the political leadership of state-socialist Hungary so powerfully effectuated? to one another? Had this lack of political solidarity also gotsomething to do with the atomization feature of a context in which members of disadvantaged groups do notseek political connections as ausual regarded be strategies coping Can individual ofreform? sphere asamajor relations lifestyles rhetoric thatand silenced discussions on the difficulties of reconciling traditional and “emancipated”personalnewly opening possibilities? Was this willingaspirations, consent brought about effectively by a political unspoken consent to certain gender-based injustices, willingly assumed in return of a range of and an it one Was level. individual the on solely difficulties tackling on insistence this for reasons whichthe did not identify private and interpersonal Onthis see Szántó 1993, György 2008, and Zsuzsa Simon’s narrative (interview, 2009:245–50). This process of “atomization”, “infantilization” and “alienation” is traced in Hankiss 1990:11–50. commission; gender, too, has been denied to have any 259 230 Within this self-isolated world, the promise of 258 Yet CEU eTD Collection This proved to be an act for which Kele was nearly expelled from the Art Academy, was charged were drawing each other , engaged in various performative activities (climbing a ladder, e.g.). Kele did a spontaneous action with a female classmate. They locked up in one of the studios, and academic and non-inspiring art curriculum at theart school, and with nude drawing in particular, 114). thisintolerancehadgendered overtones. Attimes, anoutdated, Beingfrustrated by 098– 2005:080–86, (interview, time the at scene art the within practices and attitudes dissenting Kele did identifyresearch. Although the reasons for heremigration was notexplicitly targetedtwo in theinterview, interrelatedin . I interviewed motives. her in Another2005, artist mentioned by Maurer, Judit Kele (b. Both1944),before left Hungary in 1980 and is now based thereasons question of emigration pertain narrativeswith this subject in a vacuum (interview, 2001:473–67).to emerged a very in my low femaletolerance artist within a of situation the for addressed she which in work, early her while Thus 2006:57). (Drozdik period the artistic tradition,culture, and women’s perspectives could not form part of the prevalent artisticwas idiom ofthe not exactly alternativerefused, art world did notdiffer much from the patriarchal perceptions defining official she felt thatneo-avant-garde circle seem to confirmshe András’s above claim: thepatriarchal perceptionswas of the dealing contemporary scene, i will discuss her artistic activity in IV.3.ii. 261 Zsuzsa Forgács. 260 One of these women, Orsolya Drozdik, an interest in the gender analysis of second-wave feminism. Hungarian avant-garde of the period and the departure of these creative women demonstrating emigration, or there was any meaningful connection between the strong male-domination of the of events allisolated were these is whether arises that question 80s. The 1970sand the committed suicide in 1991 (at the age of39), the others have all left Hungary around the turn of than herself ona continued engagement with them. One of the six women Maurer named Since Drozdik has been party based in Budapest since the 1990s and thus forms part of the Art historian Ágnes Gyetvai; artist Orsolya Drozdik, Judit Kele, Mariann Kiss, Julia Veres, and writer 261 left Hungary in 1978. Drozdik’s recollection of the 231 260 CEU eTD Collection some evidence for the process i called the “feminization ofthe art world”, i did look at the of the arts community and referred startedto a number of exhibitions that registered a growing number of active female members to showcase their(except forthose providing yetanothersurvey ofearlier decades).i Earlier on had alreadyoutput. Nevertheless,I stopped measuring the degreein of women’s participationorder in large group exhibitions after 1989 to provide because it depended on the domination of others (1982). feminism, it was amovement in which social and creative freedom was a freedom for men only Comini characterized early 20 early characterized Comini As Alessandra way. another yet in avant-garde historical the of spirit on the carry to appears simultaneous social developments offered for women. If so, the Hungarian neo-avant-garde the that newpossibilities the aswithheld it insofar reactionary and as regressive seen to be “vacuum”, orupbraiding that these approaches met, than the vanguard art of the period will have approach to their own art practice was indeed meaningfully connected to the indifference, If subsequent research ascertains that the departure of some women artists taking a gendered the “unserved” possession period upon divorce (interview, 115–187). remained “in the possession” of the French husband till 1983, and she had toreturn the price for marriage, so Kele divorcedhaving the art object (Kele herself) inher his home. At the time this was only possible throughHungarian husband,of theand the“artwork”. new wedding One was those who respondedbidder, organized.to the ad. For 1 CHF participants could purchase one minute of possession however, Kele purchasedThe auction took part in theMusée d’Art Moderne Paris with participants selected from among her for severalLibération years, and was insistingperformance for the 1980 Biennale de Paris, Kele posted an advertisement in the French journalon 91. Whensheleft, she embarked on a peculiarly gendered escape route. Intended as a with homosexuality, and caused her female colleague toavoid her company interview, 2005:087– in which she presented herself as a work art,of and offered this artwork for an auction. th -century vanguard art, running parallel with the first wave of 232 CEU eTD Collection Kriszta Nagy— Retrospective, Róza El-Hassan— Múzeum, Székesfehérvár (2005) Emese Benczúr— (2002) Art ofContemporary Budapest—Museum Orshi Drozdik— cultural producers received from cultural politics during the state-socialist period, being and artist economic marginalization less threatening than today. Also, due tothe heightened attention condition, aseconomic differences between most members ofsociety wereless significant and ageneral of this wasmore then but aswell, decades earlier in case the was This 2008:205–12). connected it with the changing factgender ratio ofart students with women byfar outnumbering men, and directlythat being an artistartist is and,not a sinceprofitable 2000,described processes of the feminization ofprofessions.anoccupation One of my interviewees, instructor Eszter Radák, (interview, at theopportunities, but art practitioners Budapestwill rarely relate this seemingly favorable condition to the oft- Radák Fine Arts outnumbered their male colleagues intheBudapest scene.Thiscreates a sense ofequalizedAcademy, did commentinitiators of new projects andon spaces—all considered to be theinstitutional power positions—have In the 2000s, female art critics, curators, gallery personnel (commercial or non-profit) and the Venice Biennale. called mid-career solo shows in major Hungarianart institutions and/or represented Hungary at formations are notrare. Five out of the six women artists to bediscussed in IV.3 had their so- women-only while 75%, least isat generally but is50%, period post-2000 the from sample start to show strikingly reversed gender proportions: women’s lowest representation in my initiatives and collectives creative however, on, 2000s the From formations. asearlier members 262 continued to be active in the1990s ( which have been artist-run projects. Some artist groups that were formed in the 1980s and gender constitution ofmore recently formed artist groups and/or artistic initiatives, many of ÁgnesSzépfalvi— 0ť csarnok/Kunsthalle, Budapest (2006) Up Until Now, Adventure in Technos Dystopium, Tackling Techné, Aperto, Recent Works, Recent 262 45th Venice Biennial (1993); WAX Culture Factory, Budapest (2007). 48th Venice Biennial (1999); Ludwig Museum Budapest—Museum of Contemporary Art (2004) Table 6 ) continue toyield similarly low proportions of female Ernst Museum (1990); 233 R Thinking/Dreaming aboutOverpopulation: A Visible/Invisible, A Retrospective, Szent István Király Ludwig Museum CEU eTD Collection 0ť under subsumed was Museum (Ernst again men are [2008]) Museum Ludwig and 2005] 0ť Art) were headed by women; and when thethird one (Ernst Museum) became independent from (M art contemporary of galleries/museums state-owned largest three Budapest’s of 1990s two early Inthe profession. remuneration, precarious employment conditions, and the declining social prestige of the professional and/or creative ambitions: considerably shrinking state subsidy, dwindling financial researchers and scholarly workers may apply here too as all these areas collect women with Hrubos (2002) identify as possible reasons explaining the growth of women’s proportion among & Haraszthy What longer there. is no which importance air of social romantic of akind had progressive-spirited division at the Academy in terms of its artistic profile, has never hired any hired never has profile, artistic its of interms Academy at the division progressive-spirited Radák, to be discussed laterDepartment has employed two more women as associatein professor (Orsolya Drozdikthe and Eszter Chapter). The the onlyIntermedia woman hired as full artist-professor (“mester”/”maestro”). Since then, the Painting Department, professorship at theBudapest Finesupposedly Arts Academy. Up until 2000, Maurer Dóra (seeabove) was the only One status within the art world isare coincidental, or therestill is a meaningful relation between them. almost exclusivelyprofessional community, and the moderate rise in prestige of these positions and institutions—reserved for men:these two processes—men re-appearing in the most propitiousthat positions of a feminized of the artist-contemporary art started to be seen as potential capital investment. It is too early to tell whether come again tofulfill, to a degree, functions of political representation prominence and their status is promoted through public-private partnership, whereby they may representative contemporary exhibition sites (M changed in most recent years. The newly appointed directors of the two largest and most csarnok in 2005). Inrecent years these prominent institutions have been re-gaining csarnok, it also re-opened its gates under the directorship ofa woman art historian. This ť csarnok/Kunsthalle and Ludwig Museum—Museum of Contemporary of Museum—Museum Ludwig and csarnok/Kunsthalle 2 ť 34 csarnok/Kunsthalle [new director appointed in . In the past years, past Inthe CEU eTD Collection shaping of their fields of artistic inquiry. artistic of fields their of shaping the and development students’ on impact aserious have might asprofessors/masters artists strongly influences their professional advancement. professional their influences strongly 263 positions, coming out with lucid artist’s statements, or working with clearly set agendas and would relate itto a more general evasion, in theHungarian scene, of taking up clear theoretical than attributing this attitude to areserve towards gender- or feminism-related problems only, i but the artists do not feel it “appropriate” to directly contest these scripts in their works. Rather roles, gender script conditions associal aswell material culture, family, which in ways recognize critique of social relations or conditions within the art world. These reflections may even systemic asa formulated not normally are and public, a broader to communicated statements in women artists’ self-reflection; theresulting observations, however, maynot bevoiced in and supplement András’s statement. I would propose that gender aspects are not glaringly absent with some of the women artists whose names the incipient discourse carried drove me to refine statements of intention, gender is glaringly absent” (András 1999b). Radák) Eszter emerging women artists: “gender aspects appear in theworks […]; yet, in self-reflection and Szépfalvi, (Ágnes in Hungary, made the following comment about the artisticstrategy output and attitude of newly Without interpretative In 1999identity: art historian Edit András, one of the initiators feminist of a gender-conscious art critical discoursefemale of mobilized Negotiators have that IV.3.i oeuvres and Artists approaches Self-representers. IV.3 system, educational master-discipline tothe indebted much with thegreat figures of the neo-avant-garde. Since the Hungarian Fine Arts Academy is still very filled are here positions artist-professor Senior faculty). visiting occasional than (other woman In this system, art students belong to a class of a senior artist (“master”) who supervises and often 235 263 the presence or absence of female The interviews i conducted interviews The CEU eTD Collection Budapest Fine Arts Academy (Szépfalvi 2004:A000–015), Szépfalvi almost became one of the After participating in a few women-only self-organized exhibitions in her art student years at the artistic expression. difference into play, while remaining deeply indebted to painting as their fundamental form of strategy, both Szépfalvi and Radák apprehend and invoke this potential to bring gender opposition to men’s or to a common understanding of women as has a feminist potential when it is understood as a vehicle for personal expression and is “linked or rather the re-appropriation and re-working of the codes of an outdated form and convention painting, argues, Deepwell asKaty Yet, 1996a). (Deepwell works scripto-visual and performance women andfeminist art movement, painting was denounced as an outmoded negatively-loaded medium for a great number of youngmany women artists have chosen the genre of painting (Timár 1998). Also, within the of feministwave of feminist art, remained an area typically dominated by men; in Hungary, however, a great first the after even painting, Szépfalvi, of a catalogue in reminds Timár Katalin historian art As artists turnedboth paint narrative-figurative pictures. ratherand even though their works differ considerably in painting method and subject-matter, theyto mixedrelation to the artistic tradition oftheir medium—painting. Both Szépfalvi and Radák are painters media,my view,film, their questvideo,2008:596–600, Szépfalvi 2008:265–78). Ipresent the two of them in the same sectionfor because, in a female with painterlyartist’s problems and are producing work for galleries and the art market (interview, Radák identity pre-occupied most are asthey insofar artists apolitical fairly are they that and inquiries, critical is deeply intertwinedpursued gender-related problematizations without an awareness of related theoretical or art with negotiatingSzépfalvi (b. 1965) and Eszter Radák (b. 1971). Both admit that they initially turned to and theirstrategies. This holds true to the two women artists i am discussing in thepresent section, Ágnes different ” (ibid.).I speaking out speaking argue again that without consciously employing a 236 or giving voice giving to perspectives which are in are which perspectives to CEU eTD Collection themselves from the world of women and thus defend male autonomy” (2004:51). autonomy” male defend thus and ofwomen theworld from themselves reactions the reflection of “typically male interests, fears and concerns and the need of men was to thatdistance “we do not accept divas here!” (interview, Nagy 2005:B082–100). Anna Wessely sees in such Nagy (discussed in IV.3.iv): the stated reason for Nagy’s unsuccessful first application to the Art Academy 264 style alone, Szépfalvi’s recurrentsubject-matter was also unusual. Female figures dominateher enthusiastic about installations, conceptual and dematerialized works. More than the painting outmoded at thetime when “the death of painting” had been announced and artists were preoccupation with structural and formal questions; and as a genre, painting was becoming up. The narrativity and figurativity of her pieces did notconform to the neo-avant-garde’s figurative pictures that were considered doubly out-of-place, contradicts this intention oflining was to align and keep to therules (Szépfalvi 1999:111). Yet, her decision to paint narrative- intention Szépfalvi’s values, female alternative with environment this confronting than Rather in amyriad of tiny things (Szépfalvi 2004:A154–72 ). was painful and outrageous in this and other settings, and to recognize the inequalities appearing milieu. uncomfortable easily hadshetheself-confidence retorted, back then—yet, they createdarelatively have could she recalls; artist as the derisive strongly not were received she teasing and remarks their nightly bohemian pub discussions, she did notquite assimilate tothis environment. The wearing stylish two-piece suits with high heels, and not joining the predominantly male gang in Usually 2008:030–76). and 2004:A251–63 like(interviews, look and act should painter (woman) difficult toconform to the expectations of both her family and the artist community ofwhat a in herclass and other painting classes had similarly low numbers of women. Szépfalvi found it the academy between 1984–90. As she recalls her student years, she was the only woman student generation of young women artists that emerged in themid-1990s, although sheherself attended lack of astudio finally ended in 1995, Szépfalvi returned to painting and became part of the motherhood. However, when the five-year “pause” due to pregnancy, childrearing and a chronic (female) artgraduates giving up theirartistic career after leaving school due to early marriage and The unacceptance of decisively feminine looks comes back in the narrative of another artist, Kriszta 264 Also in thelonger run, it took her a long while toverbalize that which 237 CEU eTD Collection confirmed canonic expectations. by up backed was notyet she style, that in to work started Szépfalvi when that fact the not obliterate does ( and later the Institute of Contemporary Art in Dunaújváros devoted a group exhibition to the topic spheres where women can only enter if they “disavow [their] bodies and act as partof the woman-self and counterbalance the effects of allegedly gender-neutral public and professional Szépfalvi’s account for her subject choice reveals anintention to sanction the expression of her transgression or destabilization ofdominant representations of women. Yet, a closer reading of films. This circumstance lessens the chance that the paintings would have much to do with the and interest anyone anyway (Szépfalvi 1999:113). The scenes in which Szépfalvi captures her exquisite said that she has been simply delighted at the sight of beautiful people, the average would not development was lengthily discussed in a series of articles in the art magazine did become a painting trend, and Szépfalvi is now registered as one of its first representatives. This 265 1995). (Szoboszlai consensus world art status, who could afford to make an artistic statement about the possibility toignore the current precisely awoman, marginalized anyway and thus not anxious about the loss of her mainstream expression and emotions are “natural” feminine qualities. As Szoboszlai contends, it had to be argument, the two factorsfigurativity and purported sentimentality of the do not relate on formulatedthe trend (Berecz 2001:50). Szoboszlaibasis alsooffered a sensible explanation of how the that the afreshly of preference follower asthe Szépfalvi sees Berecz Ágnes historian art alike; while critics and of figurativity,her lyrical-sensual mode ofexpression and the transmitted artistic attitude irritated fellow-artists lyrical János Szoboszlai (1995) think so, remarking that the painter’s notorious choice of subject-matter, character of Szépfalvi’s painting style was novel at the time. The artist herself and her reviewer Art critics’ opinions now differ about whether the delicate and attractive femininity. with shining them of all womanliness, high-class and elegant stylish, explicitly flaunting pictures, Technoreal? Acouple of years after Szoboszlai’s article was written, figurativy, narrativity and photo/hyper-reality apparently wealthy women are most often taken from printed media, television, or popular — Egy vita margójára/ Technoreal?—Annotations to a Debate; 265 In explaining her particular subject choice, the artist paintings relate to the artist’s woman-ness. In his In woman-ness. artist’s the to relate paintings 238 “ unabashed July–August, 2004). All 2004). July–August, ” figurativity and strong narrative strong and figurativity 0ť ért ŋ in the course of 2003, this, however, this, CEU eTD Collection the male figure out ( distribution between the owner and the object of the gaze: the beautiful woman who, according role unequal usually the subverts also painter The femininity. charming their retain they while narratives into the image.women Szépfalvi paints have attributes other than their pleasing appearance; they bring theirSzépfalvi’s own womenfact that unlike the throng of young women usually come across the from results as probably most uneasiness The 2003). 1998, Tóth powerful1998, Timár (Néray remarked and self-sufficientlooking ateven them is contaminatedAlthough with a degreeSzépfalvi’s of uneasiness, as severalpictures of( her reviewers are havewell-paintedmenyasszony/ presence is oftenpractically erasedas theirfaces are blocked from ourview ( and look nice,populated one. She only occasionally paints the women’s male partners, and even then the men’s the pleasureSzépfalvi switchesan from unadmittedly male-defined universe toawoman-defined and – that comes from English. same in the case of other works of Szépfalvi or other artists where the original title or text included is in 266 ( lends these “snapshots”—featuring e.g., female friends spending time together turning, orfreezing, particular banal moments into paintings, a venerable genre of the visual arts, representation, of the domain that she as a woman is familiar orcan identify with. The gesture of artistic in visibility, is the here negotiated being is What 113). 1999:110, (Szépfalvi people” or be cynical when doing so. […] Women will do unexpected and bold things, which embarrasses will blush men while wholeheartedly stuff kitschy write can Women […] with. familiar I’m what That’s […] women. painted always I’ve women. like ireally “[s]omehow femininity: for quest impertinent and teasing,brotherhood” (Pateman,rather quoted in Fodor 2003:34). The artist characterized her choice as than combative, and as one that also gives way for an ongoing / Barátn The original title of this work is in English, that is why i only provide an English version. I will do the Movie, 2002); or because the female figure, passive and frail as she is, nevertheless blocks nevertheless is, as she frail and passive figure, female the because or 2002); Movie, ŋ k/ (Women)friends; Bride in a Car, 1996); or the size of the male figure is significantly smaller in scale in smaller significantly is figure male the of size the or 1996); a Car, in Bride Like a Doll Bár , 2005). /Bar; Café 266 ) orpictures ofbrides—a heightened relevance. 239 offered for view in media images, most of the Kocsis CEU eTD Collection the film’s topic, the friendship of a young girl and a man, was met with abashment: critics and colleagues 268 Budapest). instead of the ones where she returns the gaze (personal communication, Szépfalvi, April 18, 2005,her tend to opt for the more dreamlike compositions where the female figure blends into the image 267 disconcerting oreven sinister impactwithin thescene depicted ( confidently own the gaze even when their gaze does not interact with theviewer, but has a pleasure found in a submissive woman ( these women promise obedient and docile creatures, they return thelook and thus suspend the here often owns the gaze. Although the appearance and the attributes written on the body of to her ordinary role in dominant modes of representation, merely some erotic implications were brought into play. suitable toless respected genre painting only, and continued to be regarded a mushy one—unless again. The theme of children, even in its high biedermeier period was considered a subject aquarelle painting: the theme of children. Her choice of subject-matter is not so self-evident and oil into theme another (re-)introduced Szépfalvi 1995, around to painting returned Having popular culture: an iconic sign that has no original and signified in the social sphere. source” or supplements with new details. Inthese (re-)used or montaged images, the many “copies without a magazines or private photo collections and then places in anew context, or scenes that she increasingly socase inthe ofscenes which the painter takes fromfilms, advertisements, that these pictures are “copies without an original” or memories to find the original of thegiven picture—but one finally has to reach the conclusion one’s searching starts one that familiar so are paints she protagonists and the scenes The viewer. the embarrass to pictures Szépfalvi’s of capacity the for explanation another gives Timár Katalin Women, In commenting on Márta Mészáros’s film from apicture to buy intending customers or institutional the private of some that noticed Theartist 2005). “null denotations” are, in fact, femininity or the way femininity is represented in Just like home Woman in yellow skirt,Woman yellow in 240 (1978), Catherine Portuges took note of how note of took Portuges Catherine (1978), 268 Szépfalvi, however, recognized another “null denotations” (Timár 1998). This is This 1998). (Timár denotations” “null 2002). Mérték appears 267 Szépfalvi’s women also women Szépfalvi’s /Measure, 2004; /Measure, and (c.f. Berger 1972:47), Berger (c.f. CEU eTD Collection There arefrequent hintstofemale presence, too, inRadák’s cream-colored” “ice paintings: these 2008:285–300). picture and after a solid structuralist training, it was a long struggle toaccredit identifiable objects in the parts asin parts pictures. Human presence is only hinted at in the form ofa very few random silhouettes or body- figures (the vast majority of which are women), no people at all appear onEszter Radák’s human without Szépfalvi-picture no practically is there While unlike. is quite choice subject and style painting their pictures, narrative-figurative paint Radák and Szépfalvi both although above, forward iput As 2008:350–60). Radák (interview, language pictorial structuralist strictly class of Dóra Maurer (discussed in IV.2.ii), and ittook her a long time tomitigate the effects of a offering a wider-reaching education was adopted. Radák spent most of her student years in the curriculum a and neo-avant-garde) the of protagonists (mainly hired were professors new when IV.2.i) also (see school art the at “revolution” so-called the following year 1991, the in Academy professional and privatethe heading of“Negotiators offemale identity: Without strategies”, Eszter Radák found her surroundings limitingperceptions or mere sights that it had been shutting off, the other painter discussed here under in another way.felt the need to stubbornly, albeit not combatively, confront thisRadák environment with experiences, started theWhile Szépfalvi did notencounterBudapest a supportive environment at the beginning of her career, and Art 2000; abstraction (1990:326). oriented painterly conventions by using figurative imagery in opposition to the orthodoxy of formalist 269 doubt that he is motivated by perverse desire” (1993:133). “referred jokingly to the film by arguing that if a strange man shows interest in a little girl, there can be no as many artists of the daughters—just her of existence, mere or development, Feminist the in depicting subject-matter relevant Art Movement did ( Whitney Chadwick reports of anumber of British women painters who, in the 1970s, similarly re- Nina és Nyugi Ostoba turista arrive at a pictorial language that allowsfor meaning and narrativity (interview, Radák 269 /Nina and Nyugi, 2003). Nyugi, and /Nina (Stupid Tourist, 1998) and the series the and 1998) Tourist, (Stupid 241 Anna és ahegyek/ Lábasok (Legs, 1999). As Radák says, Radák 1999). As (Legs, Anna and the mountains, CEU eTD Collection ban on “writing” this difference on the body—or on one’s own canvas, for that matter. virtual the lifts appearance—and personal of choices trivial most in one’s manifest it becomes expectation to disregard, in aprofessional environment, one’s difference as a female subject—as This “embracement” or “endorsement” of “blond-woman-ness” carries a refusal of the this is a reverse attitude than complying with the standards of a male-defined professional world. expression Radák uses to describe this attitude is “embracing blond-woman-ness”. Iargue that of provocation, the attributes of femininity was the generation (interview, Radák 2008:064–105). Coming upfront as women and flaunting, with abit older the of activity and work the of critique pert was a practice artistic their with represented period ofexhilaration. After theregime changeand at thethe reform Academy, theattitude they artists inventing their own independent and personal medium of communication, this was a with a different attitude. As Radák remembers her early career and the “boom” of young women of her training are not entirely cast off but this tradition is being re-appropriated and is carried on objects and private spaces, and the chatty picture titles. Itseems that the fundamental principles 271 270 aloofness of the human-less pictures is diluted by the ice-cream colors titles. narrative long carry lives still animated fairly Radák’s quilts. patchworked as scenes depicted color fields and patterned color patches, both applied with versatile facture, piece together the painterly approach and so does the technique of“stitching” the pictures: destabilizing perspective of the room interiors still reserve something shades ofRadák’s reviewers (c.f. Mecsithe 1998, Berecz 2001) associate the colors of paintingsice cream and the are fancycolour bags, women’s shoes and clothes scattered around pieces of loudly patterned furniture. for the coloring also reflects the artist’s frivolous attitude. The the Dummy Who Brought Sweet Instead of Dry?; Ugh! Where Did I Throw my Bag? E.g., The very phrase “stiching pictures” comes from Mariann Újházy (2005:33). 271 All in all, thepaintings take on apersonal and impersonal character at the same time. The Why Aren’t the Shoes this Pretty in the Shops Too?; The Only Flower which Survived my Gardening; Who Was 242 language ofthis liberation (ibid.). The , the exposition of personal of adeconstructivist of 270 sharply contoured CEU eTD Collection Wassermann (1998). The title of the large 8-piece tableau, 8-piece large the of title The (1998). Wassermann the Luxemburg Garden actually hides allusions to the landscapes of Poussinand the palette of wanderer above thesea of fog Moholy-Nagy isphotogram by the internationallyturned acclaimed member of the Hungarian classical avant-garde, into a proximity and turningteacup; theminto diary-like records of herown life. AsBeatrix Mecsidetected, a a heroicappropriates and ’inhabits’ pieces of the art historicallonely heritage through bringing them into banal figure of Caspar David Friedrich ( out tore-paint the trendiest artefacts of today’s culture interview, 2003:012/3–6). So then she decided to obey and, instead of inserting her ingenuity, set Radák, (interview, set is universally day ofthe trend art the for matter not does really residence British contemporary art magazine, hand, the artist mocks the uniformity of international art production. When leafing through the in which these elements are appropriated and re-worked in adisrespectful manner. On the one images, styles, motives, orartefacts from art history or popular culture in creating her own pieces her own perspective and for her purposes is what she terms “Lop Art”: A maneuver through which Radák re-works the conventions and masterpieces of grand art from female. female spectator. The casting of the viewer changes here, and the implied spectator becomes depicted invoke fragments ofwomen’s life whereby they primarily (orexclusively?)address the life situations and objects asthe aswell talk” “girl imitating titles picture dialogical Radák’s connotes “Op Art”, the strictly geometrical optical art of the 1970s. 273 generic “he” with “she” (instead of having recourse to some neutral or inclusive formulation). 272 meet isto image the and male, is always this act in viewer active implied culture (e.g., John Berger 1972, Laura Mulvey [1975] 1989; see also footnote 121) stated that the Theorists who investigated the power relations within the act of looking at products of visual A word for word translation would be “theft art”, but the sound of the compound in Hungarian This operation is similar to the strategy of some feminist writers/authors who strategically replace the 272 , 1818) reappears here as a stupid tourist; an oriental carpet resembling carpet oriental an tourist; a as stupid here reappears , 1818) Frieze , as Radák narrates, she got the sense that her place of place her that sense got the she narrates, , asRadák 243 . On the other hand, Eszti körkép 273 (translated bythepainter she borrows or quotes with her “thefts”, she his gaze and desire. gazeand The CEU eTD Collection and personal constraints, and the presumption that this language is meaningful and has a broader ago, the calculated display offemininity as a language of breaking free from earlier professional and manner of execution, and identifies a difference. In that particular situation some ten years she assesses young women painters who seem tofollow a similar track with their subject choice world, might have ruled out such qualification (interview, Radák 2008:484—95). As an instructor, political commitment and consciously address the social dimensions of women’s position in the a express failingto contexts, if inother even art, women’s asdoing across come indeed could academy was being reformed, and the growing number of female fellow-students), their approach art the off, was cleared politics cultural constraining (a situation particular inthat art: women’s emergence of her generation, Radák reminds that it was afairly context-dependent incarnation of has kept Radák from structuring knee-jerk, refusal offeminist standpoints, it is this inclination toadopt a variety of positions that From the Left, and in the Meantime( my Tea’s Gone Cold; 2004). Ratherby thanRadák an informed, thator proliferation of viablestandpoints, favored in postmodern thinking,portray too, had an impact onworks Borrowing,the quoting and appropriating are also strategies of postmodern art. Pluralism andsame a object fromis the diminutive of Eszter, Radák’s given name). various (Eszti livingroom Eszti’s from observed Radákestate, the landsurrounding the aviewof offers angles evenin arotunda devoted to it. But within the94; today on permanent display in the National Historical Memorial samePark, Ópusztaszer, Hungary, painting Hungarian history, century monumental panorama painting featuring major figures of the great moments of 19, 2003, Budapest). artists building their oeuvres around one single axis (personal communication, Eszter Radák, December 274 as Nézegetem jobbról, nézegetem balról, közben kihült a teám/ kihült közben balról, nézegetem jobbról, Nézegetem She is also convinced that Eszti’s Panorama [Can’t See any Ancient Hungarians] Ancient any See [Can’t Panorama Eszti’s Feszty körkép the relatively small and centralized Hungarian art scene would not allow for (The Feszty Eszti’s Panorama Eszti’s a one-dimensional Panorama) 244 does not muster heroes of history and instead , 2003) ambitiously echoes the title of a 19 (woman) artist identity. I Look at it From the Right, I Look at it , painted by Árpád Feszty between 1892– 274 When recalling the th - CEU eTD Collection (usually paid) sexual intercourse. 275 Radák’s play comments acknowledged onopenly elements ofcultural awareness, a they contain kötelességemet munkahely? woman, self-effacementvisual quality, the picture titles add sardonic commentsand on a social context that expects, a from a submersion same the with on carry paintings her while So 2008:009–25). Radák (interview, environment in her role as mother (ibid.,surroundings, and a great degree of ignoring her changed condition within the professional 574–95) ( an artist with a young child, encountered an unexpected force of social expectations in her private bolder now than the life she lives inasmuch as the pictures maintain the earlier zest while she, as actual life practices have disunited since she became a mother. In her In relation to her own artistic practice, Radák registered a change in that this practice and her textual information vanished (ibid, 468–80). and critical related the while mostly, images –through was mediated artist feminist international viable position orapproach, Radák attributes this disengagement to the fact that the activity of its problematizations, strategies and discourses remained largely unexplored, and unabsorbed as a transitory trends of the international art world. As such, it has faded after a couple of yearsat the conclusion while that, in the Hungarian scene, women’s art has been regarded as one of the very much caught up in mainstream representations of gender difference. The interview arrived seem to be stuck in “representing femininity” and a putative identity search which, however, is on, and failed to re-engage with a variety of potentially relevant questions. Put differently, artists based discrimination. This mode of presentation has apparently flattened out, ordid notmove environment where young women artists practically face noinstitutional obstacles or gender- an in sniveling” as“private across comes ofexpression mode unideological and subject relevance, seemed“self-evident” andneededno further justification. Whereas today the same The word in the Hungarian title has a double meaning: it means a load of laundry and is slang for /Is this a homeor workplace?, 2008; /One more number 275 to go, and I’m done with my marital duty, 2007) Insofar as 245 Na még egy menet, ésteljesítem házastársi own words, the pictures are Ez lakás vagy CEU eTD Collection exposed how women did not art world. onlyThe feminist criticism of the emerging male-structured art systemhad of early 20 the function of theAnother early piece, muse or the model but also of the photographed image captured in dancing poses. modern dance, as her role model, and projected images of the famous dancer on her own 276 pieces of atmosphere of the counterculture in which she was tostart her creative practice. In the early themasculinist wasrather there her drove What elsewhere. topic same the on discourse feminist ofanongoing anawareness without didso she artist, as afemale her for available works, traditional male-biased art practices and problematized the limited choice of role models her in questioned, she 1970s the in when 2001:A542–68), Drozdik interview, 2006:82, (Drozdik generation of women artists that emerged in the mid-1990s. According toher statements been partly ,based Canada in and, Budapestfromfrom the Budapest1980 Fine Arts Academy in 1977, and a year afteron, left the country in New York, Unitedagain, States.broader activity is notcovered by this general statement. Orsolya Drozdik (b. 1946) graduatedSince and1989, Drozdikthis hasrelated reflection is being tackled in the artworks. Thereis is one artist, however, whose work and Drozdik) why (Orshi i am to IV.3.i, in and, scene arts visual Hungarian artist in the art consideringfeminist In I.3.ii self-admitted A her heroine: as lone partThe ofIV.3.ii the and remains rather implied. critique of the gender regime she inhabits, but her criticism is not sharply articulated in herwork This is when she started to use the artist name Orshi Drozdik. i referred toa professional consensus that has formulated about the absence of feminist Individual Mythology Individual Nude Exhibition Nude (1977–2001), Drozdik cast Isadora Duncan, the “liberator” of (1977), addressed women’s problematic functions within the 246 the rather reserved ways in whichgender- 276 and lived in the th century CEU eTD Collection the object of viewing as well as the dilemma this hierarchical relation poses to the female model on the basis of their shared femaleness and reveal thehierarchy between the viewer and supposed to differentiatefemale-ness and observe the naked female body as any other neutral object to be depicted? Is she her artistand posed a number ofrelated questions: Is selfthe woman artist supposed to disavow her own from her femalemodel with her back to them, the event signaled a defiance to the customarymodel, role distribution, or isfemale her seated and professionals—spatially, art and artist male she of predominantly community to identify withwatching the her draw a female nude. Since Drozdik clearly dissociated herself from the audience—aboth the roles of the viewer-creator and the viewed: the predominantly male audience was visitors by a rope, Drozdikalternative culture at the time. In one of the rooms of the Club, well lit and separated from the was drawing a live nude model. In this scene the artist undertook Young Artist’s Club (Fiatal M Exhibition Nude (2004:49). achievements of art through the ages as defined by the exclusion of woman as a creative subject” masters and taught art history in away that allows her only to experience the tasks, problems, and Anna Wessely wrote inrelation to thiswork, “[t]he womanartist is generally trained by male to relate to the drawingExhibition Nude of female nudes, one“expressed” themselves (Elisabethbasic Wilson, quoted in von Osten 2005:165). The performance exercise in artproducers, and confronted them with massiveeducation criticism from male colleagues whenever they and practice?class marriage As for female membersmistress. These roles may have opened upof new relationship modelsthe beyond the morals of middle-Bohemian world, but hardly let them be regarded as was performed on consecutive nights during a one-week long program at the engages another conflict-ridden moment a woman artist encounters: how is she ť vészek Klubja,Budapest); one of the most frequented venues of 247 CEU eTD Collection reconcile thesensuality and theory-split in (feminist) conceptual art as this trend often refrains reinstallation of visualTo pleasure position into art making inherself the conceptualsimilarly direct linkages to respective sections in feminist theory. idiom,within or, in other the words, feministto art scene, Orshi Drozdik claimed to undertake the consciousness of the self on), and produced, already in New York manufacturing of the self Foucault’s words—the “technologies of the self”. Drozdik dubbed this process the demarcate its own specific concerns and inquiries. One of these was to explore—in Michel exclusionspseudo-persona for herself as a creative woman. Having disclosed the gender-biases and of patriarchalan attempt to introduce an outstanding woman into the history of the natural sciences, also a culture and “adding women” to it, feminist criticism set out to invented the figure of Edith Simpson (1983–86), afictitious scientist from the late-18 and metaphors with which science has represented nature and the human body. Drozdik (Adventures in Technos Distopium Technos in (Adventures scientific knowledge production. The pieces of the photo series apple. the artist projected the frames of a porno movie onto her own naked body while she was nibblingperformance at an 277 subject? perspective alleges, unknowingly assumed a female perspective, Drozdik focused on inserting this missing developmentThe subsequent phases in Orshi Drozdik’sof oeuvre show a clear correspondence to the historical feminist criticism.“auditorium”) also commented on the performative nature of gender role fulfillment. After the above-mentioned first works that, as the artist Drozdik addressed similar questions—encountering the objectified naked female body—in her photo- 277 The theatricality of the whole arrangement (well-lit “stage”, a separation of “stage” and Pornography into the prevailing masculine modes of rational (1979; already delivered in ) beyond the painter/model relation. Here . ( Az én fabrikálása Az én Almost each piece of , started in 1983) capture theforms, modes of classification a series of installations focusing onthecoming into /Manufacturing the Self; various versions from 1993 248 the artist’s highly homogenous oeuvre finds thinking and purportedly objective purportedly and thinking Kaland a technikai disztópiumban atechnikai Kaland th centuryin CEU eTD Collection 279 also return to questions addressed by feminist art in the 1970s, and invest a lot in pictorial qualities.artistic repertoire before, and one that is most sought after in commercial galleries. Curves Body and The pieces Draperies Venuses: presented the retrospective show Drozdik exhibited paintings ( for self-identity is replaced by the (over-)re-interpretation of classic female social roles (2002:114).suggested Sincethat visual qualities overdominate theoretical analysis in Drozdik’s recent works, and the quest 278 mission. She posits the theoretical or ideological backwardness of one geographical location imperialistic, if not colonizing, (culturally) toa efforts her liken that approach inher elements of unaware may be she but mission; asaconsciousness-raising undertaking her sees herself engendering a feminist public sphere in Hungary. The artist’s public statements disclose that she of part beaconstitutive could that enterprise an consciousness-raising, as awayof qualify class with a feminist as well programas a book on her own artistic production (Drozdik 2006). Since 2006, she has also run a at the Budapestaudience by writing on, and editing a rather advanced Finereader in, feminist theory (Drozdik 1998) Arts Academy. Hungarian the of feminism-illiteracy the alleviate to efforts involved has activity Drozdik’s This diverse activity could interrelations of critical conceptual art and Institutional Critique. measures. aesthetic dominant surrender to incapacity which demands the production ofmarketable art objects, combined with an unwillingness or tradition and object-making. Itmight also be a rationalization forher gallery-oriented art practice It is arguable, however, what other factors contribute toDrozdik’s insistence onthe patriarchal 1999:10). (Drozdik artists feminist US conceptual renowned while theintellectual content of her work was also more complicated than that of a number of more interested in the possible applications of this heritage rather than disowning it altogether, encountered as a general artisticattitude heritage and the use of traditional techniques, genres and mediums. But unlike what she within the New Yorkpages of a Hungarian art monthly, Drozdik acknowledgedCity her indebtedness to the patriarchalart world feminism,from producing actual artifacts in favor of tackling intellectuallyshe sophisticated concepts. Inhas the been See footnote 214. In reviewing Drozdik’s retrospective exhibition in the Ludwig Museum Budapest, Kriszta Dékei , Budapest Showroom, 2007)—a genre that has not formed part of her of part not formed has that genre 2007)—a Showroom, , Budapest Lipstick-paintings à la Fontana 249 278 If so, such practice is blind to the 279 , Atelier Pro Arts, 2006; CEU eTD Collection concerns (e.g., Gal-Kligman 2000a:99; Watson 2000:190–93). similarly missionizing and even imperialist attitude of these women expecting to find replicas of their own 281 oeuvre (Drozdik 2006:79, 134; Máthé 2007:43). volume was to remedy the omission of local critical attention to duly assess—in fact, canonize—her 280 cultural production: another fundamental myth of modernist art that New Art History and later autonomy within society and a non-recognition of the contextual nature of knowledge- and art’s in belief preserved eventually an discloses relations economic and social particular in activity artistic (feminist) situate to failing Also, concepts. essentializing earlier of critique feminisms’ thought and the pluralism of possible standpoints, including post-modern and post-colonial feminist within debates the of ignorance an as well feminism, Western view of normative and an undifferentiated of tells also This universalism. aWestern-centered of much retains location First, positing that the concerns of (Western) feminism are selfsame across time and geographical artistic practice. contexts in which it emerges. This approach, however, brings on further incongruities in her historical bytheparticular marked as asocialcurrent feminism failstoperceive that approach context-ignorance of both her artistic and “educational” pursuit most probably stems from an feminism”. “master that by raised concerns the of replicas expects she as insofar regime reflecting over the particularities—“mere differences”—of a different cultural context and gender work against to seems alliance and this theory, feminist Western to indebted isadmittedly work testifying to the morecultural and historicalor contexts and do shape knowledgeless projects differently, without, however, “developed”“mere differences” (Yuval-Davis 2006:199):nature cultural differences that doexist between different of any of the 1995:7). cultures(Drozdik considered.Hungarian Drozdik’s artcompared to another: in an 1995 interview Drozdik, anticipatingworld, the “catching up” of the described the local public as one not yet ready to embrace her work Several authors, writing on Western feminists’ curiosity in post-socialist societies, have pointed to a As the artist herself as well as a reviewer of her book pronounce, the purpose of her recently published 280 What is missing from Drozdik’s consciousness-raising bid is a recognition of 250 281 This CEU eTD Collection concerns preoccupying video artists at the time […] and women artists in particular” (2005:274). , asin than rather references, social and personal, historical, extraneous supplying text the active response of the viewer: the viewer must fill in, add to, build upon suggestive elements in the “facilitate to are ofart works texts, cultural of theories post-modern and poststructuralist relationship she establishes between her“text” (the work of art) and the recipient. According to artist’s orientation towards post-modern thought conflicts with herauthorial attitude and the 283 282 theory, whereby they also act like illustrations or mouthpieces to operate like vectors: they prescribe one-way linkages to particular points of the corresponding unveiled. powerfully have history art of critique feminist the method when writing about Drozdik’s video piece problematizing the very compelling application of theory. Dimitrakaki also only factually refersconnecting to this to the various texts of Foucault, Barthes, Kristeva, etc.. She does so, however, without 284 photos taken of scientific devices in various museums of natural science. centuries, lying in a calculatedly erotic pose; anumber of silver plates with love letters carved onelements: them; a rubber cast of the artist’s naked body featuring as a dummy used for medical studies in earlier activity of the spectator. In my view, Drozdik’s works may be formally complex, “retinal” pleasure; here i would underline her authorial strategy to totalize the meaning-producing she employs. Ialready touched upon herinsistence onproducing handcrafted objects for strategies communicative the and thought) post-modern and (feminism with practice artistic her frames Drozdik that theories the of postulates the between iargue, crack, isacomparable There 2006:27). Chaudhuri taking placebetween its overt ideology and its formal properties [...]. whichIn such texts, “an internal criticism is crackstext/product the may[text] a readings, turndeconstructionist to whenexposed texts/products cultural mainstream many out to offerapart “a critique with case itisthe As theories. post-modern on based heavily itself enterprise, artistic atconstructed the of itself seams” throughundermine (if notcollapse) the stated foundationsthe and the integrity(Comolli of Drozdik’s very consciouslycontradictions andthat appearNarboni, quoted in For instance, the various editions of the installation-series See my brief summary of this critique in I.2.ii. In her analysis of Drozdik’s oeuvre, Andrea Tarczali (2000) gives a detailed account of the linkages Double 251 (1979–80): it “is almost an illustration of the Manufacturing the Self for those ideas. for those 282 Both these failings seriously failings these Both combine the following 284 This is where the 283 but they tend CEU eTD Collection meaning-producing activity ofthe recipient in order to anchor meanings; there i referred to this the and signification of complexity the delimit would that strategies textual I.3.iii, in discussed, readings. These readings also correspond to what the artist’s own statements spell out. I already 2004) exclusively draw on theframed discourse of feminist theory and arrive at rather uniform Wessely 2002, Drozdik 2002, Dékei 2001, Z. Pap 2000, (Tarczali discussions these anchored: The critical reviews onDrodik’s work evince how possible interpretations are effectively tenets of Lacanian feminist psycho-analytic theory” (2004:52). Venus Medica connotative relation between image and text in the art ofOrshi Drozdik: “The the connoted meanings from proliferating” (ibid.). Anna Wessely registers the same illustrative- signifieds, limits the projective power of the image, and constitutes “a kind of vice which holds 18th century anatomical wax-model made for medical studies. 285 information given in the text, or when “the text art can effectively visual of works in incorporated elements Textual information. visual to elements textual bringadding meaning to closureAnother textual device contributes to constraining meaning in Drozdik’sor work: the mode of fixation. Whenone preferred reading and suppressthe the interplay, indeterminacy and heterogeneityvisuals of meaning. plainlyinvite active meaning productionredouble by the viewer, while the vector-like correspondences impose the thus favors authorial strategies that allow for a multiplicity of interpretations and 1984: xvii). &Tucker (Wallis modernism, transporting himself tothe special world and time of the artist’s original production” the linguistic message linguistic the redundancy or illustration ([1964] 1977:40–41). When this happens, the denominative function of of case a identifies Barthes Roland others”, receive and some avoid to him causing image, This installation contains love letters written to scientific instruments, including the Medical Venus, an are compelling, but theyare, on the second thought, poetic translations of familiar anchors all thepossible (denoted) meanings as it 252 directs the reader through the signifieds of the 285 fixes thefloating chain of Love Letters ofthe CEU eTD Collection feminine through their address of the recipient. This diversion evokes Kuhn’s distinction of Thus there appears a conflict between what her pieces communicate on the level of content and representation and author-recipient relation that seem to be unaffected by these critical currents. textual practices and authoritative attitude towards the recipient are caught up in a mode of Thus while Drozdik’s works heavily draw onfeminist theory and postmodern thought, her understanding of her artistic output. mentioned above—clearly serve to channel interpretations and bring about the desired These operations—as well as the self-authored volume onher own oeuvre (Drozdik 2006)i textual Drozdik’s art may beso unanimous because the artist has opted for several of the above extra- Orsolya of reviews The 1994:16). (Kuhn etc. statements, and appearances personal reviews, extent clear; and may further limit meanings through other—extra-textual—ways: interviews, with aknowledge offeminist art); may deal with issues on which positions are already to some audience only (an audience conditioned to produce the “right” reading; e.g., art professionals actively influence the range of meanings may opt for. They may choose to address a very specific work will be read as intended. Anette Kuhn lists several options that producers who want to subsumes artistic production that aesthetics or functionalist areductionist and meaning of such closure to resort may into a direct expressioninactivated recipient. I reminded that cultural products that wish tocommunicate of feminist ideas ideological interestsclearly as possible, and would therefore establish a hierarchical relation between author and theto ensure that thefrequently encountered in mainstream texts, or texts that intend to transmit their signifieds as are and address organization textual how this also discussed I ofmeaning. asclosure strategy texts. strategies and has always exercised close control over material published on her work. 253 feminist and CEU eTD Collection around one single“textual politics” Benczúrand El-Hassan employ.Neitherofthetwo artistscentre theiridentity axis (thataesthetics of (Andrásfemininity, modernist of analysis the formalist with beexhausted cannot meanings 1999b). astheir suggested, More important or anyengages than other), thegender-related tangential andsingled out bythe emerging feministties discourse in artalthough issues. their work only tangentiallyeven in content Theirif are,workstheyHungarian two i argue,call negotiate for the the tools the prevailingof treatment ofsome specifically feminist women-related issuesissues. Inwhat follows i will look at interpretations,story has nothing tosay about the problems it touches upon, the film reifies, rather than shifts, it was divest the heroine of any agency and show her as a mere victim of the events of her life. Since the photographing thatexposes the character tothe viewer’s gaze. All these elements effectively events through hereyes, while the actress is frequently captured inclose-ups: a method of acts and her private relations are undefined, and so is her personality. The viewer never sees the but would not account for the reasons leading to these events; the motivation of the protagonist’s used in dominant cinema. He would place his heroine in woeful situations (a rape scene included) Erd narrative, unsensational the govern protagonist female the of character the instead let would and scenarios, dramatic and camerawork hackneyed resist organization and mode of re/presentation. Hollósi argues that, unlike Mészáros, who would demolishing patriarchal structures not only through their content but also through their textual cultural feminine ways cinematic language both directors use. Her juxtaposition, i hope, may help further clarify what are that Hollósiqualify both pieces as “woman’s films”.sets The reason why i am now returning to this comparison is apart the two films on the basis of the modes of representation, i.e., the IV.3.iii Towards feminine texts (Emese Benczúr, Róza El-Hassan) Róza and Mészáros Benczúr, (Emese In III.3, i texts briefly cited Laura Hollósi’s discussion (2000: 78–86) oftwo movies— feminine Towards IV.3.iii The Princess women visual artists, Emese Benczúr and Róza El-Hassan, who were both texts treat their subject-matters differently and therefore work towards by Pál Erd ŋ ss—focusing on very similar subject-matters which may 254 ŋ ss falls back on cinematic techniques cinematic on back ss falls The Girl byMárta CEU eTD Collection creativity channelled into the private domain. János Sturcz (1999) called this kind of art making however, did not turn to this form for its decorative functions orin an apology of female and quilting, was oneof the tasks feminist art history and art practice undertook, Benczúr, activity and women’s art since the re-valorization of a craft-based tradition, such as embroidery certainly was It surfaces. various on sentences repeated endlessly often graffiti-like, of embroidering thisthe medium subsequently workedwith the particular mediumshealready engaged withthatin her student years: droveand in1996 Academy Arts Fine Budapest the from graduated 1969) (b. Benczúr Emese Benczúr’s reviewersconcept and the Enlightenment ideals of individuation, detachment, and unity. to establishview of the individual as socially constituted and thus competes with the Romantic author a connections with coheres Craigargues, author, the of view A feminist self. relational the and dialogism on however, Carysbetween J. Craig (2007) returns to the relevance of reconstructing the author-self as based article, a recent In her literature. theoretical art later in prominence its lost have to seems quest any for tome fundamental self appears creative the of conceptualization subjectivityand fixed categories of meaning as part of a broader quest in thesocial sciences for a model of authoritative subjectivity. Linker sees these artists’ investment in dismantling thecentered self themthat explicitly (1984) and Craigis Owens (1983) discussed the work of several women visual artists, notall of feminist,differentthe construction as formsto near drawsvery that of authorship of amodel instantiates El-Hassan while selfmeaning-production, that of some representation feministfrom of process the andde-hierachizes artist, and the art of status social the surrounding myths theorists advance.the clear-cut, unified subjectand artistic universe. Benczúr deconstructs age-old hierarchies and thatIn the early destabilize centered1980s, asolid, of identity master the made isnot aspect gender the women, lives as their to pertaining Kate Linker identity andhumanist undermine self (63). While such re- 255 critical art practice, this CEU eTD Collection takargatnék? hybridity. this on play works her of Several 2005:A318–22). Benczúr (interview, activity circuit toformwords andsentences, however, is no longer a typically feminine or safely playful candy wrapping, bubble foil, etc.—into her artworks. Fixing together the LED displays ina all sorts of futile materials (for the kid and herself), and build these— tiny flashing LED displays, she embroidered on lemon skin. Later on, motherhood provided her with an excuse topurchase opposite, velvet orsilk or other extraordinary and precious material; yet another time, however, she used rough and rather functional typessexes. Thefirst medium of the ofartist’s embroideredtextile “graffiti” was theunprimed canvas itself; later (such as lifting belts orcharacteristics that havebeensociallydenim) constructed as eitherbelonging one theto only of two or, just the and indicate the possibility, or rather actuality, of the simultaneous presence in a person ofthose In my reading, the techniques and materials Benczúr uses mobilize an expanded net of references cultural interventions and turn out to be viable critical practices. feminist readings possible. This is a case then when reception and interpretation become crucial assigned. Thus, while her works are not framed as feminist enunciations, they make a range of everyday existence and how the ongoing task of performing (or getting round) gender is being and playful tone rather than in amilitant one. Her approach reflects on how gender infiltrates ironic an in is delivered gender of construction social the of critique her experience, social lived women’s to particular matters subject of range a addresses and femaleness her to levels many on Some reviewers (Spengler 2003, András 1999a) suggested that although Benczúr’s work connects immediate materiality. from their being beautiful objects but from the emphasis on their handcrafted nature and very objecthood and would instead identify art with its definitions and institutionalisation. conceptualism and the theoretical and cynical neo-conceptualism that would forgo sensuality and 286 conceptualism”, “sensual Sturcz (1999) distinguishes this artistic approach both from the ideological character of classical (What should i hide?, 1997) is a piece of black velvet showing the embroidered letters 286 also noting that thesensuality of Benczúr’s works does not come 256 Mit CEU eTD Collection conventional hierarchies and mystifications in art: she systematically challenges the genre the challenges systematically she inart: mystifications and hierarchies conventional towards also disrespectful is Benczúr regime, gender a constraining challenging casually Beside also create a pencil drawing, letting them, too, work without noticing. were left behind on a white sheet of paper spreading along the wall to let the visitors’ footsteps newborn baby experiences. The pencil shavings left by the sharpener and used-up pencil stubs consider theof monotony and two kinds of joy, without possibly countingfragmentation on that people out there will wall the that slots in between breastfeeding sittingsthe to go to the museum andwrite the above title-sentence on psyche,offered the artist an exhibition in its project room. Since the artistattention lived nearby, she used the time Budapest LudwigMuseum 1999, the in was born daughter her after months three Some others. and time ofincorporated as a factor that cannot be overlookeda by her—even if it mightwoman go unnoticed by (artist)working, 1999). Fresh motherhood is not overtly thematized in the work, “only” its actuality is with a first such work is work such first The experience of childbirth and motherhood also found expression in Benczúr’s works. The traits—reason and intellect—with a display of “feminine” delicacy or charm. reverse side ofthecatch takesshape whenwomen aredriven tobalance “masculine” their the letters can betaken as particles of writing and thus a metaphor for reason and intellect, the “work of beauty”), and for which they might as well be ridiculed in turn. Or, by a similar token, supposed to meet certain requirements related to their gender that are generally devalued (like the delicateness instead. This work can be read as a reflection on the frequent catch when women are arethey already keentocover the evidence of the previous act,andimpress with their “their” corresponding letters—but in the moment when a second sequence of photos are taken, embroidering—embroidering activity, female a traditionally in immersed been just have fingers of the title-phrase as well as the close-up of a long-nailed female hand for each character. The — allegedly as many as 2880 times. This was she was in constant shifts between two kinds Akkor jó, haészre semveszed, hogy dolgozol 257 (It’s good if you don’t see that you are CEU eTD Collection town, Sittard wanted to buy thework 1999a:82), nor even their public presentation or“presentability”. The museum ofthe Dutch András also see 2005:A188–206; Benczúr (interview, work her of marketability the or uniqueness employed in order to arrive at fetishized art objects. Benczúr puts no emphasis either on the the handmade quality and rich materiality of her works are important factors, these are not A lack of an overflowing (artistic) ego on the part of Benczúr is also mirrored in that although 2005:B542–75). Benczúr (interview, producer are supposed to approach the genre of painting, estranged her rather early in her career and recipient both with which thereverence she says, As substances. and activities everyday to close practice artistic bring artefacts ofher character hand-made and materiality unmistakable as the as well feature This creation. than inspired duty to resemblance more bears asit labor of concomitantly, her own status as anartist. Her artistic method should berather called a method artist. A number hierarchy, theof distinction of high her works interrogate the precarious status of art in today’s society and, reach. Her 1999 exhibition Benczúr prefers creating pieces to be touched, and usually places these pieces within spectators’ keep renewing the highly conceptual contract, the reels of tags stayed with the artist. would pay her perpetuity. But since the director could notguarantee that his successors would would deliver an amount ofTHE the completedFUTURE. tags The from wayembroidered time theto time artist (upand, to inthis return,imagined day)the daysunderthe museumleft the theprovidedfactory-woven deal Benczúr words: DAY BY DAY. withActually, their number was not wordsat all endless—it islives exactly the number theof her to addition:Sittardbe a hundred long project, shehad2500I tags metersofcloth manufactured bearing theendlessly THINK repeating yearsMuseum ABOUTold. Aswas a daily that assignment,most she probably she has her longest assignment in embroidery. In 1997, when she commenced the life- Munkáim újnéz versus Should I live to bea hundred—Day by day I think about the future low art, or the cult ofauthorship and the heroic ego of the ŋ pontból, ahol minden cérnaszálon múlik minden cérnaszálon ahol pontból, 258 (My works from a , CEU eTD Collection advance the action by setting out […] meanings that are not to be found in the image itself.” message is realized at ahigher level. [Thetext] functions not simply as elucidation but really does In the latter case, “text([1964] 1977:39–41), Barthes contrasts textual elements put in andthe function ofanchorage or image stand inReturning to Barthes’ line of complementaryargumentation about the functioning of visual and textual elements relationship.among them, without conferring an exclusive explanatory function on any such operation (ibid.). […] The unitythe capacity to connect these works of arts to various theoreticalof discourses, feminist criticismthe Drozdik does. Benczúr’s banal colloquial phrases (often repeated to “infinity”) Finally, i want to contrast the way2005). Benczúr uses the texts that appear in her works with how the titles and subtitles invite aweb of associations instead of active participation in theinterpretive process (Hornyik 2000). Rather than fixing one meaning, material and the particular method of execution; the outcome is contingent upon the spectator’s remarked, there is not only a single way offered to piece together the ensemble of text, applied contexts in which they lose their instant and unambiguous interpretation. As Sándor Hornyik much free time” (on unprimed canvas), “Sameness is relative” (on cut-off pieces of jeans). 287 text, hidden in anabstractly patterned display of tiny LEDs, become intelligible spectator who has to set them to work. Only when someone starts pedaling the bike does the installations using bicycles; these works rely entirely on the participation of the viewer: it is the associative theties connecting individual artworkswithin oeuvre. the Recently,Benczúr creates picture” allowing the viewers to keep a comfortable distance: the viewers had no choice but earlier pieces were hanging from the ceiling on threads of varying lengths all over the place not new point of view, where everything is hanging on threads) testified to this preference. Various Further such phrases are: “I do my duty” (embroidered on movers’ strap), “It must be great to have so . This arrangement also gave a nicely graphic illustration of the many conceptual and 259 a linear reading while they also have 287 are placed in ( Be positive! entered “the entered relay. , CEU eTD Collection visualization oflinguistic and philosophical ideas”. (1997:5) personal experiences verges, ina way, taste. Ihave onbad always beeninterested inthe personal experiences, which one tires to conceal. [...] Inmy opinion, any overemphasis on period comply with this (1995:36). convention world art this through protocol.pierce to failed She said in a 1997András interview, noted, “all the the employment workswithin are founded of the on thepersonal avant-gardedisregarded motifs of a personal or corporeal nature.voice This was also thepredominant approach as medium or and projecting metaphorpersonal contents onto the work.” Indeed,and during this period the artist consciously havemodernism-indebted practically fantasizing prohibits which viewer, the upon asceticism or discipline of atype forces artist “the paradoxes between conceptuality and objecthood (1996:13–14). Babarczyalso registered, that Hungarian the unravel to noted, Babarczy asEszter attempt, inan objects and materials various of art scene.forms or wrapped up objects representing no human figures, and explored the differing qualities As abstract with art worked 1966) (b. El-Hassan Róza late-1990s, the till praxis, artistic early her In historian Edit the recognition of the problematic nature of identity. political, and critical approach. The shift originated in the identity search of the artist, or rather personal, more to adistinctly practice artistic meditative and a conceptual from was ashift turn This career. artistic her in turn acreative of perspective fromthe section, in this with dealt artist From the purposes of my present inquiry iwill review the activity of Róza El-Hassan, the second centered, author-focused practice inherited from modernism. Benczúr assumes an identity and realizes an art(ist)–recipient relation that negates the ego- active participation, both in a physical and intellectual sense intellectual and a physical in both participation, active phrases in, Benczúr’s works exploit the playful aspects of language and invite the audience’s investment. The multiple associations and interconnections within and between the titles of, and Thus, in thislatter arrangement, the acquisition oftheinformation requires moreintellectual 260 El-Hassan’s statements from this from statements El-Hassan’s . Through this authorial strategy CEU eTD Collection performance—that is the physical presence of the artist—was also new in this work.) Part of the accompanied with atwo-hour performance at the São Paulo Biennale. (The very introduction of at the time. with engaged El-Hassan objects spherical or circular toother reference aformal made which act Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts. The film depicted the making of Arabic unleavened bread, an to the “other”, non-European culture was in a video she made during her student years at the Hungarian descent and thus has a double cultural affiliation. Prior to The work entitled work The reflection. critical been often the case with artists turning away from a credo repressing personal contents), but for does not mobilize micro-personal content to disclose a self-referential and private world (as it has shutting oneself up” (György 2005:183). The “personal turn” is also remarkable because the artist current Hungarian avant-garde scene. […] El-Hassan [brought] us an alternative to the attitude of “put anend to a certain degree of infantilism and withdrawal from the matters of the world in the own identity quest made her “an existential propaganda artist”, and demonstrated an attitude that contemporary young Hungarian artists, themobilization of political concerns as related to her the beginning of her career, a strict conceptual approach made El-Hassan unique amongst significant from the perspective ofthe above-mentioned convention in artistic practice. While, at isalso later ofyears a couple approach artistic El-Hassan’s Róza in followed that shift The (ibid). facts” little sensual “life’s register critique of Enlightenment exposed, but one that is “flexible”, and is able and willing to also subjectivization is notthe mastering, ordering and separating “male” rationality that the feminist de- this in transpires what However, (1996:13–14). culture” and art subjective strongly “our with knowledge scientific of austerity the evoking rationalism impersonal El-Hassan’s contrasts She Babarczy also highlights the artist’s strict approach when discussing her conceptual works of art. Anastasia Anastasia is an object-installation made from found objects, and it was originally (1998) signals the creative transition. Róza El-Hassan is ofSyrian- El-Hassan Róza transition. creative the signals 261 Anastasia , the only reference CEU eTD Collection chador, and in this way the referencemeanings” (Babarczy 1996:13) disappeared into thin air. The blackto veil is clearly recognizablethe asa artist’s dual ethnicitypoint onwards “all impersonal and ahistorical approaches eschewing moral and culturaland cultural bonding orangeis balloon, in the series easily performance, and a during El-Hassan by finally personified was later asadrawing, appeared Itfirst up sculpture. hunched became a recurringThe most important figure in El-Hassan’s work fromfigure, the present perspective is a roughly carved, covered in a black shrouddominant male experience within cultural history. and holding an with anunrecorded past—also refer to the relation between the silenced female and the (slave-saint) female the and torment, existential famed his and (artist) male lives—the of kinds tradition and other traditions rooted in different parts of the world. face with each other, registering intercultural clashes between the dominant European-Atlantic other social or political inequalities. Inthis work two signs from different cultures come face to repressed, in El-Hassan’sinner experience, and clear-cut anthropocentrism—factorsearly that were hidden, if not directly works, and so werethe key works of Expressionism,any a movement characterized by subjectivity,consideration the projection of of genderchance, but at the same time it mobilizes its own net ofassociations. Munch’srelations painting is one of or of engine (interview, El-Hassan 2006:B295–326); thus 2006:B295–326); El-Hassan (interview, engine Munch’s painting of existential agony after a search for the word “scream” on anInternet search covering her mouth. According to the story of South American cult. The female figure, however, cannot scream back, as there is ironan muzzle a by asasaint worshipped woman slave one-time a of abust also black-and-white: cast, plaster Edward Munch’s installation is ablack-and-white reproduction of one of European painting’s iconic images, Scream (1893), enlarged to the size of a billboard poster. Standing opposite is a R. Thinking/Dreaming about Overpopulation about R. Thinking/Dreaming 262 Anastasia Scream is acomponent of ’s inception, the computer threw up At thesametime, these two (from 2001 on) Anastasia . From that largely by CEU eTD Collection relating to the subject into a performance. only to be biased against another. El-Hassan transposed the many intricately entangled questions another” (2005:183–199). She is not willing to conform to any one set of mono-cultural norms against identity-aspect possible one off play “won’t but simultaneously, attributes allthese bears who a person amother”; and artist, avisual woman, Arab and European, Syrian, Hungarian, now on?” quotes Péter György the question of Róza El-Hassanwhom hedefines as “a terrorists. “How can I identify with this created image ofArabs and my own Arab origins from people of Arab orMuslim descent of being collectively guilty, labeling them as potential the attacks, media responses and the foreign policy of the United States have absurdly accused all repercussions of which theartist could not help feeling personally implicated. Inthe aftermath of event—the September 11 attacks—that thwarted transparent diagnoses and in thepolitical wasan identity a unified of nature to theproblematic El-Hassan alerted What contradictions. and thus is able toviewing the complex and varied mass of beings together with all their inherent not follow an either/or dichotomous approach, or does not aim for categorizations and divisions, The artist’s way of thinking challenges Cartesian patterns of thought: her thinking process does relationship between the sexes (interview, El-Hassan, 2006:A469–543). set in that world that the striving of the individual can hardly bring forth a more equalized powerful visual metaphor of the materiality of the cycle of birth, life, and death” (Schuller 2006:147–48).proceeded to put all the others back on again. This sequence was repeated for two hours, creatingstripped a off her many layers of clothes, and when she was wearing just one item of clothing, she that both women and men may undertake with dignity and appreciation possibly relate toMuslim culture thatsotightly defines gender difference? The roles and deeds identity and brings up thedilemma of how Róza El-Hassan, with herhybrid ethnicity, can identifiable and significant: thewearer is female. Thiselement thematizes the artist’s gender repeatedly inflated, then deflated; in the meantime Milica Tomi figure, “Róza El-Hassan crouched in the corner in a burka, with an orange balloon in her lap, whichtenderly she holds this soft, orange, formless thing in its lap. During the performance first featuring the veiled 288 recognized. The color orange is the symbol of fertility and life in the Buddhist religion; the figure gently and Through the chador and references to fertility, 263 ý [the co-author of the performance] 288 thegender ofits bearer is both seem to be so be to seem narrowly CEU eTD Collection offset the charges of “anti-semitism” (interview, El-Hassan 2006:A167–88). 290 number of restrictions that stripped the politics from the performance. by awell-oiled and smoothly efficient agency, the local Red Cross office. But this meant complying organized College (inNovember 2002), intheConfederate the Technical place performanceZürich took with a performance and the inherent critique of America came across as stances requiring little justification.following the In NATO bombings of autumn 2001. In this context, both the anabashed political tone of thementalities. In Belgrade, El-Hassan performed at the re-opening of the Museum of Contemporarythe Arts performance at the other locations, too, graphically outlined the local political processes andsympathetic political indifference of the hospital staff, and practically no audience was present. The reception of 289 movement Gush Shalom. hybrid identity: in Israel he has been fighting for the rights of the Palestinians through the precisely Toma Sík who committedthe Arab world through donating blood. Yet on reflection it was all toothinkable that it was himself to Róza’s with solidarity demonstrated El-Hassan when were, just asothers repelled, been have well might cause, as he, too, is an action and its individualopaque political statement? On principle—due to his ethnic background—he with a non-artist”, having livedbank. for most of his life in be movedIsrael, to another location and postponed until a later date. It finally took place at a stoodblood out in supportgate-crash the domain ofart (interview, El-Hassanof 2006:B019–78). Thus theperformancethe had to El-Hassan’s terrorists”, might belabeled anti-Semitic), and disfavored the idea that barefaced sections of Hungarian politics (viz. that the action, because it expresses sympathy for the “Arab institution refused to host the event.wastense dubbed politicalthe (general atmosphere electionsThe werelaterto beheld thatyear), the director feared the stir that mightwas going to take place at thebe Ludwig Museum–Museumcaused ofContemporary Art, but due to what in certain questions scrutinizing the prospects and modes of identification. In Budapest the performance three different cities (Belgrade, Budapest, and Zürich). In doing so she sought answers to her media image documenting this event, El-Hassan staged a blood donation event, and repeated it in blood in Gaza and then sent it tothe victims of the attack in New York. Making use of a famous donated 500Palestinians and Arafat Yasser president Palestinian 2001the 12 September, On El-Hassan refers to Gush Shalom as a “neo-pacifist” movement and with this counter-slogan wishes to In this medical setting, the event that the museum deemed audacious, unfolded peacefully, earning the 289 In such a discursive climate it was rather surprising when Toma Sík, a Jewish “social 290 Since their meeting, the artist has several times incorporated the 264 politics might politics CEU eTD Collection However, with herclinging to a narcissistic and heroic artist’s ego, passed down from a IV.3.iii. in i cited article in his out pointed also (2005) György Péter that scene art Hungarian raised matters of general concern and public debate: a rare attitude within the fairly apolitical issues the make to anticipates also she agenda, critical overtly an Having talk shows. television lead of the music band and author of what could betermed as “protest paintings” and “protest actions”, the singer and asvisualartist womanhood traditional on attacks launching repeatedly been has She Szépfalvi. Ágnes Radák and Eszter with ipropounded, case, asisthe woman-ness”, blond “embracing just than explicitly more “, values’ ‘female alternative with arena that subvert “to intending (1995:482-83)—and attitude the worded Bordo Susan world”—as male […] professional penetrated a domain earlier exclusively reserved for men. artist’s publicly used nickname): Valentina Tereskova, the first woman in space, embodies a woman having 291 Nagy) (Kriszta public Nagy Kriszta the into out Venturing IV.3.iv artistic methods that invite co-operative thinking and dialogue. political art that, rather than demonstrating a clearly identifiable commitment, operates with a is art her in that lies aesthetics El-Hassan’s of radicalism the indeed, And 2005). (György into collision with “hybrid cultural norms and concepts derived from different social contexts” identity: she brings the inhumanity and senselessness of homogenizing, mono-cultural ideologies through her “non-choice between a minimum of two identities”, is an artist with a radicalinstitutionalized lack structures ofof contemporary art. According to Péter György, Róza El-Hassan, made artful banners and his writings throws light on El-Hassan’s interests reaching beyond the solo exhibition in M physical and intellectual legacy of the anarchopacifist Toma Sík in herworks, e.g., in her2006 Note the choice of the band’s name (which, through an understandable transfer, also came to be the came tobe also transfer, an understandable through (which, name the band’s of choice Notethe (b. 1972 [?]) 1972 (b. ť csarnok/Kunsthalle (see footnote 262). Her equal handling of Sík’s self- Tereskova, is an artist explicitly refusing to declare “symbolic allegiance to the 291 and a quasi-celebrity speaking out publicly and invited to invited and publicly out speaking aquasi-celebrity and 265 CEU eTD Collection acquaintance with feminist ideas. issues; this—perhaps somewhat calculated—self-presentation still does not mean a thoroughgoingcirculars and program magazines) she does not mind being introduced as an artist engaging with gender 292 familiarized with feminist thought, never she but criticism, feminist within problematizations the to close fairly came output artistic and strategies perspective, Kriszti’s Bytime, such opinions. corroborate, necessarily not but explain, that may reasons several are 2004). There (Bordács trademark” her become has which banal, infantile oradolescent: her work was said tobe“permeated by a kind of childishness, asnaive, aswell 1999:17) Wessely 1999c:79, (András sarcastic and provocative straightforward, infantile orobscene behavior, she soon earned qualifications such as impertinent, graduated from the Budapest Fine Arts Academy in 1998. With herearly works and (mock?) Kriszta Nagy (or Kriszti perspective. or x-T as she recentlymodernist signs her geniusworks and isparadigm, known in the media) her overall activity is a good bit controversial from a feminist and flexible type of identity is being fashioned, ready to rearrange itself when needed. Apparently, progress; identity and a multitude of working strategies being constantly shaped: “a more motile a subject-in- here sees also (2002) Gyenis Tibor 2004b:41). (Nagy changes and rudiments, mistakes, accommodate can that process learning as acontinuous development personal clarify what is exactly problematic about those issues. She herself thinks of her own artistic and formulations of theorystandardized the on fallback cannot she though Still,even artschool. at the education to name various problem-clusters,once it so happened that feminist criticism, or critical thinking at large, was not part of her sheto later. Certainly,has it is a matter of personal willingness whether beenor not Nagy would edify herself determined adherenceto to the modernist vision ofthe artisttry that i briefly mentioned above and will come back and her to it relate iwould heroism; juvenile for taken be can individual chosen or as medium artist the about idea persistent Nagy’s Also, language. hasalwaysuseda“lay” and theory, of discourse Nevertheless, most recently, in the public communication of her shows (brief statements in invitation 292 and does not (or cannot) wrap her messages in the framed the in wrap hermessages not(orcannot) does and 266 CEU eTD Collection epistemic community. In what follows, i will discuss the issues Kriszti’s gender-sensitive works gender-sensitive issuesKriszti’s the i willdiscuss follows, Inwhat community. epistemic such withouth been have to appears Nagy Kriszta fellow-artists, aware of politically absence knowledge collectively rather than individually” (Assiter, quoted in Yuval-Davis 2006:199). In the to access shape and factors unifying the “become values these where and values, certain to. Alison Assiter usesrepresentation—most other female artists, theher “epistemic community”, would limitterm themselves epistemicgoes beyond merely rehearsing the single issues—the representationcommunity ofsexual differenceself- or to define regimes,a group permeates, i proffer, Krisztaof Nagy’speople investigations as well. gender Butoppressive who it perpetuate is that still structures and forces social various the the of caseshareunderstanding that she assigned to women (Neményi & Kende 1999:136). This conflicted emancipation, missing an being quite able tocope with it because they have toodeeply interiorized traditional roles described the young women belonging here as wanting to lead an emancipated lifestyle but not category in the group ofher respondents. She called this group “conflicted-emancipated” and men. In Anna Kende’s researchhave rather unclarified, if not conventional, demands and expectations towards the other gender, that i would drewshe importantly, Equally 2005:A468–84). Nagy (interview, men) over on competitive being in Chapter II, the researcher“prerogatives” (like being financially supported) or supposedly essentially feminine qualities (like identified yearning for more equal gender relations a but, at the same time, she adheres to certainsub- female female social subjecthas received fromtwoconsecutive genderregimes. Sheis vocalabouther asa she messages conflicting and ambiguous the by impacted much isvery would propose, freshly discovered and issuing fromherown personal experience. Kriszta Nagy’s subjectivity, i detached indeed since she would present problems already explored byfeminist criticism as Lacking the analytical tools of theory may show some of her formulations as banal and less fairly premeditated and persistent way.” the artworks of Kriszta Nagy interrogate the identity of the artist and the status of creation in a 267 CEU eTD Collection Kriszti, however, does not try toresolve this particularity in the“universal human” but in the that are being under scrutiny” (Petrányi 2000). social roles is alwaysher it nevertheless, assubject-matter; emotions or sexuality, self, body, own confronted with the desirable ideal suggested bycommercial culture. [...] Shealways chooses her of her own pictures “appears in contexts in which her own age, gender, and social position are single occurrence, as some of the reviewers of Nagy do not fail to note: Kriszti as the protagonist implicatedness that is being revealed in such cases,she is able toresolve the particularity of the own life events. Although the individual artist risks herown skin as it is her own offence and 2004a). In doing so the ideas or critique tobe expressed are being actualized through theartists’ she says, “[i]n all my statements, I spellmatter. The work of art outand the artist’s personalitythat inextricable interlock myin Kriszti’s artcase too. As is my life, and my life ispresented my art” (Nagy creation are importantBuilding from one’s own biographical material radicallyor conflating private life and publicly strands in feministparagraphs art—as wellof this as insection. feministpractices (Owens 1983:63) and one that Kriszta Nagy shares, as iwrote in theopening Onetheory, of the for strategiesthatgenres (including the production of texts) is itself a phenomenon that characterizes feminist art she employs and strategies of a multitude involves that fronts multiple on activity simultaneous of is kind The using a personal voice in art. way at any cost” (Nagy 2004b:41–42; also interview, Nagy 2005:B000–058). wants me to wear acertain dress, i just won’t be able to wear that, but will have tofind my own the same qualities. […]I have eventually acknowledged that no matter how hard society or Mum sincerity has informed my work as an artist.since my second year at the Art Academy, a degreeAs of uncompromisingnessan individual,and undeviating I’ve just started “Ever as a—female—individual: asthan anartist anddetermined independent self-possessed, to try and rely on major aspects: gender and her social position as artist. The way she perceives, she has been more address and the strategies they use. The process of identity formation is centred around two 268 CEU eTD Collection such direction. 295 emotionally detached kind of representation of sexuality, which has an impact on the reception Such a restrained handling of the subject of the body in theHungarian scene is coupled with an period. same ofthe art, feminist including art, international within discourses and strategies the questions ofembodiment and the representation of the body (1999c:49). This is squarely unlike body as a medium of expression, or the deployment ofdeconstructive or radical approaches to artist’s use ofthe the also but noted, András asEdit scene, Hungarian the within occurrence Not only the employment of the personal voice as medium proved to be an infrequent separate. assharply activities leader, lyrics writer and singer, even if the artist herself has never considered these two kinds of 2004b:43). Art critics tendalthough, as Kriszti warns, “the paintbrush is notto the contemporary artist’salso only tool” (Nagy disregard her arts. visual “Tereskova-oeuvre”, i.e.,often sensational gestures that the artist realizes outside the closedher domain ofcontemporary output as a band mere direct expression of a personalized narrative. This is especially so with those pieces and banal and naive stems, i think, from mistaking the personal voice as a medium of expression for a seems to apply to the critical voices commenting on Kriszta Nagy’s activity; part of her reading as chance…) and the reworking of a pop song ( 294 considered textual/ interpretative / theoretical issues. 293 says, theintricate sociology inseparable, not allowingt for a distance- keeping. Neither can this theory accommodate, Klinger accommodate feminist art practice in which the woman and her work are presented as partial publics. Linda S. Klinger (1991) recorded how critical theory had not ben able to and concrete addresses she whereby share, (artists)—arguably women and artists contemporary experiences or conflicts that the members of the social groups she herself inhabits— Apart from Kriszta Nagy, András only mentioned, in 1999, a male artist—Tibor Gyenis—having taken I will discuss two of these below: a “protest-painting” ( By this Klinger means the political and institutional conditions of art making as well as more frequently 294 The art press generally overlooks her interventions of not strictly artistic nature, 293 ofthis kind of art practice or the artist. This incomprehension Magyarország/ 269 A n Hungary ŋ egyetlen esélye…/ egyetlen ) . The woman’s only 295 CEU eTD Collection become a crucial factor for his/her products as well. products for his/her a crucialfactor become for granted that s/he liveshypocritical (interview, Nagyin 2005:A108–154). And a insofar as the market-orientedcontemporary artist takes now consumerthe artist in defiance of the political-economical establishment no longer holds, but becomes society, then marketingeconomy, and if artists have not problematized this development itself, then will have to hope for the emergent art market. She recognized the fact that Hungary had introduced market industry forces onposter—radiates an uncomfortableboth air of commodification that contemporary culture and culture artists and body cladwomen. in underwear with theequally important title-text taking up theother half of the individual self, but are marginalized insociety. The whole arrangement of the iamge—the female and the woman-self—that she would pursue in herlater pieces. Both are defining aspects for the to be inevitably destroyed upon being removed from the gallery wall. The images displayed—wallpaper cut-outs with drawings on them—were not items for sale as they werestill in her possession at the time of her death, be destroyed so they never be in commercial circulation.erected in the gallery. The testament was authenticated by a notary, and she wished that her works of art 2001:18–19 art. (She details this experience in her text written for the catalogue of the exhibition turning points in her learning process: the disappointment in the ways private capital entered the sphere of In (1993:27), and her remark seems to apply to the Hungarian art world conventions as well. unthinkable for the distanciation principle of Greenbergian modernist avant-garde aesthetics Amelia Jones remarks how a creative approach that is both sensual/corporeal and conceptual is to promote her work and personality through marketing them with her own quasi-naked body. so. Several reviewers have disapproved of this work for, in their interpretation, x-T is just trying Nagy poses in underwear ona billboard poster like afashion model—or, only for the first sight 297 women. of representations the and ofwomen commodification 296 best-known pieces, entitled and interpretation ofworks engaging with both subjects: the body and sexuality. In oneof her Six years later, the exhibition Note how John Berger, in his Kortárs fest . ) The exhibition was staged as her obsequies; her testament was pasted on the “Wailing Wall” ŋPť vész vagyok , Kriszti addresses the same two aspects of subjectivity—the artist-self subjectivity—the of aspects two same the addresses , Kriszti Kortárs fest Minta halál Ways of seeing Ways of ŋPť (Model Death, Godot Gallery, 2004) exemplified one of the vész vagyok (1972), also connected the commodification of art tothe art of the commodification connected also (1972), 296 At this time, however, the artist held out some 270 (I am a contemporary painter, 1998), Kriszta 1998), painter, a contemporary am (I 297 Herincorporation of advertisement Out of Time the earlier ethos of ; Bora CEU eTD Collection identifiable television personality. television identifiable chance…) Nagy portrays herself again—this time, being penetrated from behind byawell- moment, exchanges the following lines: existence. Budapest, housed a Collection of Contemporary Art—until its bankruptcy only after a few years of 298 Like most of the timemanipulated by the media, or she is manipulating them (Szoboszlai 1999:317). indeed,which eerie seriousness and amusedin casualness combine, which makes one wonder if she is being a 2004 painting,standardized appearance. Szoboszlai notes the model’s sculpture-like posture and her glance in media with this work: ofmainstream working to the attention also directs Kriszta view, Szoboszlai’s János In Forints. magazines manipulatethem up against tothe standardized beauty of implantsthe one can get for those 200.000 Hungarian female body holding forms, body female of inactuality and variety onthe comments so Nagy Kriszta friends. a similar way to adaptexcept the breasts areit not hers, and are differentto on every print since she “borrowed”a them from 200.000 HUF conceptual traditions” (András 1999c:79). Inthesix-part digitally manipulated computer print, of its gender-character, and which had been colonized byartists who were raised onavant-garde approach, since it was strongly imbued by conceptualism […] and had been a monolith in terms gender theme in another medium, digital art, which was a territory “untouched by such an At the beginning of her career, x-T proved to bedoubly subversive because sheintroduced the “billboard gallery” with monthly changing pieces by contemporary artists. runa has Artists) Young of (Association FKSE squarewhere a Budapest on display public techniques was befitting also because her billboard was not a sterile studio exercise: it was on The work was painted for the annual MEO auction of contemporary art; MEO, founded in 2001, [HE:] Keep cool bitch! I’ll knock down the planets for ya. [SHE:] Ahhh… Can I be your art director? , Nagy poses in jeans and a short fur coat which is open to reveal the breasts— 298 The couple, captured in this not quite so gently intimate gently so quite not in this captured couple, The 271 A n ŋ egyetlen esélye… (The woman’s only CEU eTD Collection however, accounted for it as a missing quality rather than something that was never meant to be authors as well, also in relation to other works by Kriszta Nagy. They (Tatai 2000, Bordács 2004), present in pieces playing onsexuality, andtheshyness hiding inx-T’slook were noted byother arousal, normally or eroticism sweltering of lack This display. normally models fashion ease and rather than luscious, undergarment and the intimidated expression on her all lack the confidence above. On thesecond look, the viewer finds that Kriszti’s posture onthe billboard, her plain, image in itself, and this The textualambiguity part of this piece revokes the pleasure ortitillation tobepotentially found in the is also present in her other (2000:233). analysts?” foreign body-related works i referredstout resistance to the emerging changes in the men-women relation that constantlyto befuddles environment where, in interpersonal relationships, men deny it, and continue to put out such a contemporary in relations equal gender tomore obstacle enduring an to inrelation Adamik Mária sociologist Hungary:over a long time now”. The problem she raises here is an equivalent ofthe one “Isbroached by theremale pride ofany the macho man? […] This role i amchance cast in […] has caused me a great deal of pain plaything in romantic hunting games?of Can she say no, or how can she say no, without hurting the even dreamingmale desire, has if she wants to work in professionally fitting positions other than becoming a aboutoccur even in professional contexts: “I wonder what sorts of chance a woman,social as the object of equalityobjectification ofwomen, manifest in thealways already over-sexualized gender relations that in writing,an theartist does not shun her own personal involvement. She laments over the persistent Kriszti accompanied it with astatement. In this uniquely straightforward and frank piece of review cultural and political the of supplement women’s 2005:A372–408). 299 of the male”; and at the bottom reads an upside-down “no”.The inscription on the top of the painting reads “The woman’s only chance—being the love-toy Meant, by the artist, to disclose that “no, the intercourse has not happened” (interview, Nagy 272 Magyar Narancs Magyar 299 Thework was reproduced in the (8 January, 2004) where CEU eTD Collection and repressed through pornography and actually prevailing sexual practices. sexual actually prevailing and pornography through repressed and new CD with lyrics radically addressing the ways women’s body and sexuality have beenabused professionals have practically failed to do. For a while then, she had been planning to release a in 2007, Kriszta Nagy brought together two branches of her creative activity that art capacity—like otherfeministworks dealingwith sexual female experience—to pose“an open cope. This is certainly a disempowered position, yet thedisturbing way of presentation has the will do it for the culture around her forces her to do so, and she hardly sees alternative ways to herself has experienced: she refuses such self-effacing and humiliating sexual behaviour but she interpretation, the lyrics are not to overwrite the visuals, but convey the tense contradiction she own artist’s In the visualinformation. the overwrite really textcan the whether remains question defiance and dirty language contradicts the overly pleasing orself-offering postures, yet the however, are blurry and out-of-focus. The images are inscribed with lyrics from the songs; their interior resembling a motel room, and in poses familiar fromerotic magazines; part of them, in an underwear lacy black in clad artist the feature photos These album. the musical for covers been recorded for the time ofthe show, but x-T made a series of computer prints intended as For her mid-career solo show never released CD I–XXII). 300 complicated in case ofarecent the series, exercise femininity as a gainful employment, hadlearned. This maneuver of sidetracking is more matter how hard she tries, she can only poorly fake what others (models, for example), who and questions—in the poster piece—the naturalness of female erotic glow and desirability: no gaze, male objectifying the sidetrack to out turns eroticism uninviting Kriszti’s quality, missing body-related works does not turn onwhether or not they are “sexy”. When not reduced to a there. I more agree with Tibor Gyenis (2002) proffering that the interpretations of Kriszta Nagy’s Personal communication, Kriszta Nagy, March 14, 2007. Eddig (Up Until Now A ki nem adott album borítója I–XXII album borítója A kinemadott 273 ) in WAX Kultúrgyár (WAX Culture Factory) 300 (The cover of the The CD has not CEU eTD Collection politics. Such dominant narratives “would claim the entire edifice of ‘our Culture’ and ‘our direction of homogenizing discourses (like that of the nation) as an important task for feminist and its people as doomed and dogged by ill fortune, but proud and confident. retain thepatriotism of the actual Hungarian anthem butwould nolonger portray the country was to create something like anupdated and popedition ofthe national anthem, which would entrusted my life to you.” 301 identity”. “national and culture” “national but highly calculated modifications in thetext, Kriszta Nagy points to the problematic picture of recorded) a pop song, identity aspects. It is from this position that she re-worked (re-wrote the lyrics of, and re- Earlier on i asserted (1980/81:40). “art” into images that Kriszta Nagy’sobjectification, and that the artist deal consciously with the far from transparent act of making subjectivityaesthetic is the requirement that female imagery beused without misappropriation or is largelyhistory. defined by twocreated, that sign will not be automatically freed from the connotationsnon-dominant it has acquired over chooses to appropriate a given visual sign (the nude in this case) and places it in acontext s/he female body is not reducible toa sign free of connotation” (1987:160). Just because an artist with Nagy’s billboard work too). “From a materialist feminist perspective”, Jill Dolan says, “the woman’s body is immediately read as an incitementnude in artistic representation and warn about the automatism with which a scantily dressedor invitation to consume (asrepresentation” (Kubitzait 2001). Otherwas feminist voices, however, wouldthe dispute the use of the case threat to patriarchy: challenging a phallogocentric, controlled sexuality and its visual future—I’ve entrusted my life to you”, Kriszta sings: “Hungary! / Be a guarantee I must live wide awake: Hungary”; and where the original text says “Hungary! / Be a guarantee for the“There’s acountry where i’ve been while asleep: Hungary”, Kriszta’s begins with “There’s a country where 302 See Iam presenting two snippets of the lyrics for comparison. While the original starts out like this: http://www.music.hu/news.php?cikk=4004 One of the aspects Lauren Rabinovitz collected to guide through the values of a feminist Magyarország (Hungary). The intention ofthe author of the original song 302 Uma Narayan marked the contestation and re- and contestation the marked Narayan Uma . 274 for me too 301 With herslight — I, too, have CEU eTD Collection both on screen, in the very show, and subsequently ononline forums. Kriszta Nagy was never re-invited and her performance provoked fairly violent negative reactions actress). an Hernádi, (Judit show the of participant female standard one isonly there rotate, Kriszti’s partners in the show, having no tolerance for views, values and lifestyles other than what also occasional voices that pointed to the prejudiced minds and harshly exclusory attitudes of were angered by her “annoying” “postmodern Barbie” style and foulmouthed manner, there were private blogs (e.g., 304 edition. 303 of newsfrom the respective week. pieces onvarious comments witty give personalities and media seven celebrities of set standard one such recent occasion, she was invited to the television talk show in which a more or less Especiallypublic outside-the-art-scene) (i.e., her appearances generate theformerAtopinion. strategic uses of a personalized narrative. I argue that they are a combination of both. hesitations whether her enunciations delivered in a personal voice are pure private expressions or critics’ from results also evaluation such I think “immature”. or “naïve” as such qualifiers the reasons that might invoke unfavorable opinions of her. The critics i have quoted there used In the opening paragraphs of this section, i referred to Nagy’s vision ofthe artist’s role as one of normally tackled by an art world feminism. the view of the nation from asimilar perspective which goes far beyond the standard set of issues and inclusive, rather than exclusive. I find it anti-hegemonic, essentially are that fascinating trends critical and movements social ofnew ahost among that Kriszta Nagy expresses a feminism critique iconsidered II, Chapter closing In (1997:10–15). ofwhole as a “culture” the of values community”, and would castvoices, concerns, and contributions practices of many who are members of the national and political and values Nation’that for themselves, converting them into apeculiarpertain form ofproperty, and excluding the to a specific privileged group as In the online edition of the daily paper RTL Klub—“Heti hetes” (ca. “The weekly seven”). Kriszta Nagy featured in the 2008. February 25 http://mover.blog.hu/2008/02/25/hetes_a_lejton 303 While some of the standard male members occasionally Népszabadság 275 ( http://nol.hu/archivum/archiv-483505 ), the latter with 121 comments.. 121 with latter ), the 304 While mostcommenters ); oron CEU eTD Collection themselves, and aesthetic analysis.i While myfindingstoo do not sharply contradict many of their propositions rely on the political momentsinsights of feminist perspectives by reducing them to means of “disinterested” of feministproblematizations have escaped the attention of Hungarian women artists, or b) curtail the art theory,gender-related that vindicate to a) seem they Asaresult, criticism. art feminist Western in my sample analysesthese undertakings have tooexclusively drawn thediscourses on and analytical categories of of a considers their works from theperspective offeminist criticism.my view, In however,many of that enterprise first the not is praxis creative artists’ visual women Hungarian of survey My Conclusions IV.4 subjectivity. authoritative undermine and identity destabilize that works visualartists’ in women instances analysis performed from a feminist perspective, which—among other things—looks out for personalized artistic voice as a strategical tool. This moment certainly poses a problem for my too) that she seek connections to other (women) and their experiences, and thus use aradically contemporary Hungary, her particular identityconstruct precludes (veryliterally orempirically Kriszta Nagy touches upon a great many salient issues defining a still oppressive gender regime in While outlaw. or outsider an even individual, exceptional an as itself envisions as it insofar creator male self-focused and narcissistic the after is modeled ego artistic This to. adheres Nagy I cite this television event here because i think it well illustrates the kind of vision of the artist-self came up. the program striving to draw all attention to herself but being inactive when any other subject hijacked she way and the and self-centeredness, exhibitionism x-T’s problematized commenters they areaccustomed to seeintheirownsocial environments. But evensomeoftheselatter 276 CEU eTD Collection favorable or neglectful reception of her creative output. differing evidence on Drozdik’s knowledge at the time of the issues in feminist art criticism and the2006), and the related parts of my interview with Dóra Maurer (interview, Maurer 2009:052–78) provide of residence. unreceptivity of the avant-garde circle, and whether they kept up their concern in their new place involved with thequestions of contemporary feminism was inany way connected to this whether the emigration of other female cultural producers whom my respondents recalled as perspective into play met with indifference. It remains a question toexplore in future research equally accepted member of herearly-career artist community, buther worksbringing afemale 306 more broadly understood political culture. absence or presence of critical artistic positions today, and how they relate to the transformationreally has of had. a I also critically regard how oppositional strategies in Communist times determine theto question what sort of critical intentions and potentials this automatically valorized oppositional attitude 305 consistent, exhibited a continuous and conscious feminist concern ever since the late-1970s—are not entirely Although thetestimonies of Orsolya Drozdik—the only Hungarian women visual artist who has identity. political credible only the as policy cultural official to opposition the underwrote that life difficulties. Such perception may have been shaped by the common counter-cultural platform private- and disadvantages, injustices, professional related the overcome to strategies individual to resorted and difference, sexual as naturalized these viewed but privileges existing their emancipation forgranted. They did notice men’s overrepresentation within the art world and rights of women was largely impenetrable for them for they took the achievements of women’s garde generation of the 1960s-80s recited the perception that the feminist struggle for theequal neo-avant- Hungarian the with parallel or within worked who artists female with interviews My in the practices discussed. of feminine modes of representation—were convoked to help me capture the political moments introduced in I.3.iii. These aspects—the notion of a feminist counter-public sphere, and the idea number of women artists’ practice i attempted to combine these with the two My intervew with her (interview, Drozdik 2001 Such mono-focus as well as many of the members’ creative performance in the new regime drove me 306 what remains stable in the available accounts is that she perceived herself asan herself perceived she isthat accounts available inthe stable remains what : B087–97), her own statements in her book (Drozdik herbook in statements own her B087–97), 277 guiding aspects i guiding aspects 305 CEU eTD Collection problematizations. injustices, but this new criticality has been essentially inattentive togender-based whereby it also, to an extent, homogenized internationally sought-after practices and forms of expressions.process has expanded the international scene, connected practitioners from virtually all continents,in the form of biennales and large international exhibitions collecting artists from various continents.tendencies This in the “world at large”, but i cannot leave aside the concurrent “globalization of the artworld” 308 307 1990s. engaged artpracticeswhich, however, were inthe ascendant intheinternational scenein the socially or inclined critically for one a favorable not was circumstance this Certainly, world. social happy to cut out political overtones from their creative activity and further turned away from the were artists time, same the at while, status, its marginal aggravated infact This policy. cultural an over-politicized from it earned attention the lost visual arts newregime, the In culture. official to space cultural asa“parallel” existed period state-socialist of the world art progressive The the constraints of a male-defined artistic tradition and male-dominated creative environment. little social critique in thestrict sense; rather, this kind of expression signified a liberation from aspects of specifically female life or social experiences in their artworks. These gestures contained disowned their women-selves but demonstratively acknowledged it, and incorporated various the underground of earlier decades, these young artists (Eszter Radák, Ágnes Szépfalvi) nolonger their entry to the art world according to the “difference principle”: bring about feministthat an increased number of women art students and an incipient discourseworks did notnecessarily or any alliancewoman’s position may turn out to be critical praxis in the given socio-cultural context. Ifound between womenartists i tried to identify why, how, and to what degree theirartists, particular ways of speaking from a but itthe same time in the Hungarianmay scene. Inmy sample analyses of the works of a number of these have facilitated1990s. These artists were featured in thefeminist critic-inspired discourse that developed around I had a closer look at theartistic praxis of anumber of women artists who emerged in themid- My reference here to the international scene is not to reiterate a compulsive comparison with Here i am recalling Éva Fodor’s concept, already summarized in II.2.ii (2003:33–37). 308 Intime, a number ofartists took to politicallyinformed explorations of social issues and 278 307 Unlike female of members CEU eTD Collection patriarchal cultural tradition. underpinningsrelated criticism that is communicated on the level of content is subtle, but their conceptual and the artistic praxes of Emese Benczúr andmodes Róza El-Hassan are exemplary. In these works, the gender- of does—the analysis my direction—as this towards signification practice cultural feminist of understanding between author/text and recipient. From the perspective of an analysis that expands the they realizealso entails a mode of signification that rests on a hierarchical and domineering relationship underminefeminist theory’s critique of the unitary, complete and mastering liberal subject, and because it the substructuremodernism problematic because these originate in a kind of subjectivity that is in conflict with views of art and the artist. I find coupling feminist aspirationsof with such cornerstones of a the contrary, is concentrated on theories turns out to besimilarly captured, i argue, by modernist Nagy as an artist is caught upin a modernist role perception. Orsolya Drozik whose oeuvre, on however, that apart from not being fully conscious about the theoretical bases for her practice, also making conscious efforts to articulate her critique beyond the closed domain ofart. Ifound, Nagy projects; orpolitical critical openly their in difference sexual of questions up did take who It is from this respect that i credited the activity of women artists (Róza El-Hassan, Kriszta Nagy) 279 CEU eTD Collection question central to my project: how did the gender regimes of state-socialist and post-socialist and state-socialist of regimes gender didthe how my project: to central question production. Engaging the social context into my study of cultural producers’ work raised a criticism,approach into an automated i both hadHungarian women artists’ activity from a feministto perspective. Not wanting to collapse a feminist historicizecontemporary of analysis an for was crucial deconstruction Such same. the are circumstances gender,words, the presupposition that identities under different political regimes and historical and other in 2000), (Watson identities political for recognizesameness East–West an assumed deconstruct a personal,the social, ideological, and historical context. I needed this operation in order to contextualenunciations. Second, regarding cultural producers as social subjects, i could embed them within natureintertextuality of the sociocultural environment which encompasses and conditions artisticof culturaloeuvres, and taking cultural texts as discrete products, i could view them within the complex or artworks individual of analyses aesthetic providing merely than rather First, things. two do to Having chosen toinvestigate a combination of factors and reading society as a“text” allowed me on also engaging the social context. contributes to cultural theory projects that, while developing a strong theoretical framwork, insist Geertz, as the particular “mood” or “tone” that a culturalThis exploration also involvedsystem capturing such elusive things, gives first consciously studied by Cliffordto daily life. My research subject and speaking positions and impacted their artistic agendas in the corresponding periods. identify thesefactors, andexplored howthese may have also affected womencultural producers’ to discourses and processes cultural and social political, into I looked Hungary. post-socialist and state-socialist in femininity of constructs and subjectivity female shaped conditions—that In this research, i inquired into the kind of factors—public and private ideological and material application of the concepts and categories of (Western) feminist art C HAPTER V C 280 ONCLUSION CEU eTD Collection within theHungarian discursive arena where woman as a political category can be constituted, I put forward the idea of the creation ofa feminist counter-public sphere as a conceptual site perspective—certain aspects of their political consciousness. to Hungarian women (as an abstract group) even when problematizing—from a feminist social processes and aworldview and processes social Western acquire actual material gains and practical resources. Framing this way the relation between autoethnographical inquiry. autoethnographical 310 living in a given geopolitical location under a given economic and socio-cultural system. to refer to a comprehensive set of ideas, beliefs and values framing the common experiences ofused apeople as a synonym, or euphemism, for the term “ideology” in state-socialist official language. It was meant 309 identities, procure regime in Hungary. This has not obviated, however, that women develop state-administered “emancipation” program, through as meaningful for many women in the wake of a impugnably devised and implemented feminism) ofWestern in theterms understood (as identities political feminist analysis inChapter II and the interviews with women artists showed, feminist thought and discourses make public acts and certain identifications recognizable and meaningful. Asmy discourses and dominant representations are actual agents of social construction. Available sustain, reconfigure, or engender social practices and togive form to individual consciousness, examined their prevalent ideologies, discourses and (visual) representations. Intheir capacity to i subjectivities, and identities particular produced and individuals interpellated have regimes To capture the “mood” or “tone” of two consecutive regimes in Hungary and the ways these opened up, for them, and what sort of possibilities of utterances were thus defined? women? What sort of “social voices” (Deborah Cameron 2001:15) have been available, and Hungary enable, encourage or constrain particular subject and speaking positions for creative Or, I am consciously using the word “worldview” here; its Hungarian equivalent ( our definitions of political identity. Viewing my research from this angle, it also has elements of an a certain sense of entitlement and licenses as licenses and entitlement of sense a certain feminism as a social movement and intellectual critique, and the 309 advanced by or within thecontext of a re-traditionalizing gender 281 the socialistretain regime,helped meto agency 310 female social subjects, and subjects, social female világnézet partially ) was practically did not come not did emancipating impact of CEU eTD Collection of state-socialistuncover their intricate net of interrelations in both periods. I agree with Éva Fodor’s assessment women’sfactors from the perspective of women’s equality, but intended to weave them together, and politicscrucial most assingle effects and their these any of identify did not I subjects. social female as a uniquerelated policies, andsocial practices havethat inthis way oranother conveyedmessages for experiment with an old feminist dream: the and large disinterested in feminist politics as we know it. 311 In Chapter II: non-hierarchical social and inter-personal relations. and anti-authoritarian essentially of utopia the towards works that critique cultural and as asocial (author-)self as a crucial feminist aspiration is preconditioned on the understanding of feminism mastery andauthority over theinteraction of texts and recipients. Seeing the reconstructed relinquishes and unity an alleged refutes that subjectivity of a model author-self: reconstructed discussion of artistic expressions from any contemporary context. This category is the compensatory no thathas category an analytical introduce and metodevise Italsohelped identifications. and intentions feminist assumed— or authors’—stated their from products cultural of interpretations feminist of juxtaposition Identity construction and subjectivity were addressed from another angle in the disssertation. The contextually determined positions as female social subjects and creative individuals. reservoir for the contributions of women cultural producers who critically negotiate their politically critical public opinion are being exercized, i envisioned this conceptual site as alsoa and attention” a “subversive where and interests, market and state both resists that sphere contemporary cultural producers often regard their activity as taking place ina counter-public and the related problematizations can be meaningfully argued out. As some segments of Compensatory in the sense of attempting to confer some sort of latent feminism on an environment by environment on an feminism latent of sort some to confer ofattempting thesense in Compensatory 311 Emancipation as an expendable goal expendable as an Emancipation overtones as it could, and indeed should, be a tenable aspect of a feminist versus feminine cultural texts did not only enable me tounhinge me enable only not did texts cultural feminine , i reviewed a number of legislative pieces, women- 282 CEU eTD Collection visibility influenced (women’s) representations on the cinema screen. My findings show that a broader vista, i also surveyed towhat extent women’s elevated public participation and public representations, and in what ways their contribution influenced such representations. Opening up years sixty past in the (industry) inform social practices, relations, and behaviors). In Chapter III: cinematic representations mediate a given culture’s vision ofitself (while they also form and Feminist film theory holds that films often function as the unconscious of ideology and thus the samples and commentaries i presented in Chapter II demonstrate. alike have tried to come to grips with this phenomenon widely experienced across social strata, as submission tomale partners. Sociologists, historians, philosophers, political scientists, filmmakers most troubling continuity is as vital as ever: women’s self-effacing attitudes and voluntary patriarchal gender regime. Men’s social roles continued to belargely unaddressed, and one of the a alter to little did discourses social and political post-socialist and consistent, more grow decades-long social experience.With thesystem change, women-related political agendas didnot of gender equalityof an economy formerly and political intention (and economic feasibility)women’s after the democratic transition and the re-structuring a declared to be discontinued employment and rule, socialist of decades lasttwo the in waned gradually becamerequiring solution. The political will (and the economic need) to follow through the “experiment” a socialequal rights and thenorm lived reality and of genderconsciousness”; such consciousness may be affectedinequality, bythe discrepancy(the between the notion of but doeslatter) not acknowledgespheres of reform. The resulting antithetical messages gave formtoa“contradictoryfemale it as a problemwas a asmajor relations gender and home the identify didnot state as the ideology gender patriarchal a by wasframed “experiment” social this But (2003:136). account into differences specific their purposeful inclusion ofwomen in the public spheres of work and civic engagement while taking based on socialist redistribution. By this time, however, the abstract ideal , i traced to what extent women gained access to producing filmic 283 Women and/in Hungarian cinema Hungarian and/in Women CEU eTD Collection critical discourse.the period Both of exhilarationand theactive discourse were short-lived, and imposed artistic and attitudinal norms as well as the to formation ofa feminist-informed art conspicuously rose, which gave way toa commonly experienced “liberation” from earlier From the mid-1990s on,thenumber of actively producing women artists and art professionals of the vanguard art today 1945 till from artists scene visual women of Hungarian activity The of the 1970-80s wereengagement. The research findings i presented in Chapter“professionally IV: eschewed thematizations and modes of expression that would have accommodated a comparable women’s concerns, the precepts of an uncleared modernist-avant-garde artistic tradition with engagement refined and a variegated subserved film in paradigm artistic dominant the while Segregation/feminization processes took a different course in the domain ofvisual arts, and women. representations, or were filmed in ways that, asfeminist theorists would argue, adversely affect with changes in the industry structure, women were becoming obliterated again from cinematic when these conditions were replaced by the logic of profit-oriented movie entertainment. Parallel was also pre-conditioned by non-commercially driven production conditions, and that it dried up nuanced and complex portrayals of women and women’s concerns. Iargued that this film style makers, that deployed cinematic codes and narrative techniques that led, in agreat many cases, to Later decades developed a film style andfrom indispensable malefilm partners but framing them in a new language,dependency from a paternal state. both practiced by women“post-revolutionary” periodand profoundly re-shaped femalemen characters; frequentlyfilm detaching them the re-structuring of the industry. As far as representations are concerned, the films of the early patterns of job segregation, and later acertain re-arrangement of gender proportions following related aswellthe positions insome numbers growing and emergence sawwomen’s industry relatively have production film feature within processes 284 closely reflectedsocial The processes. show that the few female participants Artists, artworks, and subject positions: masculinized” or marginalized. or masculinized” CEU eTD Collection social and cultural context in which they emerge. meaningfully related both to each other and to the gender-related transformations within the warrants an exploration whether these are unrelated sporadic instances or they are in some way feminist theorists. They do so with a varying degree ofpolitical consciousness. This observation or artists/authors female by tackled typically elsewhere issues toaddress able better or willing borz 314 Did Not Happen: The Life and Work of Two Fictitious Hungarian Women Authors”; Hock 2008. literature that operate with a fictitious female authorship; on this see my article “A History of Things That 313 and Eastern Europe. Angela Dimitrakaki and Katarzyna Kosmala (eds.), “Boys Do Cry: Contemporary Hungarian Male Artists Engaging with Gender Troubles;” to appear 312 artists, Hungary—visual in producers Similarly tomy proposition concerning film production, i argue that a number of male cultural During my investigation, i identified two moments that may set basedthe social and personal grievances, is beingpath shaped in afield of these paradoxical forces. for further research.contemporary women artist, Kriszta Nagy, who would openly and deliberately address gender- characterized by a strong individuality. I argued that the creative pursuit ofthe only Hungarian genious creative the of image the from draws that artist-self an of a model promote to tend of art education in Hungary assists in keeping up such (a)political and uncritical approaches and trivialize, issues of gender identity or gender inequality in society at large. The system and nature based discrimination within the art world, they are less ready todevote attention to, or do preoccupied with art-immanent themes, and as they do not experience institutionalized are artists of contemporary majority a great stillprevails; artmaking of concept modernist the social subjects and/or creative individuals. I attribute this to a combination offactors. Much of did notentail a sustained critical interrogation ofthe particular position orissues of women as My pertinent observations are largely empirical at this stage, and they bear on the pop groups E.g., Sándor Weöres and Péter Esterházy as well as an expanding body of texts in modern Hungarian E.g., Tibor Gyenis, Róbert Szabó Benke and Géza Szöll , Kiscsillag (see my motto for Chapter III), and III), Chapter my mottofor (see 312 writers, Bëlga Sexing the Border: Gender, Art and New Media in Central 285 313 . pop musicians pop ŋ si; on their activity see my forthcoming article 314 —have proved to be more Kispál és a gender- in CEU eTD Collection with. direction of Hungarian cinema the subject choice and film language of their movies will carrywill manageon tobuild more sizeable oeuvres than most female directors before them, and which and female identity in thede-politicised realm ofthe “personal”, and whether women filmmakers and starting their careers, young women artists will move beyond meddling with gender codes flagrant minority in these schools. It remains to be seen whether, upon acquiring their diploma gender proportion of the youngest generation of art and film students: women are no longer in working in thefilm industry, several respondents commented on the conspicuously changing In myinterviews with women artists and in personal communications with acquaintances 286 CEU eTD Collection from almost all other art forms. 316 aspects. artistic over 315 original work as writer of the author the to refer i case, the latter (In works. other) (or literary of oradaptations works original writer orscript screenwriter political changes in Hungary) it is usually the producer who ultimately has the greatest degree of control. Hungary, while in the American state-socialist in non-existent was the producer of Thepost filmfor distributors. arranging and industrypersonnel, (and to a certain degree in thefilm producersystem introduced after the director terminology. Definitions of behind-the-screen positions in film industry, and explanations of use of 1 Appendix equivalent here is perhaps the production manager define clearly – and one that has also been largely nonexistent in the state-socialist system. The closest film during the editing process. the re-writing often movie, entire an to form sequences connecting then and sequence, a to form shots connecting intogold” celluloid raw “turns editor room.) The adark in snippets film together back gluing and cutting effect in meant then it (Until technology. of digital theintroduction before to beso used least film editor prepared and managed the budget of a film. for subsidy at the Central Film Department (Filmf Department Film Central the at for subsidy lobby and capital, social his/her to mobilise task director’s the was it subsidy, of state era the in on. Also, Hungarian cinema operated in an projects, film for appointed were whendirectors studios film the over control political tight of the period producers have veto power control as absolute artistic have donotalways directors bythe selected producer, film usually is director over everything from the controlscript itself over theto themaking final of technicalcuta film: of the the film. script-writer, Except crew for andthe director, actors. or the producer.In various In a system systems, where the it is not always unambiguous who has the most artistic In fact it is the only function that is unique to cinema and which defines and separates filmmaking producer Executive – visualizes the script and controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects while guiding the guiding while aspects dramatic and artistic a film's controls and the script visualizes – – although an important and notable behind-the-scene post, behind-the-scene notable and animportant –although – initiates, coordinates, supervises and controls matters such as fundraising, hiring key .) is a major role in the industry but one that is ambiguous and often difficult to – writes the screenplay from which movies are made. Screenplays can be can made.Screenplays are movies which from thescreenplay –writes auteur A PPENDICES AND PPENDICES system in which directors propose the projects they want towork they want the projects propose directors which in system (see below) without, however, any hands-on control hands-on any however, without, below) (see 287 ŋ igazgatóság), while the production manager only manager the production while igazgatóság), T ABLES 316 itis also a painstaking job, or at 315 CEU eTD Collection role of an assistant director was a stepping stone to directing work. the education, offilm institutionalisation Before the extras. directing and cast, rehearsing set, onthe order schedule, tracking daily progress, arranging logistics, checking the arrival of cast and crew, maintaining director assistant dramaturge or editor storyline decisions related to the image. andtechnical artistic achieving for responsible crew; lighting camera and the manages camera and/or photography of director or cinematographer manager production section of the work. ofthe section to thecreative unrelated but ofpower aposition Hence film. ofthe directing the actual below production thorough knowledge of pattern development, textiles and costume/fashion history. costume/fashion and textiles development, of pattern knowledge thorough and accessories for the actors to wear. The designer needs to possess strong artistic capabilities as well as a costume designer it was a central element in the film-making process (Kulcsár 2005). 1950s of the control thetight during Hungary in but system, Hollywood the in non-existent function a is compared to the editor of a written text. (Dramaturge is a term originally related to drama and theatre.) It – helps the film director in the making of a movie; duties include setting the shooting setting include duties of amovie; themaking in director the film helps – – designs, chooses (and, earlier within the Hungarian industry, used to make) clothing – the “household manager”, literally responsible for managing all issues of issues all formanaging responsible literally manager”, the “household – – refines the dramatic composition and structure of the storyline; could be could storyline; of the structure and composition dramatic the – refines (traditionally the camera operator thecamera (traditionally 288 himself) – operates the –operates himself) CEU eTD Collection Fateless / – Sorstalanság Fateless Fast and Loose / Könny Eszterkönyv – Do You Know “Sunday-Monday”? / Ismeri a Szandi mandit? – Diary for My Lovers / Napló szerelmeimnek – Diary for My Father and Mother / Napló apámnak, anyámnak – Diary for My Children / Napló gyermekeimnek – – Ferry /Pokolrév Devil’s Dealer Daughters of Luck / A szerencse lányai – lányai szerencse A / ofLuck Daughters Dad Goes Nuts Goes Dad Cha-cha-cha Catherine’s Marriage / Kis Katalin házassága – Car of Dreams / Meseautó – Bunny / Tücsök Bitches / Csajok – Binding Sentiments / Holdudvar – FábiánBálint Meets God/ Fábián Bálint találkozása istennel – /Ébredés Awakening Anna / Édes Anna – After the Day Before / Másnap – / Before Másnap theDay After Adoption / Örökbefogadás – A Woman Finds Her Way / Egy asszony elindul – A Study About Women / Tanulmány a n A Priceless Day / Ajándék ez a nap – A Kind of America / Valami Amerika – A Glass of Beer / Egy pikoló világos – A Full Day / Egy teljes nap A Cosy Cottage / Kertes házak utcája – 2x2 Are Sometimes 5 / Kétszer kett translated by myself and marked with asterix.) titles two the for except premieres, oratfestival distribution foreign in used titles the follow and/or (The English titles of the individual films correpond tothose in year. production of order in thesis; the in mentioned films the Hungarian of year production and director title, Full 2 Appendix – 2004, Benedek Fliegauf - 1981, János Kovácsi 1990, 1990, Krisztina Deák – 1963, Miklós Markos / Apám beájulna 1995, Ildikó Szabó 1958, Zoltán Fábri Zoltán 1958, ť 1994, Judit Elek vér 2005, Lajos Koltai Lajos 2005, 1969, Miklós Markos –1989, Ibolya Fekete – 1988 Márta Mészáros, 1975 2000, Barna Kabay –2003, Tamás Sas 2004 1968, MártaMészáros ŋ , néha öt Ferenc Grunwalsky 1955, Félix Máriássy 1979, Péter Gothár , Attila 1962, Tamás Fejér Tamás 1962, ŋ 2002, Péter Herendi 1998 kr ŋ – 1954, György Révész l – 1967, Márton Keleti 1987, Mészáros Márta , Janisch 1950, Félix Máriássy Márta Mészáros 1982, Mészáros Márta 1948, Imre Jenei – 1980, Zoltán Fábri 1969, Lívia 1969, 289 1990, Mészáros Márta Gyarmathy Hungarian Feature Films (Varga 1999) CEU eTD Collection The Cangaroo / A kenguru – The Bridgeman / A hídember – The Book of Esther / Eszterkönyv – Tale on the 12 Points / Mese a 12 találatról – Sweet Emma, Dear Böbe / Édes Emma, drága Böbe – Sunday Daughters / Vasárnapi szül Stop Mom Theresa! / Állítsátok meg Terézanyut! / feleim! Lássátok, Signal Sexploitation / Aszex – Sarah, My Dear/Sárika drágám – Riddance / Szabad lélegzet – Reflections / Tükörképek – / Tükörképek Reflections Red Colibri / Vörös Colibri Pleasant/ Szép Days napok– One Skirt, One Pant / Egy szoknya, egy nadrág Oh, Bloody Life / Te rongyos élet – Nine Months / Kilenc hónap – – Glória /Sohasevolt Gloria *Never-never – Natasha /Natasa – andPsyche/NárciszésPsyché Narcissus Mrs. Taylor / Szabóné – Mrs. Déry, Where Are You? / Déryné, hol van? – Mistletoes / Fagyöngyök– Merry-Go-Round /Körhinta – más /A egészen AreDifferent férfi Men Maria’s Day/Mária-nap– Love Emilia! / Szeressétek Odor Emíliát! – Little Vilma – the Last Diary Kontroll / Csókkal éskörömmel andScratches Kisses Just Sex and Nothing Else / Csak szex és más semmi – Just Like at Home / Olyan, mint otthon Je t’aime / Zsötem – Jadviga’s Pillow / Jadviga párnája Hungarians /Magyarok Hungarian Vagabond / Magyar vándor – Honour andGlory/Becsületésdics Honour Guarded Secrets / Mélyen Gangster Film / Gengszterfilm – Four Girls in a Courtyard / Négy lány egy udvarban Fetus / A magzat – 2003, Nimród –1993,MártaMészáros 1991, András Salamon András 1991, 1998, Tamás Tóth – 1978, Zoltán Fábri 1989, 1989, László Hartai 1949, Félix Máriássy 1978, Judit Ember ŋ - Lajos Fazekas, 1967 rzött titkok – Antal – 1995, Zsuzsa Böszörményi Zsuzsa –1995, 1976, Rezs 1983, Judit Elek 1973, MártaMészáros 1975, János Zsombolyai –1999,MártaMészáros 1955, Zoltán Fábri 2003, 2003, Kornél Mundruczó Márta Mészáros, 1976 2002, Géza Bereményi 1998, György Szomjas – 2000, Krisztina Deák 1983, Péter Bacsó ŋ ŋ 1971, Pál Sándor ség k 1989, Krisztina Deák – 1979, Rózsa János –1966, Tamás Fejér ŋ – 1951, Viktor Gertler 2004, Zsuzsa Böszörményi – 1978, Márta Mészáros Szörény 2003, Péter Herendi 2000, Zsolt Bernáth Zsolt 2000, – 1994, György Szomjas 1980, Gábor Bódy 1980, 1969, Pál Sándor 1956, Károly Makk – 2005, Bence Gyöngyössy – 2004, Péter Bergendy 1975, Gyula Maár – 1964, Pál Zolnay Pál –1964, 1991, István Szabó 2005, Krisztina Goda Krisztina 2005, 290 CEU eTD Collection Woman at the Helm / Asszony a telepen Walking toHeaven /Gyalogamennyországba Vera Angi / Angi Vera – UnhappyThe Hat/ Boldogtalan kalap The Unburied Dead The Red Countess / Vörös grófn The Rapture of Deceit / A csalás gyönyöre – The Princess / Adj király katonát *The Pizza Boy / Pizzás – The Lady from Constantinople / Sziget a szárazföldön – The Iron Flower / Vasvirág – / Örökség – Heiresses The The Girl / Eltávozott nap The Documentator / A dokumentátor – The Confrontation / Fényes szelek – / A temetetlen halott – 1968, Márta Mészáros 1980, Márta Mészáros 1978, Pál Gábor Pál 1978, 2001, György Balogh 1958, János Herskó ŋ – – 1982, Pál Erd 1984, András Kovács 1968, Miklós Jancsó - 1980, Mária Sós 1988, István Dárday & Györgyi Szalai – 1962, Imre Fehér – 2004, Márta Mészáros 1992, Lívia Gyarmathy – 1959, Imre Fehér ŋ ss 1969, Judit Elek 291 CEU eTD Collection 292 CEU eTD Collection Tables director lyrics writer choreographer assistant director assistant setdesigner script writer editor story line editor costume designer consultant writer choreographer setdesigner script writer story line editor editor costume designer lyrics story line editor production manager script writer editor costume designer writer choreographer editor production manager costume designer period period period functions women featured in featured women functions Hungarian of positions 1945-2005 behind-the-scene various production, in film feature participation Women's period Table 1 Table 1961-65 1956-60 1950-55 1945-49 total number of films made: 92 made: films of number total total number of films made: 111 made: films of number total total number of films made: 48 made: films of number total total number of films made: 19 made: films of number total 293 employing women number of films in the position the in 16 26 77 11 14 17 59 15 1 2 3 6 6 7 9 1 3 3 7 1 2 4 5 7 1 1 2 4 6 * in the position the in % of women % of employed 17.3 28.2 83.6 12.6 15.3 10.4 14.5 31.2 10.5 31.5 2.1 3.2 6.5 6.5 7.6 9.7 0.9 2.7 2.7 6.3 9.9 8.3 5.2 5.2 53 21 1 2 4 * CEU eTD Collection editor costume designer director writer script story editor line set designer set choreographer writer assistant director assistant lyrics idea director consultant writer script story editor line editor costume designer manager production assistant director assistant music lyrics writer set designer set consultant music set designer set writer director writer script story editor line editor costume designer idea choreographer music assistant director assistant choreographer production manager production idea lyrics period period period 1966-70 1971-75 1976-80 total number of films made: 106 number offilms total made: total number of films made: 96 films made: of number total total number of films made: 110 number offilms total made: 294 employing women number offilms in the position in the 35 92 12 31 12 13 34 40 78 10 13 20 45 82 85 7 5 5 3 2 2 1 6 1 6 1 5 4 4 8 3 7 1 1 5 4 3 3 2 1 * in the position in the % of women % of employed 86.7 11.3 29.2 12.5 13.5 35.4 41.6 81.2 11.8 18.1 40.9 74.5 77.2 6.6 4.7 4.7 2.8 1.8 1.8 0.9 6.2 0.9 6.2 0.9 5.2 4.1 4.1 7.2 3.1 6.3 4.5 3.6 2.7 2.7 1.8 0.9 33 9 1 1 * CEU eTD Collection director writer script story editor line costume designer editor production manager production production manager production consultant writer designer set studio manager producer director story editor line writer script costume designer editor writer idea set designer set consultant lyrics choreographer choreographer sound idea cinematographer sound music cinematographer music production manager production designer set director writer script story editor line costume designer editor director assistant consultant effects special writer music special effects special sound producer period period period 1981-85 1991-95 1986-90 total number of films made: 102 number offilms total made: total number of films made: 85 offilms made: number total total number of films made: 88 offilms made: number total 295 employing women number offilms in the position in the 18 43 75 87 10 11 15 21 28 58 80 13 13 38 70 84 9 9 7 8 5 9 4 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 3 2 3 1 2 2 7 8 2 5 1 4 4 2 2 1 * in the position in the % of women % of employed 17.6 42.1 73.5 85.2 10.5 11.7 12.9 17.6 24.7 32.9 68.2 94.1 14.7 14.7 43.1 79.5 95.4 8.8 8.8 8.2 7.8 5.8 3.9 3.5 2.9 3.5 2.9 2.3 2.9 2.3 2.9 2.3 2.9 1.1 1.9 1.9 7.9 1.9 5.6 0.9 4.5 4.5 2.2 2.2 1.1 9 * CEU eTD Collection Numbers and percentages are my own computation. my are andpercentages Numbers http://www.magyarfilmszemle.hu/. and Filmszemle), Week (Magyar Film Hungarian yearly of the catalogs Filmintézet), Magyar publisher: Sources see teams, mixed-gender or in individually position the filling ofwomen costume designer editor director writer script designer set producer manager production editor costume designer story story editor line producer special effects special story editor line writer script manager production music designer set writer sound lyrics writer studio manager cinematographer effects special consultant choreographer music director sound cinematographer * period period Cases when women fill the position individually or in mixed-gender teams. For the differences between the number/percentage the between differences Forthe teams. mixed-gender or in individually position fillthe women when Cases : for data 1945–1998: Hungarian Feature Films 1931–1998 (Varga 1999); for data 1999–2005: annual Film Almanac (Filmévkönyv; 2001-05 1996-2000 total number of films made: 99 films made: of number total total number of films made: 119 made: films of number total 296 Table 2 . employing women number offilms in the position in the 52 72 17 20 23 29 64 71 20 10 16 16 10 8 8 7 5 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 4 4 7 8 1 1 * in the position in the % of women % of employed 72.7 14.2 16.8 19.3 24.3 53.7 59.6 16.1 16.1 6.7 6.7 5.8 4.2 1.6 0.8 0.8 52 20 10 10 1 1 1 2 2 2 4 4 7 8 * CEU eTD Collection 297 CEU eTD Collection BOOK CHAPTERS THE BY COVERED PERIOD the book Number and proportion of male and female artists mentioned in the individual chronological chapters of Table 4 aremy owncomputation. Numbers andpercentages Hungary. the 20th Century); in fifteen parts, shown between 1965 and 1996, Csók István Képtár—István Király Múzeum, Székesfehérvár, Source of participants. andproportions all number show in figures brackets the artists; of visual inshow the table and proportion number Thefirst figures and doctors). journalists, poets, writers, philosophers, collectors, (but arttheorists, artists wereSchool visual of members The European all *Not 1990s (Szoboszlai 1999) 1980s (Hegyi 1999) The 1970s (Beke 1999) The 1960s (Kovalovszky 1999) The 1950s (Kovács 1999) (Horányi 1999) 1945–48 (The European School) Source attitudes (part 15, 1996) 0ť French” (part 14, 1993) Mi, “kelet-franciák” / Us, the “Eastern avant-garde (part 13, 1989) Az avantgárd vége / The end of the avant-garde (part 12, 1987) Régi és új avantgárd / Early and new 1983) years of denouement about 1960 (part 11, /The körül évei1960 A kibontakozás (part 10, 1981/82) “Az ötvenes évek” / The “fifties” art 1945–49 (part 9, 1977) Magyar m (part 8, 1973) School European /The Iskola Európai EXHIBITION EXHIBITION TITLE AND DATE OF The History of Hungarian Art in the 20th Century Number and proportion of male and female artists selected for the individual parts of the exhibition series Table 3 vek és magatartás/ Works and : Catalogs for the relevant parts of the exhibition series : Knoll 1999. Numbers and percentages are my own aremyown computation. percentages and Numbers 1999. : Knoll ť Die zweite Öffentlichkeit: Kunst in Ungarn im 20. Jahrhundert vészet 1945–49 / Hungarian LISTEDIN THE TEXT TOTAL NUMBER OF ARTISTS 58 44 67 58 14 34 (47)* 1990–96 1981–89 1975–80 1967–75 1957–67 1949–57 1945–49 1945–48 BY THE SHOW COVERED PERIOD A huszadik század magyar m század magyar Ahuszadik 298 33 59 44 54 58 52 97 33 SELECTED OF ARTISTS TOTAL NUMBER LISTED WOMEN ARTISTS 16 2 10 5 1 6 (7)* ť vészete (The History of Hungarian Artin ofHungarian (The History 8 5 11 8 8 5 10 6 SELECTED ARTISTS WOMEN WOMEN % OF 27.5 4.5 14.9 8.6 7.1 17.6 (14.8)* 24.2 8.4 25 14.8 13.7 9.6 17.5 18 WOMEN % OF CEU eTD Collection ( Sources ofall participants. andproportions shownumber in brackets figures the artists; in show of visual proportion thenumbertable and figures Thefirst and poets, journalists). writers, artists, performing socialscientiest, musicians, ofthe (but art athistorians, or the events performed Chapel participated artists visual only *Not 1994 1990 1986 1984 1983 Új Szenzibilitás/New 1981–87 Sensibility, series Balatonboglári Kápolnatárlatok 1970–73 / 1970 1969 Iparterv I-II (in the 1968-69 headquarters of 1966 1957 SHOW OF YEAR series, 1945–mid-1990s Number and proportion of male and female artists in representative group exhibitions and exhibition Table 5 http://artportal.hu/lexikon/fooldal/ : Catalogs for individual exhibitions, Klaniczay & Sasvári 2003; Ház / Kassák House of Culture) Museum Ernst Eighties; évek/The Nyolcvanas Gallery) Nemzeti Galéria/Hungarian National Hatvanas évek/The sixties (Magyar Gallery) Nemzeti Galéria/Hungarian National Eklektika ’85/Eclecticism ’85 (Magyar Museum) Frissen festve/Freshly Painted (Ernst Klub/Bercsényi Club) garde is dead (Bercsényi Az avantgarde meghal / The avant- of exhibitions (various venues) Balatonboglár Chapel Studio 0ť R-kiállítás/ The R-Show (Budapesti Szürenon (Kassák Lajos M “Iparterv”) company construction the Stúdió ’66 (Ernst Museum) (M Tavaszi Tárlat /Spring Show TITLE AND VENUE OF SHOW Club, Budapest Technical University) ť szaki Egyetem “R” Klub /“R” csarnok/Kunsthalle) ). Numbers and percentages are my own aremy computation. percentages Numbers and ). ť vel ŋ dési 13 245 143 73 33 14 18 32 87 (92)* 13 146 ARTISTS PARTICIPATING TOTAL NUMBER OF 26 299 Artportal , online database of Hungarian contemporary art contemporary of Hungarian database , online 0 32 16 8 1 0 1 3 5 (3)* 1 24 WOMEN ARTISTS PARTICIPATING 1 13 11.1 10.9 3 5.5 9.3 5.4 (4.2)* 7.6 16.4 WOMEN % OF 3.8 CEU eTD Collection ( percentages are my are owncomputation. percentages Sources members of male and female participants. ***More participants at the InDiGo courses were non-artists than artists; therefore i only indicate the overall from thisperiod. participants indicate row inthe second The figures shows. tohost continued theirexhibition space while ofVLS faded, profile the group 1990s, **In the ofallparticipants. number andproportions indicate in brackets figures the artists; ofvisual and proportion number indicate the table in figures the first In cases, such ladies). andcleaning musicians, architects, doctors, journalists, poets, authors, philosophers, collectors, (arttheorists, members hadnon-artist * Somegroups 2006- 2005 2003–06 2001–03 2002– 2000–01 1994– 1990– 1989–95 1984–92 1982–92 1980–85 1978–86 1978–88 1976–77 1972– 1970-80 1958-1968 1946-48 1945–48 ACTIVITY YEARS OF 1945–2000s Number and proportion of male and female artists in relevant artists’ groups, collectives and initiatives, Table 6 http://artportal.hu/lexikon/fooldal/ : Kortárs magyar m magyar : Kortárs two curators) Impex Contemporary Art Provider Budapest Association Kurátori Egyesület Budapest/Curators’ Dinamo KMKK (Két m Art Public for Institute HINTS Kirakat Galéria/Art Window Kis Varsó / Little Warsaw Group csoport/Block Block Újlak Hejettes Szomlyazók Xertox Committee Bizottság/A.E. A.E. InDiGo*** Inconnu Rózsa Presszó/Café Rózsa Vajda Lajos Stúdió (VLS)/Studio Lajos Varga** Pécsi M Zuglói kör/The Zugló Circle M Elvont Európai Iskola/The European School GROUP OF NAME Artists ť vészeti lexikon I–III. lexikon vészeti ť hely/The Pécs Workshop ť vészek Csoportja/Group ofAbstract Csoportja/Group vészek ť ); Novotny 2002; Hornyik & Sz vész, két kurátor/Two artists, (Fitz 1999–2001); Artportal 300 ŋ ke 2008; and my own data collection. Numbers and , online database of Hungarian contemporary art contemporary of Hungarian database , online 4 8 6 10 2 8 2 2 8 8 (9) 8 3 4 (8) 50 7 24 42 22 11 34 (47)* MEMBERS OF NUMBER TOTAL 9 3 0 3 9 2 6 2 0 0 0 (1) 0 0 0 (3) 19 1 3 5 0 0 6 (7)* MEMBERS FEMALE OF NUMBER 1 75 0 50 90 100 75 100 0 0 0 (11.1) 0 0 0 (37.5) 38 14.2 12.5 11,9 0 0 17.6 (14.8)* GROUPS THE WOMEN IN % OF 11.1 CEU eTD Collection Bal, Mieke & Norman Bryson (1991). Semiotics and Art History. accompanying Daniel Knorr’s exhibition in the Romanian Pavilion at the 51. Biennale di Venezia, 2005] Babias, Marius, ed. (2005). ——(2000). N Budapest&Wien: Galerie Knoll. 13–20. Babarczy, Eszter (1996). El-Hassan Róza munkáiról [On the works of Róza El-Hassan]. In Szemle 3 feminista megközelítéshez [Gender inequlities during state-socialism: Some theses for a feminist inquiry]. Kuczogi Szilviával és Pet http://web.ukonline.co.uk/n.paradoxa/andras.htm [accessed 1 February 2002] —— (1999b). Gender Minefield: The Heritage of the Past. Sturcz, Anna Bálványos & Gábor Andrási, 79–110. Asztalos-Morell, Ildikó (1997). A nemek közötti egyenl Journal of Popular Culture Arpad, Susan S. & Sarolta Marinovich (1995). Why hasn't there been a Strong Women's MovementGondolat. in Hungary? Magyarországon: A honfoglalástól napjainkig —— (1999a). Cultural Cross-dressing. In ed. Edit András & AndrásiGábor, Budapest: ÓbudaiTársaskör. 25–43. András, Edit (1995). Contemporary (Women’s) Art and (Woman) Artists on Water Ordeal. Gondolat. 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Andrási, Gábor, ed. (1999). *** András, Edit Andrási& Gábor, eds. (1995). 98–111. —— (2005). Blind Spot of the New Critical Theory. Notes on the Theory of Self Colonization. Inwww.artmargins.com/content/feature/andras.html Babias (2005), [accessed August 5, 2003] women’s question”: An exchange with art historian Edit András]. —— (2001). Who's Afraid of a New Paradigm? Hungarian feminists and the journal “N Acsády, Judit & Nilda Bullain (1993). A n —— (2000). “Megoldotta a n —— (1999c). Representation of the Body in Contemporary Hungarian Art. In Andrási (999), Acsády, Judit (1995). Women: Changing Roles: Shifting Attitudes and Expectations. : 32–66. ŋ k és feministák, avagy az aszimmetria szépségei. Babarczy Eszter beszélget Csáky Marianne-nal, 2 Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses. In ŋ : 77–96. A társadalmi mobilitás változásai Magyarországon Andreával [Women and feminists, or the delights of assymetry]. European Influenza. 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