Unexpressionism? Challenges to the Formation of Women's

by Kird~Fdh contact with foreigners plays a significant role. The free flow of information also prompts women to see that their Lhutnrrr~it~plrrrp~thpartn@&n&&mes problems may not be merely individual headaches or h h viepub4ue m s h&nt sur h Missa~edcs pupa dc unusual idiosyncrasies. In the past few years the number of &m# &puh 1989. articles dedicated to women and their situation in the Hunizarian media has increased ex~onentiallv.~ The women's groups thoroughly understand the con- flict of liberal demourcv which lia between universal The women i group thoroughly understand the demands for equality and a demand for protection for a conflict of liberal clkmomacy which between socidy disadvantaged group. In reaction to the undemo- fies cratic past and its (en)forccd egalitarianism women shun universal dwadfir equulity and a demandfir affirmative action and engage in politics only if "perfectn protection fir a sociaUy diradvantagedgroup. equality between the sexes is assured. It was such a situa- tion that contributed to the &led sexual harassment legislation in the Hungarian Parliament in 1992. The Hungarian Women's Association opted for supporting a After the socialist regime established the conditions for bill on sexual harassment on the basis of gender equality women's emancipation according to its practical needs but requested that men also be protected. The original and ideological expectations, societal backlash and serious drafters of the bill argued that many more women were personal consequences followed. Today, the socialist state- exposed to sexual harassment and, as such, women espe- sponsored emancipation of women has been largely dis- cially needed this piece of legislation. The two sides could credited. With the transition from a centralized to a not agree and, as a result, they did not exert enough market-based economy, both the possibilities and the pressure in concert for Parliament to seriously consider the difficulties for women have taken nmshape. First, this issue. The question still lingers as to whether the commit- article will look at some of the ways in which liberal ment to gender symmetry is as important as the value of democracy impacts upon the emergence ofwomen's con- legislative action. sciousness and the formation of their groups. Next, it will consider some of the ficts that contribute to keeping the Obstaclu to women's self-orpization in Hungary mobilhtional ability of women's groups in Hungary so abysmally small. The most popular history books in Hungary do not mention the suffrage movement and the struggles for The positive impacts of democrathation on women's rights in women's education and paid work. The date consciousneu when women achieved the right to vote, the groups formed, and the names of their leaders ate lost from Freedom to associate proved to be a necessary but not common knowledge. Lack of interest and of general sufficient condition for women to express their interests. historical awareness and the shallow development of lit- Liberal dunocracy allows for women to organize, but if erature about women renders the emergence of a genuine they fiil to mobilize, liberal democratic regimes follow women's movement even more difficult. But, there are a their embedded bias to credit only the stronger and more number of other interlocking fictors that hinder the ably articulated pressures (Akselberg). The approximately development of women's self-consciousness and selfsr- 30 women's groups which have sprung up in Hungary ganization in Hungary. The ambivalent relation to social- since 1989 certainly indiate that there is a willingness to ism, the physical and emotional exhaustion ofwomen, the articulate various aspects ofwomen's interests. l However, decrease in living standards, the shift in the traditional given Hungary's widapr* economic problems, activity image of women, and the prevalence of anti-feminism all in these groups tends to be confined to women in (an at constitute significant obstacles to women's political pat- least relatively) privileged position. This is manifested by ticipation and contribute to a phenomena that I the fict that they live in urban centres (mostly in the women's "unexpressionism" in public life. capital), where they not only find each other much more readily but they also feel fieer to delineate their own spaces. &bivalent relation to so&lisrn But, first and foremost, these women have much easier access to various sources of information. Here especially The socialist .model of modernization obliged women

CANADIAN WOMAN STWDIESILES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME Croups in Hungary

to enter into the paid labour force, and encouraged their action on her own. The National Women's Council political and educational participation at the cost of indi- became an easy, risk-free target of ridicule much before vidual expression and market relations. Liberal democracy "Big Brother." in Hungary allows for individual self-expression and Notwithstanding the good intentions of women activ- market relations, but has not dntained even the pre- ists, women's associations lefc a grim heritage. First and foremost, rhe monopolistic structure of representation curies a dangerous piecedent by creating the-illusion that women an be represented in one block. Under commu- The chsic Mamirt strategy fir the liberation of nist leadership, &e national organization's existence 4- lowed for camouflaging the need for alternative women's women ficused on three &sues: sociafize the means of o~tions.The monopolyof the organizationdiscour- production, get women into the work-firce, andget aged the formation of new groups and suppressed them in some of the responsibilities out of the household. the name of ideological superiority while also enforcing a hierarchy of social goals. Second, women became quite disuustll. They rejected women's token appointments, political action, organizations, and all government policy tence of an ideological commitment to gender equality. matters ensuring their participation, (i.e., quotas). As a From 1948 onward, women's easier access to educa- reaction to communist emancipatory propaganda, voic- tion, employment, and social services reflected the com- ing adaim for gender quality in politics and employment mitment to gender qualityof the communist elite. There is now diimisscd as a legacy of a communist past. was more than an element of utilitarianism in this com- Women's share in decision-making has significantly mitment. Women provided the reserve labour force for and symbolically decreased since the regime transition. rapid industrialization, and their mass entry into higher During the communist era, women's participation oscil- education and wage labour served as much economic as lated between 17 and 20 per cent in the Gntral Commit- ideological aims (Bysiewia and Shelly). tee of the Communist Party in Hungary and women's There is no doubt that Marxist ideology contained participation in the Parliament varied between 20 and 33 some emancipatory elements concerning women. The per cent. As a result of the first democratic election in chic Marxist strategy for the liberation of women fo- 1990, the ratio of female legislators slid to seven per cent, cused on three issues: socialize the means of production, similar to the decrease of women's participation in legis- get women into the work-force, and get some of the latures observed in all other post-communist countries. In responsibilities out of the household (Ferguson). But 1994 more women were elected to Parliament, mostly as traditional Marxism also claimed that women's oppres- a result, however, of the Socialist Party putting more sion was essentially a consequence of the class relations. In women on their list.3 thii view, women's inequality results from the structure of private property and will cease by the advent of socialism Exhaustion (Gonlieb). There arc studies influenced by classical Mux- ist tradition which saw all women workers as organizable Physical and mend exhaustion also contribute to fe- as men, depending on their ability to develop "class male invisibility in public life. Women in Hungary have consciousness" (see Bulks). According to these tenets, kept the responsibility of traditional roles and taken on an both elite intent and capacity were more fivoumble to qualshare in paid work. According to calculations, 40 per production-orientedversionofgender equality in socialist cent of work done by women is not in any manner counties than in today's newly liberal capitalist ones. honoured, either as paid labour or as a moral contribution Until 1989, one single national institution in Hungary (Konn). In a 1986 survey, the most frequent problem was in charge of women's interests. The National Wom- women mentioned was the burdensome coordination of en's Council usually had one non-voting representative in the different roles they had to play. The division of labour the central decision making body (the Central Commit- within the fimily is sharply displayed by the amount of tee) of the socialist countries. Its activities were limited to time spent on daily household chores: 271 minutes by symbolic representation in international affairs, and keep- women, 97 minutes by men (Sdai 1991a). ing limited contact with women by centrally funded and The lack of flexible working hours, the absence of regulated periodicals. The association acted as the "little conditions to harmonize household work and employ- sistern of the Communist Party, without voice, without ment, and cultural traditions concerning the division of

VOLUME 16, NUMBER 1 labour among the sexes all block active community en- every 100 phin daycare centres, and children whose gagement of women. Most women have no time, no mothers are at home with another siblings are not energy, and no incentive to enter into a world that they fccl allowed to request daycare space (Makam). Thus, more is very alien and distant from them. To survive in an burden falls on the fimily, with decreasing financial increasingly &cult economic environment, women's compensation from the state. more immediate responsibilities make them concentrate In Hunguy, women are as dependent on wage labour as on their own pusold surroundings. As Susi Koltai writes: men are, but they routinely receive one-third less shyfor the same work, and have much less chance of being Hungarian women appunresponsive to the awe- promoted to leadership positions than men do. However, some challenges to their rights, dignity and self- in Hungary, unlike in other post-communist countries, respect. Why? Probably because of sheer physical ununployment does not hit women harder than men exhaustion and deeply ingrained sense of guilt, and (Frey).S The teason for this is job-segregation. The previ- the lack of informationabout, or ofpositive examples ously well-paid jobs in heavy industries, which arc cur- of different ways of thinking on lii. To the majority rently being scaled back, lay off nearly exclusively men of Hungarian women today, a being 'told' seems to (S&, 1991b). Although women are less likely to be laid hold out the promise of the longed-for dream, to be off becaw they are much cheaper and constitute a less provided for forever by men, in the heaven of the demanding workforce than men, opportunities are open Holy Family, and no longer fccl strain or guilt. only for the young and attractive. Always the underdogs in the rat-mce of trades and In the short term, both shrinking social services and fear profcsfions, fid up with unsatisfying, low-paid jobs, of unemployment are causing women to stay home, or to repelled by an aggressive political dimate, and fright- accept low prestige or put-time jobs (Frey). Conservative ened by the thought of being branded as feminists and nationalist groups support women staying at home (which means anti-men, anti-children, anti-funily, bccausc they understand it as a choice in contrast to the lesbian, repulsive) the majority of Hungarian women uniform labour obligation under communism. They llso are not fighting back. They will be happy just to daim that women will be more indined to be engaged in swive. (5) social activities, especially charity, when paid labour ?c- tivities will be lifted from the double burden of women. DMeerc in the rt~ndardof living In contrast to increased media support for women's traditional role in the home, women's involvement in the Since the regime transition the decline in the standard workforce has inudto 92 per cent, which is among the of living has intensified in Hungary. The real wage index highest internationally (~rey).~However, the assessment declined from 1989 to 1992 by about 20 per cent and per of women's paid labour has drastically changed. In 1988 capita consumption declined by about eleven to 12 per- an international comparative study measured views about cent (~ndorka).~The extensive transformation of eco- women's paid employment. At that time, Hungarian nomic and political structures fuels the increasing eco- women expressed a supportive attitude concerning paid nomic polarization and the resurficing of dass relations. labour, whiie men showed a much more conservative In the 1980s about one million people (10 per cent of the standpoint by expressing their much higher preference of population) had an income lower than the subsistence having women (with children) remain at home. By 1994 minimum. By 1992 this number had increased to about men's views stayed at the same level, but women eventu- two to two-and-a-half million (20-25 per cent). Unem- ally became much more conservative in their views con- ployment, previously hidden under socidim, had in- cerning employment than men were in 1988 (Toth). udto about 14 per cent by the spring of 1993, and remained beyond the 10per cent ratio ever since (Andorb). Traditionid image of women The recession following the economic restructuring programs of the 1990shas already undermined the liveli- As men nearly singularly occupy the positions of power hood of many dual-earner fimilies. Women increasingly and expert opinion in the Hungarian media, women are uy to find wage work which they can pursue at home while becoming invisible in the coverage of public life. Judging receiving maternity allowance. Although women are le- from national television programs, women are excluded gally entitled to their jobs upon returning from maternity from expressing opinions even in those fields where they leave, the period when the employer cannot fire them has constitute a majority, such as nursing or teaching. Whiie been reduced from 90 days to 60 first, and then to 30 days. women do not appear in 90 per cent of the news items, The various female sections of different trade unions have when they do manage to get on the screen they do not been fighting the bill before the Parliament to reduce thii speak in 83 per cent of these cases (Nyilvlnmdg Klub). period even further to 15 days. The symbolic elimination of women in the media is When women uy to get back to their workplaces, they accentuated by nullifying their problems. In nearly half of often find that daycare centres and nurseries have been the attides which appear in women's weeklies no prob dosed. In Hungary there are 124 children competing for lems surfice (NyilvdnosdgKlub). The kinds ofstories the

CANADIAN WOMAN !XUDIESLJ3 CAHIERS DE LA FEMME television programs and the three major women's weeklies ized by a liberal women's foundation (MONA) demon- carry &us on family l& almost exclusively and women's strated that while some of the major parties established an role as mother and hod.The "home is your place" agenda on women's issues, this has often been only a message not so subtly suggests that the primacy of values fipde to please western political partners, and was rarely belong to family life and emotional support. The resur- a serious undertaking. gence of religious belidi may also lend some support for In the face of new political institutions and political as sentiments idolizing women who sacrifice for the family, well as economic changes of great scale, voters' party and commit themselves to raising children (Saled; Arpad preferences changed quickly and considerably (Chung). and Marinovich). Half of those who declared a party preference in 1992 changed their preference within one year (Andorka). Given the high volatility combined with rapid realloca- tion of resources, ~oliticalelites are inclined to focus on The loss of the legitimacy of the socialist regime con- "more importantn aims than women's involvement in tributes considerably to many women in Central and public life. This pragmatism often precludes any discus- Eastern Europe interpreting their socialist emancipation sion of the problems of feminism and its place and as direct indoctrination. Alongside their disregard for contribution to social life to Eastern Europe. As Rita socialist doctrines, most women also became desensitized Kllmovd, the Czech Ambassador to the United States to gender questions. While collecting materials on wom- viewed it: 'Feminism is a flower on democracy" (Wolchik en's groups in Hungary, I often encountered women who 1994, 18). Thelt is an illusion in Central and Eastern are firm in their belief that they never experienced dis- Europe that feminism can develop only when economic crimination. They are also certain that feminism is non- and social stability have been established. It is also ironic sense. My observations indicate that Hungarian women that these dictums are spelled out in the jargon of Marxist often see feminism as narcissistic and selfish. revolutionary discourse against which most of the new Feminism is an oddly tainted word. Free from any elites were .fighting. direct association to the state-socialist past it is still consid- ered something "psychologically unhealthy" in Hungary. Conclusion Feminism, as most women understand it, conflicts with their socialization. As a result, both the current and the The post-communist governments do not intend to preceding social transformation have hindered the devel- rectify existing imbalances and the conservative revival has opment of feminist consciousness. First, during the mm- added a cultural aspect by reinforcing religious and na- munist em, propaganda downplayed feminism as a form tionalist traditions. Among Gntral and Eastern Europe- of bourgeois degeneration. After the 1989 revolutions, ans nobody originally thought that the answer to "who neophyte advocates of liberal democracies depicted &h- would lose?" after the transition from communism would mauve action as contrary to the basic tenets of democracy, include anyone but the ruling communist elite. The myth and not as a possible counterbalance to social inequalities. was quite persistent that liberal democracy will change At least, according to common phraseology, democracy is everything for the better and "[Mlany women saw a clear "the only game in town," so women had better not ask for advantagein a rapid assimilation to the West" (Dolling4). fivouritism. Being a feminist is an easy target of ridicule Today; the rigid equality-interpretation of the new and neither individuals nor groups want to create that democracies does not allow patronage for those who perception now that they have unconditionally embraced cannot defend themselves in the majority-dominated a new uniform: western ideology at its worst. democracy. Although the post-communist governments would have a chance to lessen this tension and use their Lack of political rupport legitimacy to promote gender equality in the home and in employment, they are more concerned with creating In the past years the process of political articulation has economic survival packages than even contemplating been moving toward a fragmented model, which although such a move long-term. The women's groups may be able h from pluralism, has drastically shifted from the mo- to disrupt this practice on the new ground of democratic nopolistic pattern of centrally allocated socialist bargain- politics, but at the moment their mobilizational abilities ing of interests. Women's groups have slowly created an are still severely limited. arena where some of the particular cultural and political issues that are important to women can be formulated. &din Fabian 13 a native ofHungay, currenth working on These women's groups indude proksional organiza- her doctorate in Polirical Science at Syrruusc University. tions, civic organizations, issue groups and women's sec- tions of traditional political institutions, such as parties I1n the course of the past few months I have been and trade unions. During the 1990 elections in Hungary participating in a wide range of activities organized by only the Social Democratic Party had a program to various women's groups and interviewed several of their address women's concerns. By 1994, a roundtable organ- members and main organizers in an attempt to gather

VOLUME 16, NUMBER 1 information on which interests these groups (re)present. Dolling, Ircne. 'Between Hope and Helplessness: Women 2~heHungarian comprehensive data collection of media in the GDR after the 'Turning Point.'" Fminist Review coverage (compiled by the Department of Information of 39.2 (1991): 3-16. the Parliament) indicates that the number of articles Ferguson, Ann. SdDemocrq.Boulder, CO: Weswiew published in the daily press on women and women's lives Press, 1991. has inudfrom around 30 to 40 in 1989 to approxi- Frey, Mdrk No& tr a munAanCUCg. (Women and mately 350 artides in 1993. Unemployment). Budapest: Hungarian Women's As- 3~ighernumbers ofwomen in decision-making positions sociation, 1992. is an extensively debated vehicle to induce more fivour- Gottlieb, Roger S. Mamism 1844-1990. New York: able treatment of women. Most authors, such as Judith Routlcdge, 1992. Butler, would consider an increase highly desirable, but Koltai, Susi. "The Situation of Women in Hungary." would also trat it as a necessary, but not sufficient Paper presented at International Colloquium on Women condition toward women's empowerment.An example to in the Process of Democratization in the Gntral and support this dimwould be the participation ofwomen in Eastern European Countries, UNESCO, December 3-6, communist legislation. 1991, Prague. 41t is worthwhile to note that most available data are Konu, Kadin. "Nok a politika szlnpadan" ("Women on preliminary. They are also less reliable because they fiil to the Stage of Politics"). A&- Society and Eronomy 4 capture much of the private sector and all of the black (1990): 79-94. market activities (as high as 30 per cent of the GDP). Kona, Kaolin. "Nokthdalmihelyzctc Magyarordgon" 51t is yet unclear what are the specific reasons for this ("The Status of Women in Hungary"). Magyarodg idiosyncratic characteristic occurring in Hungary. dtalakuldban (Hungary in Transition). Budapest: 6~nthe early 1900s in Hungary the economic activity of NCpj61Cti Miniszttrium (Ministry of Welhe), 1994. women age 16-55 reached 92.6 per unt, which is only a 99-123. few tenths of one per cent behind that of men (Frey). Makara, Kl&a. "A Woman's Place." The Nnu Hungarian However, this data includes all women on unemployment Quarter6 33.126 (1992): 100-102. benefits and the three year maternity leave as well. Also it "MiCrt nem mennek gyesre a kispapdk?" ("Why Do Men is dose to the relevant data of the Scandinavian countries, Not Accept Child-Care Leave?") Tina 13 October although there the ratio of part-time employees is much 1994: 23. higher than in Hungary. NyilvAnosAg Klub Monitor Csopon (Openness Club, Monitoring Group). "Hlmnem, nonem: a mddium nem semleges." ("Male, Female: The Media is Not Neutral.") Magyar Hfrlap 28 February 1995: 8. Andorb, Rudolf. "Hungarian Sociery: Heritage of the Saled, Renata. Nationahm, Anti-Semitism, and Anti- Past, Problems of the Transition and Possible Future Feminism in Eastern Europe Dcmocrq. New York: Development up to 2005." Au&-So&ty andEconomy Working Paper Series of the East and Central Europe in CrnrralandEasm Europr 27.1 (1995): 8-74. Program of the New School for Social Research, 1992. Arpad, Susan S. and Sarolta Muinovich. "Why Has There S&, J& "Some Aspeas of the Changing Situation of Not Been a StrongWomen's Movement in Hungary?" Women in Hungary in the Process ofTransition." &yond journal of Popular Culture (fbrthcoming 1995). the Grcat Tran.y5nnation Budapat: Research Review on Aksclberg, Martha A. "Communities, Resistance, and the Hungarhn Socd Sciences, 1991a 187-204. Women's Activism: Some Implications for Democratic Szalai, JSllia. "Some Aspects of the Changing Situation of Theory." Womm and& Politics ofEmpowmnmt. Eds. Women in Hungary." S+ 17.1 (1991b): 152-170. Ann Bookman and Sandra Morgen. Philadelphia: Tem- S&, J~a.Women and Democratization:SomeNotes on ple University Press, 1988. Recent Trends in Hungary." Paper presented at Women Banks, J. A. Mamist Sociology in Action: A Sociological and Political Transitions in South America and Eastern Critiqw of the Mamist Appwh to Indwtrial Rrlations. and Central Europe: Thc Prosp for Democracy," Hvrisburg, PA: Stackpole, 1970. December 3-4,1992, University of Glifbmia, Berkeley. Butler, Judith. Gmdcr TroubIc.NewYork: Routledge, 1992. T6th, Olga. A Galddi #&ek &a nemiszepk megwhzhz Bysiewia, Shirley Raissi and Shelley, Luise I. "Women in (Family Values and the Change in Gender Roles). Buda- the Soviet Economy. Proclamations and Practice." So- pest: T~KI(Social Scicna Information Group), 19%. vietLawandhnomy. Eds. Olimpiad S. Ioffeand Mark Wolchik, Sharon L. "The Status of Women in a Socialist W. Janis. Boston: Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic Pub- Order: Czechoslovakia, 1948-1978." SlavicReuinu38.4 lishers, 1986.57-77. (1979): 583-603. Chung, Jin Min. "Electoral Volatility in New Democra- Wolchik, Shvon L. "Women and the Politics of Transi- cies and Democratic Consolidation." Unpublished tion in the Czech and Slovak Republics." Womm in the working paper. Myong Yi University, Seoul, Korea and Politics ofpost-Communist Eaztern Eutope. E.. Marilyn Syncuse University. 1994. Rucschemeyer. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1994.

CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIESILES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME