Feminist research shows that wars and patriarchate are closely interconnected, gender ideologies are constructed during wartime based on the essentialist ideas that men are ‘protectors’ while women are ‘protected’. Wars, especially wars of national liberation, fuel both military and nationalist sentiments and discourses within which women serve as biological, cultural, and social reproducers of nations while men serve as protectors and national heroes.
In the talk, Olena shows the complex picture of the impact of the war on gender (in)equality in Ukraine and assume that the currently recorded trends do not allow us to conclude the systemic strengthening of patriarchal discources, attitudes and practices in Ukrainian society. Rather, it is about an eclectic combination of conservative perspectives with the progress of Ukrainian society toward gender equality and securing women’s rights.
The author will focus on three dimensions:
- on the legislative level and politics of gendered military mobilization, where the traditional gender order is most clearly reproduced as men are assigned the roles of “defenders”, and women those who are “defended”;
- on the political context of the war, related to Ukraine’s aspirations to join the EU, which is an important factor in the sustainability of gender equality policies;
- on the socio-cultural, namely, on the dynamics of public perceptions and attitudes on gender roles in the context of war.
The lecture will take place on May 21, 17:00 in online-format.
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Registration is required, as Zoom link will be sent to registered attendees only.