COMPARISON OF GENDER-RELATED STUDIES IN LINGUISTICS OF POST-SOVIET BLOC AND THE WESTERN WORLD: HISTORICAL OUTLOOK

ABSTRACT

The following article provides an overview and a comparison of gender-linguistic studies, that took part in the countries of post-soviet bloc as well as similar studies that were carried out in the West.

The article therefore strives to outline key differences in development of gender studies in both cases, as well spot, outline and analyze key differences within the primary area of research of each topic.

The author discusses the beginning, the becoming of gender related studies in both cases, concluding that in the case of the West, the paradigm shift was pivotal in being the moving force behind several major economical and sociocultural changes.

The relevance of the topic is increasingly apparent due to the rapidly shifting modern paradigm; likewise, the following article may also be of use to increase the levels of intercultural communication between drastically different outlooks on this topic, as well as the whole world.

Keywords: gender studies, linguistics, paradigm, feminism.

The end of the 20^th century saw major geopolitical shifts, such as the end of the USSR as a country and the apparent end of the Cold War as a whole; earlier, there was the surge of anti-war movements spotted in the West. Sociocultural shakes like these perhaps serve as the first major foundation of the modern gender linguistics as one perceives them nowadays.

According to Kirillina [3], the major driving force behind the rapid developments that took place in these fields are to be attributed primarily to the new at the time philosophical systems, in particular, post-modernist one.

To further solidify aforementioned claim, Kirillina states that all developments of post-modernism treat reality as a sociolinguistic construct and that in turn means that the contacts and the language itself are two separate entities.

With that in mind, we can therefore claim that the first major difference between the west and the east is the post-modernism as the driving force. In other words, the gradual susceptibility to post-modernism can be defined as one of the biggest reasons gender linguistics in the West accelerated so rapidly.

If one was to compare the situation with the post-Soviet space, where countries were instead stuck dealing with the consequences of being severed off economically leaving them with no choice but to attend to far more urgent matter, it becomes fairly obvious.

Pershai notes that unlike the so-called “liberal” West, USSR and its allies, when it came to scientific matters relied on authority and credibility more than anything else, hindering the progress substantially.

The following thesis is proposed in the same paper: “Gender studies are [always] about women and [sometimes] about men”, indicating the strong patriarchal tendency outlined in not only the scientific background of the Soviet bloc, but in day-to-day life, which is perhaps due to totalitarian (albeit gradually weakening and dying down) governing apparatus.

In this context, if one is to also include the post-USSR countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, etc., a similar tendency can be spotted, that gender linguistics as a whole were almost never in priority in the Soviet bloc, and have only received any sort of attention at the end of its lifespan, in 90s.

The second most popular point of view as of to what gave such a massive boost to becoming of the modern day gender studies is second wave feminism, which came to be at first in the United States.

Some [5] propose that the feminism as a phenomena itself has been a long-delayed reaction to the domestication of women that came immediately after World War Two, while others [4] insist that patriarchal society as a whole views women as “other” beings.

Regardless of the reason behind the uprising and the changes that followed, one thing is undeniable is the tremendous impact and the aforementioned paradigm shift it has triggered.

For comparison, feminist movements in Kazakhstan are stated to have only been formed shortly after the country has gained independence in 1991 and some time later. [6] [7]

In Russia, the situation is somewhat different, however, with the foundation of a “female” movement being attributed to a much earlier date (19^th century) with the point of concern being the difference of “female” movements that were noted at the time and strictly “feminism” movements.

Researches in that particular topic indicate that it is hard to draw a concrete line and often times “female” and “feminism-based” movements in Russia of the 19^th century intertwine; thus, no distinction can be made [8].

With that mind, we believe it to be plausible to say that the historical background of nearly all countries, served as an example in this abstract is identical; they share the trait of patriarchy dominating the society as a whole and women in these conditions find themselves with little to no rights whatsoever.

More importantly, in the case of the post-Soviet countries, the Soviets, despite initially aligning themselves with the ideological goals of the “female” movement, they later deemed them as representatives of “bourgeois” and were essentially ordered to cease as an organization.

The modern period is vastly different, however. The United States is a country with a fully shifted paradigm and it has now since developed further into what is now commonly referred to as third  and, later, fourth wave of feminism.

The consensus has now shifted and is aimed at empowering women [1], which is the key trait, that, to this day, seems to be entirely absent in the countries of post-Soviet bloc. It is evident with Kazakhstan, where, despite the presence of emerging tendencies of the third wave feminism, the traditional values are instilled by the government, which is viewed in the primarily negative light [8]

To summarize, there are a few reasons that explain why the gender studies differ so much between the two sides, such as the philosophical shift, that was proposed in the beginning or rapid raise of awareness, triggered by the social, cultural and economical changes.

Overall, those two factors combined as well as the differences between the two variables in the case of Western and Eastern bloc would seem to provide a sufficient answer; in addition to that, several pacifistic movements, distinct in their nature, that took place in the US could’ve created the framework necessary for the such a rapid shift in the local consensus that would not have been possible otherwise, something, that is historically absent in the Eastern history [2].

Nonetheless, it is not to say that the Western gender studies have advanced far ahead and catching up is impossible – on the contrary, we believe it to be possible, given the fact that the methodological base existed in the USSR space and all that needs to happen is re-evaluation of already acquired information and data and not a “fresh start”.

References:

1. Abrahams, Jessica "Everything you wanted to know about fourth wave feminism—but were afraid to ask", 2017
2. Duggan, Lisa; Hunter, Nan D. Sex wars: sexual dissent and political culture. New York: Routledge,1995
3. Kirillina, A. Gender studies in Foreign and Russian linguistics – [electronic resource] – Access Mode - https://ecsocman.hse.ru/data/826/587/1231/014kIRILINA.pdf (date of application 01.12.2021)
4. Moi, Toril "While we wait: The English translation of The Second Sex". Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. 27 (4): 1005–1035, 2002
5. Murray Knuttila, Introducing Sociology: A Critical Approach (2008)
6. Shchurko, Tatyana. «Khujum»: Female emancipation during the early Soviet "experiments" in Soviet Kyrgyzstan (1918-1930). Civilizing policy of the USSR:
7. Women's movement // Kazakhstan. National Encyclopedia. - Almaty: Aza encyclopedia, 2005.
8. Yukina I. Russian Feminism as a Challenge of the Present. - SPb .: Aleteya, 2007.