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Magyar women: Hungarian women's lives, 1960s–1990s
Book Reviews
deconstruct the homogenizing, universalizing account of Latin America which contributes to the exoticization and "Otherization" of the peoples of Latin America, and instead, to give full attention to diversity and the specific ways in which racisms, gender and class relations are articulated in the different states of the Americas. (p. 5) The promise of the introduction is not entirely met by the chapters in the book, and a concluding chapter might have helped to draw together the arguments presented in disparate case studies and point the way forward for further research and theoretical development. Although each chapter illustrates an arena in which women have made a substantial contribution to political life, nearly all conclude that women remain on the margins in some sense, "the backbone of the movement rather than the head" suggests Nikki Craske in her chapter, "Women's Political Participation in Colonias Populares in Guadalajara, Mexico" (p. 133). While justifiably celebrating the advances, a more critical look at the obstacles would strengthen the book. Nevertheless, each chapter has considerable merit and adds to our knowledge and understanding of the variety of ways in which diverse groups of women have become visible protagonists in Latin American political life. The chapters are particularly strong in seeking explanations for how and in what circumstances a gendered consciousness emerges. This is explored through the case of the widows' movement in Guatemala (Conavigua); the mothers of the prisoners, disappeared and politically a s s a s i n a t e d in El S a l v a d o r (Comadres); the Environment movement in Venezuela; the Health movement in San Paulo, Brazil and Brazilian community-based movements; the women of the poor urban communities of Mexico; the Colonias Populares; and through the struggles of Andean peasant women. A particularly interesting chapter on Chile explores the cultural expression of women's political experience in that country through the manipulation of different images of women during the Allende and Pinochet periods, and the efforts of some women to claim their right to define their own identities and set their own agendas. In this chapter, Catherine Boyle makes the important statement that at the centre of all this is the need to "rename the problem, eliminating the notion of the 'woman q u e s t i o n ' . . , and posing the real problem of the gender question, which goes deep to the roots of society." Greater emphasis on the "gender question" in each chapter might have illuminated more the deeply-rooted social relationships which still prevent the full e m p o w e r m e n t o f the m a n y c o u r a g e o u s w o m e n activists described in this book. In Out of the Shadows, Jo Fisher chronicles the role of women in the resistance to dictatorship and military rule in Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile. The book is based on extensive interviews with grass roots activists in all the countries and the book is written in a lively, readable way, bringing to life the real struggles of the women concerned. The book offers useful empirical information and data on the movements of women in the individual countries and is an important addition to the growing historiography of w o m e n ' s activities d u r i n g the d i c t a t o r s h i p in Latin America's Southern Cone. Once again, the book states (but fails to analyse) the failure of many of these movements to sustain themselves through the transition to civilian rule and to guarantee a voice for women in the democratised polities that have emerged. Recording women's contribution in the years covered is an extremely valuable task, par-
189
ticularly given so many examples of the elimination of women from the history books. But critical analysis of that contribution and the gendered political structures which prevail in latin America is arguably just as important today. JENNY PEARCE D ~ T M ~ S T OF PEACE STUDIES,UNIVERSITYOF BRADFORD BRADFORD,UK
MAGYAR WOMEN: HUNGARIAN WOMEN'S LIVES, 1960S--1990S, by Chris Corrin, 312 pages. St. Martin's Press, New York, 1994. US $49.95 hardcover. WOMEN IN THE POLITICS OF POSTCOMMUNISTEAST~nN EtatOl~g, edited by Marilyn Rueschemeyer, 253 pages. M. E. Sharpe, Inc., New York, 1994. US $49.95 hardcover, $19.95 paperback. In 1990, when I first went to Eastern Europe to look at the situation of women in the former communist "East Bloc" countries, very few English language publications focusing on women were available. In the past 2 or 3 years, the number of publications has increased. The books reviewed here are welcome additions because they give us specific information about events in women's lives in the various countries. But, amazingly, although the actors and plots differ in detail, the general outlines of all the stories are the same. The scholars being reviewed here agree on the following descriptions. Under communism, women were "liberated" after World War II to participate in the paid work force, but two major problems made that experience less than liberating. Most women's work became sex-segregated and sex-stratified so that women received lower wages, held more low-skill jobs, and frequently performed manual labor. In addition, socialist governments did not take seriously enough the necessity of socializing domestic work or of changing social attitudes about familial work roles. C o n s e q u e n t l y , w o m e n in Eastern Europe frequently worked at unsatisfying jobs in the public workplace and bore most of the responsibility for work in the home - - the much-discussed double burden. For many reasons, Eastern European societies remained patriarchal in ideology and structure, despite Marxist proclamations that men and women were equal citizens in a socialist state. Men were the major political players and public policymakers. In an era of declining populations, governments considered the control of women's fertility a state imperative. And despite their experiences of being overworked and undervalued, most Eastern European women did not band together to protest on their own behalf. A m o n g the reasons for this lack of protest have been: deeply embedded patriarchal traditions; the lack of solidarity among and between women; the discrediting of the ideas of Western feminism; the tokenism of women and women's issues as the state coopted women parliamentarians and the state sponsored the only officially permitted women's organizations; and, because the hardships of the transition affect women more than men, women are left with less energy to participate in public decision making. As a consequence, in all Eastern European countries, when the quotas of the socialist regimes were lifted in the first "free" elections, the n u m b e r of w o m e n in positions of political influence decreased dramatically. Chris Corrin's book, Magyar Women is unusual in that it focuses on only one country. This is the book's greatest
190
Book Reviews
strength. (Most books about Eastern European women, including Coffin's own edited volume, have been collections of essays about the various countries.) Coffin takes the reader chronologically through the history of the development and consequences of public policy about "women's issues," including family issues. Her primary aim is, she writes, "to look at the material conditions in which Hungarian women have gone, and go, about their everyday lives in the context of the interventionist measures designed to change certain aspects of their existence" (p. 25). Her book brings together statistics, charts, and graphs from many sources; they document women's education, work, disability, pensions, and fertility, illness, and mortality rates. She discusses the ways in which Hungarian values, ideals, traditions, and institutions shape attitudes toward women and families and the consequences of those attitudes in w o m e n ' s decision-making processes. She traces the history of abortion, contraception, and childcare. Her book is, in short, a handbook about Hungarian women. It is informative, but also a book which offers little hope for improvement in women's circumstances. Although some of the authors in Rueschemeyer's book end on a note of hopefulness, their overall view of women on the political scene is that w o m e n can only m a k e changes for the betterment of women if they get into positions of political decision making, but that "in nearly all the countries of Eastern Europe, few women advanced beyond midlevel positions" (p. xv). Fatos Tarifa writes that in Albania the "proportion of parliamentary seats held by women 3.6% in 1991 and 2.8% in 1 9 9 2 . . . may well rank among the lowest in the world" (p. 148). Sharon Wolchik suggests that only the worsening of conditions and a perceived threat to their interests may mobilize Czech and Slovak women on their own behalf. Anna Titkow applauds the Sejm's election of the first woman prime minister, but also notes that Polish women labor under a "social genotype in attitudes and behavior": their self-esteem and psychological gratification come from being "the indispensable managers of family life who performed alone duties and tasks that would be burdensome for several persons" (p. 31). Ruescbemeyer points out that, although after 1989 East G e r m a n y had a more highly developed w o m e n ' s movement than other East European states, that movement has divided and many members have withdrawn from political activities. Eva Kolinsky s a y s that the West German experience suggests that only through the reintroduction of quotas will w o m e n ' s political participation increase, especially among the elites. As I read these books, I sensed the authors' frustration; it reflects my own that the situation of women in East Europe has not been good, that it seems to be getting worse, and that the women are not mobilizing to act on their own behalf. And so, I went back and reread the books to see what, other than the specific details of each situation, was new: who could offer new insights which gave me new, and p e r h a p s more hopeful, w a y s of s e e i n g women's lives. Two, in particular, intrigued me. Chris Corrin notes with discouragement that, in reaction to the bleakness of their mothers' lives, many young Hungarian women are attracted to the nationalist-Christian political rhetoric which urges "a return to some idyllic, if mythical and unrealistic past, of large families where women remain at home caring for all" (p. 116-117). In
Rueschemeyer's book, Eva Fodor notes the same phenomenon in her essay on Hungary, but she interprets the situation differently: The Christian-nationalist organizations are capable of offering a discourse on women's place in society which differs in all respects from that of the previous era. This discourse places women back in their primary communities, in the family and the village or small town. It views women primarily as members of families, as belonging to some identifiable group that provides security in times of crisis - - something highly valued by women . . . . I believe that the return to the discourse of immediate communities is of primary importance in the recruitment of women, partly because of the social chaos women need to cope with and also because of the values they have been traditionally taught, values that have not changed much in the forty years of communist rule. (p. 196-197) This theme of immediate communities appears again in Joanna Regulska's argument that in Poland, women are more likely to be elected locally than nationally (this trend was also noted in other East European cotmtdes). Regulska concludes: The fundamental political and economic restructuring cannot take place and ultimately claim success unless the existence of a local state is recognized as a legitimate partner in this process. And second, any attempt to design the new Polish state from the top, without participation and dialogue with local society, will not succeed. Neither of these principles has been recognized in Poland . . . . This failure to attend to the local level is especially important to women. (p. 37) The second insight, also a speculative one, came from Corrin, writing about Hungary and Silva Me~.nari~, and Mirjana Ule, writing about Croatia and Slovenia. These writers suggest that we may be looking in the wrong place when we look for signs of change a m o n g women; we should look to those women who are taking roles in the developing capitalist e c o n o m i e s . Corrin argues that, because "women in a 'socialist' context were recognised publicly as workers, then this tended to be the political context within which they were seen to be active" (p. 219-220). Me~nari~ and Ule write that the lack of modernization in Croatia and Slovenia has prevented women's participation in the new democratic governments, but that we can find "signs of the new woman" in the new, entrepreneurial firms, where they find women who "are sensitive to social problems around them, are strongly selfreliant, and are oriented toward risk-taking" (p. 164-165). Given the nature of Western feminist theory, these are not, I think, insights that would have occurred to most Western feminists. These books about nonwestern women provide their E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e a u d i e n c e with s o m e provocative suggestions. SUSAN S. ARPAD PROFESSOROF WOMEN'S STUDIES,CALIFORNIASTATE UNIVERSITy FRESNO, USA
deconstruct the homogenizing, universalizing account of Latin America which contributes to the exoticization and "Otherization" of the peoples of Latin America, and instead, to give full attention to diversity and the specific ways in which racisms, gender and class relations are articulated in the different states of the Americas. (p. 5) The promise of the introduction is not entirely met by the chapters in the book, and a concluding chapter might have helped to draw together the arguments presented in disparate case studies and point the way forward for further research and theoretical development. Although each chapter illustrates an arena in which women have made a substantial contribution to political life, nearly all conclude that women remain on the margins in some sense, "the backbone of the movement rather than the head" suggests Nikki Craske in her chapter, "Women's Political Participation in Colonias Populares in Guadalajara, Mexico" (p. 133). While justifiably celebrating the advances, a more critical look at the obstacles would strengthen the book. Nevertheless, each chapter has considerable merit and adds to our knowledge and understanding of the variety of ways in which diverse groups of women have become visible protagonists in Latin American political life. The chapters are particularly strong in seeking explanations for how and in what circumstances a gendered consciousness emerges. This is explored through the case of the widows' movement in Guatemala (Conavigua); the mothers of the prisoners, disappeared and politically a s s a s i n a t e d in El S a l v a d o r (Comadres); the Environment movement in Venezuela; the Health movement in San Paulo, Brazil and Brazilian community-based movements; the women of the poor urban communities of Mexico; the Colonias Populares; and through the struggles of Andean peasant women. A particularly interesting chapter on Chile explores the cultural expression of women's political experience in that country through the manipulation of different images of women during the Allende and Pinochet periods, and the efforts of some women to claim their right to define their own identities and set their own agendas. In this chapter, Catherine Boyle makes the important statement that at the centre of all this is the need to "rename the problem, eliminating the notion of the 'woman q u e s t i o n ' . . , and posing the real problem of the gender question, which goes deep to the roots of society." Greater emphasis on the "gender question" in each chapter might have illuminated more the deeply-rooted social relationships which still prevent the full e m p o w e r m e n t o f the m a n y c o u r a g e o u s w o m e n activists described in this book. In Out of the Shadows, Jo Fisher chronicles the role of women in the resistance to dictatorship and military rule in Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile. The book is based on extensive interviews with grass roots activists in all the countries and the book is written in a lively, readable way, bringing to life the real struggles of the women concerned. The book offers useful empirical information and data on the movements of women in the individual countries and is an important addition to the growing historiography of w o m e n ' s activities d u r i n g the d i c t a t o r s h i p in Latin America's Southern Cone. Once again, the book states (but fails to analyse) the failure of many of these movements to sustain themselves through the transition to civilian rule and to guarantee a voice for women in the democratised polities that have emerged. Recording women's contribution in the years covered is an extremely valuable task, par-
189
ticularly given so many examples of the elimination of women from the history books. But critical analysis of that contribution and the gendered political structures which prevail in latin America is arguably just as important today. JENNY PEARCE D ~ T M ~ S T OF PEACE STUDIES,UNIVERSITYOF BRADFORD BRADFORD,UK
MAGYAR WOMEN: HUNGARIAN WOMEN'S LIVES, 1960S--1990S, by Chris Corrin, 312 pages. St. Martin's Press, New York, 1994. US $49.95 hardcover. WOMEN IN THE POLITICS OF POSTCOMMUNISTEAST~nN EtatOl~g, edited by Marilyn Rueschemeyer, 253 pages. M. E. Sharpe, Inc., New York, 1994. US $49.95 hardcover, $19.95 paperback. In 1990, when I first went to Eastern Europe to look at the situation of women in the former communist "East Bloc" countries, very few English language publications focusing on women were available. In the past 2 or 3 years, the number of publications has increased. The books reviewed here are welcome additions because they give us specific information about events in women's lives in the various countries. But, amazingly, although the actors and plots differ in detail, the general outlines of all the stories are the same. The scholars being reviewed here agree on the following descriptions. Under communism, women were "liberated" after World War II to participate in the paid work force, but two major problems made that experience less than liberating. Most women's work became sex-segregated and sex-stratified so that women received lower wages, held more low-skill jobs, and frequently performed manual labor. In addition, socialist governments did not take seriously enough the necessity of socializing domestic work or of changing social attitudes about familial work roles. C o n s e q u e n t l y , w o m e n in Eastern Europe frequently worked at unsatisfying jobs in the public workplace and bore most of the responsibility for work in the home - - the much-discussed double burden. For many reasons, Eastern European societies remained patriarchal in ideology and structure, despite Marxist proclamations that men and women were equal citizens in a socialist state. Men were the major political players and public policymakers. In an era of declining populations, governments considered the control of women's fertility a state imperative. And despite their experiences of being overworked and undervalued, most Eastern European women did not band together to protest on their own behalf. A m o n g the reasons for this lack of protest have been: deeply embedded patriarchal traditions; the lack of solidarity among and between women; the discrediting of the ideas of Western feminism; the tokenism of women and women's issues as the state coopted women parliamentarians and the state sponsored the only officially permitted women's organizations; and, because the hardships of the transition affect women more than men, women are left with less energy to participate in public decision making. As a consequence, in all Eastern European countries, when the quotas of the socialist regimes were lifted in the first "free" elections, the n u m b e r of w o m e n in positions of political influence decreased dramatically. Chris Corrin's book, Magyar Women is unusual in that it focuses on only one country. This is the book's greatest
190
Book Reviews
strength. (Most books about Eastern European women, including Coffin's own edited volume, have been collections of essays about the various countries.) Coffin takes the reader chronologically through the history of the development and consequences of public policy about "women's issues," including family issues. Her primary aim is, she writes, "to look at the material conditions in which Hungarian women have gone, and go, about their everyday lives in the context of the interventionist measures designed to change certain aspects of their existence" (p. 25). Her book brings together statistics, charts, and graphs from many sources; they document women's education, work, disability, pensions, and fertility, illness, and mortality rates. She discusses the ways in which Hungarian values, ideals, traditions, and institutions shape attitudes toward women and families and the consequences of those attitudes in w o m e n ' s decision-making processes. She traces the history of abortion, contraception, and childcare. Her book is, in short, a handbook about Hungarian women. It is informative, but also a book which offers little hope for improvement in women's circumstances. Although some of the authors in Rueschemeyer's book end on a note of hopefulness, their overall view of women on the political scene is that w o m e n can only m a k e changes for the betterment of women if they get into positions of political decision making, but that "in nearly all the countries of Eastern Europe, few women advanced beyond midlevel positions" (p. xv). Fatos Tarifa writes that in Albania the "proportion of parliamentary seats held by women 3.6% in 1991 and 2.8% in 1 9 9 2 . . . may well rank among the lowest in the world" (p. 148). Sharon Wolchik suggests that only the worsening of conditions and a perceived threat to their interests may mobilize Czech and Slovak women on their own behalf. Anna Titkow applauds the Sejm's election of the first woman prime minister, but also notes that Polish women labor under a "social genotype in attitudes and behavior": their self-esteem and psychological gratification come from being "the indispensable managers of family life who performed alone duties and tasks that would be burdensome for several persons" (p. 31). Ruescbemeyer points out that, although after 1989 East G e r m a n y had a more highly developed w o m e n ' s movement than other East European states, that movement has divided and many members have withdrawn from political activities. Eva Kolinsky s a y s that the West German experience suggests that only through the reintroduction of quotas will w o m e n ' s political participation increase, especially among the elites. As I read these books, I sensed the authors' frustration; it reflects my own that the situation of women in East Europe has not been good, that it seems to be getting worse, and that the women are not mobilizing to act on their own behalf. And so, I went back and reread the books to see what, other than the specific details of each situation, was new: who could offer new insights which gave me new, and p e r h a p s more hopeful, w a y s of s e e i n g women's lives. Two, in particular, intrigued me. Chris Corrin notes with discouragement that, in reaction to the bleakness of their mothers' lives, many young Hungarian women are attracted to the nationalist-Christian political rhetoric which urges "a return to some idyllic, if mythical and unrealistic past, of large families where women remain at home caring for all" (p. 116-117). In
Rueschemeyer's book, Eva Fodor notes the same phenomenon in her essay on Hungary, but she interprets the situation differently: The Christian-nationalist organizations are capable of offering a discourse on women's place in society which differs in all respects from that of the previous era. This discourse places women back in their primary communities, in the family and the village or small town. It views women primarily as members of families, as belonging to some identifiable group that provides security in times of crisis - - something highly valued by women . . . . I believe that the return to the discourse of immediate communities is of primary importance in the recruitment of women, partly because of the social chaos women need to cope with and also because of the values they have been traditionally taught, values that have not changed much in the forty years of communist rule. (p. 196-197) This theme of immediate communities appears again in Joanna Regulska's argument that in Poland, women are more likely to be elected locally than nationally (this trend was also noted in other East European cotmtdes). Regulska concludes: The fundamental political and economic restructuring cannot take place and ultimately claim success unless the existence of a local state is recognized as a legitimate partner in this process. And second, any attempt to design the new Polish state from the top, without participation and dialogue with local society, will not succeed. Neither of these principles has been recognized in Poland . . . . This failure to attend to the local level is especially important to women. (p. 37) The second insight, also a speculative one, came from Corrin, writing about Hungary and Silva Me~.nari~, and Mirjana Ule, writing about Croatia and Slovenia. These writers suggest that we may be looking in the wrong place when we look for signs of change a m o n g women; we should look to those women who are taking roles in the developing capitalist e c o n o m i e s . Corrin argues that, because "women in a 'socialist' context were recognised publicly as workers, then this tended to be the political context within which they were seen to be active" (p. 219-220). Me~nari~ and Ule write that the lack of modernization in Croatia and Slovenia has prevented women's participation in the new democratic governments, but that we can find "signs of the new woman" in the new, entrepreneurial firms, where they find women who "are sensitive to social problems around them, are strongly selfreliant, and are oriented toward risk-taking" (p. 164-165). Given the nature of Western feminist theory, these are not, I think, insights that would have occurred to most Western feminists. These books about nonwestern women provide their E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e a u d i e n c e with s o m e provocative suggestions. SUSAN S. ARPAD PROFESSOROF WOMEN'S STUDIES,CALIFORNIASTATE UNIVERSITy FRESNO, USA