New women’s writing in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe: gender, generation and identities

Research output: Book/ReportBook

Abstract

Since the late 1980s, there has been an explosion of women’s writing in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe greater than in any other cultural period. This book, which contains contributions by scholars and writers from many different countries, aims to address the gap in literature and debate that exists in relation to this subject.
We investigate why women’s writing has become so prominent in post-socialist countries, and enquire whether writers regard their gender as a burden, or, on the contrary, as empowering. Legacies and comparisons between different generations of women writers are examined in order to assess how far contemporary authors accept or contest traditional views and images of femininity and masculinity still prevalent in their cultures.
We explore the relationship in contemporary women’s writing between gender, class, and nationality, as well as issues of ethnicity and post-colonialism, widely discussed in Western feminism. The emergence of openly erotic and lesbian writing is also discussed.
This volume suggests that, even though they rarely use the label ‘feminist’, some contemporary women writers seek to challenge such long-standing cultural stereotypes as the beautiful, morally strong, but non-intellectual woman, the caring mother, the saintly prostitute, or the mother as symbol of the nation.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationNewcastle
PublisherCambridge Scholars Publishing
Number of pages652
ISBN (Print)9781443829229
Publication statusPublished - 2012

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