Csaba Dupcsik

1
Csaba Dupcsik Olga TothFamilism instead of
Feminism how socialization and education reserve
and reproduce conservative gender roles the
Hungarian Case

• Genderwise The role of men as agents of change
  in reconciling work and family life
• 17-20 May 2006
• Barcelona

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Familism instead of Feminism

• I. Presence of Familism in the Hungarian society
  some data to show it.
• II. Historical background of Familism
• III. How socialization contributes to
  reproduction of Familism - an example media

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Attitudes and behaviour

• During the last half of 20th century
• Important changes in the sphere of gender roles
  and family.
• Similarly important changes in the attitudes,
  values.
• Hungary is it a premodern, very traditional and
  patriarchal country (as attitudes show) or a
  modern European country (as real behaviour shows
  in some topic)?

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Paid work the reality
Employment rates for population aged 15 to 64,
2005 (Eurostat)
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Paid work Attitudes 1
A job is all right, but what most women really
want is home and children (ISSP 2003)
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Paid work Attitudes 2
A mans job is to earn money a womans job is
to look after home and family (ISSP 2003)
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Participation in domestic work the reality
Structure of use of time how much longer time
of the total work (paid work/study domestic
work) for a women, (minutes per day), 2005
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Participation in domestic work the reality
Participation of the domestic work of the active
employed men and women aged 18 to 60, Hungary
1963-2000 (time share of women 100)
9
Participation in domestic work attitudes (ISSP
2003)
Men ought to do a larger share of household work
than they do now.
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Very thankful for the help

• the Hungarian men participated to domestic work
  in the lowest degree, but the Hungarian women
  were very thankful even for this little help
  according to the women in the other questioned
  countries they were pleased with the performance
• of their husbands in the
• highest degree.
• M.P. Hungarian female
• demographer
• (Mikola Voroncovs cartoon)

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Children the reality
Live births per 1000 persons in Hungary ,
1876-2004
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Children in European perspective
13
Children Attitudes (ISSP 2003)
People without kids lead empty lives.
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Roots of Familism

• Until 1945 the right-wing parties wich had
  dominated the political life, raised to the
  centre of their ideologies the notion of the
  family. God homeland family, sounded one of
  the most beloved right-wing slogan.

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Roots of Familism the 1950s

• New model
• the policewomen

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Roots of Familism the 1950s

• Emblematic
• figure the
• tractor-driver girl

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Roots of Familism the 1950s

• Propaganda picture from the early 1950s
• Young mothers nurse their children in the Mátyás
  Rákosi Infants Nursery

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Roots of Familism the 1970s

• Kádár (the leader of Communist Party) in the
  circle of young textile worker girls. You must
  understand that the life free from cares and the
  larger comfort give just a quickly passing joy.
  If you save yourselves from the bother with
  children you may get a temporary advantage but
  you deprive yourselves from all of the beauty of
  the COMPLETE LIFE and long-lasting happyness.

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Roots of Familism 2003

• God Homeland
• Family in the 21th
• Century

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Media analysis Written media 1

• By the research of P. Margit (interviews with
  journalists in various newspapers, secondary
  analysis of other researches, content analysis of
  newspapers)
• Representation of females in leading position is
  lower in the newspapers than that is in the
  reality. 33 of persons in leading position of
  economy is female representation of them in the
  newspapers is about 11 .
• Although 1/3 of journalists are female
  newspapers are dominated by male topics. Even
  female journalists prefer male topics. I am
  afraid of writing about female topics. I am
  afraid of coming out. I would prefer to find a
  male colleague to write the article with.
  Nowadays I do not write about female topics. Not
  at all.

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Media analysis Written media 1

• Feminism as a swear-word. Female journalists try
  to avoid this label. Even my colleagues began to
  keep a distance from me. They though I were a
  little bit cracked because I had made feminist
  broadcast.
• Feminist or sensitive female issues (as violence
  against women or abortion) are labelled lie or a
  ridiculous thing. I wrote an article about the
  sexual abuse inside marriage. They (male
  colleagues) found it ridiculous.
• Prejudices against female journalists when they
  write about highly prestigous topics. He said,
  he has not thought that this article were written
  by a female. And why? I asked. Because the high
  standard of it.

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Media analysis Written media 2

• Content analysis of Nok Lapja (Womens Magazine)
  a 55 years old weekly.
• Gender roles in the 1970s and in the 1990s.
• Analysis of interviews with women and is he/she
  an ordinary person or a famous one? What is the
  main reason of interviewing him/her? What
  additional information was presented? What is the
  hidden message of the text?

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Nok Lapja in the 1970s and in the 1990s a short
outlook of comparison - WORK

• 1970s
• Most of the interviews (45 ) are work-oriented.
  Blue collar workers and intellectuals
• Work as elevating, noble part of life. The joy
  of work.

• 1990s
• Just 23 of interviews are work-oriented. Women
  in male-type jobs, with female-type tasks!
• Work as burden, fatigue and exploitation.
  ...they dream about easier days.
• Males as experts.

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Nok Lapja in the 1970s and in the 1990s a short
outlook of comparison - FAMILY

• 1990s
• One-fifth of interviews are family oriented.
  Family is a place of harmony. Avoidance of
  conflits ...whether we should present such a
  tragic life to our readers?
• No males in non-stereotypical roles.

• 1970s
• One-third of interviews are family oriented. Half
  of them are dealing with family conflits. That
  was the real reason of our divorce that my wife
  made more money and got a higher position.
• No males in non-stereotypical roles.

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Nok Lapja in the 1970s and in the 1990s a short
outlook of comparison - OTHERS

• 1970s
• Very few interview about political activity
  escape from overpoliticized world.
• No info about sexuality, real equality.
  Stereotype gender roles.

• 1990s
• Lack of politics/civic activity. Politics as the
  mens business.
• A nasty word Feminism.
• Cosmo-girls and housewives - as two stages of
  life. Stereotype gender roles.

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The ESSENCE remained unchanged. THE REAL WOMAN
is soft, she depends on the love of men, and she
expects to be supported. In my opinion
everything went wrong when we (i.e.
women)started to go to work guided by our
self-consciousness.

• Citations from Nok Lapja (Womens Magazine) 1991
  and 1995.

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Who is the most truthworthy amongst these media
persons?