RUSS 005 - Omeka Project - Elizabeth Hohn
In order to foster a sense of national identity and a distinction from the West, Russia has clung to so-called "traditional family values" with respect to its ideas on gender and sexuality in recent years. These values dictate what a family should look like, what the roles of each family member should be, and which sexual orientations are acceptable. These traditional values have been perpetuated by the Russian government under Putin as well as the Orthodox Church using tools such as the censorship of so-called gay "propaganda" and the disbanding of events meant to foster resistance to the status quo. While LGBT and feminist activists have fought for visibility and social change, pervasive homophobia is still present in Russian society and conservative values are still being propagated by the government, as demonstrated through the news articles in this exhibit.
Although the topics of feminism, sexuality, and gender could be studied separately, it is logical to combine them because of the strong links between each topic. Traditional gender roles validate the idea that heterosexuality is the only natural sexual orientation by asserting that women are innate mothers/caregivers and men are innate providers. Under this framework, it is easier for conservative Russian authorities to claim that heterosexual marriages are standard because any marriage outside of this traditional model would be missing one of the components of either caregiver or provider. On the other hand, having a broader, more diverse view of gender (under which men could be caregivers and women could be providers) would seem to promote nontraditional (LGBT) relationships. The feminist movement is structured to resist typical gender roles and promote the idea that women have equal abilities to contribute to any field of work; they are not confined to being housewives. Bringing all of this together, gender roles can function either to uphold or combat the idea that heterosexuality is the only acceptable sexual orientation, and feminism functions to reshape gender roles into being more malleable and diverse.
Traditional family values not only have the power to set norms in Russian culture, but legal implications and consequences for those who do not conform as well. In Russian law, marriage is specifically defined as being between a man and a woman. Same-sex marriages are not only discouraged by many members of society; they are actually illegal. There does exist one legal loophole which allows same-sex marriages to be recognized if they were registered abroad, but Putin is rumored to be working to close this loophole by forbidding "immoral interpretations" of international treaties. A partner of the Russian law firm Pen&Paper remarked that a morality-based ban was "legally strange," yet this is the type of wording which allows the government to make legal judgements based on values rather than existing laws.
Non-traditional sexual orientations are also discouraged in others ways, for example with the law appropriately referred to as the "gay propaganda law." This law bans the exposure of minors to information promoting non-traditional sexual orientations in any format, including social media, film, and radio. It is emphasized as a measure to protect children from harmful content and to ensure they are not encouraged to deny traditional family values, but in reality it keeps many teens from resources and information they need.
There are even repercussions for the minors themselves. In St. Petersburg, students with LGBT posts on their social media accounts were to be reported to the police for their violation of this law. In this case, the law seems to function as a measure of intimidation meant to keep minors from expressing themselves rather than a measure to protect them from explicit content. Thus, the question of interpretation is imporant when considering the gay propaganda law, too. By framing the law as a way to protect minors from seeing anything that will promote non-traditional sexual orientations, enforcers of this law have significant power over what they can claim violates the law. A post as seemingly harmless as a rainbow flag could be seen as a violation because it refers to non-traditional sexual orientations and its mere presence on the internet could be argued to be a promotion.
Lastly, violations of the traditional family structure in Russia could lead to arrest, as was the case with a number of single gay fathers. These men became fathers through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures and surrogate mothers, which is against Russian law because only married couples and single women are allowed to act as donors. They were accused of child trafficking due to their starting families in non-traditional ways, i.e., without a mother and a father. Their family structure is particularly unconventional because, first, the children are being raised by single men, and second, because thir fathers are of non-traditional sexual orientations. Still, unconventionality should not be used as legal justification for why a family structure is equivalent to child trafficking. The Russian government's fixation on conventionality and traditional roles when creating laws gives them more flexibility and power. By using wording such as "immoral" or "non-traditional" as justification for why certain actions are illegal, they provide themselves with room for interpretation. The subjectivity of these words allows them to frame any action as illegal by calling it immoral or non-traditional.
One reason these values have been so pervasive is due to the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). Statements from the Church have an impact on the views and opinions of its followers as well as the government, which can affect how gender and sexuality are treated within a legal and social framework. For example, in relation to the article on single gay fathers, a member of Parliament remarked that a bill addressing IVF regulations has been motionless in the State Duma Committee on Health Protection, which she attributes to the influence of the ROC. Likewise, the Church strongly denounces homosexuality, consistent with the government's policies defining marriage and recent attempts to close any loophole allowing same-sex marriages to be recognized. Although Russia is a secular state, Putin's alignment with the church in recent years allows him to garner support from Orthodox Christians and conservatives more generally and gives off an impression of cultural unity.
The Russian government has increasingly censored any opposition to traditional values. As social media has become more and more prevalent, the Russian government has implemented strategies for censoring personal posts on different social media platforms. For example, a victim of domestic violence was fined for sharing her story in a Facebook post because her post may have hurt her abuser's reputation. Domestic violence has been decriminalized in Russia out of a desire to not interfere in family life. However, when it comes to the lives of families without typical structures (e.g., the single gay fathers), the state seems to take no issue with interfering. In situations of domestic violence, victims could greatly benefit from outside interference, hopefully becoming empowered to leave situations where they are being harmed. In the case of the single gay fathers, there was no evidence of their children being mistreated, yet they were potentially going to be placed in orphanages for the duration of the investigation, no doubt an emotionally difficult situation for the children. In the second example, the government's interference would cause much more harm to the family, yet this is the situation in which they were willing to interfere. Once again, the subjectivity with which the government approaches issues of gender and sexuality with regards to family structure allows them to interfere when they may benefit, not when the family itself will benefit.
A second example of the government's censorship of material relating to non-traditional values is the gay propoganda law, which allows for LGBT-centered posts or websites to be taken down and their publishers to be punished, as in the case of the school children in St. Petersburg. Censorship is also placed on LGBT films, as seen in the case of the movie Outlaw, which was originally categorized as an LGBT drama, and the Side By Side film festival. The Russian government took actions to prevent the public from seeing Outlaw by fining a festival director for showing it and shut down the opening night of Side By Side using intimidation techniques. The film Outlaw was fined using the gay propaganda law as justification, but the film festival, on the other hand, was not shut down for any stated reason. Although the consumer safety group Rospotrebnadzor had permission to check for coronavirus prevention measures, there was no reason for police to show up or demand that festivalgoers leave the space. The actions of the police illustrate the power governmental institutions have over citizens in Russia because they are able to act on the basis of doctrine, not legality. In this case, the Russian government’s opposition to the LGBT community seems to be the main motivation for their response, not a specific law. It is important to note, however, that it is not only the government that is opposed to controversial films and media. Since homophobia is so pervasive in such a conservative country, members of the general public also speak out against non-traditional values. When the Side By Side festival was interrupted by police, supposedly around 10 unknown masked men also showed up and shouted homophobic phrases.
Resistance from the public makes it even harder for those in the LGBT community to advocate for themselves. One instance of an event meant increase visibility of the LGBT community and call on the government for increased LGBT rights is when members of the feminist punk/protest group Pussy Riot hung rainbow flags on government buildings around Moscow. The Russian government retaliated by arresting Pussy Riot members, following their pattern of shutting down any opposition.
Day of the Oprichnik
Vladimir Sorokin's Day of the Oprichnik depicts a futuristic Russian society from the perspective of an oprichnik, a trusted confidante of the monarch. Sorokin's novel both points out some of the flaws in contemporary Russian society and provides a warning of what may occur in the future. His portrayal of how women are treated in this society is especially chilling. Komiaga, the narrator, carries out and fantasizes about violence against women at multiple points in the novel. He seems to view them purely as sex objects, complaining that "Her Highness prefers guardsmen to oprichniks" when she was not sexually interested in him (Sorokin 147). Despite the fact that she is married to His Majesty—that is, Komiaga's boss—Komiaga feels no shame for wishing to sleep with her. He does at least restrain himself because of her relation to His Majesty, but he does not have this same restraint with other women. The women he deems enemies of the state are fair game to be raped. In fact, Komiaga even calls it "passionate and absolutely necessary" (23). The repeated occurences of violence against women throughout the novel paint the picture of a male-dominated society in which women are unable to protect themselves or fight back.
Komiaga personally benefits from the powerlessness of women when he takes advantage of them sexually. One of the main roles of the oprichniks is to punish enemies of His Majesty, which typically includes raping the women. Early in Komiaga's day, they are tasked to punish a family of nobles. Aware of what is to come, the nobles hide in their house but are given away when the wife wails, much to the husband's despair. Komiaga wonders what else the nobleman could expect when "women's hearts are sensitive, that's why we love them" (22). His description of women's hearts as "sensitive" is what can be expected from Komiaga; he has already shown how little respect he has for women, and it is no surprise that he views them as weak. The next part of Komiaga's sentence, where he explains that this "sensitivity" is why women are loved, is even more representative of the role that femininity plays in Sorokin's futuristic Russia. Komiaga appreciates that women are "sensitive," as he describes them, because it allows him to take advantage of them. Femininity is constructed as an innate characteristic of women that forces them to cater to the desires of men (or at least to the desires of the most powerful men). The nobleman's wife screaming is representative of her femininity which allows the oprichniks to find her and use her as they wish. There is no other possible outcome in Komiaga's mind because he sees women as unable to overpower their feminine natures.
Sorokin's novel also exaggerates typical gender roles by placing women in submissive positions relative to men. All of the oprichniks, who represent the second most powerful people after His Majesty, are men. The queen, who one would expect to be in a position of power, is not taken seriously and seems to be one of the most hated figures in the book. Komiaga reflects on why she is so disliked and comes to the conclusions that one reason is her "natural feminine weaknesses" (139). Interestingly, this conflicts with his earlier statement that women are loved because of their sensitive hearts. It seems that femininity only appeals to Komiaga when it allows him to take advantage of women, which he is unable to do with the queen because of her relation to His Majesty. Although femininity is consistently portrayed as a symbol of powerlessness, it is only appreciated when Komiaga can reap personal gains from it.
"My Vagina"
Poetry by Galina Rymbu, on the other hand, emphasizes the power women have to enact change in Russia. In her writing, she paints femininity as power, not weakness. One poem that addresses many of her views on gender and feminism is "My Vagina" (2020). This poem was written in response to another activist, Yulia Tsvetkova, being arrested for allegedly distributing pornography. This pornography was actually body positive images of women posted on a social media site. "My Vagina" chronicles Rymbu's exploration of her own sexuality, body, and place in Russia as a woman. She first illustrates the way in which men dominate Russian society, writing that "everything is viewed with the male gaze" (Rymbu). However, by the end of the poem, she comes to the conclusion that the vagina, representative of her femininity and that of all women, has the ability to transform Russia. She reaches this conclusion by tracing her relationship with her own body and sexuality over time. The relationship she has with her body allows her to define what femininity is to her rather than having a view forced on her from the outside. It is only through discovering herself that she realizes the power contained within femininity. In her words, "To make revolution with the vagina" (Rymbu).
Works Cited
- Rymbu, Galina. “My Vagina.” n+1, 2 Aug. 2020, nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/my-vagina.
- Sorokin, Vladimir. Day of the Oprichnik. Translated by Jamey Gambrell, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2011.