A Study Of The Image Of Women In Soviet Propaganda Posters

This thesis explores the images of women in USSR propaganda posters during the period from 1917 to 1991.The purpose of exploring woman images is not simply to provide an overview of multiple pieces of poster art,but to investigate the role that they played in the resolution of the Woman Question in USSR and those characteristics of the posters that helped facilitate this process.The four main archetypes of women have been described: Mother,Mother-Russia,Victim and Young Communist.The first and the last one being the most significant in the time of peace,and the other two playing the major role during the time of war.The important aspect of the woman images is clothing and apparel.Clothes signify woman's status,occupation,political views,even age.Women in red scarves,overalls and formal suits helped to force women into these roles in real life.Another prominent aspect is body position and composition.There is a number of cliché compositions,which are very widespread.But the most important detail is that all body poses lack curves,which is characteristic of feminist approach to posing,emphasizing strength,power,dignity and self-respect instead of sexuality.This is not the the case when it comes to women in Chinese posters,where sexuality is often accentuated,except the era of Cultural Revolution.The third chapter gives a brief outline of how women were depicted in China,Vietnam,and North Korea.The latter two mostly follow the USSR model.