WOMEN IN COMMUNISM – EVERYDAY REALITY VERSUS PROPAGANDA
WOMEN IN COMMUNISM – EVERYDAY REALITY VERSUS PROPAGANDA

Summary/Abstract: The intrusion of the Communist Party into Romanians’ private lives is an observable reality since the 1950s. This policy will continue for many years, until the fall of the communist regime in 1989, but having ramifications that will make their presence felt long after that. Romanians remained tributary for a long time to the mentality that the state can do and undo as the political leaders see fit. The exposure of private life to the excessive control of the state also made possible politics involving in matters concerning women and their new role. Women’s emancipation and their equality with men (much promoted at the level of the communist discourse) represented only a trick of the regime, a double or triple burden on women, less a real change for the better, an increase in the quality of their lives. Communist women, as they appear in all propaganda media, have been wives, mothers, workers, being involved in political life. It was a picture of the perfect woman that had no corresponding reality. Gender inequalities continued to exist during the communist regime regarding women, both in the private and public spheres, despite what was officially presented.

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