ABSTRACT:
This research addresses assimilation
and resistance patterns concerning
recent introductions of western
capitalist ideology beginning over
the past twelve years with
Armenia’s independence from the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
The methods used in obtaining
material for this paper follow the
basic premises set forth by the
University of Chicago in the 1920s
and 1930s, which introduced a method
of sociological analysis known as
Chicago School. This paper is
primarily based on seventeen interviews I conducted over a three-week
period in Yerevan*, Armenia, and observations I made during my visit. I
use ten interviews with an assimilated Armenian community in Boston,
Massachusetts as a backdrop to the ideas presented in this paper about
Hayastantzi* women.
Social Implications of Capitalism
on Armenian Women’s Self-Identity and
Familial Structure
The Effects of Western Media on Women’s SelfIdentity
Through an Understanding of Cultural Psychology and
History
R. Byrnes
Directed Research
Undergraduate Senior Thesis
Warren Wilson College
CPO 7246
Asheville, NC 28815
The intent of this paper is to illustrate Armenian women’s attitudes
toward western capitalist ideology and media in two random
populations. The research consists primarily of seventeen interviews I
conducted over a three-week period in Yerevan, Armenia, and
observations I made during my visit. Through a series of comparative
interviews, and participant observation, I have compiled information
concerning the current status of the Armenian woman in the homeland.
As a backdrop to the ideas presented by Hayastantzi women, I compiled
ten interviews with an Armenian diasporan community which settled in
the Merrimack valley of southern New Hampshire and northeastern
Massachusetts. Anchored by the 19th century mill cities of Nashua,
Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill, these communities contain old
Armenian settlements dating from the early 20th century or before.
I believe this research is important because while many academics have
written about the process of assimilation concerning immigrant
ethnicities in the United States, including Armenians, not much
research has been conducted examining the effects of a new ideology in
the former Soviet Republic of Armenia. Presently, there is not much
research available on the area of this study. In discovering this
predicament, I was forced to reference research concerning
assimilation patterns for other ethnic groups. I have referenced
theories concerning normalization and naturalization of social
behaviors, and have gathered resources concerning the effects of media
imagery on women, and combined it with the ways in which I interpreted
Armenian women’s attitude toward the West and the values that are
inherent in its media. As I proceeded with this project, I discovered
that my hypotheses paralleled William Edward Burghardt DuBois’ theory
of Double Consciousness, and Antonio Gramsci’s writings about Hegemony
and Consent.
In order to gain insight into the nature of how socio-economic and
political transitions come through in the lives and opinions of
Armenian women in the Yerevan sample, I found it helpful to reinforce
my speculations and conclusions with data concerning an already
assimilated Armenian community in the United States. I found that the
effects of the introduction of capitalism in post-Soviet society have
resounding impacts on women and family, and the upholding of tradition
and ideology.
Whereas most Armenian-Americans are assimilated, Armenia is in a
transitional period, only recently gaining independence from the
former Soviet Union. With this political independence, came a wave of
economic and social influence, evident in new class distinctions and
shifting traditional self-identity variables. Armenia is currently
experiencing the influence of western media, which, along with new
merchandises, is rapidly introducing advertising strategies, which
were uncommon twelve years ago in the Soviet Republic of Armenia.
Initially, I had planned to produce a comparative analysis of these
populations’ perspectives on marriage, identity, and tradition. During
my stay in Armenia, however, I found myself far more interested in
current issues concerning western media representations of women and
whether
Armenian women identified with (or in opposition towards) the
imagery.
The material for this research was compiled using a number of research
methods, including in-depth interviewing, and participant and nonparticipant observation. I conducted ten interviews in several
communities north of Boston, Massachusetts with married, divorced, and
widowed Armenian women who had children at least eighteen years of
age. I supplemented this research with seventeen interviews in
Armenia. These interviews were more diverse since I found that it was
counterproductive to be too selective about respondents. By
restricting respondents based on gender or marriage status I would
have been overlooking perspectives I had not previously considered.
Focusing on a specific group in the United States was helpful
initially in creating a foundation of interest for my research.
Upon my arrival in Armenia, however, I found my selection considerably
narrowed by gatekeepers, so I decided to talk to everyone I could. I
determined that it was in fact more productive to incorporate many
different perspectives into my research, than risk making weighted
judgments. While I certainly did not have access to groups of men or
boys, as well as certain other social groups, I was able to speak with
two men in their early twenties, two young women in their late teens,
a unmarried middle aged woman, and two elderly grandmothers. The
interviews, observations, and casual discussions were conducted with
participants of varying social classes.
I asked women in both populations to discuss their marriages, family
life, gender identity, how they relate to advertising, and whether or
not they consider western media to be a influence in their
relationships to their Armenian heritage and ethnic identity. My
conclusions yield that the adult Armenian community of Yerevan does
not confront the introduction of western media with much resistance,
or view it as combative towards traditional Armenian values. In fact,
when asked how these women viewed western media, the consistent
response was “normal.” As one typical respondent in Yerevan explained:
It’s normal. I do not think it affects [people].
I tell my girls, you can’t [make a selection]
from just one [choice]. They have this right to
choose from several alternatives. It’s normal.
While the mother of three Armenian children in northeastern
Massachusetts explained,
[My children] are really only allowed to watch TV
on the weekends, or after they finish their
homework… that’s about thirty hours a week… they
don’t speak Armenian, I speak a little, I guess
we haven’t had the time to teach them.
I found that while media images are increasingly appealing to younger
generations of Armenians in both interviewed samples, it was difficult
to determine whether or not the incorporation of these images into
mainstream Armenian identity was also introducing ideologies of
individuality and consumerism, or if it was merely the representations
of the formerly forbidden West that was so appealing to Armenians in
the homeland. By comparing my research in Armenia to a thoroughly
assimilated Armenian community in the United States, I was able to
suggest that as Armenia becomes more westernized, citizens of Armenia
will become increasingly similar to assimilated Armenian-Americans in
the Massachusetts sample.
At this point it is important to note that
there are several significant or otherwise
reoccurring themes throughout Armenia’s
political history. Most importantly, we are
dealing with a culture that has suffered
genocide within the past century
(Chorbajian), and remains with a cultural
psychology wary of the future, and cautious
of change. Secondly, Armenia is a very old culture pre-dating Christ.
These two factors play an integral role in the formulation of Armenian
nationalist identity. Finally, Armenia was a republic of the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics for seventy years, gaining independence in
1991 (Chorbajian).
Armenia’s political history is intercepted with periods of war,
occupation, and genocide. In 1915, Armenia fell victim to genocide at
the hands of the Young Turks of the Ottoman Empire; in 1918, Armenia
was incorporated into the USSR; in 1991, shortly after declaring
independence from the Soviet Union, Armenia became engaged in a
catastrophic war with neighboring Azerbaijan over the enclave of
Nagorno-Kharabakh (Chorbajian). One of the effects of this war
resulted in a four-year energy blockade imposed on Armenia, preventing
access to heat, water, and light. Simultaneously, Armenia’s economy
and social structure were rapidly being transformed into a
systems
compatible with western capitalism. This shift brought with it western
definitions of womanhood, beauty, independence, and capitalist
consumerism (Interviews). I argue that these introductions have now
mutated into yet another form of domination we can add to the list
above.
As we proceed, it is imperative to keep in mind that there is a
pattern of struggle and survival in Armenia’s history, and survival
not only of a people but also of a tradition and history which have
been subjected to a pattern of continuous threat from neighboring
entities, states, religions, ideologies, and values. Currently,
traditional norms and values which have survived these threats are
being influenced by media interpretations of the west and its values
which are admittedly attractive to a society that has been denied
information about it for over seventy years (discussion, A. Aivazian).
This has not necessarily been a coercive campaign, and it is certainly
not a conspiracy. This situation is the result of an economic and
political shift which has brought with it various types of external
influence, penetrating existing systems, and fostering change. To this
end, Russian and European style soap operas, American style reality
shows, ads, and MTV style networks, are all part of a larger pattern
or sphere of influence.
Where marriage is perhaps the most important passage rite into
adulthood for Armenian women in Armenia, this is not the case for
Armenians in the United States. It is customary for women in Armenia
to marry between the ages of 18 and 25, however there are also
exceptions to this norm. Of these exceptions, a small percentage will
marry later in life, but most of these women will remain unmarried,
and socially stigmatized as there being something wrong or defective
about them. From my interviews in Armenia, I was able to determine the
extent to which social pressures persuade women to marry, oftentimes
regardless of love or financial stability. Upon marriage, it is
important for the bride to be a virgin, although respondents claim
that this variable is changing, and there is not so much of a focus on
virginity as there once was.
The idea of getting married is very popular in
Armenia. Women feel inferior here if they do not
achieve marriage. If you are not married you are the
object of social harassment and humiliation. I got
married at 18, persuaded by the idea of being lonely,
I was scared, so I married. At that age with that
psychological aspect you cannot make the right
choices.
Interestingly however, being a nourp akhchig* is still one of the most
important indicators of being marriage material. Literally, a nourp
akhchig means “graceful girl.” Socially, the term contains other
implicit understandings; briefly, these include having no history of
sexual experience, being helpful, cheerful, and pleasant, following
social behavioral norms, and perhaps most importantly, “knowing her
place.”
The women I interviewed in America come from families that have been
living in the United States for at least two generations, and some
emigrated as early as the 1920s; as a result many of the traditional
ideas about women and womanhood have been eroded by or assimilated to
the surrounding non-Armenian cultures in rather undetectable ways.
However, women in Armenia are still only recently being confronted
with an outright and persistent capitalistic invasion, clearly
represented through the media, imported goods, and advertisements.
I found that for the most part, Hayastantzi women are unenthusiastic
about their daughters/other Armenians adopting western standards of
identity; however many respondents said they didn’t believe their
daughters were influenced by the media. Most respondents claimed
advertisements go unnoticed and do not have any impact on passersby.
While Armenian women in the United States strongly identified with
their heritage, they were less suspicious of these influences, as this
population has assimilated over the past century. Interestingly,
respondents in the United States pointed to media, consumerism, and
public schools as the leading factors drawing their children’s
attention away from interest in the Armenian language, and their
general identity as Armenian. A common response from these women was
that their children were much more concerned with the level of their
assimilation as illustrated through commodities and other commercial
engagements. A responded from the interviewed sample in the United
States confesses,
[My son] is far too preoccupied with his friends at
[high school] and hanging out, any time I’ve asked him
to come to one of those Armenian functions he refuses.
There is only so much I can do… I think it is
important for him to feel like he fits in.
I believe the strongest components of western influences on Armenian
women in the United States are the surrounding non-Armenian cultures,
and the media. As western media is rapidly becoming integrated into
the existing Armenian culture in the homeland and in the Massachusetts
sample, it is exposing women to its inherent values, including rapid
product consumption, adventures in promiscuity, classist opinions of
others represented through brand-flashing, and certain neuroses
concerning body image and conceptions of beauty which are not
compatible with general Armenian physicality. One experience I had
with a young girl in Armenia helps to illustrate these obsessions; she
kept a box of magazine ads and clothing tags from name-brand American
clothing and cosmetics including Gap, Express, Limited, and Revlon.
She presented the box to me as one of her prized possessions was very
proud to show me that she owned Nike sneakers, which her aunt had
mailed to her from the States.
Women in Armenia undergo a socialization process which encourages them
to mold themselves according to the indicated desires of their fathers
and husbands while television plays a pivotal role in the introduction
of other values. During my research in Armenia, I noticed that
televisions and advertising bring American concepts of individuality,
which clash with my understanding of the values of traditional
Armenian society; these included familial dedication, focus on
community well being as opposed to individual impulse, and respect for
history and tradition. It is reasonable to assume that younger
generations of Armenian women in Armenia will become more westernized
because of these influences, similar to their ethnic counterparts in
the United States, and change will cause a generational rift in
ideological priorities between the young female generation, and their
parents’ and grandparents’. Both interviewed groups of women identify
themselves as Armenian women, and subscribe to traditional Armenian
gender roles, however the degree to which these identifications are
made is different for each group.
These differences are illustrated through respondents’ answers to the
following line of questioning; “what values that you consider
typically Armenian did your parents raise you with, do you communicate
similar values to your children, do you see your children straying
from these values, in what ways?” Respondents in Armenia communicated
that a respect for Armenian tradition and language, as well as respect
for parental authority and tradition were very important for their
children to have. These women also listed the ability to perform
wifely responsibilities as an important indicator of the caliber of
one’s character.
Respondent 1: The wife must always make the smoke in
the house go out the chimney, and keep the fire down.
The wife must know her place and limits, this is the
key, this is strength, to turn away when you're wrong.
Respondent 2:I give permission to my husband; I don’t
make a big deal because it is not worth the problems
that will arise.
Respondent 3: Very few women are satisfied (Armenia)
with their marriages. Women are not taught to find
happiness outside the house, socially, and the men are
very happy to have their wives sit at home, and the
first to blame in this case is the woman.
Respondent 4: This new generation is looking for other
things. We [wives] used to make sure everything would
be fine, to make it so there were no problems, do the
laundry, make dinner on time, but today, the problems
come from outside the home, economics etc.
Women in the United States answered that there weren’t any
specifically Armenian values that they were raised with, or that they
were trying to communicate to their children, with the exception of
knowledge of Armenian history, predominantly the Armenian Genocide,
and respect for the culture and language. When asked how they went
about instilling these values in their children, they listed
commemorating April 24th*, and enrolling their children in Sunday
school*, as well as maintaining strong relationships with grandparents.
Relationships built by women between themselves and their families and
larger society impact their relationships toward external social
pressures. These connections are more distinct for women in Armenia,
and disconnection from stereotypical and traditional identity is more
difficult for them to obtain than for the Armenian women I interviewed
in the United States because there are overwhelming social pressures
for them to adhere to norms.
Most families in Yerevan live in apartment buildings, consisting of
two or three bedrooms. Sometimes families turn a balcony area into an
extra bedroom, and many families have pullout cots or mattresses in
case there visiting guests or family members. Due to rotted natural
gas lines in the city, the great majority of homes are heated with
small space heaters. Due to widespread unemployment, families cannot
afford extra expenses often resulting in entire flats being heated by
two or three space heaters of the type designed to keep bathrooms
warm. As a result, in the winter, entire families gather to keep warm
in single rooms with closed doors. The doors between rooms are kept
closed because the rest of the house is unbearably cold. The rest of
the house includes the kitchen and bathroom.
It was my impression that wives (many of which do not work outside the
home) spend large parts of their days between the kitchen and the
bathroom. These are the rooms where women prepare meals, coffee, hand
wash laundry in often-unheated water, and organize activities for
guests and children. Because most of these women do not have
microwaves, dishwashers, laundry machines and dryers, or even reliable
access to hot water, the responsibilities that could theoretically
take several hours to complete, end up taking all day and most of the
evening.
In my interviews, I was curious to know what Armenian wives though the
concept of a “good Armenian wife” entailed, considering that this
phrase is often referred to when discussing Armenian wifehood. Being a
good Armenian wife is a term that is commonly used in a positive way
to grant social acceptance of a new bride in the Armenian community,
perhaps comparable to being a nourp akhchig. Respondents’ answers in
the United States were varied, however some central themes did emerge.
Have you heard the concept of “the good Armenian
wife”?
Respondent 1: Well, of course. [Laughter]
What does it mean?
Respondent 1: Well, one of [my husband’s]
friends said something, it was a real put-down,
we had gone camping and he said to me, “How come
the fire isn’t ready and breakfast isn’t ready?”
I looked at him and said, “What?” And he said,
“Well any good Armenian [original emphasis] wife
would have started the fire by now and the
breakfast would have been on the table.” And I
said, “That’s funny, I was expecting you to do
that, I am not your maid.” And he said, “It
figures [my husband] would have a wife like
that—an Armenian who is acting improper,” or
something equally as stupid.
He said that in front of [your husband]?
Respondent 1: Yes, and [my husband] said, “Oh,
get over it [to his friend], you make the fire
and I’m going to make breakfast for her,” and it
was incredible to me that he would actually say
something like that, even though I know that
[Armenian men] still think this way, that it is
the woman’s job to serve the man as soon as he
comes through the door, they still believe that.
It’s probably going to change with the next
generation, but it’s there, and it’s a learned
thing. You learn it at home, and you expect your
wife to be the same way. [That man] wasn’t happy
because I knew what he meant the moment he said
it. Was [the comment] supposed to intimidate me?
I found that the most agreed-upon variables for good marriages in
Armenia were, respect, love, communication, and love for the groom’s
parents. Other sentiments included the importance of Armenians
marrying each other. These responses were similar or both groups of
respondents.
Since Armenia gained independence from the USSR, nearly thirty-five
percent of the population has emigrated to the United States or other
parts of the Armenian diaspora, including Russia, Syria, Lebanon,
Egypt, France, and Canada. This large shift in population is
compounded by the dispersion of Armenians between the late-1800s and
early 1900s, during which time Armenians were fleeing sporadic Ottoman
massacres, culminating in the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians
between 1915 and 1918. These events are largely responsible for
populations of Armenians all over the world, in which Armenians have
intermarried people of non-Armenian heritage.
Many of the respondents in Armenia communicated that while it was an
important factor in their marital decision, and that they would like
to see their children marry Armenians, they would allow their children
to marry non-Armenians. In contrast, Armenian-Americans felt very
strongly about their children marrying Armenians.
From the Armenia sample, 95 percent agreed that marriage was important
in order to find fulfillment in life. Of these, only 25 percent said
that they would completely object to their children marrying nonArmenians, and 50 of the 95 percent claimed that mixing of ethnicity
through marriage was not inherently wrong, but rather that trying to
combine two different lifestyles, histories, cultures, and possibly
languages, is difficult for couples and would be hard or confusing for
children. A respondent from the sample of Armenian-Americans discusses
her perspective on inter-ethnic marriage:
Respondent 2: I talk to my [Armenian] friends
from different countries—even here when I have
friends who are raising kids here—and they’ll
say, “don’t mix the odars*,” and I think, “Why?
You live here; you have to work with them. Even
the generation that’s younger than [my husband]
and I, they say that they don’t socialize with
Americans. We’re the only couple I know that has
American-born friends. None of the Armenians
from Armenia or Iran do; I even hear the
Armenian-Americans say, “Oh, I’m never going to
have an odar husband or wife. I mean, [my
husband’s] mother still will not accept the
Irish. She would say things about the Irish, the
drinking or whatever. It’s incredible, but I
think Jews are the same way, not just Armenians,
the one’s who’ve been persecuted like the
Armenians feel they need to keep their
identities protected. I have Jewish friends and
I hear them say their parents would “go nuts” if
they married non-Jews.
So, for you, is it important that [your child]
marries an Armenian?
Respondent 2: Hopefully she wont feel forced to
marry an Armenia. We don’t want to be like that.
The divorced women in Armenia whom I spoke with claimed that they
divorced in much the same way as women in America. Generally, papers
are signed and spouses separate, leaving the children to either visit
between both spouses, or live with the parents of the bride. Rarely
are children sent to live with the groom’s family. After divorce, it
is much easier for a man to remarry than a woman. Divorced women in
Armenia are perceived to be imperfect in some way, and they are often
the subject of family ridicule and social gossip. I had the privilege
of interviewing one woman in Yerevan, Armenia, who was thirty-three
years of age at the time of the interview, and who had been married
for eleven years to a man whom she divorced three years prior to the
interview. In this interview, the respondent explained her history
with marriage, why she married, what the marriage was like, why she
divorced, and the social predicament she finds herself in as a result
of her decision. The perceptions and attitudes this respondent
discusses, on being a divorced, single female at her age, I feel, are
an accurate illustration of the general mentality in Armenians held
towards women in her situation, however few the number of women in
this category may be.
Can you discuss your history with marriage for
me?
Respondent 3: The idea of marriage is very
popular in Armenia. First, women feel inferior
if they do not achieve marriage. If you are not
married you are the object of social harassment
and humiliation.
What do you mean by harassment and humiliation?
Respondent 3: Oh, other women will talk about
you with each other, at home, in the workplace.
They will make you feel very uncomfortable, like
there is something wrong with you. Very often
they will not take you seriously.
My interpretation of social views of divorce, based on interviews and
observation, is that women in Armenia literally fear divorce; perhaps
beyond the extent that one generally fears rejections of any kind.
There are tremendous social pressures for young women to be desirable
to men, and these pressures manifest themselves in many different
ways, both in and outside the privacy of the home. Within the home,
young girls’ attention is drawn to the fact that their success depends
on several factors; outstanding academic performance, being attractive
as a bride, and knowing the socially constructed limits of one’s place
as a daughter, wife, and mother. Armenia’s seventy-year history as a
republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics had a weighty
influence on its collective cultural psychology. The USSR placed
significant importance on quality education and dedication to work
(SOVIET BOOK *****). These pressures remained after the fall of the
Union in 1991.
When were you married?
Respondent 3: I got married at eighteen, which
is not considered too young, by the way.
Can you describe your experience with marriage,
and why you chose to divorce?
Respondent 3: At twenty-nine or thirty, [after
about ten years of marriage] I wanted my husband
not to be a nominal person who has the idea of a
successful marriage in the eyes of society, but
as a supporter of the family. He could never
support me. I was the breadwinner, and this made
him feel very uncomfortable. He could never do
it for me; he felt that because we did not have
children he could just quit the family and go
on. Now he is married with children. I believe
myself to be lucky to escape a mentality such as
that.
How do you view your divorce?
Respondent 3: Financially, I do not depend on
anybody. I earn my money—quite legitimately by
the way—and I have worked hard to deserve that
which I have. I am a specialist. I am able to
earn my bread and butter and this makes everyone
mad. Financial and sexual independence is not
welcome here. However, people [in Armenia]
pretend that they are free and a democratic
country, and deny these traditions, but these
traditions definitely exist and influence their
mentality.
How do your friends and family view your
decision to divorce?
Respondent 3: My family is heavily against the
idea of my divorce. You will excuse me, but I am
considered an attractive woman, and when I am
with married couples, women always feel
uncomfortable around me. There is an
unwillingness to accept an unmarried woman, and
it is jealousy. They are scared. Perhaps they
think I can capture their husbands.
What are some of the difficulties of your
lifestyle?
Respondent 3: I am not someone who can just pick
up an accidental partner. Not because I am an
Armenian woman (respondent’s emphasis). I tend
to want a real partner, and that is a
psychological connection. [Here], either women
wear the label of whore or they don’t do it
[engage in pre/extra-marital relations], and I
prefer the latter. But a man will come with
flowers and presents and when he offers marriage
and you decline, he is awfully surprised “You,
divorced! How can you reject me? Alone!” One of
them told me that I am out of my wits.
How do men relate to you?
Respondent 3: For example, I went to a party,
and this man brought a cake, expensive, for 100
guests, and there were foreign guests, and I had
guests from Moscow, and as this man was
interested in politics I was an interlude, I was
changing languages like gloves, and I was
exchanging ideas, and the guests were really
shocked and as he hopes to make a good career,
when we walked out he said it should be
difficult for me to be partners with you because
you are superior, and as a wife what are you
going to do? I said if I agree to become your
wife, you should make a brilliant career! This
is an investment. I work at myself, I cannot be
concentrated on preparations for some man, I
have priorities also.
Do you consider yourself a feminist?
Respondent 3: No. I am quite feminine; I like
these flowers, and my makeup and dresses. If I
have a man, he will carry my suitcases. I can
carry my own bags, but if I am alone, I don’t
carry it, some man will. But I can (respondent’s
emphasis). It is cheaper to pay an instant
helper than a husband, during all your life. I
am a very good cook, I am total woman, but I
cannot bear the idea of having extra weight. I
was depressed in my marriage. This generation
can change if they realize their powers. When
everything is forbidden, people long for it. The
fruit that is forbidden is sweet, as they say.
If god did not forbid eating the apple, nobody
would even care. There is no creativity. My
students have asked, how do you manage to dress
so nice. I say because I approach the issue like
a scholar. I investigate the styles from all
over and then I create my own. And you simply
follow what you are told is beautiful and
fashionable and that is why it is a complete
failure.
People have been living for 70 years (USSR) with
limits from the Soviets. Constant fear, historic
fear. If you buy many things, you are
psychologically insecure, and also there is the
situation of the genocide. Armenians were
allowed to have property, but were never given
the chance, and so they have been glued to this
obsession. Perhaps there is a victim mentality.
If I am given the chance I shall work hard and I
shall find a sphere to display my abilities. I
am seized by a passion for perfection, and so I
am not happy yet. This impetus moves the world
forward, because if we are all always satisfied
there can be no movement.
Both samples of women (Hayastantzis and Armenian-Americans) believe
that marriage is one of the defining characteristics of womanhood.
However, this sentiment was much more popular among women in Armenia.
Divorce is more common in the US, and more accepted by family members
and social networks, however it certainly takes place in both
societies.
In an effort to gain insight into the manifestation of gender roles in
society, it is helpful to look at the way men and women speak to each
other. Men and women’s language differ from each other in several
ways. There is a slight disparity in the types of vocabulary they use,
and syntax and body language further clarifies this difference. Both
women and men use the word “yerevi,” which means “perhaps,” however, I
heard women use it more then men, and they both use it more than
Americans do. It is tempting to hypothesize that social conditioning
encourages women to use this word so often, because it reinforces
(both to themselves and to others) the supremacy of the male gender
over the female; her ideas, her vocabulary, her integrity. Perhaps
women say it so often because they have normalized and internalized
containment of their womanly natures.
If generations of women are socially conditioned by their fathers,
brothers, and husbands to follow what these men say and do, suggesting
that women are inferior, would not a time come when women would begin
to view this behavior as normal? Is it not possible to see how oldergeneration women might encourage male dominance by transmitting the
ideology of male superiority to young girls? In this dialogue, I asked
an Armenian-American women about gender conditioning:
Did your parents encourage you and your sister
to be feminine or domestic?
Respondent 4: No, no, it
have to be a certain way
don’t sit with your legs
was all these things—put
was just [that] you
when you’re a woman,
open, even as a kid it
on a skirt, be quiet.
For example, a grandmother who has learned her whole life that her
husband and father are disinterested in her opinions, might normalize
the situation, and try to save her granddaughter some “pain and
aggravation” by telling her to be quiet, or making her help in the
kitchen and not concern herself with men’s affairs. The argument here
is that the “perhaps” is only a tool in a much larger structural
system to reinforce gender identity divisions.
Another way men’s language is different is that it is socially
accepted for men to be loud when they talk in groups. Men can be loud
either through body language (dismissive gestures), or in the actual
volume of their speech. Women can be loud when speaking in a group of
women, however, if other men enter, the dynamic in the room changes. A
personal experience will reflect this situation. When a male friend of
mine in Armenia and I would go out to see his friends, right before we
reached our destination, he would hold my arm and say “don’t say
anything unless I introduce you.” This routine is important because
after I heard him say this, I was too nervous to say anything, so I
stood like piece of furniture while he spoke with his friends.
Sometimes, if the friends thought I did not speak Armenian, they would
subtly ask him who I was; he would reply that I was a friend. Maybe
this does not have as much to do with language, as it does with power
in social settings, but I think it would be very hard for him to keep
me quiet if it were socially acceptable for me to articulate myself in
that setting.
Dismissive body language is very popular among men in Armenia. There
are several hand gestures and certain sounds one can make to show that
what is being said is inaccurate or unworthy of attention. I am not
certain that all women are exposed to these types of interactions,
however I was exposed to it and watched other women respond to it. The
women I watched react to these behaviors did not seem upset or
offended in any way, and sometimes responded in an equally assertive
manner, conveying to their partner what their intentions were.
The way women in Armenia view themselves
is changing; this is visible in social
and familial settings, and especially
clear by comparing the way older
generations of women assert themselves
as opposed to younger women. Up until
1991, media in Armenia was owned and
operated by Russia and was mostly used
as a propaganda tool to present its
own values and interests (SO***).
Presently, as Armenia races to integrate
itself with the rest of the capitalist world, its markets have opened
to western media. The images and ideas communicated though Europeanstyle soap operas and American-style reality shows, are vastly
different than traditional Armenian values, or even values co-opted
during its union with the Soviets.
In a country where community reliance is a vital component of history
and survival, these new values threaten the sustainability of culture
and tradition. The influence of media on women in both countries has a
profound effect on Armenian national, ethnic, and individual
identities. In Armenia, media representation of women was one of the
most fascinating aspects for me when juxtaposed with traditional ideas
of womanhood. Similar to girls in the United States, young women in
Armenia are confronted with MTV-like representations of femininity and
womanhood. These representations include flightiness, promiscuity,
sexual “independence,” bi/homosexuality, provocative wardrobes, and a
general disregard for authority, tradition and social order. Media
imagery is extremely influential on young women in glorifying
consumerism and an American interpretation of individuality (Brown,
1990). A grandmother in Yerevan states,
Girls today are very different, too free, they want
everyone to look at them, they worship the current
fashions, they go to these bars and discos and they
are just too free. They want to have everything
immediately, and they don’t understand what it means
to wait.
My personal response to this discovery was that I was witnessing a
clear shift in ideology between generations. Two thoughts led me to
this conclusion. First, Armenia is a small, poor country, whose
markets have only recently opened to capitalist enterprise. The
easiest market in this situation would be children, especially young
girls, who can grow up watching Western renditions of glamour and
independence from their living rooms. Armenian parents, who
traditionally express familial dedication through providing gifts for
their children, are bound to this market in a rather ironic manner; in
keeping with their desires to deliver presents to their children, they
cannot ignore that the gifts the children are wanting are more and
more dictated by what is glorified through advertising and the media.
Consequently, gifts that were at one time surprises for children, are
now dictated by children. This change does not only affect the
economy, but also intra-family communication and traditional power
relations between family members previously dictated by age and
gender.
This process becomes cyclical and self-strengthening when parents’
purchasing of these products, and their subsequent endorsement of the
values represented in the items, support the market for the items in
the country. By adhering to tradition (i.e. acquiring gifts) they are
actually greasing the wheels of assimilation. Because Armenia’s
economy has not completely adjusted to capitalist investment and
structure, these purchases are a crucial component in the continued
vitality of the economy (Khachatrian, Eurasianet.org). As it is my
opinion that this process is fundamentally detrimental to the
sustainability of Armenia’s traditions and culture, I asked a group of
married women who had children to discuss commercial media,
consumerism, women in advertising, the effects on their children, and
Armenia as whole; some of their responses follow:
What are your attitudes concerning the effects
of western media on your children?
Respondent 5:They don’t affect my daughter, she
views them as normal.
What do you mean by “normal?”
Respondent 5: Ads don’t bother her, she never
complains or anything.
What about western movies that depict violence,
sex, and other representations of adult
conducts?
Respondent 5: We can’t be having sex scenes in
movies. We never know when these movies are
going to be on, they are not just late at night,
at any time one could come on the screen.
Respondent 6: If the children are taught well,
they accept it as part of the movie. It is all
the responsibility of the parents.
Respondent 7: My kid has never picked up a gun,
and he questions killing in movies, but there
are other people who will join the army just to
kill.
Respondent 8: We see the stripteases, and the
kids think that that stuff is normal and easy.
They don’t understand that it takes a lot to
make money to have that. They watch these movies
about being rich and think that it will all come
naturally and they don’t known what sweat it
will take to earn their first dollar.
Respondent 9: [The Armenian people] want to give
everything to their children. This is wrong. For
example, we let ourselves suffer all day and
night for our children. This is wrong. This was
more the generation before us (age 35), now we
mothers want something for ourselves too.
Respondent 10: There can be nothing without
advertising, but I get sick of it, there are too
many, and it is past its measure. It isn’t a
problem for me that there are half nude odars in
commercials. You can’t hide it from the children
anymore, it is human nature, but the children
don’t need to see it. We need to start accepting
homosexuality, I’m a little more free minded,
liberal, whatever happens out there that doesn’t
interfere with my life is fine, let them do it,
I don’t want it in my house, but it isn’t my
business what others do with themselves.
The second thought that led me to recognizing this perceived natural
process of the introduction of western advertising as cultural warfare
or cultural imperialism is that as western ideas are incorporated into
mainstream life, preexisting thought patterns and traditions are
slowly erased, replaced, or assimilated into the recent exposure. This
process slowly, and virtually undetectably paves the road to cultural
homogenization. In a case such as Armenia, where a great majority of
the nation’s energy, food, and capital is imported, the nation cannot
easily refuse economic support, thus it is forced into this position
because it is almost entirely dependent on import.
While young women in Armenian yield to traditional womanliness, and do
not raise their voices to their fathers, grandmothers or brothers,
when they are out with friends, they can practice some of the
rebellion they watch on TV. Here we find the manifestation of
expectations of young women to play a double role. The only time I
witnessed women acting like girls in Western-style soap operas, MTVlike music video programs, and Reality TV, was when they were
together, and even then they faced being talked about after the girls
separated, as having loose morals or being disrespectful. But perhaps
it is unrealistic to expect media to not have an influence. Some
example of the ads in Armenia (below) illustrate some of the “other”
ideas I have been referring to.
We can think of this ad as The Attack of
the 50ft Western Ideology.
The size of this woman’s hips and length of
her legs are not typical of Armenian
women’s bodies, which are generally short
and round. Gigantic Aryan woman
superimposed over a small Armenian Man. My
interpretation of this ad is that it
symbolically represents ideological worship
of one culture and domination of another.
The representations of women in advertising
in Armenia are quite similar to ads aired
in the United States. Some women in
advertisements are depicted with
Scandinavian physicality; often including
narrow shoulders and hips, thin waist
lines, light brown or blond hair, and light
eyes. More often, however, there are
Armenian commercials, which use Armenian
models that are darker skinned with dark
eyes and
hair. These models also have exaggeratedly slender figures, which are
not genetically typical for Armenian women. Models are dressed in
expensive-looking European styles, including short, tight outfits, and
high-heeled, point-tipped shoes, which appeared uncomfortable and
impractical for day-to-day living in Armenia. During my stay I did not
come across a single advertisement depicting women in anything less
than ultra-feminine attire. Some of the effects of advertising, as
discussed above, include a psychological standardization and
rationalization of the imagery in the minds of viewers. This
normalization results in a subconscious endorsement of gender roles
and
stratification.
This is another illustration of signals
encouraging certain worship. These images
juxtaposed with traditional thoughts, border
on pornography according to one elderly
grandmother in Yerevan. She explained,
There is no need to see things like this. These
images are everywhere. If I want to turn the TV on
during the day, I cannot be sure that there will not
be some kind of inappropriateness. They have nude
women on there all the time; this is not what I want
my grandchildren watching… That advertisement
[depicted above] goes unnoticed I am sure, but what
is not to notice about it?”
This billboard for Samsung Electronics not only illustrates a huge
material worship of the primary medium through which western influence
is reaching Armenia, but it also depicts a scantily clad woman in a
provocative position inside the system.
Self-identity is
affected by
social/cultural
understandings (Smith
in Garner, 2001).
When a surrounding
society disapproves
of certain behaviors,
the individual is
pressured/taught not
to behave in those
ways (Smith in
Garner, 2001). While
women in Armenia are
afforded with social
reliance, they are
less networked than
Armenian-American
women; there are few
public resources from
which women can
expect social
services. Women in
Armenia must maintain
their identities and
inter-familial
struggles against
harsh and often
unsympathetic
opposition. We find
the existence of
double consciousness
under
these conditions. This concept holds for both women in Armenia and
America; women in Yerevan expressed that they feel it because they are
both trying to maintain a traditional identity (which is expected and
helps them socially), and they are trying to identify with the western
world. Armenian-American women feel it in a similar way, in that they
are also trying to maintain an Armenian identity, but at the same
time, they are living in America, where they find that they must adopt
(at least some of) the values and ways of the larger society.
According to DuBois’ theory of Double Consciousness, there are two
components which produce one’s self-image; there is the core identity
one possesses as a member of a particular group, and there is the
image of self which is constructed to fit the norms of the social
pressures and variables which are projected onto it (Garner, 2001). In
applying this theory of self-identity to the women discussed in this
paper, we see perhaps, a clearer illustration of the effects of social
and cultural pressures on the individual. While women in Armenia are
drawn from the direction of tradition towards a large array of western
values, Armenian-American women are drawn in the opposite direction,
from their American lifestyles towards Armenian heritage and identity.
What is most important in this equation, however, is that the bonds
between the former, are exponentially stronger than what binds the
latter. In the case of Armenian-American women, the desire to
reconnect to their heritage is a remote reality, and one they know is
actively distancing itself. The attitudes demonstrated by women in
Armenia about media imagery and western values as an unavoidable
course of nature, are less clearly present in the responses of women
in the United States, however I found that they were also quite
present.
This position of relative indifference is discussed by Gramsci in his
theory of hegemony and power relations. Gramsci’s theory of hegemony
discusses the process by which one group uses power and influence
through a particular non-coercive discourse to influence another less
powerful group. These relationships display the dichotomy of power
between those with influence and those without (Garner, 2001). I use
hegemony to explain Armenians’ reactions to western media since its
recent infiltration of post-Soviet Armenia. All of my respondents
claimed that these transitions and images were “normal.” For Gramsci,
this is the discursive power of a regime which rules without coercion,
but by appealing to the common sense of the masses (Gramsci in Garner
2001). In the case of Armenia, we have a society that has been closed
to the west for seventy years; a society, which under the USSR was not
permitted or encouraged to examine social phenomena from a
sociological perspective. In light of this history, it should not come
as a surprise that the media imagery from the west is not being
scrutinized from any analytical perspective.
According to Henry Huttenbach of the City College of New York,
cultural recovery after genocide depends on the existence of the
following eight categories: A viable demographic survival rate, high
or increased birth rate, charismatic leadership, common language,
common religion, an anti-assimilation mentality, political asylum
(diaspora), and the concept of a homeland (Huttenbach, 2002). Without
one of these categories, after genocide, Huttenbach argues that a
people face great difficulty maintaining ethnic and cultural identity.
In the case of the Armenian people, who suffered genocide at the hands
of the Ottoman Turks (1915-1921), it is easy to recognize some of
these categories. The Armenian people’s cultural identity is
intimately connected to their Christian faith of 1700 years, their
Armenian language, 100 years of asylum in the United States, Syria,
Lebanon, Egypt, Russia, and Europe, and a profound loyalty to their
homeland.
These four categories are readily apparent to an observer. The
categories that are not fulfilled, however, are also important to
note. For example, Armenia does not have a relatively high demographic
survival rate, in light of the massive emigration from the country.
While the Armenian diasporan population is quite large, and Armenia’s
national birth rate has been rising since 1970
(www.nationbynation.com), emigration is also rising. Armenian also has
a fairly corrupt political system; in recent presidential elections
several presidential candidates were harassed or assaulted. Beyond
these factors, and perhaps most importantly, Armenians neither in the
homeland nor in the population I spoke with in the U.S. presented any
firm anti-assimilation mentality. Without these last four components,
it is feasible to understand the ideological shift which I argue is
approaching Armenia, with minimal resistance.
My findings to date are significantly inconclusive, in part due to the
complexity of the topic; however, I feel there are several points that
should be revisited. Firstly, I have presented an illustration of
Armenia’s current socio-economic condition, as it is relevant to a
general over-view of the country’s political and historical
background. From this context, emerges the pattern of domination of a
country by penetrating exterior entities. I argue that the emergence
of western media and advertising, as well as a rapid influx of western
ideology is—if not outright cultural imperialism—resulting in an
ideological pivot and a shift from traditional priorities concerning
community and family, towards individualism and mass consumerism.
Secondly, I have attempted to draw a parallel between an assimilated
Armenian community, and the direction in which Hayastantzis are
headed. Due to the general lack of resistance towards assimilation,
the illustrated pattern of assimilation will continue. Relatedly,
Gramsci’s warnings that widely held perceptions of top-down influence
as normal or natural lay the foundations for increased concentrations
and strengths of power over an increasingly powerless larger
population.
Finally, I believe that Henry Huttenbach’s list of variables that must
exist in order for a culture’s traditions to recover after genocide,
are completely relevant to the particular case of Armenia and the
Armenian diasporan communities. Drawing from my experiences while
conducting this research and living in Armenia, I believe that I am
writing these thoughts in a period of time which is critical for
Armenia and Armenians. If the historic as well as the current
traditions are to continue following their gradual pattern of
transformation, I believe we are headed in the direction of largescale assimilation and homogenization of a culture at the hands of
western cultural imperialism.
*
Yerevan is the capital city of Armenia, with a population estimated at 600,000, although a formal census has not
been issued since Armenia was a republic of the USSR.
*
Hayastantzi is an Armenian term used to distinguish Armenians born in Armenia from Armenians born in the
diaspora.
*
Nourp Akhchig literally translates to “graceful girl,” however it is also a term women come to identify themselves
with early in life.
*
April 24th is an internationally recognized day for the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.
*
Many Armenians in the United States enroll their children Sunday Schools which are religiously based, and which
tie Christianity to Armenian history and traditions, helping to foster strong Christian and Armenian identity.
*
Odar is an Armenian word referring to people of non-Armenian ethnicity.