Gender Roles In Russia

In Doing Age and Gender in Russia’s Single-Mother Familes, Jennifer Utrata discusses the shared responsibility between mother and grandmother in caring for the children while having to work as single mother (Utrata, 2011). With high mortality and divorce rates, single-mothers have to carry the double burden of caring for their children and maintaining a fulltime job. Despite having to take on a second shift as breadwinners, single mothers in Russia have the luxury of intergenerational support; a perceived mutual support from their mothers who take on the child’s care and housework for free. Age in feminism is undertheorized according to Utrata, women who are perceived as being of a certain age, and are seen as grandmothers, are constrained …show more content…
Let’s just say that ‘equality’ is a somewhat relative term. All the same, employers prefer men. . . . And if a woman is over 40, well, she’s no longer needed.” ( Utrata, 2011, p. 11). Because employers see single mothers as undesirable employees, babushki’s feel guilty if they don’t help their daughters achieve success. Single-mothers get the youth privilege as opposed to their mothers (babushki) who feel pressure to do gendered age by performing unpaid care work on behalf of their daughters. The help of the babushki allows single mothers to pursue more professional careers, at the cost of the babushki’s freedom. Even when grandmothers want to relax, daughters’ social calendars are prioritized. Values of feminine self-sacrifice and selfless caregiving are mapped onto the bodies of older women. Single mothers, especially those doing fairly well, feel entitled to prioritize their own needs and desires in a way that older grandmothers do not. Despite the intergenerational support, middleclass grandmothers are steering away from the role of babushki and focus more on …show more content…
Similarly, recent and very controversial news arose concerning marriage between adults and teenagers. The story was first reported in a Russian news paper Novaya Gazeta, where children’s rights official, Pavel Astakhov, condoned the marriage between a middle-aged police chief- Naxhud Guchigov and a 17- year-old schoolgirl as a second wife. Pavel Astakhov’s interview caused social media explosion when he supported Guchigov by saying “women are already shriveled by the age of 27” (Walker, 2011). This statement is not only derogatory to older women, but its derogatory to all women. Astakhov, as an ageing citizen himself illustrates ageism and gender in the male dominant society in Russia. While Pavel Astakov’s views concerning this situation do not translate to Russia's stance on underage marriage, as a children’s rights official, he represents the community, therefore his stance should hold, to an extent, the views of some men in Russia who still hold antiquated views concerning