The collapse of socialist regimes across Southeastern Europe changed the rules of the political game and led to the transformation of these societies. The status of women was immediately affected. The contributors to this volume contrast the status of women in the post-socialist societies of the region with their status under socialism.

"Gender studies are undoubtedly one of the fastest growing domains of contemporary cultural and social research. Ignited by early feminist thought, contextualized and given argument by anthropological insights into the logic of the cultural construction of gender roles and relations, theorized and radicalized by consecutive waves of feminism, the study of gender relations now inspires reflection and debate in the majority of social sciences and humanities. This book bears witness to the multi-disciplinary character of contemporary reflection on the topic of gender. The approaches of social history, historical anthropology, oral history, anthropology and ethnology, sociology, history of literature, political science and pedagogy, all work together to provide an overview of various aspects of gender relations in South Eastern Europe in the 19th and 20th century. The volume comprises 20 contributions on various facets of gender relations in the region, written by the most profiled authors in this field like Andrea Petö, Kristina Popova, Radina Vuceti'c, Ana Stoli'c or Krassimira Daskalova. "

It is the stated intention of this volume on Gender and Nation in South Eastern Europe to challenge the image of an antagonistic "inside" and "outside". The authors do not only argue from various geographical points of view, from within and without the region, including Bulgaria, the Kosovo, Serbia, Romania, Croatia, as well as Austria, Germany and the United States, they also argue from different scientific points of view and scholarly traditions, be it in the vein of Donna Haraway's standpoint of epistemology, a multi-sited ethnography or in reference to dialogical models. They raise their voices on sexist patriarchalism and thus on the relationship of gender and nation on which the specific phenomenon of regional nationalisms is based. The editors subscribe to an open definition of gender as a social and cultural localisation of perceptions of sex. The perception of biological sex is thus not ignored here, on the contrary. Its social and political role is particularly apparent when neo-liberal discourses of masculinity and femininity make reference to a "natural" sex. The question of socio-cultural gender differences, the ideals on which the categories "man" and "woman" are based and their forced or enabled embedding through a regional historical or political environment are thus central. The fact that the understanding of masculinity and femininity varies according to the respective local "reproductive regimes" is self- evident. In Part One, this volume is introduced in two contributions on the theoretical complex of gender and nation. They provide a glance at this web of meanings over time and space and explain why this relationship is so vital, why it inevitably leads to the inclusion of the male self and the exclusion of the female other. Ideological constructions and structural relationships develop and change based on a background of concrete historical events and in the course of specific social transformation processes. The essays in Part Two then delve into a discussion of regional and historical forms and effects. They demonstrate how the relationship has effected the consolidation and national self-definition processes of the countries of South Eastern Europe and to what specific forms of inequality between social and cultural groups this is leading or has led. Historically anchored, the inevitable relationship of gender and nation leads not only to the subordination of women in all nation-states, at the same time it allows nations to develop and survive on the basis of the inequality of the sexes.

This book is a collection of contributions to a symposium which was organized by the Southeast Europe Association on the topic "Women in the Balkans/Southeastern Europe" and held on 3rd and 4th November 2014 in Munich. It reflects on the situation of the women which has changed fundamentally since the end of the communist/socialist regime.

Important new findings on sex and gender in the former Soviet Bloc! Sexuality and Gender in Postcommunist Eastern Europe and Russia is a groundbreaking look at the new sexual reality in Central, Eastern, and Southeast Europe after the fall of communism. The book presents the kind of candid discussion of sexual identities, sexual politics, and gender arrangements that was often censored and rarely discussed openly before the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1987. Authors from a variety of disciplines examine how the changes caused by rapid economic and social transformation have affected human sexuality and if those changes can generate the social tolerance necessary to produce a well-rooted democracy. The first theoretical and empirical body of work to sexuality in (post)transitional countries, Sexuality and Gender in Postcommunist Eastern Europe and Russia examines the effects of the profound social transformation taking place in the former Soviet Union. Through an interdisciplinary perspective, the book addresses vital issues of this transformation, including gender relations, gender roles and sex norms in transition, sexual representations in the media, patterns of adult sexual behavior, gay and lesbian issues, sex trafficking, health risks, and sex education. The book also presents a critical examination of whether the fall of communism has, in fact, induced changes in sexuality and gender relations. Sexuality and Gender in Postcommunist Eastern Europe and Russia examines the changes in sex and gender in countries in transition, including: the negative consequences of Serbia’s “state-directed non-development” during the 1990s the causes and consequences of trafficking in women from the Russian Federation the ongoing debate over human rights for sexual minorities in Romania the effects of two Yugoslavian films released in the 1990s that feature transgender characters sexualities in transition in Croatia problems created by changes in sexual behavior among urban Russian adolescents the social and legal state of lesbians in Slovenia Sexuality and Gender in Postcommunist Eastern Europe and Russia fills in the gap in the current knowledge and understanding of the effects of the profound social changes taking place in Central, Eastern, and Southeast Europe. The book is an essential read for academics and researchers working in gender studies, political science, and gay and lesbian studies. Handy tables and figures make the information easy to access and understand.

This book is a collection of contributions to a symposium which was organized by the Southeast Europe Association (Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft) on the topic "Women in the Balkans/Southeastern Europe" and held on 3rd and 4th November 2014 in Munich. It reflects on the present situation of women in the Balkans/Southeast Europe which has experienced fundamental changes since the end of the communist/socialist regime and the transition towards a market oriented economy as well as the wars in former Yugoslavia. These fundamental changes and war time experiences have not only implicated disorders in political and social status, but also a backlash in terms of return to patriarchal values as well as to traditional gender relations and hierarchies. A perception of gender roles following traditional patterns and a concept of femininity reducing women to their bodies, open sexism in media, the so called "sex industry" and "women markets" plus the ban of abortion, increased domestic violence and trafficking in women have been combined with neoliberal values, right ideology, neo-patriarchy and the ruling concept of masculinity. On the other hand, women have also used their chance to create their own business, not to forget female subcultures. Women`s participation in decision-making, especially in political parties, and their representation in the public scenery is an important indicator for the degree of their emancipation. Bringing together women engaged on women`s issues in different areas - from the academia, the Non-Governmental Organisations and civil society, and policy makers - is bound to result in a variety of perspectives and views.

This volume explores the role of gender on both the home and fighting fronts in eastern Europe during World Wars I and II. By using gender as a category of analysis, the authors seek to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of the subjective nature of wartime experience and its representations. While historians have long equated the fighting front with the masculine and the home front with the feminine, the contributors challenge these dichotomies, demonstrating that they are based on culturally embedded assumptions about heroism and sacrifice. Major themes include the ways in which wartime experiences challenge traditional gender roles; postwar restoration of gender order; collaboration and resistance; the body; and memory and commemoration.

Since the second half of the 1980s social movements, which questioned the legitimacy of the hitherto seemingly stable systems of Kemalist Turkey and socialist Balkans, won ground. Political Islam struck Turkey; in the Balkan socialist countries the dams broke, and parliamentary democracies replaced monolithic socialist regimes. These processes have not been gender neutral. Therefore the central question is: after the abolition of patriarchy and the official installation of gender equality, are patriarchy and female discrimination returning in the region through the backdoor, although in a modernized version?

This collection highlights changes in Central and Eastern Europe since 1989 from the perspectives of gender and identity. Resistance to the negative consequences of certain changes demonstrate that women's activities have played a large part in democratic developments in various countries.

A multidisciplinary, and multilingual bibliography on "Women and Gender in East Central Europe and the Balkans (Vol. 1)" and "The Lands of the Former Soviet Union (Vol. 2)". This two-volume set deals with the topics ranging from legal status and marital customs to economic participation and gender roles.