Modern sex, –traditional gender roles

Professor Temkina, who is co-director of the Gender Programme at the European University at St. Petersburg, has just spent two weeks in Oslo as a guest researcher. She came at the joint invitation of the Nordic Gender Institute, the Centre for Gender Research at the University of Oslo, Fafo and the Rokkan Centre.

The sexual life of Russian women

Temkina and a group of colleagues have done biographical interviews about the sexual life of three generations of urban middle-class women. – I’m interested in social transformation, and the study of sexuality and gender roles is a way to look at this, she explains.

– While many Russian women in the past have had a strong position in public and private life, they have been objectified in the sexual sphere. This is changing, and young women are now active and demanding also in their sexual life, she says.

Russia has a long history of women having work outside the home, as the Soviet state was a pioneer in encouraging the majority of women to perform paid labour. This includes working mothers, and a woman’s career in the late Soviet times was not much affected by the woman’s marital status, or what kind of mother she was – married, divorced, single, or having several lovers. The society accepted liberal sexual practices of women.

No gender equality

But while both working practices and sexual practices have been liberal for some time, gender ideology remains traditional in Russia. In the post-Soviet society, there is a worry in society that the emancipation of women is causing them to loose their “natural” femininity, and men their masculinity. It is argued that boys and girls should be raised differently, to comply with the characteristics seen as naturally male and female: girls are raised with primary function to be mothers, boys – to be businessmen, or successful, well paid professionals.

– It is a modern society with a lack of gender equality, Temkina points out. – Women have their own resources and can act independently, but they lack legitimate power to do so.

For instance, men have higher salaries than women. Thus, it is seen as natural that he should spend money on his girlfriend or wife. – For some of the couples I interviewed this works fine – he pays, and receives household services from her, and they are both satisfied. But divorce rates are high, and obviously, after the divorce he keeps the resources, Temkina says.

Sex as currency

– In addition, young couples often suspect each other of manipulation. Men talk of how their girlfriends are just using them for money, while women complain that men just use them for sex, says Temkina, who feels that this is quite understandable under the circumstances. While Russian women can support themselves without a man, there is no room for luxuries. For that, a man and his economic resources are needed.

This leads to a system where women manipulate men to get material advantages. Also in sex, man and woman have opposite roles. The sexual needs of men have been seen as more important than those of women. There is a lack of negotiations between couples, and only women are considered to be responsible for health and reproductive planning.

Changing sexuality

– This is changing in the youngest generation of urban middle-class women. Young women are more active and demanding sexually, says Temkina. One reason for this may be better availability of housing. – Previously, several generations of families lived together in small two-room apartments, and it was very difficult for a young couple to have their private space and be free in organization of their intimate life. Today they can rent rooms – it is expensive, but possible, she explains. There is less control from elder generation, more freedom, and more choice. 

The availability of better information about sex and birth control is also important – although this is not available to everyone. Some schools provide some information, but parents often try to keep their children away from these lessons. Nor is everyone aware that they can discuss issues concerning sex with their doctor – and the ones that do, often complain that different doctors give contradictory advice.

Sexual life as destiny

“Child birth depends on God … you could not overcome this by the use of contraception.” This statement came from a not particularly religious woman in her twenties in 2005.

While some young women take, or try to take, control of their sexual lives and plan it, Temkina feels that they often fail in this. She sees this as a sign that sexual life is still seen as destiny – that is, as something that the individual cannot control; things just happen.

– For instance, a lot of my informants tell me that their first child was not planned; the pregnancy was accidental, she tells.

Official double standard

“Before having sex with me, he underwent several tests to confirm his sexual health […] I am so pure and healthy and I wanted to be sure of the same for my partner who had had many women before me.”

Contraception and sexual health is seen as the women’s responsibility, and the official message is that they must demand the use of contraception and fidelity from their boyfriends and husbands. Some are successful in this, like the young women quoted above. But not all have the experience of their demands being met, and it is seen as natural for a married man to have love affairs. This would not be equally acceptable for women.

And while laws on child care and family policy are gender neutral in principle, children and family is overwhelmingly the mother’s concern.

– There is no intention of sending the women “back home”, but to balance work and family is seen as a problem only for women, Temkina says. While she has talked to a few young couples who want to share equally in house work and child care, this is made difficult because of the higher salaries of men. For most women, the constant negotiation necessary to make the husband do housework or care for the children is too much. They prefer to rely on female family members for help, as has been the tradition.

There are also other ways young women help to keep gender roles alive. As one of Temkina’s informants says:

“Why should I carry my own luggage? Yes, I could do it by myself, but I prefer to receive. I am happy that I can play [helpless] – I do not do it every time, but I could. This is the specificity of Russian women.”

– Most of the young women are satisfied with playing the helpless one, Temkina explains. As a feminist, she is not happy about this.

Discovering gender research

Anna Temkina started out as a researcher in the 1980’s, then studying the workers’ movement. The field of sociology was new, and research was limited in the Russian context.

– In the ‘90s I received a fellowship to spend six months in the USA. There I discovered the long shelves of books on women’s studies. Also, I was constantly asked about the situation of Russian women. I had no answers, Temkina relates. Back in Russia, the first feminist group had formed in St. Petersburg, and Temkina was invited to lecture for them, as well as doing some research.

She also started working with researchers in Finland, and further developed her interest in gender studies. In 1997 the European University at St. Petersburg got funding to open the program of gender studies that Temkina is co-director of. These days, she has a lot to say about the situation of Russian women.

Seminar at of the Nordic Gender Institute

During her stay in Oslo, Temkina gave a lecture at a seminar arranged by the institutions that invited her here. Her Finnish long-time research partner Anna Rotkirch from the Institute of Population Studies, Family Federation in Finland, also gave a lecture at the seminar. Rotkirch talked about how the Orthodox Church influences the rapidity of change in different questions of sex and gender.

– The Church is strongly opposed to sexual education and gay rights. It is also opposed to most kinds of contraception and abortion, but not as strongly, Rotkirch explained. The Church accepts people living together without being married, and divorce is accepted under a lot of circumstances that are important for women’s rights, like violence or alcoholism.

– Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1993, but there are few anti-discrimination laws, Rotkirch said. Homosexuality was not seen as an illness, as in the West, but as a crime against the state, as no children came of it.

Problems at the European University

Temkina’s visit to Oslo coincided with problematic times for her home university, which has had to stop teaching for the time being. The official explanation is violation of fire hazards in the historic 19th century building, but other explanations are suggested.

– The university is not closed as such, even if important parts of it is closed, Temkina says, – Although it may close today, or tomorrow. While there is no teaching going on at the moment, Temkina and her colleagues are busy discussing and negotiating the situation, and trying to find ways to stay open. – The situation is uncertain, and will most likely it be so for some time. Our future depends on both Russian and international support, she underlines. The students are working hard to be let back into the university. As for the reason behind the problems, she says no one knows for sure.

– Maybe it is fire hazards, maybe there is interest in using the building for something else, or maybe it is political reasons. Maybe all these reasons work together. But there is no evidence to prove any of this. The administration of the university is very active in the attempt to solve the problem and we all hope for a solution.