Modeling Socialist Womanhood: African Women in Soviet and East German Society, 1957-1980

• In Event: Critical Approaches to Forgotten, Overlooked, and Ignored Histories

Abstract

A primary element of Soviet and East German engagement with decolonizing countries on the African continent was solidarity in their struggle against colonialism and racism. Both states promoted socialism as the alternative road to developing a post-colonial state and society. While the experiences of African higher education and technical students have garnered significant attention in Soviet and East German historiographies, men are the overwhelmingly dominant focus in these studies. Following the leads of Kristin Ghodsee, Elizabeth Banks, and Sara Pugach, I examine how socialist womanhood was modeled and taught to African women in the Soviet Union and East Germany and how Soviet and East German women understood and critiqued the womanhood of their African counterparts. While women in the USSR and GDR were carrying the “double burden,” they were also expected to demonstrate how socialism improved their lives and made them equal citizens. Were African women convinced? Were there issues that led to solidarity between these different groups of women? How did racial difference influence the social relationships and the performance of gender for women in the Eastern Bloc and African women? Through analyzing popular representations in film and media and archival documents, this paper will show how gender influenced the Soviet and East German attempts at building an international, trans-racial solidarity with African states.

Author

• Kimberly St. Julian Varnon, U of Pennsylvania