Reading # 1
Nadezhda Azhgikhina and Helena Goscilo. Getting under Their Skin.
What kind of value does female beauty have in Russian society?
Did the attitudes toward beauty and practices of beautification change over time and if so, in what way?
What was considered beautiful in Soviet times and how did it change after the collapse of the U.S.S.R.?
Reading # 2
Olga Vainshtein. Female Fashion: Soviet Style.
How fashion and style of Soviet clothing reflected social processes under way in the country as well as Soviet society's major values?
How is fashion connected with ideas about the body and its eligible images?
What were the roles of government, media, social environment and women themselves in the formation of the Soviet fashion and style?
“Note”
I want 1 long page for each assignment, essay format, letter # 12, Time New Rome, space 2.
Also I send you my two peers response: ON THE PEER RESPONSE where you have to write 1 long page about what they wrote, well thought out comment (participation response), saying if you agree or not and why? Try to write a concise and meaningful response of about this size. The substantial amount of text, that I request, should be dense and thorough. When you are going to write a comment to someone's response, explain why you agree or disagree and how you came to those conclusions.
Nadezhda Azhgikhina and Helena Goscilo. Getting under Their Skin.
This is my peer Response about reading # 1
Beauty, like other topics in Russian history, has also had its ups and downs. There have been various changes in the way women and men view the beauty of a woman. Not only did women take cues from literature, movies and outside influences they also tried their own techniques. Also during times periods of Russian government control, the images which were allowed also went through changes.
During the time period of about 1910 to 1920, women’s hairstyles and makeup consisted of having red hair and penciled in eyebrows. The hair length that was the most dominant was that of long hair. Many changed their hair to red because it was what was read in literature and other written works. Mostly all of the influences came from authors whom described their main characters so well that other women in society wanted to mimic the look of the character. Most of the influences came from different authors especially from Pushkin.
Things changed for beauty in women in 1920 to 1930. During this time women were styling shorter hair with a more of an athletic look. No eye makeup was used and this really changed the image of women. During the Stalin era, women were not allowed to dye their hair, there were no hair salons open for women to go to either. The Soviet era changed beauty drastically and restricted women to a great extent.
After the Soviet era, beauty was debated more and was also publicized more. Women were able to practice using make up and changing and styling their hair. Women were even influenced by western hair styles and makeup. There were more hair dyes, makeup and other beauty supplies imported into Russia. During different time periods women’s beauty changed from being a bit more conservative to having high restrictions to finally going back to a more liberal way of showing off beauty. Women could wear and try different things after the Soviet era and that gave women a sense of freedom of expression.
Olga Vainshtein. Female Fashion: Soviet Style.
This is my peer response about reading # 2
Fashion and style are a very important part of culture for Russians. Fashion reflects how people are perceived in society and it also shows the roles of women when they are seen in different places. Whether its work, school, shopping or just being at home a woman must know what to wear in the appropriate setting and how to combine different accessories and colors with her attire.
During the 1960’s, this was known as the typical era for fashion and was also the best era in fashion. There was an abundance of supplies and fashion was at its best. During the Soviet era, fashion was even taken to the extent that in schools children were taught what to wear to different occasions and also how to match different clothing and accessories together. The foundation was put down in schools so that later in the future children would follow the proper ways of dressing.
I found it interesting that there were different ways to dress and if someone had the wrong attire for a specific place they would be criticized and would be looked down upon. A woman had to dress properly for all of the different aspects of a day. If she dressed too fancy for work she would be seen as behaving too sexual at work and would be frowned upon. Even if a woman was overweight, she would be seen differently in magazines that showed fashion.
Government, media and society played great roles in fashion because they portrayed the proper fashion to be used and women would mimic this for the occasion. If women used fashion improperly they would be ridiculed and even be portrayed in the press for others to notice. Fashion greatly connects with the ideals of image because a woman must know how to properly dress for every occasion to be seen as proper individual. Fashion is a very important part of the Russian culture and women must know how to dress for many occasions and dress properly to display that they are respectable and knowledgeable.