The communist period: double burden

1. A new model/anti-model of woman politicianprof.univ.dr. Daniela Roventa-Frumusanilect.univ.dr. Adriana Stefanel Women, Power, Leadership : Engendering social change through discursive empowerment of female politicians at the top International Workshop, Perugia, Italy, 11-12 October 2012

2. The communist period: double burden • Women: the stars of communist propaganda The heroizing of women that practice traditional manly professions, from heavy industry and mining to surgery and experimental science; but also the abortion legalization, the brutal secularization of marriage and encouragement –almost irresponsible – of the divorce process (Petre, Z. in Boia, L., 2005,259) • The political participation of women was nothing but rhetorical. In fact, women politicians used to be employed in ‘soft areas’ and at the bottom of the political hierarchy http://www.frontpress.ro/2011/08/imaginea-si-rolul-femeii-in-perioada-comunista.html http://life.hotnews.ro/stiri-prin_oras-10701184-emanciparea-femeilor-primii-ani-regimului-comunist-din-romania.htm Women, Power, Leadership Perugia, Italy 11-12 October 2012

3. Women politicians in post-communist Romania • The changes brought up by the Romanian revolution in 1989 acted in fact, not in spirit, against women’s political involvement. The pro-women involvement discourse was labeled as a communist residue and any attempt to enforce a men/women balance in politics remained fruitless. Women, Power, Leadership Perugia, Italy 11-12 October 2012

4. First decade: politics as boy’s club • First two nominees in The Council of The Salvation Front (CFSN) were women; both resign in less than a month • 1989-1996: 5 out of 40 women in CFSN; none in The Executive Office; none in the Government; 20 out of 510 in Parliament • 1996-2000: 2 women in Senate, 23 in the Deputy Chamber • In the entire period only 2 women minister ( Daniela Bartos for 4 month, SmarandaDobrescu 1 year) http://www.paginadeiasi.ro/un-liberal-adevarat/ http://blog.serialreaders.com/2010/10/ana-blandiana-este-invitata-festivalului-international-de-poezie-shaar-de-la-tel-aviv/ http://www.taifasuri.ro/taifasuri/sanatate/1969-doctor-daniela-bartos-caldura-accentueaza-afectiunile-cardiace.html Women, Power, Leadership Perugia, Italy 11-12 October 2012 http://arhiva.curentul.ro:81/2003/curentul.php?numar=20031219&art=42421

5. The second decade: the multiplication of feminine voices • The process of integration in UE influence women participation in Romanian politics but not the way they are treated (both by male politicians and by the media) At the end of the year, a newspaper published a half a page of heavy questions addressed to male politicians; and an other half, named From the Chamber (of Deputy, our note) to the Kitchen in which we, the parliamentarian women, were ask for coking recipes (RodicaStanoiu , Minister of Justice in Adrian Nastase’s Govern interview in Popescu, L., 2008 p.113) Women, Power, Leadership Perugia, Italy 11-12 October 2012

6. Possible explanations of the terrible Romanian phallocracy • social and economic reasons: low access to financial resources and lack of a networks support • boys networkwithin the parties • media approach angle: in Romanian politics women are not only less visible in relation to men but also treated by different standards. For men, what it matters is the political experience, professional expertise and for women the family status and physical appearance. (Roventa-Frumusani, D.,in Dragomir, O. et Miroiu, M., coord, 2002) Women, Power, Leadership Perugia, Italy 11-12 October 2012

7. Preliminary observation: • In the mediated Romanian politics, women are not only less visible than men, but also treated by different standards. For a man, the Procustean bed is the expertise; for women the essentials lay in the family status and attractiveness. For the young ones, there are romance stories to be told, while the older ones must settle with the cast of the evil witches, or reject their womanhood. Women, Power, Leadership Perugia, Italy 11-12 October 2012

8. In most cases, media (re)create a romance (storytelling techniques) whichlinkthe political woman’s name with the name of a well-know/powerful man. http://baricada.wordpress.com/page/85/?pages-list Women, Power, Leadership Perugia, Italy 11-12 October 2012

9. A new model/anti-model of woman politician • Cancan and show exaggeration leads to a quasi-exclusion of women from serious political debate or (perverse effect) causes women to resort to alternative strategies to capture attention (pseudo events focused on femininity and not on competence, glossy photographical presence). • This distorted pattern of the woman politician tend to generalize and cannibalizing the other models, which bear away the women who do not fit in the model and reinforce the gender stereotypes. Evz 10.11.2021, arhivaproprie Women, Power, Leadership Perugia, Italy 11-12 October 2012

10. Case study: Elena Udrea Sursafoto: Sesiunefoto The one, arhivă proprie http://ziarpiatraneamt.ro/elena-udrea-este-prim-ministru/ Conferinta de presa, captura tv, arhivă proprie Emisiune Acasa tv, captura tv, arhivă proprie Women, Power, Leadership Perugia, Italy 11-12 October 2012

11. The followers: • Elena Udrea is a model of politician which is imposing in Romanian politics, at any level, crossing political-party limits and cannibalize other models Sursa foto: 1. http://www.rtv.net/noua-elena-udrea-a-cabinetului-ungureanu-galerie-foto_14649.html 2. http://www.adevarul.ro/locale/botosani/Botosani-_Politista_sexy-curtata_de_politicieni_0_385761733.html 3. Arhivă proprie 5. Fluturas de campanie, arhivă proprie 6. http://www.citynights.ro/stiri/noua-udrea-e-bruneta Women, Power, Leadership Perugia, Italy 11-12 October 2012

12. Our contribution to the project: • Quantitative media analysis: • The imagine of male/female politicians in the media • The self-presentation of women politicians. The impact of successful model of women politician in the self-presentation of Romanian women politicians • Gender stereotypes. • Quantitative and qualitative analysis: • The public perception of women politicians. • The public need for the enforce of a men/women balance in Romanian politics • The women politicians perception of the gender asymmetry of Romanian democracy Women, Power, Leadership Perugia, Italy 11-12 October 2012

13. Selective bibliography: • Dobos, Corina (coord) 2010 Politicapronatilista a regimului Ceausescu. O perspectivacomparativă[The Pro-life Politics of Ceausescu’s Regime. A Comparative Analysis] ed. Polirom • Dragomir, Otilia, Miroiu, Mihaela(coord) 2002 Femei, cuvinte şi imagini [Women, WordsandImagines] ed. Polirom • Gubin, Eliane; Jacques Catherine; Rochefort Florence; Studer Brigitte; ThebaudFrancoise ; Zancarini-Fournel Michelle, 2004- Le siècle des féminismes, Paris,Editions de l’Atelier • Kerbrat-Orecchioni, C., 1996 La conversation, Seuil • Miroiu, Mihaela (coord) 2002 Lexicon feminist [Feminist lexicon] ed. Polirom • PetreZoie 2005 Promovareafemeiisaudespredestructurareasexuluifeminin [The Promotion of Women or Abou the Destructuration of Feminity] inMiturilecomunismuluiromanesc [The Miths of Romanian Communism], coord Lucian Boiaed. Humanitas • Philips, Anne 1995, The Politics of Presence ,New York, Oxford University Press • Philips, Anne, 1998 (ed) Feminism andPolitics, New York, Oxford University Press • Popescu, Liliana 1999 Gen si politica. Femeile din Romania in viata publica [GenderandPolitics. The Romanian Women in the Public Sphere] ed. Meta Graphos • Roventa-Frumusani, Daniela; Stefanel Adriana 2011Identite narrative et identite discursive des fammespolitiquesroumainesin Cristina ConstantopoulouRecites et fictions dans la societecontemporaine, ed. L'Harmattan • Tremblay, Manon, 2008, 100 Questions sur lesfemmes et la politique, Montréal, Remue-Ménage • Van Zoonen, Liesbet (1994), Feminist Media Studies, London, Sage. Women, Power, Leadership Perugia, Italy 11-12 October 2012