This book explores the contradictory development of gender roles in Central and Eastern Europe including Russia. In light of the social changes that followed the collapse of communism and the rise of new conservatism in Eastern Europe, it studies new forms of gender relationships and reassesses the status quo of female empowerment. Moreover, leading scholars in gender studies discuss how right-wing populism and conservative movements have affected sociopolitical discourses and concepts related to gender roles, rights, and attitudes, and how Western feminism in the 1990s may have contributed to this conservative turn.Mainly focusing on power constellations and gender, the book is divided into four parts: the first explores the history of and recent trends in feminist movements in Eastern Europe, while the second highlights the dynamics and conflicts that gained momentum after neoconservative parties gained political power in post-socialist countries. In turn, the third partdiscusses new empowerment strategies and changes in gender relationships. The final part illustrates the identities, roles, and concepts of masculinity created in the sociocultural and political context of Eastern Europe.

Provides in-depth insights into new forms of gender relationships in Central and Eastern Europe

Introduction.- Part I Feminism in Eastern Europe Revisited.- The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend: The Curious Tale of Feminism and Capitalism in Eastern Europe.- Blaming Feminists Is Not Understanding History. A Critical Rejoinder to Ghodsee's Take on Feminism, Neoliberalism and Nationalism in Eastern Europe.- Feminist Stories from an Illiberal State: Revoking the License to Teach Gender Studies in Hungary at a University in Exile (CEU).- Emancipation is More than the Freedom of Choice: Rethinking the Feminist Agenda in Postsocialism.- Part II New Conflicts and Empowerment Strategies.- Ukraine's Female Combatants: The Influence of Conflict on Gender Roles and Empowerment.- Gender Roles in the Rear of the War in Donbas: Women's Engagement in the Care of Wounded Combatants.- Russian Vicious Circles: The Facebook Flash Mob #¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿, Biopolitics, and Rape Culture.- The Ambivalence of the Ordinary: The Polish Women's Strike (OSK) and the Women's March 8th Alliance (PK8M) in a Comparative Perspective.- Part III Work, Money, and Power.- Putting Care at the Center: Women Organizing Trade Unions in the Care Sector in Poland.- Questioning the Retraditionalization Thesis: Gender Differences in Paid and Unpaid Work in Bulgaria (1970-2010).- Autonomy as Empowerment, or How Gendered Power Manifests Itself in Contemporary Russian Families.- Part IV Changing Concepts of Masculinity and Fatherhood.- Gender Proportions and Masculine Strategies in Russian Orthodoxy: From Asceticism to Militarization.- Questioning Gender Stereotypes Under Socialism: Fatherly Emotions and the Case of Single Fathers.- The East German Man: "Brown Perpetrator of Violence," "Sensitive Father"? An Exploration of Media Discourses and Scholarly Studies.- Russian Fatherhood: From Distance to Participation.