Authors

Olga Sobolev¹;  ¹ London School of Economics and Political Science, UK

Discussion

Although sports have always played a significant role in promoting gender equality proclaimed by the socialist system, female gymnastics did not feature in the major forms of Soviet propaganda, including cinema, till the late 1960s – the time when it became part and parcel of the country’s cultural branding and an emblem of its triumph over the West. The paper focuses on the representation of the image of female gymnasts on the Soviet screen as a reflection of the gender policies endorsed by the state. The objective is to use this notion of the ‘front line’, or the interface with the West, as a lens for gaining insights into shaping female gender identity in the USSR.