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Motherhood as A rmenianness: Expressions of Femininity in the Making of A rmenian National Identity
Author(s) -
Beukian Sevan
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
studies in ethnicity and nationalism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.204
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 1754-9469
pISSN - 1473-8481
DOI - 10.1111/sena.12092
Subject(s) - femininity , expression (computer science) , nationalism , gender studies , ethnic group , national identity , identification (biology) , identity (music) , genocide , perception , sociology , psychology , social psychology , political science , aesthetics , art , anthropology , law , botany , neuroscience , politics , computer science , biology , programming language
This article explores the discourses on gender roles and the place of A rmenian women in the A rmenian nation‐building process, especially focusing on the changes since the 1988 national movement formation. This study is based on extensive interviews conducted in A rmenia and K arabakh in 2011. Although A rmenian women were praised for their role during the nationalist movement of 1988 and the K arabakh war, they went back into their ‘traditional’ role in the aftermath. Motherhood is a strong concept in A rmenian women's (self‐)identification with their nation, constructing it as a unique A rmenian trait that distinguishes A rmenian women from ‘others’. The self‐expression of women highlights the authenticity of A rmenian constructions of femininity as motherhood, embedded in the national and ethnic self‐identification of A rmenian women. The concept of A rmenian motherhood is therefore a particular expression filtered through a distinct history of national struggle and genocide, and upheld by A rmenian women through that perception.