Behind Closed Doors?: The Private Lives of the Minor Communist Party Activists in Romania, 1945–1960. Issue 1 (1st August 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Diac, Cristina
• Is Part Of: Aspasia. Volume 15:Issue 1(2021)
• Page Start: 41
• Page End: 60
• Publication Date: 2021-08-01
• Subjects: masculinity -- patriarchy -- Romania -- spousal violence -- state socialism; Women -- Europe, Eastern -- Periodicals; Women -- Europe, Central -- Periodicals; Women -- Balkan Peninsula -- Periodicals; Women -- Europe, Central -- Social conditions -- Periodicals; Women -- Europe, Eastern -- Social conditions -- Periodicals; Women -- Balkan Peninsula -- Social conditions -- Periodicals; Women; Balkan Peninsula; Central Europe; Eastern Europe; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 305.40943
• DOI: 10.3167/asp.2021.150104
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1933-2882

Abstract

Abstract: This article explores the relationship between men, spousal violence, and politics in Romania in the 1950s and aims to analyze how the Romanian Communist Party (RCP), as an institution, dealt with spousal violence perpetrated by its officials. The RCP was a significant player within state socialist regime. Thus, the way the Party managed the discussed cases of spousal violence gives an idea about how gender relations functioned in reality, beyond the official discourse and the letter of the law. This article argues that spousal violence was the result of inequality within the family and a manifestation of patriarchy and male dominance. This analysis draws on files from the archive of the Committee of Party Control of the Central Committee of the RCP, which contains cases of Party members with a history of spousal violence.