THE CONSTRUCTION OF HEGEMONIC FEMALE GENDER ROLES IN SERBIAN/YUGOSLAV WOMEN’S MAGAZINE BAZAR

This paper examines a select sample of popular Serbian/Yugoslav women’s magazine Bazar to address the question: How are the media construction of female gender roles discursively constructed within specific societal circumstances in Serbian/Yugoslav society in three different historical moments (in 1970s, 1980s, 1990s)? How do these hegemonic constructs differ among themselves? Do they correspond with everyday reality and in which way? The major finding of this paper is the existence of three ideal type of hegemonic female gender role models represented in women’s magazine Bazar in three different historical periods (1970s, 1980s, 1990s). These three ideal type models are: (a) the 1970s model of “super-woman”, (b) the 1980s model of “frustrated super-woman” and (c) the 1990s model of “escapist woman”. All of them testify how popular women’s magazine follows the policy of its publishing house, and official ideological political discourse, through the media construction of hegemonic female gender role. The comparative analysis of these three models of hegemonic female gender roles and their relation toward official ideological political discourse (mediated through the policy of Bazar’s publishing house Politika) shows/confirms that the aggravation of living conditions and the increase of social instability enlarge the gap between media construct of hegemonic female gender role and the everyday reality of the society, in relation to which the HFGR is constructed in particular historical moment.

with members of opposing gender group) in accordance with socially proscribe way of gender behavior (which understands assign power relations -of subordination and dominance, and from them derivated division of labor, quality of emotional interactions etc) (Connell, 1995).One of the agents of female gender roles production are the women's magazines.
In public discourse, women's magazines are often classified with a dose of underestimation as being less valued then other kinds of ('serious') press editions.This trend affected the research of women's magazines that, as a rule, has shown a certain dose of concern rather then respect toward those who read this kind of magazine.At the root of this concern lies the faith in the enormous power of media, which in contemporary society can be an agent of change and progress, but also an agent of alienation, oppression and despair, all packed in exciting or nice wrapping.A lot of researches, following this line of thinking, talk about the stereotyped models of gender roles, promoted by those magazines, which do not take distance from the patriarchal tradition.A sample of this kind of deliberation is the book The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan in which she describes the "mythical power of women's magazines to keep women within their homes".(Hermes, 1995:2) What is a common characteristic of all researches, done inside this 'classic' approach, is that they neglect the fact that magazines, beside the social function which they have in the reproduction of certain (mostly limited by the patriarchal discourse) cultural models (gender identity, gender roles and consequently gender regime) are a dam, and a factor that slows down the imagined desired progress of the woman's emancipation process.They function to satisfy specific needs, quite often derived from this construct but not necessarily.Certain researches published in 1980s, realized that the satisfaction women feel when they read these magazines is too important an aspect of this phenomenon to be deleted during the study.Women enjoy reading these magazines, because they are relaxing, they offer shelter from problems of everyday life, they give information about practical aspects of running the home (this may be difficult for the feminist authors, but it is certainly reality for the majority of the female population).Generally speaking, women's magazines are profiled according to the type of public, and that makes them different among themselves.It is hard to find a unifying factor, except that they are dedicated to women, and this could serve as a substantial differentia specific in case of their definition.In the literature (Hermes 1995:6) we find descriptive classification of women's magazines into three sub-types: a) Gossip magazines (like Gloria, Skandal etc) b) Feminist magazines (unfortunately they do not exist on Serbian market) c) Traditionally oriented women magazines that again could be classified as: A. Weeklies, and bi-weeklies with attractive prices, where the accent is put on a practical advice (like Bazar) B. Slightly more expensive monthly magazines are printed on expensive paper (like Cosmopolitan, Elle, Gracia or Joy.) This hierarchy demonstrates that women's magazines could be seen as the both agency and product of permanent consumption in contemporary society; they are supposed to be published as frequently as possible in relation to direct economic as well as to intermediate cultural feedback from female audience.Women magazines could also be seen as an ideal advertisement site through which all kinds of desirable images and messages are easily mediated, attracting reader's attention with the purpose to support overall passion for consumption.Therefore, some researchers fear, considering the bad impact of women magazines on the female audience and the "toxic cultural environment " (Kilbourne, 2003:259) which they create, seems justified.On the other hand, women's magazines through their care for trivial details of everyday reality reflect more significant and even radical cultural patterns and social practices: "The magazines and the ads deliberately create and intensify anxiety about weight because it is so profitable.On a deeper level, however, they reflect cultural concerns and conflicts about women's power."(Kilbourne,2003:262) On the other hand these "different discourses of consumption reflect different status and access to power within society" (Andrews and Whorlow, 2000:257).
But, what differentiates women's magazines from other agents of socialization is the quality and complexity of transmitted socialization messages.Since the public is older (adult women), the presented constructs are more complicated and multilayered.Furthermore, in remodelling them it is not necessary to pay the same kind of attention to moral righteousness of content, since it is assumed that the intended audience already has a developed system of values, which is in accordance with general social interests and needs.In accordance with that, the creators of the magazines are free to further develop certain stereotypes, stereotypical themes and forms, and supplement them with other similar stereotype constructs, to play with them, gather them and bring them into some relationship, turning them into more or less consistent ideal type models, which are desirable gender roles from the societal point of view.Women's magazines represent "the most concentrated and uninterrupted media-scope for the construction of normative femininity… the magazine embodies the stereotype of objectified femininity, unachievable and unreal" (McRobbie, 1996:172-173) For the purposes of this research these ideal type models of gender roles will be defined as a mental network of cultural stereotypes about gender behavior and practice that makes a consistent system of rules and norms which occupies hegemonic position in one society/culture, or in a group of similar societies (Connell, 1995, Connell, 1987).Women magazines also offer picturesque story-scripts (Ussher 1997:7-75) about a particular way of life in a concrete historical and social situation.These ideal type models can influence/initiate a real change of lifestyle or simply offer virtual space for mental relaxation from problems of everyday life.In both cases they unques-tionably influence change of the way women think and perceive themselves and the world around them.
How can the research of women's magazines contribute in the comprehension of the phenomenon of the hegemonic models of gender roles?Since the magazines are subject, as all the other consuming goods, to the ruling logic of market economy, their existence depends on whether they manage to attract or not the widest possible readership.The choice and selection of themes/topics is guided by the presumed tastes of the imagined target group.In the case of women's magazines it is realized by adopting the editorial policy that follows the assumed tastes and value system of the majority of women.The range and the number of women's magazines on the market are extensive, with the growing tendency.They are inevitable part of the popular media culture that we consume.They greatly influence new social consumer trends and the political representation of gender in contemporary society.Besides television, women's magazines market represents in the same time the most available and the most accurate/actual market of hegemonic gender roles.That market offers a possibility for precise social analysis of the symptoms that could contribute to the promotion of certain HGR into culturally exalted in particular historical moment.As a result, these magazines present suitable empirical material for analysis of the relationship between certain hegemonic gender roles and the ideological political concepts, which stand behind them or sustain them.
People imagine their life in a certain way.They dream of how it should be, how should they look like and, how should be their relations with other people during the life.The ideal type construct, which obtains status of culturally exalted one in particular historical moment and because of that channels individual and social actions of an individual and her/his interactions with other people, I will call hegemonic gender role.Even those, very rare individuals, who are capable to make distance from this model, do that through an exhausting and long dialogue with it.The hegemonic model of gender roles presents the widest accepted collection of expected gender behavior in any society in a given historical moment.It is based on cultural stereotypes (originating from the historical experience of a society, local, social, political … or other milieu or global social trends), adopted during the process of socialization, which in the given historical moment in any society presupposes a culturally logical construct of suitable gender behavior.In some sense it represents a compromise between wishes derived from an interiorized socialized model, and the real social conditions which individual meets.In the contrast to stereotype, this ideally typical model does not define/prescribe just one form (behavior, work or thinking).It plays with it, investigates it, contemplates it, examining in that process its internal and external borders, potential points of tension inside the model itself, interaction with other individuals and individuals with society, offering a variety of possibilities to answer the same social situations which are all united by their values and norms.Therefore, this very complex construct/model offers to an individual, on the level of society, feelings of belonging to a certain imagined collectivity.On the level of an individual, it offers the possibility of freely positioning itself inside the fantastic simulacrum -life model in accordance with its own perception of the same.
Today we face many difficulties in life, which people did not have in the past.The high mobility of people makes, for example, almost impossible the maintaining of close relations with parents and relatives in the way that it was possible in the past.Technological progress and constant change of work routine has made the life very complex and unpredictable.This makes us face a lot of uncertainty (in for example, marriage, family life, and other situations).The dynamics of contemporary life has made impossible the realization of life as established by traditional forms.As a result of these processes we are forced to "create" our life much more than people were in the past (Giddens, 2001:43).It seems that there are no ready-made decisions and we are all forced to make on our own the final decisions.Fundamental/basic models that offer us a zero point from where we begin to form our own life decisions are derived from the system of values and rules that we adopted through primary and secondary socialization.This cluster of values, rules, norms and associations, interiorized by the individual through the process of socialization constitutes an interactive hegemonic model that enables an individual to form her/his own life in accordance with social demands and her/his own needs.
The growing number of magazines has increased market competition and forced them to profile more clearly the editing policy when addressing to the imagined target group.So, more than ever we are able to come into contact with various ideal type models of gender roles within different gender regimes.It is also possible to analyze the way in which new hegemonic models of gender roles, gender regimes and gender orders are constituted and reconstituted in women magazines according to market demands and leading principles of editorial policies.This offers us the freedom, albeit apparent freedom, of social choice.The study of women's magazines offers insight into the content and quality of a wider spectrum of gender roles within different gender regimes (family, work enviroment, gender groups, state).Among these there are often internal systematic tensions between the demands of each different regime.By the careful analysis of reality presented through a magazine and the constructs of various gender roles in it, as well as the different gender regimes of which they are part, it is possible to understand the content and quality relation of these gender regimes and consequent gender order of the society which is in focus of research interest.Thus, because of the multilayered content which women's magazines present, they reflect the tension that exists always within the gender order, especially in a patriarchal society such as Serbian/Yugoslav.This kind of study becomes even more interesting when the society is socially unstable.In that case an analysis of the relationship between actual existing gender practices and the gender order, which the society attempts to sustain as apparently dominant, can be very valuable.This will be my special interest in the following paper.

Method and Sample
The research follows two parallel courses, mutually connected.One (quantitative) is a collection of data related to the structure of the magazine and genres of its articles/columns and pictures/illustrations that follows textual messages.The other (qualitative) uncovers, through the content analysis of the selected magazine articles, themes and their interpretations contained in chosen articles.Both will aid in comprehending the construction of hegemonic female gender roles within the women's magazine Bazar.
For the purpose of this analysis I have used the methodological procedure of combined quantitative-qualitative content analysis.The analysis procedure itself has developed as the way of classifying quantitative data of different kinds of social communication, making an integral part of social activity.Every complete form of social communication consists of three elements: 1. message transmitter (the sender) 2. message recipient (the audience) 3. message content (the message) (Berg, 2001:243) In our case the first two elements are known1 , while the third element (message content) is the subject of this research.As a message I will consider every item with symbolic content that has a symbolic meaning and is addressed to another person with the intention of offering certain positions, pictures, sets of values or world-view (Milić, 1996:571).I will also engage in an analysis of symbolic content that promotes a certain hegemonic female gender role.
Content analysis could therefore be defined as "study of a set of objects (i.e., cultural artifacts) or events by their systematic counting or by interpreting the themes contained in them."(Reinharz, 1992:146) Cultural artifacts are the products of individual activity, social organization, technology, and cultural patterns.The interpretations of these materials are cultural artifacts too2 .
In this paper I will try to reconstruct and deconstruct cultural artifacts of hegemonic female gender roles, through their presentation in the media reality of Bazar magazine.I divided this part of my analysis into two separate sub-sets -quantitative and qualitative analyses.
With the quantitative part of content analysis I have tried to determine what sort of genres dominates the magazine's contents in relation to the number of pages that are dedicated to a certain genres.I organized all empirical data (all pages of sampled magazines) according to different genres of articles or presented pictures/illustrations that accompanied different text messages -on every particular page.For the purposes of this research and according to the presented content in sampled magazines, I divided empirical material into eight categories/genres according to which I classified every page of every particular sampled magazine.These genres are: advice3 , reportages on social themes4 , interviews5 , short stories and novels6 , reviews on cultural events7 , gossip news8 , reader's letters9 and other10 .In cases where on one page there are texts or pictures that belong to different categories/genres of constructed analysis codex, I have classified the page into the category to which belongs the text or a picture that takes the largest part of the observed page.
The main aim of the qualitative part of content analysis is to reconstruct the hegemonic female gender roles, in different historical periods that cover the research sample and to perceive its possible similarities and differences.In order to emphasize the possible presence of changes within magazine's construction of hegemonic female gender role in the decades covered by my research sample (1970s, 1980s, 1990s) I have therefore carried out a qualitative analysis on narrow empirical sample, which could reflect changes.Therefore I constituted this narrow research sample only to articles related to social themes and interviews.
In the group of articles related to 'social themes' I classified all articles that deal with or critically investigate certain aspects of social life.It is rather difficult to define more precisely articles classified in this group because of the diversity of their themes.They address family issues, relations between children and parents, old age, poverty, war, the nonviolent solution of conflicts, the women's movement, travel and other similar topics.What they have in common is that they are all authored texts, not written in the form of a dialogue (like an interview).For the purpose of this research I have divided them into nine subcategories, according to the themes they deal with.These subcategories are: political columns, articles about war, articles about the women's movement, articles related to family issues, articles related to work, articles about oldage and beauty, articles about sport and health, articles about travel and other articles.The aim of the qualitative analysis of this particular genre unit (social themes) was to detect what kind of change has occurred on pages in the light of the perception of social reality and the position of women in it, during the twenty years of Bazar`s publication.I followed that through the analysis of above mentioned eight themes and their presentation in three different decades within research sample.The selected total is 116 articles related to social themes.
Interviews are articles whose task is to present to the readers certain persons.By selecting particular persons and their thoughts that are represented in them, Bazar promotes certain life styles and the model of behavior.In this group I have classified the authored articles that are, unlike to the texts from the previous group, written in a form of dialogue.I divided them into three subcategories: interviews with celebrities, interviews with figures chosen because of their achieved professional success, and interviews with persons chosen because of their unusual life story.All these subcategories I further divided into domestic and foreign persons, men and women.The selected total is 129 interviews.
The qualitative analysis is performed on total of 245 articles related to social themes and interviews in 20 sampled issues of Bazar from five chosen years (1979, 1987, 1993, 1996/7, 1999).In the sampled issues from 1979 I analyzed 51 articles.In 1987In , 40 articles, in 1993In 47 pieces, in 1996In /7 -58, and in 1999 -49 -49.My research expectations were that the accelerated dynamic of social change characteristic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s would produce a similar effect in Bazar's media reality, and the magazine's construction of a hegemonic female gender role.For that reason I selected three years in 1990s and I organized the sample around them.But empirical research did not confirm my expectation.According to that finding I decided to interpret all the research results related to the empirical materials from 1990s together (for all three selected years from 1990s).

Research Results
The structure of magazine Bazar (seen through the distribution of genres according to the number of pages which are dedicated to them) is relatively constant during the research period.Having in mind the Hermes's classification Bazar could be classified as traditionally oriented bi-weekly women's magazine, with an attractive (low) price, which puts special emphasis on practical advice (see Table 1.).cy in structure does not reflect the quality of the magazine's content that is changing in different historical periods of the research sample.These changes is possible to conceptualize only through the qualitative analysis of selected articles.The following analysis will try to identify the hegemonic female gender roles within the media construct of social reality that Bazar creates to its readers in different historical periods.Qualitative analysis will include only two genre categories: social themes and interviews.Having in mind the relative constancy of the structure and the very insignificant or poorly expected influence of social changes over the content of advice, stories, novels, and cultural articles, I have limited my analysis to these two genre categories.
Starting from Connell's book, Masculinities (Connell, 1995:67-86), and his concept of hegemonic masculinity which he understands as a concept that is changeable in relation to societal/cultural framework within it is formulated and the time in which it is formulated, I will define the hegemonic female gender role as a character type which is not fixed, always and everywhere the same.It is rather a female gender role that occupies the hegemonic position in a given pattern of gender relations.This hegemonic position is constantly endangered.In different historical moments, different forms of female gender roles obtain status of culturally exalted.In relation to that it is possible to define hegemonic female gender role as a configuration of gender performance/practice which embodies the currently socially accepted answer to the given societal (economic, political, social) circumstances.
In the magazine analysis that follows I found three different types of hegemonic female gender roles within the sampled issues of the magazines from three different decades.Hegemonic gender role of "Superwoman" dominates the chosen issues of magazine from the 1970s.In the 1980s it cede its hegemonic position to the role of "Frustrated superwoman" who still follow socialist drive of de-alienated life in which it is possible to balance different aspects of personal gender needs and different demands of various gender regimes within which individual interacts.However, in the 1980s the state does not support this project any more, at least not to the degree that it was in the previous decade(s).In the 1990s with the intensification of social crisis and aggravation of societal living conditions, the demands of different female gender roles which women perform within different gender regimes increase to the extent which endangers stability of gender order within society.As a result of it in media construction of social reality appears new hegemonic form of female gender role -"Escapist woman".In the following pages the analysis will try to present these three hegemonic constructs of female gender roles through their relationship toward different aspects of societal life: politics, family relations, work relations.

Socialist "Superwoman"
Since its establishment as a state system socialism had a consistent policy of social modernization.One of its aspects concerns the change of the social status of women and their position within institutional, family and other social frameworks/gender regimes of their existence.On the level of ideology, the new socialist state consistently promoted the concept of woman who can do everything, in contrast to the bourgeois concept of woman whose social and personal life was limited by the social construction of her biology.In the analysis that follows I will call this imagined mighty woman -Superwoman.Through the analysis of a few different aspects of societal life presented in empirical data from the sampled issues of Bazar I will reconstruct the main characteristics of this female gender role construct which dominated during the 1970s.

"Small themes" politics
In the 1970s one of the main postulates of Bazar's editorial policy was to politically articulate women's experience.In order to achieve that, or at least to support it, Bazar introduced political discourse into the women's magazine.The specificity of its approach was that it had two parallel courses mutually connected.On one hand Bazar was trying to politically educate women and teach them how to think politically, and on the other hand to inform them.
On a few occasions, during its publication, Bazar has introduced a «political column», that dealt with political circumstances and the social situation of the populace.The journalistic task of writing these kinds of articles were usually assigned to experienced journalists of other Politika editions, primarily to the journalists of NIN, who did not show particular sensitivity to adjust their journalistic skills relating to political situations to specific female political perspective.In some sense only Jug Grizelj11 , tried to introduce in its column Between to want and to know something of it: writing interesting articles about so called "small political themes" that citizens do face in their lives.By dealing with this kind of theme he made an attempt to adjust his work to the basic concept of Bazar editorial policy: to open space for the theme that corresponds to the experience of its female readers, in order to initiate them to think about their own life and gender experience by articulating their own political attitudes.However, Grizelj, like all other columnists after him, always thought from the (non-gender) perspective of an abstract citizen.
In the researched sample there are four of his texts all from 1979: Bazar, 29.03. 1979, Migration of Slavs and Yugoslavs;Bazar, 12.04.1979, Life with tinsel;Bazar, 13.09. 1979, Small power, big troubles;Bazar, 20.12. 1979, I'm not bored any more.As we have already mentioned, in his texts Grizelj initiated small questions where the citizens could manifest their influence.He pointed to the bad habits and irresponsibility of the citizen by showing possible courses of action.By doing so he sent a political message to his readers that if they want to improve world around them they should observe it and critically think about it.
"Well, how is it possible, if the whole Yugoslavia lives under the stress caused by the migration from the country into the city, that there is so little research and such little interest from our ethnologists, sociologists, psychologists, social workers, pedagogues and political scientists, and the wider social thought?We can see that our citizens are buying clumsy and nonfunctional furniture, but we only react to that with a malicious smile.We see that our cities are dirty, and we see that the restaurants and pubs are filled with behavior that belongs to some other mentality and social relations, and we conclude that interpersonal relations are often inadequate to the social and political system.We see that there is violence and crime, we know that the relations between students and professors as well as between children and parents are in crisis, but we still monitor these occurrences separately without trying to define the fundamental sources." (Bazar, 29.03. 1979, Migration of Slavs and Yugoslavs) These texts were written with the intention of correcting people, to motivate them and induce improvement, to become aware of their own potential and the possibilities of the society in which they live, to induce them to behave differently because of themselves and the people round them.In the text Life with tinsel Grizelj pointed to a certain provincial trend that appeared under the conditions of economic prosperity at the end of 1970s.
"In Europe and in the world (an integral part of which is our country) bidermayer-tennis-pedigree-longdressed behavior is an expression of intellectual and social backwardness.Such A Europe exists only in old magazines, theatres and masquerade."(Bazar, 12.04. 1979, Life with tinsel) In the text I'm not bored any more (Bazar, 20.12.1979), which deals with the education problems of young people Grizelj emphasized the problem of inconsistency of the institutional policy within different levels of society.He dedicated special attention to the political inconsistency in conducting educational policy between the level of state policy and its implementation into educational subsystem.By introducing the topic of education he showed how the common problems like enrollment of child into school could be interpreted as political issue.
"First year we tell children that the general average mark is important, next year we tell them that an average mark for three particular subjects is important, next year we tell them that nothing is important, that they will all have to pass the enrollment exam, then again we tell them...At the end we all go mad.Especially the children." The initial conceptual determination to support the introduction of typical women's themes or the themes which are close to women's experience (that could offer authentic women's political perspectives, different from the official AFW) into public discourse were visible until almost the 1990s.Lacking an authentic, clearly articulated and non-bureaucratic political position of women in Yugoslav society, Bazar chose to publish the articles from the history of the women's movement outside the Yugoslav borders by introducing the theme of women's political engagement into the lives of its readers.In that sense should be interpreted an extensive feuilleton about activities and methods of the political struggle of suffragettes in England, which Bazar published in 1979.In a very detailed manner the feuilleton explained non-violent political strategy and the struggle of suffragettes for the right to vote.With great sympathies the feuilleton followed the achievements of those actions and the lives of the protagonists of women's movement at the beginning of the twentieth century.
"Daily newspapers, are the nests of corruption, they refuse to publish our announcements, proclamations and our opinions -said Emilia Pankhurst at the meeting.Well, they will not shut our mouths!We have chalk, we have the streets, and we can write!''(Bazar, 29.03. 1979, ''They frightened police, Churchill and the King'')...Those witches should be hanged!-shouted Lloyd George full of anger." (Bazar, 12.04. 1979, Brutal police methods) In the middle of the seventies in the former Yugoslavia the first feminist groups were being formed in Zagreb, Ljubljana, and Belgrade.Their political action had limited range, primarily because of its unintentional self-ghettoization inside narrow intellectual circles.However, this period of relative abstinence from activism and dedication to theoretical deliberation and intellectual exchange of ideas about unique female gender positions inside the Yugoslav society resulted in political articulation of particular authentic women's political problems within the societal system.Although Bazar, in this period, had undoubtedly inclination toward the activities of the women's movement, it did not establish any relation between request/need, of even those abstract women/own readers and feminist movement originating from the traces of suffragettes about whose activities Bazar was informing its readers.
In the 1970s Bazar's editorial policy strongly supported official policy of socialist state to encourage women to take part in political life of Yugoslav society.In its articles Bazar tried to educate women how to think politically and how to articulate their own authentic social and personal needs in political way.However, it seems that this support did never cross assigned socialist institutional framework.Neither in one moment Bazar did not recognize its topic in the activities of Yugoslav (non-institutional) women's movement, which it systematically ignored in the 1970s.

Patriarchal relations within family
In spite of socialist modernizing efforts (see Historical considerations), the traditional patriarchal organization of partner and family relations in society was not abandoned, even in the 1970s, as is visible in Bazar depiction as well.Following the Second World War and upon taking power, the new socialist government paid special attention to the "emancipation" of women, by raising the general level of education of women providing of certain qualifications that would enable women to take their place in the working process.Fast urbanization and industrialization of the country and consequently an increase in demands for a qualified labor force could have been achieved only by fulfilling these preconditions.Again, this only could have been achieved by the disintegration of patriarchal (family and partner) social relations which had attached women to area home and household.However, in spite of consistently developed positive legal regulations and the official egalitarian discourse that was dominant in public life, gender inequality was part of women's everyday life.Here is the example how one of interviewed woman describes her everyday family practice.
"…upon returning from work I finish the lunch, we eat and afterward I stay in the kitchen to clean and cook the lunch for tomorrow.Husband grabs the newspaper and takes the position on couch."("Two children and husband", Bazar, 12.04.1979.)Many women have felt this systematic internal pressure in the imposed social organization of their own life, in a clash between publicly proclaimed gender equality and privately understood gender inequality.
"Regretfully, I don't belong to the group of women who share their house work with their husbands, partly because of his occupation at work, and partly because of his lack of interest in such work.I hardly have any time off."("All my days are same, Bazar, 29.03.1979.)However, it is hard to believe that this kind of systematic contradiction could survive as imposed without strong support from the women themselves.Through the process of socialization, society imposes, to its members, clear borders between acceptable and non-acceptable forms of gender behavior.By the interiorization of these stereotype borders an individual mentally marks the area of socially accepted gender identity and the result of the desired construct of gender roles that further influences self perception of the individual and the quality of her/his own personal and/or social life and the (dis)satisfaction that flows from it.As stated earlier (see theoretical considerations) stereotype constructs that we accept in the process of socialization are always the product of a wider social consensus, motivated by strong parental desire, community members and society itself, that the individual/future member of the community develop her/his own gender identity in accordance with the values and needs of the society in which she/he grows.Having in mind this, no wonder that patriarchal stereotypical values form of relations between the sexes becomes part of the knowl-edge corpus around which tacit social consensus is achieved.Fragments of this corpus of knowledge are almost always in accordance with the experience and practice of those who justify it (For example: in the society where the patriarchal value system is dominant, new society members will be socialized in the same manner.).To step out of this is possible, but individuals carry the risk of uncertain future, both for the one who is socializing and the one who is socialized.For example, parents who decide to retreat (if it is possible at all) from the patriarchal mainstream/cultural hegemony, expose their own child, to the danger of never being able to fit into the society in which she/he is to live and of never succeeding to achieve personal relations with other members of the society.On the other hand, parents are exposed to the danger of not succeeding to establish satisfactory contact and understanding with a child socialized in the system of values different from their own, due to the incompatibility with the system of values within which they deliberate.In that way the patriarchal value system reproduces itself through the different societal layers (interpersonal relations, family, and institution of the society).On the individual plan, once interiorized the patriarchal model of relations continues to further reproduce itself, because through such a process an individual again confirms that her/his original value system is correct, good, socially acceptable and desirable.Therefore, women's life inside this contradiction not only brings frustrations originating from the social inequality inside the sphere of privacy, but also brings pacifying feeling of social acceptance inside the sphere of most intimate relations (friendly, family and partner) but also a certain personal satisfaction originating from internal feelings of interiorized harmony.For example a woman in the late 1970s wrote: "Women from the generation that I belong to were given a chance to be educated, to be active, to develop and to improve.What she has left to her was her natural role to give birth and inherited comprehension to carry the main burden of raising descendants, to create the home and cozy nook for the family from my generation in conditions of equality is still number one for cleaning and tiding up, cooking and ironing.She is even interested in handicrafts, sewing and watering of plants."("Even woman is a human being." Bazar, 12.04.1979.)One thing is sure, Bazar ascertains this contradiction and often, through its responses to readers' letters, confirms its existence, but essentially never (except at the institutional level) endangers it, nor does it promote the possibility of a different life, at least not within the framework of Yugoslav society.It seems that, even though dedicated to women, and in spite of already quoted statements of editors-in-chief about the magazine's conception that aimed to encourage women to step out of the imaginary frame of their own social and personal lives (inside the political system, by formulating authentic female political positions, in the field of education, to use different benefits offered by the socialist system for those who want additional education or to continue education parallel with work, inside the sphere of work, to undertake different jobs which were traditionally considered as male), on the individual plan Bazar does not clarify the real reasons for such a condition neither it searches a possible way out from the rather complicated and exhausting practice of everyday reality in which women live.Through this everyday reality are refracted different requests originated from the various layers of women's identity (society, local community, family or individual).Paradoxically, instead of acting as an institution (which it is in a certain way), and trying to problematicize traditional stereotypes about gender and to promote a hegemonic model of gender roles that overcomes them, it, as far as this theme is concerned, induces the position of an individual woman caught in the trap of the local cultural contradiction of her own gender construct that divides her life into private (where still exists a patriarchal normative system) and public (regulated by the positive legal socialist norms).Bazar, as well as women themselves, does not question about the interiorized content of the socializing messages about the female gender, and continues to reproduce patriarchal models of behavior that form the deepest (historical) layer of hegemonic female gender role construct.This what Bazar promotes in 1970s.
In sampled articles related to partner's relationships from 1970s, there is a clear intention by the editorial office to educate and to emancipate their readers from the standards of patriarchal common law, which was still dominant within their intimate relations.The editorial office tried, on one hand, by a specific treatment of this kind of topics, to inform its female readers about global trends bringing changes into the quality of relations between partners, and on the other hand, to encourage women to oppose restricted traditional practice and to motivate them to open the space for their own social and personal needs.
The article It is much worse for him (Bazar, 13.09.1979),which Bazar took from the German magazine Petra, speaks about men in Germany, who had, due to different socio-economical reasons, decided to take the role of traditional housewife in their own families.Except for the editorial title, which brings the article closer to the local patriarchal picture, the text itself supported ideas of decentralization, by the traditionally set up, natural division of labor (Marx), inside which existed clear specification and socio-status borders within which the members of different, male and female, gender groups were moving.Contrary to the previous article, the text Jokes and men's vanity -why do we divorce (Bazar, 13.09.1979)treats the problem of one locally married couple.The sympathies of the article author were no doubt on the side of a woman whose husband was preventing her from continuing further education.At the beginning, a discrete disagreement with the traditional pattern became open and critical after his statement: "After all, I don't need a wife who is going to be my boss…" The author ends the article with the words of the judge who divorced this couple: "I had to divorce this couple and to describe it as a violation of rights and duties of marriage equality.When we get married, we acquire rights but duties and obligations as well.It is the right of each spouse to develop and enrich their own personality, to learn and progress while the duties of other spouse is to help and support and encourage him/her to succeed." Although it is clear from the above that Bazar revived the problem of patriarchal domination of partners' relations inside the Yugoslav society, at the same time it assumed that the social institutions rested on a different cultural system, believing that they (institutions) always acted in favor of society and its (female) members.

Work conditions
In the seventies Bazar systematically depicted the conditions under which women worked, it encouraged a dialogue and initiated an exchange of women's experiences and opened suitable columns.In a sample of our research of 1979 there are two articles: Where and how you eat (Bazar, 13.09.1979)and One request in front of the constitutional court of Serbia -Pensioners by the force of law (Bazar, 12.04.1979).The first represents part of a questionnaire done in the work canteens.The journalist investigated how women achieved their right to a "hot meal" during work.Numerous readers sent in their articles for this column, which was a proof that the editorial office had managed to chose topic which aroused their interest and to establish active communication with them.The second article insisted on right of female university professors to an equally long opportunity to work as in the case of their male colleagues.As they had invested into their education, specialization, sub specialization time equal to their male colleagues, the female university professors did not see the reason why should they be discriminated in relation to men in an equal professional positions.Bazar supported this female guild request.
In the 1970s and 1980s, on the plan of interpersonal relations "the matrix of equality" materialized in the socialist paradigm of general human equality and the ideological concept of gender equality that originates from it.It dominated the Bazar media construct of hegemonic female gender role.Regretfully, in its practical application it received the outlines of "ignorance of diversity" rather then establishing of authentic qualitatively new relations between sexes, covering the existing gender inequality with a veil of general human equality.Special attention is paid to the right and opportunity for women to perform different kinds of jobs, even those traditionally considered as "men's jobs".An article Gentle fingers grind the metal (Bazar 20.12.1979) testifies to this.The Bazar interviewee, a metal-grinder, says: «-I don't praise myself, but I have improved fast.I gain speed and skills.My wish to persevere, to prove that I can, was my most important biggest wish.» (Bazar 20.12.1979, article: Gentle fingers grinder the metal) Inside this construct a woman "can" do everything: be employed and take care of the family, be successful at work, a good mother and housewife.The organic unity of these spheres (professional and family) as presented in Bazar's construction of women's life, result in the construct of hegemonic female gender role of "superwoman", one who successfully fulfills all these demanding and quite often contradictory demands of different gender subroles (roles within different gender regimes).The woman who can manage to fulfill these social demands will be highly valuable within public discourse.Because of that many women present themselves as a successful performers of the Superwoman role.In that sense should be understood the words of Mirjana Vukoicic, an actress in Belgrade's National theatre: «But when I work, when I want something, then that's it... Maternity, raising children -it's a beauty!Something so personal, important, I would a say joy and obligation that belongs to every woman... for example "mystification" about pregnancy, I did not feel "ill" at all.Three months before the birth of my daughter Jelena and I traveled to Russia.I played...the baby was born in spring just prior to the end of last season, and then again at the beginning of this season I continued to play.»(Bazar 12. April 1979, Mirjana Vukoičić) The ideologically chanted ode to work and maternity, and the role of woman in socialism, as a rule, never opened the questions that women meet in a real life: where and with whom do I leave the child during the working hours or business trip?How do I adjust work demands with family life, wishes and fantasies with actual ability?

Social issues
Interviews from the seventies generally include statements/responses from interviewed persons who present themselves as ordinary people who have usual/'normal' problems, and who share the same/similar memories as the majority of readers in one particular historical moment.
This strategy of public self-legitimization is visible for example in the stories where Bazar interviewees speak about their growing-up.In these stories they, as a rule, insist on the similarity of their personal experience to the experience of other society members.
«I lived on the social margin of life, in a good healthy family.Everything was simple and modest.Among the friends and neighbors who were similar to us.» (Bazar 20.12.1979, Duško Radović) The theme of poverty is the other example of this strategy.Within it is not presented or perceived as an obstacle, but to the contrary, by narrating part of these personal histories of the 1970s, the interviewees of Bazar frequently insist on family happiness, which amortizes the consequences of a meager life.«Father's salary as a municipality clerk was small, we lived a meager life but we were happy.»(Bazar 13.09.1979, Bora Spuzic Kvaka) or the atmosphere of exotic adventure that paints a life of poverty with the imaginative color of excitement.
«My friend Nedeljko Kangrga, who is now a surgeon in Belgrade, a "city" child from Otocac, exchanged his bread rolls for my brown, homemade bread.He had a colorful ball, books, a bicycle but I had a horse, two dogs, and my hidden boat on the river Gacka.»(Bazar29.03.1979, Arsen Diklić) Personal traits of modesty, sincerity and empathy were highly socially appreciated.

"Frustrated Superwoman": Introduction to the time of crises and transformation
The death of Yugoslav President Tito in 1980 symbolically opened a new chapter in the history of Yugoslavia.The contradictions in the socialist system in the postwar period led to the successive accumulation of economic problems and their escalation in the 1980s.In that period it became apparent that the Yugoslav state was not capable of handling its increasing debt.The political elite tried to amortize the consequences of "long term instability" by the "long term program of economic stabilization" which did not give significant results.In this, on one hand, same socialist institutional framework, and on the other hand significantly changed social circumstances, appeared a new subtype of hegemonic gender role of Superwoman -Frustrated superwoman.The main characteristic of this hegemonic type is that its/her value system did not undergo a larger change, in contrast to the world around her.The changed reality brought new social rules of living and behaving to which she should accommodate her personal and social wishes and expectations as well as her everyday practices.The gap resulted from the incompatibility between wishes and fantasies derived from the socialist value system from previous decades and the possibilities that everyday reality offers to women in 1980s, resulted with strong feeling of deprivation and frustration.

The escape from the political
Unlike the 1970s when Bazar's editorial office pay significant attention to socially desirable idea of women's political emancipation, on one hand by educating women how to think politically, and on the other hand by encouraging them to apply that knowledge and take active part in the political sphere, in 1980s Bazar simply gave this up and moved the focus of its interest away from political.
The disturbing and, as it looked to the political actors of that time, unsolvable economic situation opened a door to the escalation of political problems (particularly to growing inter-republic nationalism).This resulted in the almost complete "political" withdrawal of Bazar and its giving up political topics, or at least their serious discussion.
In the 1980s Bazar's columnist was Bogdan Tirnanic.In the research sample there were two texts: Serbian lover (Bazar, 04.09.1987), and Man's dream (Bazar, 25.12. 1987).In his column Notes of the middle-aged pervert Tirnanic thought about social problems.The title of the column announced a less serious "amusing" approach to the theme.In contrast to the column by Jug Grizelj from 1970s, where he was trying to give real political dimensions to small themes, Tirnanic chooses to make an amusing story from the serious subject by devaluating its real political meaning.For example, in his text Man's dream Tirnanic treats the phenomenon, as he indicates in the subtitle, of "how the poverty has negative impacts over erotic standards" by moving focus from the poverty to a misogynist fantasy about the universal connection between poverty and aesthetic ideal volume of female body.
"Hey man, two-meter woman!This could not have been seen even in the circus «Adria»...I finally discovered that my weakness for big fat women was the fact that I spent all my life in poverty...After all, woman is always the victim of man's illness, and every man's illness has as an aim to destroy what is the best in woman -her diversity.Now it becomes clear that some form of aggressive feminism is the consequence of man's illness.And it is all poverty's fault".(Bazar, 25.12.1987, Man's dream/ Muški san)

Moving toward the women's movement
The escape from the topics related to the state politics and societal political strategies Bazar tries to compensate by introducing the topics which women's movement opened within public (global and local) discourse(s).However the Bazar's relationship toward women's movement is in many ways ambiguous.On one hand Bazar opened certain question, which have been introduced into the public discourse through the activities of women's movement.On the other hand, it published articles, which are in complete disharmony with the previous ones.
In the 1980s Bazar showed, for the first time, an interest for the themes initiated by the women's movement, which are related to the actual moment.In the sample of researched magazines from 1987 we find three texts of such kind.More abortions: disturbing appearance (Bazar, 03.04.1987); Fewer female Egyptians in parliament (04.09.1987);Nightmare as reality -I was a "white slave " (25.12. 1987).
The first text (More abortions: disturbing appearance, Bazar, 03.04.1987) treats the problem of abortion by opening the discussion about possible reasons for the sudden growth of abortions in Yugoslavia.The text follows two courses of monitoring the problem.In the first part of the text, Bazar's journalist records the stories of women of different education, age and social status who met in Belgrade Gynecological hospital (one of the hospitals where this kind of intervention is done) and about the reasons why they had decided to have an abortion.In the second part, the discussion with the doctor specialist, the director of the Gynecological hospital tried to point out to the possible social reason and indicated possible directions of social action that could help to reduce the consequences of the abortion on woman's health.
"One of the reasons for the great number of abortions is, that sometimes there are not enough different contraceptive means in pharmacies -says Dr. Zeljko Zivanovic, director of the Gynecological hospital at Narodnog Fronta Street in Belgrade.However, the main reason is a sudden decline of standards, unemployment of the parents and the unsolved housing problem'' (Bazar, 03.04. 1987) The central theme of the text Fewer female Egyptians in the Parliament (Bazar, 04.09.1987) was about a drastic reduction in the number of women in the Egyptian Parliament after the last parliamentary elections.The text, on the sample of Egyptian society, opened the problem of discriminating relations toward women in public functions.
"They think that they are offering us equality and more positions in the parliament, but instead our number has been cut to the half'' -says the women representative in the Madglis Al-shab.There are only 18 of them among 443 representatives while in the previous session there were 33...One of the commentators said ''when the Muslim brothers'' as a leading opposition joined the parliament, it was clear that the women would have to leave.''(Bazar, 04.09. 1987

, Fewer female Egyptians in parliament)
The third text talked about the destiny of a woman from Yugoslav area who went through the experience of sex trafficking.Although not explicit, all three texts de facto represent the support of the women's movement requests.
However, in spite of the fact that Bazar introduced this kind of topics, it had been publishing, in the same time, the articles which were completely opposed to the basic ideas of the women's movement.
A good example of that is the article dedicated to the "case" of a woman who won a court case against her common law husband who used to beat her badly.
The story about domestic violence was wrapped in local provincial color of spells, fraud and double moral standards, which blunted social sharpness and an explicit verdict in partners' relations.Central theme in the articles of 1970s was insisting on social justice and the adequacy of the institutional system.Contrary to that in the 1980s the position is changed.In the focus of interest coming the exclusive, the unusual and the special.In particular example this contributes of loosing the real theme (domestic violence) inside the theme that may have a wider social meaning.

Family
Traditional patriarchal matrix of relation between sexes is still present in the articles from the eighties, but in a certain way becomes relative by implementing ideas that it is socially acceptable to retreat from the matrix in some special cases.For example in the article Yes or no: Unmarried mother.Two is enough for happiness, a Bazar journalist talks to a woman who decided to have an 'illegitimate' child.She says: «I don't claim that what I have done is the best, and that it is a model that other should follow, but for me that was the only correct solution.» (Bazar 20.03.1987, article: Yes or no: Unmarried mother.Two is enough for happiness) Although intimately aware of her decision, this woman had a need to interpret her case as the exception that "confirms the rule" that for children's wellbeing it is best to grow up in a family with both parents, rather then to raise the question.
With Yugoslav society entering the period of crisis in 1980s with a decreased budget for the system institutions, this picture drastically changed, bringing consequently changes in the editorial approach to the theme of parents-children relations.In a sample magazine of 1987, we find the article Ray of hope (Bazar, 20.03.1987) which dealt with parents facing the problem of their child suffering from a very serious and rare disease.Yugoslav medical institutions had no qualified personnel to treat the child.The only hope for the sick child was to continue treatment in Switzerland in the hospital specialized for this kind of sick patients.Regretfully, the parents had no means to finance the treatment, neither did they receive financial support from the Health Department.They also didn't know whether they would receive financial support from the Health Department at all.The author of the article ended the text by quoting the account number into which readers might send the funds necessary for the child's treatment.The tone of the article in regard to the institutions of the system was undoubtedly condemning the sense of their inefficient procedure in extraordinary situations, and which because of their specific character must be treated in an unusual way.Bazar tried to miti-gate dramatic consequences of the stated inadequate institutional treatment of the said child by initiating the action to help the sick child and his family under their own patronage.Because of everything quoted in it and the fact that their protagonists are citizens of Yugoslavia this article represents a drastic step from the "laic" discourse of non-questioning the assumption of regularity of God-Society.The distrust of the seventies was transformed into the knowledge of the eighties.The society slowly lost its divine attributes by realizing that it was not able at every moment and at any price to take care of the well being of its members.

Work
In contrast with the sampled articles from the 1970s in which interviewees measure success by the amount of personal satisfaction with the job they perform, implying that everyone has or could have a job, in the 1980s, with entering of Yugoslav society into the crises, the personal initiative to provide individually a job became highly valuable.
A good example of this is the article Take the knitting needles and knit -success of the knitters from Niksic (Bazar, 25.12.1987).It speaks about a group of women and their business initiative.It connected success and the revival of traditional women's skills.The parameters of success were quality, deadline, and small investments.The work of knitter was done by women with university degrees, Masters of Science, and professors.The most important fact is that they got paid for their work.Although in the article the economic crisis, unemployment and lack of money were not explicitly mentioned, it is clear that the women felt the crisis and that they were forced to earn a living, parallel with their regular jobs and certain degrees of qualification, by doing jobs below their qualifications to help their families to maintain a certain living standard.A second article speaks about a woman who invented a job for herself and who made her living out of it.By connecting her love for old jewelry and the artistic skills she recognized inside herself, she began making silver copies of old jewelry and in that way earned money.The mentioned articles bear witness to the time of crisis, where society was no longer able to guarantee employment for its members, even a job below the job seekers achieved level of school qualification.In such a society personal initiative and skillfulness as well as readiness to do and change job, becomes a highly respected commodity.
To be career-woman is still highly socially appreciated.However the optics of Bazar's editorial policy is moving from the prevalent socially to the primarily personal one.The article: Profession: metal grinder: I love my job (Bazar 03.04.1987) offering us a picture of micro-environment of its main heroine-metal grinder.The main focus of the article's author is the search for the internal motives of the main heroine in her engaging in this (for a woman) exotic profession.
«All this time Bojana Strizek travels daily by the factory bus from Nova Pazova to Zemun.Her working day begins at four o'clock in the morning, when she gets up.However, she says that she is not tired and says: I love my job and I am simply sorry that I will have to retire soon.»(Bazar 03.04.1987, article: Profession: metal grinder: I love my job)

Social issues: Poverty
Following the beginning of the Yugoslav crisis, Bazar necessarily had to change the approach regarding the theme of poverty.In a sampled magazine from 1987 there were a couple of articles which brought in the subject of poverty into the reality of Bazar's readers: How much does it cost to have a baby.(Bazar, 20.03.1987.)and Quarrel over money (Bazar, 04.09.1987.).However, in these magazine issues we find also two strange texts that explain the bizarre economic circumstances inside of which two families live.Here is offered to a reader quite a contradictory picture regarding this issue: Under the same roof -five generations (Bazar, 04.09.1987.)and Expensive custom -A billion heavy dowry (Bazar, 20.03.1987.).
In the eighties, interviewees did not retreat from the ideological matrix of "equality", with the difference that the time of crisis brings a possible confrontation with the idea that poverty may not remain a fact from the past, but can become possible theme of the future.The romantic discourse of an adventurous life in poverty that have dominated the articles in the 1970s gave way to less romantic memories of the difficult life in the post war period, where poverty significantly marked the lives of Yugoslav citizens.
«Even after the war, it happened that I could not go out in the rain as I did not have shoes.The winter coat I got in 1954.Till then I wore two or three sweaters and the brigadier canvas shirt on top... » (Bazar 25. December 1987:10, Sinisa Pavic)

"Escapist woman": The years of war and destruction
The processes which shook the former Yugoslav state (economic crisis, political instability and with it connected growing nationalism within different ethnic and confessional communities) in the 1980s, escalated in 1990s.The fall of the Berlin wall and collapse of socialism on the global scene accelerated already existing destructive trend of societal decomposition to which former Yugoslav society was exposed.The production was stagnating, economic problems were growing, as well as the political and social instability.Yugoslavia made a jump from a low crisis phase to its acute form.Within public discourse there were fewer and fewer discussions about the economy and less and less interest in it.Public and political attention was focused on imagined questions of "national interest", "historical justice" or "historical rights", all being stuffed with emotions, frequently contradictory, dragging the thoughts of citizens from existing problems to the virtual ones.This opened the way for collective virtual escapist project of simulation (Baudrillard, 1985) that dominated in the lives of the citizens of former Yugoslav region for more than a decade.
The simulation of life was developing on two levels mutually interconnected -on personal and societal one.The unbearable societal conditions, which dramatically changed everyday life practices of the citizens, produced the effect of simulation whose function was to compensate the attack of everyday reality to the personal lives of its protagonists.This resulted with different individual escapist projects that, by allowing individual to live within the reality which had no strong (or any) connection with disturbing social circumstances, helped the individual to survive them.
«She says, that she is never tires of watching everything through rose-tinted glasses... when I go to the town and I see the prices or hear something that could upset me, I immediately try to protect myself.I remember some poem of Desanka Maksimovic or some other, to me very dear poet.I always recite, even when I iron, or cook or clean the house.»(Bazar 09.04.1993, article: Verses as a way of defense) By choosing not to live within, from the individual point of view, unsolvable societal situation and not in relation with it, many individuals opened a space for their own (non-political) personal needs and desires.On societal level, this social trend of individual withdrawal from the public and personal confrontation with causes that led to the societal situation perceived as unbearable one, contribute to formulation of the 'salvation' strategy that resulted in the collective psychotic project of simulation (Jaric, 2003) in which the whole society participated.
The frustration came from discrepancy between personal expectations shaped by interiorized socialist value system and decreased societal (institutional) possibilities in the time of crisis, which immanently determined the Bazar's construction of the hegemonic female gender role in 1980s disappeared in 1990s.Paradoxically the hegemonic female gender role, which was promoted by Bazar in the 1990s, established internal balance (in 1980s lost but in 1990s again found).However, this time not through the dialog with the society and its institutions, like Bazar suggested in 1970s, or through the personal initiative which does not endanger already established social order by improving personal life of individual, but rather through withdrawal from them into virtual escapist reality that offers security of certainty.For the purposes of this research I will name it "Escapist woman".
In that way the main characteristic of hegemonic type of female gender role promoted by Bazar in 1990s became the escapist relation toward everyday reality and its social dimensions.In the following analysis I will point out to some of the characteristics of these relations.More precisely I will look at the way how Bazar's construct of hegemonic female gender role relates to the political issues and different social topics.

Marginality of political
The most obvious escapism in Bazar's construct is the one related to political issues.Bazar's strategy related to political issues is either to avoid them or to minimize their real social meanings by their presentation in humorous form.
Although in the 1990s Serbia was directly involved in five war conflicts, only one text from 1993 was dedicated to the theme of war; and again only one text from 1999 was dedicated to the nonviolent solution of conflict.Bazar's ignoring the war theme was a reliable sign that the editorial office was avoiding facing the growing problem of society and that the area in which Bazar performed had acquired more virtual than real signs.
For the first time in 1993 the political column was written by a woman, Bazar journalist, Radmila Jolovic.In spite of my research expectations, that she would have more (female) gender-oriented approach to the interpretation of actual problems, her "political column" did not retreat from the already established standards, such as writing from the non-gender point of view (both in1970s and 1980s) or moving from real political interpretations of current political courses (1980s).
At the beginning of the 1990s (1993) Radmila Jolovic wrote a column Joke aside in a similar "amusing" manner like Bogdan Tirnanic in 1980s, but without misogynist excesses.There are two of her texts in the sample, Starving mechanism (Bazar, 09.04.1993) and Down to the last DEM (Bazar,10.09.1993.).The focus of her political column is moved toward satire that, by having in mind the majority of texts and the concept of Bazar, makes that the messages of these texts lose their social and critical sharpness.
«We live in a time of war and hunger when nobody sensible thinks of joining a «kolo» [a national dance] not because it is not time for joy but primary because it is not a time to waste energy.Those who do not believe this journalist can make a simple calculation themselves: half an hour of dance will use the energy that can be regained by; one steak (200gr = 800 calories), sauerkraut (250g r = 70 calo-ries), cheese 100gr = 300 calories), brown bread (two slices = 200 calories), pear (150gr = 85 calories).Well, now you can see how much it will cost you if you incautiously join the «kolo».(Bazar, 09.04.1993, page.13)Taking distance from the women's movement The ambiguous and in many ways problematic relation toward the ideas of women's movement and their application to local circumstances continued in the 1990s as well.
In the sample from the nineties only one text deliberates from the perspective of the women's movement, even though the women's movement in the nineties was stronger then ever before in the sense of political activity.Different women's non-governmental organizations were active in a wide spectrum of social, gender marked activities, such as: violence against women, securing of legal right such as the right to abortion, confrontation against the war, hate and nationalism.Out of numerous demonstrations, and public polemics, Bazar records only one -a protest by Belgrade Women's lobby "Do not allow abortion ban'' ( Bazar, 26.03. 1993).
In spite of the fact that this text found a place in the Bazar, the rest of the sample confirms the firm editorial position which systematically avoided introducing topics connected with the activities of women's movement.The reason for this should be looked for in the fact that in 1990s the women's movement was a core from which were originated the first protests against the war, politics of hate, intolerance, and nationalism related to the events within the area of the former Yugoslav state.
I argue that, in the concrete Serbian political milieu, introduction and giving a space to the women's movement activities within magazine could be understood as an indirect political support to the anti-regime activities and confrontation with the irrational, pre modern, political discourse which in 1990s somehow managed to get the support of the Bazar's publishing house Politika.In light of these facts, it is not necessary to further interpret a decision made by the editorial staff to avoid and take distance from certain facts by downgrading their serious political meaning.Good examples of such a pattern of thinking can be found in the texts: El dorado for the bridegrooms (Bazar, 10.09.1993, page. 15), Thirty important years (Bazar, 07. 03. 1997, page 16-17), Phenomenon: Return of blondes -Version for the end of the century (Bazar, 04.04. 1997, page 8-9).
For example text, El dorado for the bridegrooms, from Tanjug's correspondent in Bucharest, conceals in its title hidden intention of the editorial office to downgrade the actual meaning of the theme which this texts opened -sex trafficking.This, very euphemistic title, of otherwise very good and informative text about the social dimension of the problems which sex trafficking introduces into the public discourse, actu-ally leaves the reader in a state of total ignorance about the actual theme of the text that follows.
Clumsy attempts of Bazar journalists to make a cross-cut overviews of women's history without real research work in 1990s, resulted with articles like Thirty most important years that treated 'female beauty' and its societal perception as the main core of women's social existence.In this article Bazar observed women as historical subjects only through their appearance.As the relevant moments in the history of women it notes: throwing away her bra, accepting thong panties, accepting muscles as a form of female beauty... Individual deliberations by Bazar's journalists about certain cultural phenomena through the historical perspective in order to fill the gap caused by taking distance from the women's political themes did not bring results.The text Version for the end of the century: Return of blondes (Bazar, 04.04. 1997, page. 8-9) represents such an attempt.
The central theme of that text was to investigate the myth of the 'pretty, dumb blond', stereotype and models of behavior shown through the details from the lives of different well-known blondes who lived during the XX century.What is missing in this text is a critical distance in regard to the relations of stereotype construct and contextual understanding of the historical dynamics of transformation of this myth.Very indicative are those parts that relate to blondes from this region.What is specific in the local mythical construct myth about the 'pretty dumb blonde' is the medium inside which this myth was cherished.
"A myth of PSB in this region was not cherished by the film -but by the pub...Only with the appearance of Lepa Brena did we start to talk about this myth.''

Family
In the articles from the seventies, the latent presence of patriarchal discourse which protrudes through manifest socialist equality, experiences transformation into a unique kind of constructed traditionalism of the nineties, which in the period of transformation of Yugoslav/Serbian society endeavors to establish imagined (forcibly interrupted by socialist taking power) historical continuity with the "authentic" past (see Historical considerations).In interviews from the 1990s Bazar interviewees often speak about, real and constructed, memories of childhood by which they position/identify themselves inside the public discourse insisting on their own 'authentic' bourgeois origin and education, «-I received my traditional education from my grandmother Danica, my father's mother, who regretfully is no longer alive.She completed a Viennese school for girls, the Terezianum, in the piano section.She took ballet, piano and guitar lessons, she gave me advice on how to behave.She taught me everything nice in life.From her I inher-ited the habit of going to concerts and opera.This is probably why I never went to a rock concert.»(Bazar 6.09.1996, article: Happiness arrived from Peru); continuity in regard to religion which originates from family traditions and family practices that have survived in spite of the socialist mainstream, «What I can gladly recall are my trips over the weekend to Dobanovci to my grandfather, my mother's father.He was a Solunac [a soldier from Thessalonica], went over Albania, he kept the tradition and was responsible for my attitude toward Orthodoxy. » (Bazar, 26.03.1993.Article: Rider on the light beam); or their own life that materialize, a newly composed transformational provincial fantasy about life with established continuity with an imagined past.A middle-age woman, Serbian emigrant in USA, whose husband gained a certain reputation (professional and with it connected financial), Bazar presents her/their life in their new homeland for the readership of their native country in the following way.«...house of our host smells of something, something, homemade...Not only because she keeps and accepts as a relic every gift from her old home and there is so much of this.More than that, she has kept the spirit of our old bourgeois housewives, who paid so much attention to the beauty of the drawing rooms where they received guests for The Slava and family feasts.»(Bazar 07.03.1997:Difficult journey to the truth) In contrast to the harmonious model of inter-relation between family and society, in which social institutions support family members to stay together, which is, more or less, the same in 1980s, in 1990s the quality of this inter-relation is dramatically changing.A harmonious relation between them is transforming in opposition among them.In order to preserve itself in a society of disorder, family has to confront it.The only chance for family to stay total, according to Bazar's media construct of HFGR, is to set up its inter-group (family) cohesion against the social anomie which determines life of Yugoslav/Serbian society.The examples of that could be found in following text: The article United agency (Bazar, 31.12.1993)speaks about a family company fighting for its future in spite of an unstable market environment without defined rules.The internal family cohesion enables this family to oppose the social chaos (hyperinflation -see Historical considerations and Historical map of the important events in attachment) that surrounded them and secured their own existence.
Similar message is covered by the text Record in troubles -Family for the Guinness (Bazar, 04.04.1997), but the story is located in a slightly changed social picture.The text lights up the problems of a four-member family living in a 3,5 square meters of living space.Harmonious relations between family members made their life bearable even in these extremely difficult and socially absolutely unacceptable conditions.
The most consistent idea about the family which represents shelter and the core from which we draw energy in moments when there is nothing else left I found in the text Nor in the sky, neither on the earth, (Bazar, 29.03.1999.),published five days after the NATO air strike in 1999).In spite of the fact that the crisis caused significant changes in the social and economic status of the general population and consequently in families and the relations between its members (the fall of individual and social standards; the increase of poverty, especially in urban areas and families with children; uncertainty and lack of perspective…) the authoritative conversationalists of Bazar (psychiatrists, psychologists, university professors and well-known therapists) still saw the family as an oasis that amortizes the consequences of disturbing social circumstances.
"The family has the role of to postponing the effect of some tight, unpleasant, negative social situations."(Bazar, 19.03.1999,Nor in the sky, neither on the earth).
In the anomic12 society of uncertainty and lack of perspective, where people are trying to secure the elementary existence of their families, it should be taken into consideration that this very important family cohesion is secured.
«Families that "have managed better", have usually totally uncritically accepted the confused values and kitsch that surround us, parents are working hard and are absent from home, therefore have no insight into what happens to their children.» (Bazar, 19.03.1999,Nor in the sky, neither on the earth) The common link of all articles from the nineties is that they do not establish a correlation between the theme they treat and the social context.For example, when they talk about relation with the partner they usually limit the content of the message to a recommendation, or advice and the location of the text in the imaginative space of the fictitious "partnership" which is totally socially decontextualized (for example Disharmony is the salt of life (Bazar 09.04.1993);Mum's sons (Bazar, 10.09.1993),The art of living -Love discovery (Bazar 06.09.1996),What is fidelity to you (Bazar, 06.09.1996);Love instead of pills (Bazar, 03.09.1999).
"…. Love as well needs care: at least two or three times a week forget your problems and devote only to yourself and to your partner."(Bazar 03.09.1999.Article: Love instead of pills) In the 1990s Bazar's interest for social dimension of family relation between parents and children almost completely faded away.It moved toward topics which are dealing with internal family dynamic of relations between parents and their descen-dants.Example of such articles are Education of children: to know and to endure (Bazar, 04.04.1997), Teenage problems (Bazar, 07.03.1997) and Life on a seesaw (Bazar, 26.03.1993).
"…The special 'parenthood enemy' is the feeling of guilt that inevitably follows a divorce.Due to such feeling parents may be either too mild, indulgent and compassionate, or too strict, because, they wrongly think, to have suddenly become both mother and father."(Bazar 04.04.1997.Article: Education of children: to know and to endure)

Work
In contrast to the articles from the seventies and eighties where positive success was located in the real space of concrete Yugoslav society, the articles from the nineties situate their themes by stepping outsidethe geographic borders of the Yugoslav state, on one hand (Paris meetings, Bazar, 06.09.1996.and Ladies from the cover page, Bazar, 07.03.1997.), and the temporal limits of the present, on the other.They look for signs of some better future, which will come in spite of the fact that it is not clear when.(Professions of the future, Bazar, 27.12.1996.).
Although the only text which speaks about the circumstances in Yugoslav society in a magazine´s sample from the nineties The house of initiative (Bazar, 24.12.1999.), it could also be described as a projection of what should be done rather than a list of what had been done.It seems that the world of work from the seventies and eighties, in the nineties had moved into the world of fantasy.
In the nineties, the number of articles, which deal with the topic of working conditions, rapidly grew.However, contrary to the texts from the 1970s, most of these articles could be classified as recommendations, or what the editorial office would call "useful advice for the work you do".The career -the rule of the game, kindness during probation work, appearance in the office, recognizing fatigue, work traps, watch how you sit, and how to make a team are some of the subjects that these articles dealt with.The great concentration of these kinds of article in nineties should be interpreted with changes in social and economic circumstances, which determined the work process.The transfer from the socialist self-management economy of market type (see Historical consideration) to a liberal market economy brought many innovations into the economic system and the rules of behavior inside it.Some of these advice items were addressed to readers with an intention to inform them of new circumstances and to help them find their way.
"… In the contemporary society, no matter what characteristics, knowledge and abilities one has, the individual can hardly contrast the well composed and coordinated team… Numerous experiences of big and successful world companies have shown the necessity of accepting the practice of teamwork."(Bazar 19.03.1999.Article: How to compose the team?)However, the largest part of these "advice/recommendations" was more cosmetic than informative in nature.
"…Clothes, hairstyle, makeup and jewelry are very important details that may influence indeed what kind of impression will you leave on your colleagues and collaborators."(Bazar 06.09.1996.Article: Your image in the office) Instead of explaining and informing readers about new economic relations and workers right, Bazar concentrated on marginal themes -how to dress in a particular situation, how to make-up in different work occasions, how to organize your worktable and similar.
Only one article from the nineties speaks about a serious, work-related issuesexual harassment at work.Bazar chose to present this topic through the prism of, not so common, profession of models and photo models.The article (Scandal in the world of modeling -Dark side of the popular profession, Bazar 24.12.1999)speaks about the sexual harassment of young models in the "Elite" agency by its directors.In spite of the fact that Bazar introduced this topic, it seems that the way in which it is introduced do not provide adequate treatment of such important issue.By situating the problem in exotic world of modeling, which is far away of everyday reality of the majority of its readers, Bazar diminishes and marginalizes real social importance of this issue.Besides that, it remains unclear what was the intention of the author of this article.The former Bazar editor-in-chief who signed the article, parallel with the central theme (the scandal caused by revealing the practice of certain directors in sexually harassing the girls participating in the "Elite model-look" contest), paid the similar attention to this to convince readers that this kind of harassment did not happen at a similar contest organized by her magazine!

Society and its values
Contrary to the 1970s and 1980s, during which the interviewees, even those well known, presented their lives as similar to the lives of other ordinary people, in the 1990s their lives receive an aureole of exclusiveness.People interviewed by Bazar in the 1990s, insisted on elements which differentiated them from the majority, constructing their own life stories in a way that flattered public tastes, which in the transformation circle of shaken standards, received clear contours of the peripheral which tried to establish a connection with imagined center.Once lost continuity of development on the imagined unilinear path of development, which was broken by the new socialist order, interviewees try to re-establish the order to legitimize themselves within the public discourse as those who were not a part of socialist project, and therefore the one who are closer to imagined center.Because of that they usually insist on their bourgeois origins, personal un-affiliation to communist ideology, which they felt during the socialism as well etc.
For example an interview with opera singer Irena Zaric-Armilliato is an excellent example of such a self-presentation strategy.In the interview she reinterprets her life and particularly childhood in accordance with the new social ideological claims/demands.
«She was born in Zemun, but she spent her childhood at Dedinje, in a house with a big garden.She loved her swing where she swung from early morning, shouting loudly.She should have become a little lady with the ribbon in her hair, to play piano... » (Bazar 19.03.1999,Article: Happy crossing of destiny) The ideal of "superwoman" still exists on the pages of Bazar, few of them, mostly older women still advocate it.However, this is only an echo from the past.
«One of the very first computer specialists here is Elisaveta Dimitrijevic.She graduated as an electronic engineer, and is a well-known expert in the area of rail traffic.She has been employed in JZTP «Beograd» for more then twenty years and currently holds the position of deputy director of information.Special credit for her professional success goes to the fact that she is the mother of six children -five sons and one daughter.Elisaveta Dimitrijevic is a woman with a broad education.She speaks German and English, and she has completed high musical school -at the piano department -and her special love for chess was crowned with the title of junior champion of Yugoslavia.» (Bazar 6. September 1996:46, Article: Expert even with six children).
Contrary to the previous decades and their constructions of hegemonic female gender roles, in the 1990s Bazar gave priority to the construct of "successful woman" who has consciously decided on the career.For the first time in 1999 Bazar started a series of interviews with women who were not profiled as having "harmonious professional and family life".The best illustration of this new ideological media construct of Bazar is the article Ladies of advertisement (Bazar, 19.03.1999) which presents several directors and women who are in leading positions in marketing agencies.The characteristics of the ideal type of heroine of this construct are: good knowledge of English and other foreign languages; the ability to work for 24 hours; interest in fashion trends; regular attendance at a fitness club; the consumption of "healthy food"; and the possession of a fast car.They do not use words like husband, spouse, but when talking about their personal relations use the word friend or partner.These are some of the women who promote Bazar.They say the following things about themselves: Ana Fogt, international project leader «I hardly finish my work during office hours...I spend money on travel.»(Bazar 19.03.1999)Milica Madžgaljević.Deputy director «....she is satisfied with her earnings.She is 35, lives alone, and "suffers" typical female weaknesses -her biggest obsessions are shoes and stockings."(Bazar, 19.03.1999)Ana Stanić, project leader «She accustomed to working like a "maniac"... Ana is 29 and she has just started to live alone -she is not married.As she said, in this job there is a syndrome of woman spinster, because they are capable, self-conscious and very atypical for our area.» (Bazar 19.03.1999)Vanda Kučera, director of development and research «She is 35 and is currently trying to organize her private life.She always goes for recreation and long walk at Ada Ciganlija with her dog.»(Bazar 19.03.1999)Ivana Radan, deputy director «She is 30 years old, lives alone, speaks English and French (in her work she uses only the first language), reads a lot of professional literature, frequently travels and trails behind her the smell of Kenzo or Issei Miaki perfume.»(Bazar 19.03.1999)All of them live lives which are more similar to the lives of virtual television heroines from the popular TV series Sex and the City, then to the lives of their "Super"mothers within socialism.

Travel
In the nineties the approach to the theme of travels changes drastically.In that period of crisis and general poverty, where the majority of citizens hardly survived on incomes insufficient to cover essential needs, travel was no longer part of everyday Yugoslav life.It moved to nostalgic memories of the "normal life" that preceded the destructive wars initiated by the ethnic and religious conflicts in former Yugoslavia.With worsening living conditions, the selected destinations became exotic and geographically distant from the readers to whom are dedicated the articles 13 .In those articles there are no longer instructions about how to get to the place, nor an invitation to try something like that.The focus of description is on exotic places and cultures, friendly countries and people with whom, most likely, we will never get in touch, with strongly present the element of fantasy.
"In the country of half-breeds, mulattos, black and white people and numerous Indian tribes, people haven't forgotten to smile when they meet foreigners… Streets and parks look like flower gardens.Treetops are decorated with flowers of bright colors; there are pink and yellow acacia, and other red and purple flowers."(Bazar, April 9, 1993, Article: Panama -Volcanic crossroads of world's bridge) The articles themselves are organized in a way that doesn't open any social questions related to the society/country they talk about.The tone of these articles is superficial, impressionistic, and full of picturesque Eurocentric stereotypical motives connected to the climate.
"Torn off through jungle riots and time passing, ancient monuments stand next to contemporary buildings and seem to rush into the 21st century.Between them lives a Mexican fiesta, they drink good wine and eat piquant meals.Mexican women knit rebozo, men help the guests while the mariachi offers songs of joy and hope."(Bazar, 03.09.1999., Article: In the firework of colors and sounds) The informative-cooperating relation of Bazar in its treatment of themes connected to the travels of the seventies gives its place to discourse which is disconnected from reality (neither with the society/country that the articles speak about nor the reality of Yugoslav society to whom the article is addressed to).Floral motifs, trashy descriptions of archaeological locations and regional fauna 14 , function as a unique protective means wherein the inability to really travel is substituted by the possibility of a virtual trip.