The Ruling Discourse on Proper Womanhood in the Hungarian Parliament

Irén Annus

doi:10.2478/ipcj-2014-0001

Authors

Irén Annus Department of American Studies and Gender Studies Research Group, University of Szeged

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2478/ipcj-2014-0001

Keywords:

Hungary, political discourse, FIDESZ-KDNP coalition, gender hierarchy, proper womanhood, motherhood

Abstract

Starting with a debate in September 2012 on the incorporation of domestic violence as a distinct offence in Hungary’s new Criminal Code, the issue of gender and proper womanhood has regularly re-surfaced in statements made by ruling coalition MPs in parliamentary debates. Drawing on discourse analysis, this study investigates a selection of these statements in the context of the government’s current policy and public discourse. The paper argues that these discourses outline an essentialist model reflective of a dominant ideology that is traditional, Christian, patriarchal and heteronormative, which, by hinting at women’s accountability for certain social ills, also allows for a chain of associations that ultimately results in the subversion of the overall social status of women, dividing and marginalising them further and discrediting any claims or actions aimed at establishing a more egalitarian society in the country.

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Author Biography

Irén Annus, Department of American Studies and Gender Studies Research Group, University of Szeged

Irén Annus is an Associate Professor of American Studies and member of the Gender Studies Research Group at the Institute of English and American Studies, University of Szeged, Hungary. Her research interests include the construction and representation of social identities with a focus on gender, religion and race/ethnicity. She has given numerous conference presentations related to her academic field, published studies both in Hungary and abroad, and authored/edited three volumes. Currently she is editing a collection of studies on the impact of travel on the self-perception and cultural identity of tourists in Europe.

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