Mythology of Parenthood: Analysis of Discourse Construction of Ideal Family

Abstract

Family and parenting as symbolic institutions play a primary role in the agenda behind current Russian policy-making. This article is devoted to a critical discourse analysis of official rhetoric concerning contemporary Russian family politics based on documents from the period 2006 to 2012. It identifies four basic myths which are shown to legitimise the content and mechanisms of this policy. The article positions family and care models within these mythologies, and analyses their mutual coherence. Firstly, the ‘crisis myth’ is based around the notion of a demographic crisis (i.e. low birth rates) in Russia, sidelining other contributing issues such as a high mortality rate, low standards of living, and economic instability in favour of pronatalism and an alarmist discourse which includes language such as ‘depopulation’, ‘extinction’ and ‘degradation’. Secondly, the ‘myth of instrumentalism’ positions citizens not as subject of state policy but as its instruments. It offers a wide range of disciplining practices, ranging from tightening legislation on divorce and abortion, to proposing taxes on fertile, yet childless married couples. Individuals’ bodies are given responsibility for the “survival of the nation”, and these policies are framed within concerns for national security. Thirdly, the ‘Golden Age of the family myth’ aims to return the reproductive behaviour of modern Russians to traditional values and norms characteristic of the pre-revolutionary period and of Orthodox Christianity, with an approach which idealises a mythical past. This includes the promotion of large families, strong family ties, a domestically-oriented mother who ‘keeps the home fires burning’. Finally, the ‘myth of equal opportunities’ is based on the idea of gender equality in the public sphere, and neglects issues affecting the private sphere (e.g. the family, childcare) as outside the remit of state policy. The author argues that these four mythologies aim to legitimate the clear neo-traditional character of contemporary Russian social policy, with its pronatalist tendencies and reinforcement of gender asymmetry.