Tune, Jane (2006) An investigation into the portrayal by the magazine Vlasta of the roles of Czech women within the public and private spheres, 1989-2000. (MA(R) thesis), Kingston University, .

Abstract

This thesis investigates Czech women's roles within their private and public spheres as portrayed in the magazine Vlasta from 1989 to 2000. It has been the longest running, most popular women's magazine since its launch in 1947. Today Vlasta appeals to a more conservative readership, women who behold motherhood and marriage as their predominant roles, rather than politics and work. Gradually Vlasta has been changing to broaden its appeal to the younger audience but, by adopting a cautious approach, the magazine has avoided alienating its older readers. By slowly introducing new topics, such as adoption and single mothers, the magazine has made attempts to be more 'liberal'. Although the great majority of topics that the magazine covers are well within the comfort zones of its older readers, this cautious approach to changihg moral standards has benefits. For Vlasta projects a circumspect overview of the shifts wrought by recent political change. It illustrates a time in the history of Czech women when the rhetoric of progress under capitalism is not translating into a universal improvement in their lives. Free market forces are jostling women themselves. Vlasta's voice can appear inconsistent, but effectively it mirrors complex contradictions in idealistic female roles. It reveals an awareness that marriage and motherhood often confer restrictive obligations that disable women from grasping the same opportunities as men in public spheres.

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