While walking home from classes today, I came across a young woman with one leg. She walked with the aid of crutches. On her one foot she wore a single high-heeled shoe. It was evident that her choice of footwear left much to be desired in terms of comfort.
Most women in Russia wear high-heel shoes, regardless of the weather or the state of the sidewalks. I witnessed countless young women in Kazan, dressed in a most fashionable manner, slip and fall on the ice as they tried to balance themselves on their splendid shoes. On a number of occasions, I've expressed my surprise that women here put up with this discomfort. The usual reply I have encountered is "beauty demands sacrifices". Some have quoted Chekhov: "People should be beautiful in every way—in their faces, in the way they dress, in their thoughts and in their innermost selves." I do not understand the prevalent mentality among Russians that, at least when in comes to outward appearance, beauty trumps all other considerations - comfort, price, suitability to the climate. While writing this blog, my host mother became quite excited about the topic and explained her point of view on the subject (at great length, I might add). Perhaps my dear readers have some ideas?
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ReplyDeleteOh Rowan, I too can go for paragraphs and paragraphs on this topic. Living here in US ya "odichala", I consistently choose comfort over looks. Here is a little story, a few months back my friend came from Moscow to perform with her conservatory choir. When they went to an excursion in NYC Aleksey and I joined so we can hang out a bit. Not only the women but the men too were dressed "kak na parad" as Aleksey had put it back than. Moreover, I, with my what I think is Americanized point of view would label the men gay. There is nothing wrong with gay, don't get me wrong. Its just that man here do not have THAT many accessories! Bottom line, is that they stared at Americans in sweats and Aleksey and I stared at them like they were exotic birds...
ReplyDeleteOK, so, secretly, I do wish I had the sense of style and the patience to Spackle my face perfect every morning. Sadly though, I am out of touch. =)
Enjoy the beautiful women, keep up the posting.
Now that you mention Chekhov, the principal characters in 'Uncle Vanya' (the source of the quote on beauty) were out of touch in various ways as well and saw their lives as wasted. They were all mired in melancholy; not a happy lot. The stark contrast of a person with but one leg, hobbling about on crutches, with a single foot adorned with a high fashion shoe is poignant. The person obviously had sacrificed comfort, but how much greater the sacrifice of her other leg. Her sense of fashion and beauty is only half fulfilled? What is to become of the shoe that is not worn?
ReplyDeleteI am just laughing about the woman with one shoe. Does that make me a bad person?
ReplyDeleteI could just mirror Bela's words here, so I won't post a similar comment on the topic. Perhaps when your host mother says Siberian women are beautiful, you should think of American (Canadian?) girls and imagine them wearing similar types of outfits. Maybe they will become more beautiful in your mind :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I want to tell you my story. One of my mom's friends living in Russia commented on young people's mentality there. She said that they would rather spend everything to the last cent (kopejka :P) on their clothes and be hungry, rather than feed themselves and dress normally.
I'm not sure if he told you but Fr. Jonathan is following your blog and used the image of the woman in one high heeled shoe in his sermon last Sunday.
ReplyDeleteI also noted the "fashion at all costs" approach when I was studying in Russia. I wore hiking boots every day and my host mom was appalled. Also, where is the geographic/cultural demarcation line for fashion over function? I think it runs somewhere between Germany and France for sure. Germans wear really classy sensible shoes but in France I felt like my tennies screamed "uncultured American"!
I had the exact same question four years ago when I started my first year at KGU. I asked my friends and relatives, and this is what I gathered.
ReplyDeletePart of the reason is the Soviet past. Twenty years ago there was very little choice, and clothing stores did not exist as businesses. The Soviet Union was opposed to consumerism, which drives the free-market economy and results in a huge variety of goods in Western stores. When Russia became a free-market economy and lots of clothes stores opened up, it was a novelty.
Also, male alcoholism is a problem, as you probably noticed. Men live shorter lives, and, in general, get involved in riskier activities than women do. There are more women than men. There are many more women than non-drinking men.
We also have better defined gender roles. You mentioned that your host mother won't let you take your dishes to the sink. Of course, I don't know what your host family is like, but if you were a girl, you would be more likely to be allowed that. We are generally brought up with more defined rules of what men do and what women do. The difference in dress starts early. You can't observe schoolkids in July, but if you stood outside a school in fall, you'd see that even in first grade little girls wear girlier clothes than American kids. This is just something children generally grow up with.
This is very sad, but the Russian economy is unstable, people remember the hard times during the 1990's, when the most educated and hard-working people found themselves without work. In many places, there still isn't a stable job prospect. When skills and education are not marketable, high heels are an option (with a variety of intentions).
This is what I found out when I asked. Sorry if it's too long! Does it match what your host mother said?