What question did this study set out to answer?

The central aim is to analyze how gendered advice literature shaped societal views on women’s bodies in interwar Romania.

May 5, 2026

Negotiating Women’s Bodies: An Artistic Exploration of Coercion and Agency in Interwar Romanian Gendered Advice Literature

Key Points

The central aim is to analyze how gendered advice literature shaped societal views on women’s bodies in interwar Romania.
Analyzed interwar Romanian gendered advice literature alongside popular music and film to explore societal perceptions.
Examined the tension between agency and coercion using works like Marthe Bibesco’s Noblesse de Robe and Aurel Voina’s Îngrijirea tenului.
Connected findings to broader themes of class and ethnicity within Romanian women’s fashion and communication.
Identified a significant relationship between gendered advice literature and changing beauty standards in interwar Romania.
Demonstrated how agency in women’s choices is often undermined by societal coercion through propaganda.
Highlighted the synesthetic experience created through blending literature with music and film, illustrating cultural dynamics.

Abstract

This paper analyzes how gendered advice literature informed societal perceptions of women’s bodies in interwar Romania, in conjunction with popular music and film. It discusses the changing understandings of beauty within a broader research project on Romanian women’s fashion choices, possibilities, and ideas. The tension between agency and coercion on a gendered voice-silence spectrum is exemplified through Marthe Bibesco’s Noblesse de Robe and Aurel Voina’s Îngrijirea tenului Skincare, blended with music and film for a synesthetic experience. Agency (voice) reflects the power of choice, encouraging self-assertion through education. Coercion (silence) signifies a lack of choice, using propaganda to disguise conformity as authenticity. The playlist includes renditions of Por una cabeza , the Romanian translation of Zaraza , Smoke Gets in Your Eyes , and Casablanca’s As Time Goes By . This multidimensional, interdisciplinary conceptual exercise connects gender dynamics through class, ethnicity, and location, contributing to a better understanding of Romanian gendered communication and culture. This article was published open access under a CC BY-ND licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/ .

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