German Women's Movement of the Late 20th Century
The button above takes you to the Encyclopedia Britannica page which (incredibly briefly) glosses over general feminist history (dating back to the Seneca Falls convention) but the 5th bit of information in this archive describes the impetus, desires, and outcomes of Germany's feminist movement. With women's desires to be more than housewives, the video mentions the philosophy behind the movement: utilizing the growing socialist identity of post-war Germany to justify equal rights for women. Besides the basic human want for equality, the video describes the movement's desire to change legislation behind mothers at work and abortion. Click above to find out more!
The 20th century was a pressing time for Germany to begin with, but post war movements gained momentum in the mid to late twentieth century, the era of which Pina created in. The women's movement, for one, rallied in the 1970s as described below:
"After several decades of conforming to traditional social patterns, West German women began to demand changes. Following patterns in Europe and the United States, emancipation in the Federal Republic originated "from below," with women themselves. In the 1970s, the women's movement gathered momentum, having emerged as an outgrowth of student protests in the late 1960s (see Citizens' Initiative Associations, ch. 7). Rallying around the causes of equal rights (including the right to abortion, which was somewhat restricted in West Germany), the movement succeeded in having legislation passed in 1977 that granted a woman equal rights in marriage. A woman could work outside the home and file for divorce without her husband's permission. Divorce was permitted when the marriage partners could no longer be reconciled." (Johnson Lewis )
Like the American feminist movements of the 20th century, Germany's feminist movement stemmed from the aforementioned student revolution. As Germany was becoming more and more socialist, German women began to incorporate socialist philosophies to feminism (Schlaeger, Vedder-Shults). In addition to this, women were succeeding academically. In fact, by 1976 women became the majority of students prepared to seek higher education in Germany due to the women's education movement of the 1960s. With greater educational opportunities came benefits like child support payments while mothers were schooled. Unfortunately, it took at least another decade before the number of women enrolling in higher level institutions became equal to men's, and East Germany never quite caught up to the progress of the West. This is due in part to West German women's inclination to familial values.
"After several decades of conforming to traditional social patterns, West German women began to demand changes. Following patterns in Europe and the United States, emancipation in the Federal Republic originated "from below," with women themselves. In the 1970s, the women's movement gathered momentum, having emerged as an outgrowth of student protests in the late 1960s (see Citizens' Initiative Associations, ch. 7). Rallying around the causes of equal rights (including the right to abortion, which was somewhat restricted in West Germany), the movement succeeded in having legislation passed in 1977 that granted a woman equal rights in marriage. A woman could work outside the home and file for divorce without her husband's permission. Divorce was permitted when the marriage partners could no longer be reconciled." (Johnson Lewis )
Like the American feminist movements of the 20th century, Germany's feminist movement stemmed from the aforementioned student revolution. As Germany was becoming more and more socialist, German women began to incorporate socialist philosophies to feminism (Schlaeger, Vedder-Shults). In addition to this, women were succeeding academically. In fact, by 1976 women became the majority of students prepared to seek higher education in Germany due to the women's education movement of the 1960s. With greater educational opportunities came benefits like child support payments while mothers were schooled. Unfortunately, it took at least another decade before the number of women enrolling in higher level institutions became equal to men's, and East Germany never quite caught up to the progress of the West. This is due in part to West German women's inclination to familial values.
Pina, though she has been called a feminist, claims to have intended no political agenda in her pieces. Her desire to create stems from her need to express human emotions and relationships but the female roles in her works reflect the values of German feminism at the time (Tashiro). Women in Bausch's works are consistently strong, unique characters that are multifaceted and imperative to the narrative but also maintain their femininity. Though they have no set "roles," they are often feminine in comparison to male dancers. They are by no means lesser than their male counterparts, but they compliment each other. Both roles are equally human and their relationships consistently seem familiar but slightly off.
Take Café Muller, for example. The couple (Pina's counterpart and the first man) have a deep, multidimensional relationship. He scurries away the chairs from her path, tries to protect her from the fate that he sees in front of her, but when met in an embrace, he cannot carry her limp body. Conversely, she shuffles about in search of something, consistently laments through mourning arms gestures or doubling over a café table, but when she meets his embrace, she does not or will not connect to him. Later, when they meet again, they have a beautiful duet that devolves into slamming each other on the wall. Their relationship seems supportive and caring, but is disconnected and violent. This dynamic, to me, resembles the women's movement happening at the time: Pina's counterpart has a narrative, purpose, intent of her own and her role is just as great and compelling as every other man in the piece, much like the women's drive to be educated and earn equal rights. However, paralleling women of West Germany's familial and traditional values, the women of Café Muller do not reject their relationships with their male counterparts, but they also do not define their stories. Though Pina may not call herself a feminist or political, her works came at a time when German women's roles were transforming and the post-war generation was redefining itself. Due to the time frame, this practically makes her works inherently feminist because of her innovation and influence. She and her company gained international attention and transformed modern dance at a time when German women were becoming more and more educated and demanded their equality. Her ability to take command of an art form and cause everyone in the world to take notice makes her a feminist hero (at least to me!) |