Smoking, Gender, and Consumer Culture in Russia

October 5, 2:30pm - 4:00pm
Manoa Campus, Sakamaki A201

---

Professor Tricia Starks (University of Arkansas) will present "Right to Harm: Smoking, Gender, and Consumer Culture in Imperial Russia" as part of the History Workshop series, "Human Rights and Historical Responsibilities," and the Department of Women's Studies fall colloquium.

We may consider the right to health as a fundamental part of our human rights, but this has not been a historic principle. In the early twentieth century, when other Western advertisers only used women as bait for the male smoker, Russian manufacturers offered a number of images that linked their products to a liberal, political role for women. These images challenge the existing historiography on tobacco advertising and culture in Russia and elsewhere. Russian tobacco advertisements for women complicate scholarly studies of the Russian business community and advertising that emphasize the conservative tendencies of these industries, especially in the period up to 1905.

Additionally, this presentation balances studies of global tobacco culture that tie smoking to liberal, male political identity in the period before 1914. In Russia, posters illustrate a different story of advertising, tobacco, sex, politics, and liberation.

Event Sponsor
History and Women's Studies, Manoa Campus

More Information
History Workshop, 956-7407, histwork@hawaii.edu

---

 

Ongoing Events