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

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/ .