Kuinka naistenlehdestä tuli osa sotapropagandaa: Naisihanteen muodostuminen ja muokkautuminen Kotiliesi-lehdessä toisen maailmansodan aikana

Abstract

This study investigates how the Finnish women’s magazine Kotiliesi built and shaped the normative ideal of a home front woman during World War II in Finland and how editor in chief Alli Wiherheimo managed the content strategy of the magazine. The subject of research were Kotiliesi magazine issues from 1939 to 1945, annual reports of Yhtyneet Kuvalehdet publishing company and private archives of key writers. The conceptual framework of this study is on one hand that of discourse theory and on the other hand gender studies. A three-discourse theoretical model has been created on the basis of the research materials: first, a discourse validating the justification of war, second, a pronatalist discourse of preserving the nation, and third, a discourse of common experience that strengthens the sacrifice-hero premise. The key figure in creating the discourse of preserving the nation was member of the magazine’s advisory board, vice chairman of Finnish Family Federation Elsa Enäjärvi-Haavio, who lobbied for a six-child family ideal. To achieve this goal, the articles rejected lengthy education and suggested young women should marry early. The message was emphasized by means of fictitious growth stories meant to inspire young women to marry invalids of war. The sacrifice-hero premise was strengthened by common experience writings of two causerists who had lost their sons in war, smallholder Impi Aronaho and writer Tyyni Tuulio, and archetypical fictitious sacrifice stories. The study shows that the meaning of the Kotiliesi magazine motto ”Home is the heart of society” shifted during World War II, and the idea of a woman’s role changed. Before the war, the magazine had given seasonal tips and instructions for homemakers, but after the war broke out, the focus shifted to supporting the war efforts. When describing the change in female identity, editor in chief Wiherheimo used a metaphor relating to the Finnish national epic Kalevala: a pre-war active member of society, Louhi, turned into Lemminkäinen’s Mother, sacrificing her son. The editorial content was clearly affected by hegemonic thought patterns in the society, the conservative Christian values of the magazine, and the writers’ view of a woman’s role in the war, based on their shared set of values. The magazine’s propagandist content was strengthened when Wiherheimo set up an advisory board in 1941, consisting of influential members of society supporting her worldview and values. Thus, Kotiliesi separated itself from the two other commercial women’s magazines, Hopeapeili and Eeva, which in their content supported an escapist, adventurous female identity.