Two models of the ‘authentic’ Ukrainian woman are imagined as forms of feminine reclamation in the post-Soviet era. Late twentieth-century nationalists have recreated the Berehynia as goddess of the hearth, protector of family and nation. An alternative, which Ukrainian ethnographer Oksana Kis (2005) dubs the hyper-feminine Barbie, and describes as “a pretty and expensive doll” and “a pleasant man’s toy,” is more globally-informed. The most successful Barbie is one who attracts a husband, enabling her to simultaneously act out the role of the Berehynia. Both models define the accepted ‘centre’ and unaccepted ‘margins’ of women’s citizenship in the nation-state.

Gendered ideologies are deeply implicated in constructions of and responses to alcohol addiction in western Ukraine. Problematic drinking among men is met with a sympathy that women do not enjoy. For men, addiction reveals their inherent inflexibility, an inability to adopt or adapt to a changing social, economic and political “system of priorities and values.” For women, addiction primarily signifies a conscious abandonment of the sacred duty to protect family and nation. A difference is recognized between acceptable social suffering, that which provides laudable evidence of bravery, strength and endurance (e.g., coping with a husband’s or son’s addiction), and the unacceptable social suffering of those who have “fallen,” who have not overcome their personal circumstances to embody ‘authentic’ Ukrainian femininity. Many research participants, including health care professionals, recognize little or no relationship between addiction and a “lack of self-realisation,” family problems including violence, and anxiety brought on by social and economic pressures. Rather, addiction is most often attributed to a lack of moral fortitude. Accordingly, women who become addicted to alcohol are seen to have consciously rejected the very essence of Ukrainian womanhood. As such, women are especially reluctant to “confess” and seek treatment. The presentation will examine the relationship between addiction, gender, stigma and nationalism. Focussing upon the everyday experiences of women and men who self-identify as alcoholics or recovering alcoholics, I will explore the multiple ways that women pursue healing, and simultaneously, a shift from a marginalized periphery to a moral centre.