Family Values in Advertising Discourse of Women’s Periodicals of the NEP Era

Abstract

The aim of this research is to identify the values of a family and society, reflected in advertising discourse including bibliographic advertisement on the pages of women’s periodicals of the NEP era. New empirical material is introduced into scientific circulation: texts of traditional and editorial book advertisement of non-state periodicals for women (Magazine for housewives, 1922–1926, Women’s magazine, 1926–1930). The relevance of the research is due to the necessity of studying bibliographic advertisement in women’s specialized magazines, which has not been included previously in the orbit of scientific interest. The basic research methods are historical and typological, comparative historical, methods of linguistic and textual analysis, entire overview. The authors reveal the importance of bibliographic advertisement on the pages of “Magazine for housewives” and “Women’s magazine” in process of transformation of the value paradigm in post-revolutionary Russia, reconsideration of the old and consolidation of the new gender roles of a woman in Soviet society (the wife, the mother, the housewife, the worker, the social activist). Using syncretic of their genre nature texts on the pages of Magazine for housewives and Women’s magazine actualizes genres of bookselling advertisement (annotation, price list) as well as media genres (mini-review and review, recommendation, etc.). Comparisons, lexical repetitions, superlatives of adjectives, calls to action, etc. were used as means of language suggestion in book advertisement in specialized magazines. Indication of the uniqueness of a book novelty, promise of a gift or a benefit and personalization are becoming the universal methods of book advertisement. Since the strategies tested in bibliographic advertisement of the NEP era were actively developed in the subsequent period, our results can be used in future analysis of axiological context of the Soviet advertising discourse.