Kolářová, Marta

The paper focuses on gender aspects of creativity in everyday life and private sphere. It is based on qualitative sociological study of a segment of Czech DIY culture that emphases ecological sustainability, homemaking and care for children. The author follows Eisler and Montuori (2007) who suggest reconceptualising creativity from a gender-holistic perspective and revaluating traditional domains of women´s creativity. The author focuses on creativity in daily lives and domestic activities done mostly by women (cooking from scratch, growing own food, ecologically sustainable gardening, making homemade cosmetics, alternative healing, homebirth and home-schooling), and social aspects of creativity (women´s circles and groups in community centres that collectively make shoes by hand, sourdough bread, natural soap or felted toys). The aim of this paper is to analyse creative practices in private and social contexts using perspectives of new domesticity (Matchar 2013) and cultural creatives (Ray, Anderson 2000). New domesticity is a renewed interest in homemaking and traditional women´s work combined with DIY culture and the eco locavore movement in USA since the economic recession. Especially young women see their eco-friendly homemaking as a vocation and they reclaim domesticity as a progressive act. Cultural creatives is a segment of American society characterized by environmental values, interest in women´s and children rights, peace, alternative spirituality, personal growth, and holistic medicine. This subculture has significant participation of women. To what extent are the creative practices influenced by trends and innovations transferred from abroad or by local traditional skills in a post-socialist country?

Marta Kolářová, PhD. is a senior researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague. She studied gender studies at Sussex University (UK) and was a Fulbright Scholar at the Department of Women´s and Gender Studies at Rutgers University, USA. Her research interests include gender, lifestyles, social movements and subcultures in global and local contexts. She published a book on gender aspects of the alter-globalization movement and its relation to feminism (Protest against Globalization, in Czech, 2009), edited book on Czech music subcultures (Revolt by Style, in Czech, 2011) and published several journal articles (Feminist Review, Czech Sociological Review). Her recent book In Harmony with Nature: Lifestyle Politics, Sustainability and DIY (in Czech) is forthcoming from Sociologické nakladatelství. She also teaches qualitative research methods at Charles University in Prague.

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