Terje Toomistu
Dr Terje Toomistu is an anthropologist, a Research Fellow at the University of Tartu’s Department of Ethnology, whose prime areas of focus are gender, mobility, and affect. She received her PhD degree in Ethnology as well as two MA degrees (cum laude) in Ethnology and in Communication Studies from the University of Tartu. She has been a Fulbright Fellow at the University of California Berkeley and a visiting researcher at the University of Amsterdam, Department of Anthropology. She has also lived and studied in France, Russia, and Indonesia.
Toomistu’s major research projects cover Indonesian gender and sexuality , the late Soviet non-conformist youth and young Estonian diaspora. Her PhD thesis was about Indonesian waria (transgender women), following her ethnographic fieldwork in Java and West Papua. She has curated exhibitions in U.K., Germany, Canada, and Sweden, and given lectures and seminars at universities internationally.
Toomistu is also a documentary film-maker, making anthropologically informed documentaries and works at the intersections between art and anthropology. Her work has been featured widely in international press, including The Guardian and The Economist.
Address: Tallinn, Estonia
Toomistu’s major research projects cover Indonesian gender and sexuality , the late Soviet non-conformist youth and young Estonian diaspora. Her PhD thesis was about Indonesian waria (transgender women), following her ethnographic fieldwork in Java and West Papua. She has curated exhibitions in U.K., Germany, Canada, and Sweden, and given lectures and seminars at universities internationally.
Toomistu is also a documentary film-maker, making anthropologically informed documentaries and works at the intersections between art and anthropology. Her work has been featured widely in international press, including The Guardian and The Economist.
Address: Tallinn, Estonia
less
InterestsView All (29)
Uploads
Papers by Terje Toomistu
the most important topics of anthropology, to offer an overview of classic anthropological studies and anthropological research across the world, but also
examples from Estonia and from Estonian researchers. The textbook is written primarily with the undergraduate level in mind for students across disciplines: social and cultural anthropology, ethnology, folkloristics, cultural studies, sociology, etc.
However, it is suitable for anyone interested in learning about anthropology, including
at high school level as a supplement to social studies. The textbook has a problem-based anthropology to learning, presented in the form of questions connecting different topics and allowing students to apply their knowledge to everyday situations to learn the
necessary skills in observing and analyzing human activity. These questions
can be used for discussion in seminars, but also in written assignments
– and thinking about them enables also independent study.
Compared to most other regions in Indonesia with long histories of gender transgressive practices and identities, the emergence of waria in Papua is a fairly recent phenomenon. It counts as one of the effects of making Papua more ‘Indonesian’ since its incorporation into the state in the 1960s, followed by the government-initiated mass migration into the area. Since then, waria from neighbouring islands have moved to Papua, seeking life experience and better economic prospects. These circumstances, along with wider social change, have recently attracted an increasing number of indigenous Papuan waria to the community.
Edition 144: Apr-Jun 2021
KEYWORDS: Waria, transgender, Indonesia, beauty, West Papua, national belonging, embodiment
Abstract
While the hippie movement in Soviet Estonia manifested a global cultural flow of transnational origin, the socio-cultural appropriations embedded in the context of their appearance generated distinctive enactments. By using their bodies as the sites of affect and performative agency, the hippies opposed the normative assumptions on bodies and behavior and created common grounds for communication with kindred spirits across the urban Soviet Union.
Drawing substantially from affect theory, I argue that Soviet hippie subjectivity was deeply ingrained with resonances of what I have come to regard as the ‘imaginary elsewhere.’ The imaginary elsewhere encompasses both, the perceived West and the transcendent experiences hippies pursued through spiritual practices, mind-altering drugs and sensory experiences generated by distorted sounds of rock music. The realms achieved through these practices formed an elsewhere, catering to a sense of ‘dropping out’ of Soviet daily life. By turning on and tuning in, the hippies in Soviet Estonia chose to be in constant motion towards the affective promises of the imaginary elsewhere.
Abstract
On the Meaning of Soviet Symbolism among the Estonian and Russian Transition Generation
О значении советской символики среди переходного поколения в Эстонии и России
Popular culture involves many symbols with political background. Soviet symbols have also made their way to the popular culture in various countries of the world, thus making the symbols open to different interpretations. Meanings, which are attributed to the Soviet symbolism vary within different cultures and also depend on the individual and collective experience of the Soviet period in each particular country. Multiple memory processes influence the way meanings are formed and since transformations take place in the popular culture as well, a symbol which once used to carry a clear-cut political or ideological meaning can now take on entirely new connotations.
In this paper, I focus on the representations of Soviet symbolism among the Estonian and Russian youth who were brought up during the transition period. My findings are based on the fieldwork carried out in Voronezh, Russia and Tartu, Estonia in 2009–2010. The research focuses more specifically on the Soviet symbols on the clothing and the connotations that young people attach to them. The empirical data is analysed in the framework of two academic disciplines: consumer anthropology and memory studies.
The results show that the sample divides the people who wear Soviet symbols into two distinct groups: (1) there are those to whom symbols do not bear a deeper meaning, it is simply seen as a stylistic element or its use is more or less accidental; and (2) those, to whom the symbol is marked with a conscious stance and its wearer wishes to convey a message. The first group can furthermore be subdivided to those who wear symbols to stand out from the crowd or be provocative; those who want to appeal to different types of nostalgia, first with the retro style and second containing ironic humour of a bygone era. It is also relevant that the first group wears Soviet symbols as a result of having been exploited by the tourism industry.
In case of the group who wears symbols to take a conscious stance, the people can be divided into those who want to reflect the Russian national identity, antagonism or defiance. The presence of strong political convictions or ideological worldview sub-discourse proved to be relatively weak, although a sense of fear of these symbols could be detected among the youth with ethnic-Estonian background. The analysis revealed several sources of tension present in today’s Estonian society. The results show that the large gap between opposing interpretations of history dividing the Estonian society today also become reflected and emphasised by the use of symbols. The research highlighted the tensions within the ‘third generation’, but also in the Estonian identity politics and the ethno-political development in general.
Резюме Терье Тоомисту
Некоторые символы, имеющие политический фон, активно фигурируют в поп-культуре. И советская символика в разных местах мира нашла свой путь в поп-культуру и в качестве этой части эти символы открыты для различных интерпретаций значения, которые присваиваются советской символике, ва- рьируются в зависимости от культуры и связаны с индивидуальным и коллек- тивным опытом, приобретенным в советский период. На формулировку зна- чений влияют различные процессы памяти, но в то же время символ, который когда то имел четко ограниченное политическое или идеологическое значе- ние, может через происходящую в поп-культуре трансформацию приобрести совершенно новые значения.
В представленной статье рассматриваются репрезентации советской сим- волики среди молодежи, выросшей в Эстонии и России в переходный период, опираясь на экспедиционные работы, проведенные в 2009–2010 гг. в Воронеже в России и в Тарту в Эстонии. Более пристальное внимание уделено советской символике, представлен- ной на одежде молодежи и значениям, присвоенным такому явлению. Теоре- тически работа располагается в основном в двух более широких теоретических направлениях: антропология потребления и исследования памяти.
В широком смысле молодые люди разделили использующих в одежде символику по их мотивам на две группы: (1) для которых символ не имеет глубокого значения, это просто элемент стиля или его использование явля- ется случайным; и (2) для которых символ является выражением осознанной точки зрения и его носитель хочет донести какое-нибудь сообщение. В первом случае можно в свою очередь выделить желание использующего символику бросаться в глаза или провоцировать, апелляцию к ностальгиям различного рода, под которыми раскрылся как стиль с ориентацией на ретро, используя символы в форме ироническо-юмористического китча, так и эксплуатацию символов со стороны туристической индустрии.
В случае использования символики в качестве выражения осознанной по- зиции можно в качестве сквозных подкатегорий привести русский националь- ный идентитет и желание противопоставления и протеста. Поддискурс с силь- ными политическими убеждениями или идеологическим мировоззрением обнаруживался достаточно слабо, хотя среди молодежи, имеющей этничес- кое эстонское происхождение, можно было заметить связанное с символами чувство страха. С помощью анализа выявилось несколько точек напряжения в сегодняшней Эстонии, особенно, что касается проецируемого на символичес- ком уровне усиления раскалывающего толкования истории, возможной т.н. «проблемы третьего поколения», а в более широком смысле и политику иден- титета Эстонии и этнополитическое развитие.
the most important topics of anthropology, to offer an overview of classic anthropological studies and anthropological research across the world, but also
examples from Estonia and from Estonian researchers. The textbook is written primarily with the undergraduate level in mind for students across disciplines: social and cultural anthropology, ethnology, folkloristics, cultural studies, sociology, etc.
However, it is suitable for anyone interested in learning about anthropology, including
at high school level as a supplement to social studies. The textbook has a problem-based anthropology to learning, presented in the form of questions connecting different topics and allowing students to apply their knowledge to everyday situations to learn the
necessary skills in observing and analyzing human activity. These questions
can be used for discussion in seminars, but also in written assignments
– and thinking about them enables also independent study.
Compared to most other regions in Indonesia with long histories of gender transgressive practices and identities, the emergence of waria in Papua is a fairly recent phenomenon. It counts as one of the effects of making Papua more ‘Indonesian’ since its incorporation into the state in the 1960s, followed by the government-initiated mass migration into the area. Since then, waria from neighbouring islands have moved to Papua, seeking life experience and better economic prospects. These circumstances, along with wider social change, have recently attracted an increasing number of indigenous Papuan waria to the community.
Edition 144: Apr-Jun 2021
KEYWORDS: Waria, transgender, Indonesia, beauty, West Papua, national belonging, embodiment
Abstract
While the hippie movement in Soviet Estonia manifested a global cultural flow of transnational origin, the socio-cultural appropriations embedded in the context of their appearance generated distinctive enactments. By using their bodies as the sites of affect and performative agency, the hippies opposed the normative assumptions on bodies and behavior and created common grounds for communication with kindred spirits across the urban Soviet Union.
Drawing substantially from affect theory, I argue that Soviet hippie subjectivity was deeply ingrained with resonances of what I have come to regard as the ‘imaginary elsewhere.’ The imaginary elsewhere encompasses both, the perceived West and the transcendent experiences hippies pursued through spiritual practices, mind-altering drugs and sensory experiences generated by distorted sounds of rock music. The realms achieved through these practices formed an elsewhere, catering to a sense of ‘dropping out’ of Soviet daily life. By turning on and tuning in, the hippies in Soviet Estonia chose to be in constant motion towards the affective promises of the imaginary elsewhere.
Abstract
On the Meaning of Soviet Symbolism among the Estonian and Russian Transition Generation
О значении советской символики среди переходного поколения в Эстонии и России
Popular culture involves many symbols with political background. Soviet symbols have also made their way to the popular culture in various countries of the world, thus making the symbols open to different interpretations. Meanings, which are attributed to the Soviet symbolism vary within different cultures and also depend on the individual and collective experience of the Soviet period in each particular country. Multiple memory processes influence the way meanings are formed and since transformations take place in the popular culture as well, a symbol which once used to carry a clear-cut political or ideological meaning can now take on entirely new connotations.
In this paper, I focus on the representations of Soviet symbolism among the Estonian and Russian youth who were brought up during the transition period. My findings are based on the fieldwork carried out in Voronezh, Russia and Tartu, Estonia in 2009–2010. The research focuses more specifically on the Soviet symbols on the clothing and the connotations that young people attach to them. The empirical data is analysed in the framework of two academic disciplines: consumer anthropology and memory studies.
The results show that the sample divides the people who wear Soviet symbols into two distinct groups: (1) there are those to whom symbols do not bear a deeper meaning, it is simply seen as a stylistic element or its use is more or less accidental; and (2) those, to whom the symbol is marked with a conscious stance and its wearer wishes to convey a message. The first group can furthermore be subdivided to those who wear symbols to stand out from the crowd or be provocative; those who want to appeal to different types of nostalgia, first with the retro style and second containing ironic humour of a bygone era. It is also relevant that the first group wears Soviet symbols as a result of having been exploited by the tourism industry.
In case of the group who wears symbols to take a conscious stance, the people can be divided into those who want to reflect the Russian national identity, antagonism or defiance. The presence of strong political convictions or ideological worldview sub-discourse proved to be relatively weak, although a sense of fear of these symbols could be detected among the youth with ethnic-Estonian background. The analysis revealed several sources of tension present in today’s Estonian society. The results show that the large gap between opposing interpretations of history dividing the Estonian society today also become reflected and emphasised by the use of symbols. The research highlighted the tensions within the ‘third generation’, but also in the Estonian identity politics and the ethno-political development in general.
Резюме Терье Тоомисту
Некоторые символы, имеющие политический фон, активно фигурируют в поп-культуре. И советская символика в разных местах мира нашла свой путь в поп-культуру и в качестве этой части эти символы открыты для различных интерпретаций значения, которые присваиваются советской символике, ва- рьируются в зависимости от культуры и связаны с индивидуальным и коллек- тивным опытом, приобретенным в советский период. На формулировку зна- чений влияют различные процессы памяти, но в то же время символ, который когда то имел четко ограниченное политическое или идеологическое значе- ние, может через происходящую в поп-культуре трансформацию приобрести совершенно новые значения.
В представленной статье рассматриваются репрезентации советской сим- волики среди молодежи, выросшей в Эстонии и России в переходный период, опираясь на экспедиционные работы, проведенные в 2009–2010 гг. в Воронеже в России и в Тарту в Эстонии. Более пристальное внимание уделено советской символике, представлен- ной на одежде молодежи и значениям, присвоенным такому явлению. Теоре- тически работа располагается в основном в двух более широких теоретических направлениях: антропология потребления и исследования памяти.
В широком смысле молодые люди разделили использующих в одежде символику по их мотивам на две группы: (1) для которых символ не имеет глубокого значения, это просто элемент стиля или его использование явля- ется случайным; и (2) для которых символ является выражением осознанной точки зрения и его носитель хочет донести какое-нибудь сообщение. В первом случае можно в свою очередь выделить желание использующего символику бросаться в глаза или провоцировать, апелляцию к ностальгиям различного рода, под которыми раскрылся как стиль с ориентацией на ретро, используя символы в форме ироническо-юмористического китча, так и эксплуатацию символов со стороны туристической индустрии.
В случае использования символики в качестве выражения осознанной по- зиции можно в качестве сквозных подкатегорий привести русский националь- ный идентитет и желание противопоставления и протеста. Поддискурс с силь- ными политическими убеждениями или идеологическим мировоззрением обнаруживался достаточно слабо, хотя среди молодежи, имеющей этничес- кое эстонское происхождение, можно было заметить связанное с символами чувство страха. С помощью анализа выявилось несколько точек напряжения в сегодняшней Эстонии, особенно, что касается проецируемого на символичес- ком уровне усиления раскалывающего толкования истории, возможной т.н. «проблемы третьего поколения», а в более широком смысле и политику иден- титета Эстонии и этнополитическое развитие.
Similar to other Southeast Asian societies, Indonesia has a long history of practices and identities that exceed gender-normative behaviour. This dissertation focuses on waria – male-bodied individuals who feel and express themselves as women in a country that is also home to the world’s largest Muslim population. Although waria form a visible social group in Indonesia, their basic human rights along with other gender and sexual minorities have been greatly challenged during the past few decades. Sexuality has become a political playground, against which the question of waria belonging, to the nation or otherwise, is of the utmost significance.
Since waria often go through migration, in which they sever relationships with their families, longing to belong is a widely shared sentiment among waria. As a result of, and in response to, their social exclusion, waria actively seek self-expression, pleasure and a sense of belonging at those places and times that are available to them.
Following extended ethnographic fieldwork in the regions of Java and Papua – the central and the peripheral within the Indonesian national imaginary –, this thesis describes the life paths and spaces of waria, and the practice of beauty as related to national belonging and narratives of modernization. Namely, in order to claim belonging to the locally surrounding communities, waria aspire to a sense of national and transnational belonging. Through these imagined reaches waria make their lives more liveable. Hence, the dissertation asserts that bodily forms and transformations hold a significant capacity to provide or withdraw access to categories of belonging, which in turn influences the feelings of worth. Additionally, the thesis underscores the interrelated and embodied nature of gender, highlighting desire in the waria understandings of gender. Therefore, the dissertation contributes to the contemporary debates around issues of (trans)gender, sexuality and embodiment.