[Gender images in health education: a comparison between East and West Germany (1949-1990)]

This essay takes a closer look at the shared traditions as well as separate developments in health education in both German states, based on the circulated gender images. Health education is a rewarding field of investigation because its materials not only convey information on the prevention of sickness or the cultivation of healthy lifestyles; they also--implicitly or explicitly--carry social key messages such as ideas regarding femininities and masculinities or the tasks and functions allocated to women and men within and outside the family. The fact, for instance, that women in East Germany were expected to be part of the labour force as early as the 1950 s, whereas their Western counterparts were expected to stay at home and look after the family, had an effect on health education. The question as to the normative images of femininity and masculinity is therefore at the centre of our inquiry. The sources used are health education publications and popular health magazines from both Germanies. Based on the parameters 'Home and Family', 'Work and Performance', 'Attractiveness and Outer Appearance', the ideas of femininity and masculinity, as portrayed in the health propaganda in East and West, are presented and compared. Analysis of these parameters shows that the gender images, while they coincided in some respects, also evolved in different ways in others, or that entirely different intentions were concealed behind the promotion of similar principles. Many of the guiding images discussed show how the two German states perceived each other. While there were attempts at dissociating from the other state entirely, there were also developments that seem to indicate that they referred to one another to a certain extent.