Let’s not get married!

July 8th has recently become a holiday in Russia: the Day of Family, Love and Loyalty. To celebrate it, we’ve come up with a few cards for your sweethearts that cover some common family stereotypes that deserve to be long forgotten. Having a family is great – what isn’t is how conventions, the Russian administration and the media portray “proper” family roles.
There are different types of families and partnerships. We are focusing on the ones typically regarded as “normal” and “natural” to show that, even if we’re used to something, it doesn’t mean it’s perfect.
In Russia, the family as an institution is still under the heavy influence of patriarchal values that place men and women in unequal positions. This order of things is hard to change; it’s deeply rooted in the way we see the world, in formal rules and our own stereotypes. And it can be hard to notice how absurd and unfair they are.
The overall idea of “Let’s not get married!” is not a literal call to action, but rather a reminder that family relationships in a family can be different, equal and honest – even when accepted norms and stereotypes insist on the reverse.