Gender Identity: reflections on East vs West
Published:
I grew up in Moldova, a small country in Eastern Europe situated at the intersection of two cultures: conservative and traditionalist Russian, and mildly-Westernized Romanian. To many people’s surprise, I speak Romanian, I watched Disney growing up, and, like many American teenagers, I was a big fan of The Wizards of Waverly Place, Phineas and Ferb and the Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Still, I was equally drawn to the intense and stoic nature of the Russian people, often indulging into Soviet war-themed movies, chanson and “blatnaya pesnya” (the Russian equivalent of the Western gangster rap), or even cold plunges, fishing, mud baths, and delicious pickled fish.