1.

In his article Normalization and the discursive construction of "new" norms and "new"
normality: discourse in the paradoxes of populism and neoliberalism, Michal Krzyżanowski
(2020) argues that normalization is not an isolated process, but incorporates historical patterns
and makes use of the reconstextualization of concepts to survive over time. Because the
standardization of a discourse through standardization patterns that can be reproduced in the
linguistic, textual or visual sphere. Furthermore, to explain that there is a complex relationship
between norms, normality and standardization, he points out that standardization is not a new
idea as such, but functions as a process that takes place when ideas of social order become an
integral part of common thinking that depends on the discursive participation of social, political
or economic actors. (p. 10) According to the author, there is a distinction between trends of
thought in the processes of standardization. In which he highlights two approaches: the macro-
social approach that operates in a top-down manner as a key strategy of social discourses that
make use of hegemony to consolidate their standardization processes and the horizontal or
procedural approach that takes place in other social contexts with specific cultures that integrate
these spaces individually or socially (Krzyżanowski, 2020, p. 7).

Finally, the author posits that the main problem of normalization is that it does not operate on
the structural basis of its own boundaries, but acts outside its boundaries or below them. In this
way, two major concepts emerge, the normal and the abnormal, where the normal is everything
that can adjust and operate under the norm and the abnormal is what operates outside this
model. But the process of normalization is not limited to simply establishing its model of
thought, but aims to ingrain the norms so that they are perceived as inevitable. And he mentions
that the power of the media to legitimize the discourses of power through various practices
enable the reproduction and normalization of the views of power in public spheres through the
use of fear, discrimination or stigmatization (Krzyżanowski, 2020, p. 16).

2. In the article The commodification of motherhood: normalisation of consumerism in

mediated discourse on mothering, Michal Krzyżanowski (2020) argues that there is currently a
strong orientation towards commodities and products to express identities that normalize
motherhood in the limits of consumption, social status and that furthermore, the reproduction of
this discourse excludes women who do not live by the standards of big celebrities. This can be
seen as the normalization of neoliberalization in contemporary practices of commercialized self-
medication by "celebrity mothers" who, through social networks, reproduce and normalize the
discourse of a strongly commodified society. For the author, these consumption patterns and
practices change over time and adapt because the concept of motherhood also changes over time
and adapts to the discursive practices of the public sphere (Krzyżanowski, 2020, p. 5).
Thus, the normalization of commodification involves areas such as psychology or pedagogy to
reproduce a hegemonic discourse in which commodities play a fundamental role as consumer
goods at the micro, meso and macro social level. And the great problem of the reproduction of
this discourse of the "good" mother is that through this normality of motherhood, women are
increasingly willing to allow the commodification of their own motherhood because women
have gone from being only the receiver of a message to being the conscious promoters of this
discourse. Finally the author, indicates that the use of this type of narratives are linked to the
discourse of brand promotion, due to the fact that reference is made to the everyday or even to
small acts that function as emotional triggers in the perception of the public thus linking the
representations of individuals with the products that strategically show in their digital narrative
as the link of the everyday with the goods (Krzyżanowski, 2020, p. 16).

3. Personally, I belong to a Latin community of people living in Moscow. It is a community of

people coming from different parts of Central and Latin America, from countries such as Cuba,
Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador, Argentina. It is interesting for
me to observe that even though we have different dialects of the Spanish language, we share
many cultural similarities that allow us to relate to each other in a pleasant way. However, I
have also been able to observe that there is a certain problem with respect to the insertion of the
Latin community in social and cultural spaces in the Russian society. To a great extent, this is
due to the language barrier, but this barrier has normalized a discourse of social isolation, where
individuals only relate to others who share the same language. This has led to the reproduction
of stereotypes regarding the society in which they live, where it is presumed that there is social
exclusion for being foreigners or lack of empathy towards the Latino community by the Russian
society. This operates in the collective imagination of the Latin community and remains in force
to the extent that its members feed the rumors and reproduce the discourse of social exclusion
that in most cases does not exist, but remains in force in the collective imagination because
several of its members who have lived in Moscow for several years, mention it constantly, as a
clear example of the reproduction of a hegemonic discourse that seeks to normalize the social
exclusion of a minority.

References

Krzyżanowski, M., 2020 Normalization and the discursive construction of “new” norms
and “new” normality: discourse in the paradoxes of populism and neoliberalism. Social
Semiotics, 1-18.
 Krzyżanowska, N., 2020 The commodification of motherhood: normalisation of
consumerism in mediated discourse on mothering. Social Semiotics, pp.1-28.