Testing the Impact of <scp>P</scp>olitical Generations: The <scp>C</scp>lass of 94 and Pro‐feminist Ideas in the <scp>S</scp>wedish <scp>R</scp>iksdag

Öhberg, Patrik; Wängnerud, Lena

doi:10.1111/1467-9477.12014

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Also in the ‘hen- debate,’ more left-wing than right-wing politicians used hen and promoted that hen should be included in the Swedish Dictionary ( Milles, 2013 ). In Sweden, there are feminist movements both on the left and right of the political map, and in the last election more politicians than ever before openly stated that they considered themselves to be feminists ( Öhberg and Wängnerud, 2014 ). Thus, feminist values would be associated with more positive attitudes, no matter of political orientation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introducing a gender-neutral pronoun in a natural gender language: the influence of time on attitudes and behavior

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The implementation of gender fair language is often associated with negative reactions and hostile attacks on people who propose a change. This was also the case in Sweden in 2012 when a third gender-neutral pronoun hen was proposed as an addition to the already existing Swedish pronouns for she (hon) and he (han). The pronoun hen can be used both generically, when gender is unknown or irrelevant, and as a transgender pronoun for people who categorize themselves outside the gender dichotomy. In this article we review the process from 2012 to 2015. No other language has so far added a third gender-neutral pronoun, existing parallel with two gendered pronouns, that actually have reached the broader population of language users. This makes the situation in Sweden unique. We present data on attitudes toward hen during the past 4 years and analyze how time is associated with the attitudes in the process of introducing hen to the Swedish language. In 2012 the majority of the Swedish population was negative to the word, but already in 2014 there was a significant shift to more positive attitudes. Time was one of the strongest predictors for attitudes also when other relevant factors were controlled for. The actual use of the word also increased, although to a lesser extent than the attitudes shifted. We conclude that new words challenging the binary gender system evoke hostile and negative reactions, but also that attitudes can normalize rather quickly. We see this finding very positive and hope it could motivate language amendments and initiatives for gender-fair language, although the first responses may be negative.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introducing a gender-neutral pronoun in a natural gender language: the influence of time on attitudes and behavior

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Unfortunately, longitudinal data are limited (Karvonen & Selle ; Wängnerud ). No linear relationship between the number of women and the adoption of ‘women‐friendly’ policies has been found since so many other factors intervene (Öhberg & Wängnerud ; Wängnerud ). Additionally, critical mass theory, which states that it takes a certain proportion, a tipping point of, for example, 30 percent, of women MPs, to make a difference, has been found to be a myth, albeit a powerful one (Dahlerup ).…”

Section: Theoretical and Methodological Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… Standardized regression coefficient, ordinary least squares, of −0.33, significant at 0.05 level, negative score equals lower age. Age is used here, since the Danish data, in contrast to Öberg and Wängnerud () on Sweden and Childs () on Britain, do not allow for cohort analyses by using year of entrance or number of terms in parliament (see Note 5 above).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender Equality as a Closed Case: A Survey among the Members of the 2015 Danish Parliament

Dahlerup

2018

Scand Pol Stud

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite almost unanimous adherence to the principle of gender equality in contemporary Denmark, a society with a long historical record of gender equality policies and almost 40 percent women in parliament, are there still divergences to be found among the members of parliament concerning gender equality principles and policies? This article argues that in order to identify underlying cleavages it is necessary to pose fundamental questions that go beyond the day-to-day disagreements on policy issues. Based on a new survey of the members of the Danish parliament, this study finds that the support for gender equality is not just a matter of lip service insofar as few MPs hold traditionalist views on women. However, the study reveals conflicting perceptions, left-right cleavages and gender gaps, sometimes also within the parties. A new discourse is identified, supported by a large minority that includes all of the male MPs from the four right-wing parties; this minority considers gender equality to be a 'closed case'that is, as having by and large been achieved. This may provide clues to the puzzle of the stagnation in gender equality reforms in spite of the general support for 'gender equality'. The article discusses the possible connection between the 'closed case' discourse, present neoliberal trends in society and the recent construction of gender equality as an 'intrinsic Danish value' -an argument familiar in other countries with a harsh debate over immigration.

show abstract

“…In fact, a feminist network – the Support Stockings – threatened to form a women's party in 1994 if the established parties did not address women's under‐representation. This threat alone ‘generated frantic activity in the political parties for fear that a women's party would steal votes from the other, established, parties’ (Wängnerud ; see also Freidenvall ; Björklund ) and ‘all the other parties made adaptations to the networks’ demands’ (Öhberg & Wängnerud , 67–8). In that case, ‘party competition produced a virtuous circle’ (Sainsbury , 84), leading to the adoption by nearly all parties of policies ensuring women's representation, the emergence of a new generation of feminist representatives in the Riksdag (Öhberg & Wängnerud ) and a shift in the national gender equality discourse (Teigen & Wängnerud ).…”

Section: Increasing Salience and An Emerging Consensusmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Contagion Effects of the Feminist Initiative in Sweden: Agenda‐setting, Niche Parties and Mainstream Parties

Cowell-Meyers

2017

Scand Pol Stud

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As new parties have emerged in Europe on the left and the right, they have placed pressure on mainstream parties to adjust their issue positions and engage with new issues. This research note asks whether women's parties have the same effect. Analysing election manifestos of the mainstream parties in Sweden from 1991 to 2014, this article considers the extent to which the Swedish Feminist Initiative (F!) has influenced the attention parties pay to women's issues. The data indicate that a profound discursive change has occurred among these parties in Sweden around gender and women's roles in society, resulting in near consensus that gender inequality is a problem necessitating government action. There is gradual evolution for most of the period under study but a marked departure from past trends in 2014, coinciding with the emergence of F! as a contender for EU and parliamentary seats. Consistent with contagion theory, the concerns of women acquired urgency as F! grew more competitive. News coverage and public comment by political parties suggests that F! has had disproportionate influence, given its electoral support, on the issue agenda of the mainstream parties, pressuring them to ‘take up’ the issues of this niche party and engaging them in a competitive struggle to address women's issues in politics. The results indicate that we should look more closely at women's parties as a tactical choice of social movements to enhance women's representation and encourage public discourse about gender and power.

show abstract

Testing the Impact of Political Generations: The Class of 94 and Pro‐feminist Ideas in the Swedish Riksdag

Cited by 9 publications

References 10 publications

Introducing a gender-neutral pronoun in a natural gender language: the influence of time on attitudes and behavior

Introducing a gender-neutral pronoun in a natural gender language: the influence of time on attitudes and behavior

Gender Equality as a Closed Case: A Survey among the Members of the 2015 Danish Parliament

The Contagion Effects of the Feminist Initiative in Sweden: Agenda‐setting, Niche Parties and Mainstream Parties

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About