The Gender-Equal North. Icelandic Images of Femininity and Mascilinity

• Main Author: Thórvaldsdóttir, Thorgerdur H.
• Other Authors: Isleifsson, Sumarlidi R., Chartier, Daniel
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: Presses de l'Université du Québec 2011
• Subjects: Gender Equality; Femininity; Mascilinity; Iceland; Feminism; North; Arctic; Nordic countries; Égalité des sexes; Féminité; Masculinité; Islande; Féminisme; Nord; Arctique; Scandinavie; Nordicité; Nordicity; Immigration; Queer; Politique; Politics; Arctique*
• Online Access: http://www.archipel.uqam.ca/10474/1/222023440.pdf

This article explores the somewhat imaginary notion of the gender-equal North that signifies a crucial element of national identity in the Nordic countries. Attributes of this are various attempts to export the Nordic gender equality model. One of its trademarks is the notion of the “decent” Nordic man or the caring father, but a negative spin-off is the growing division between “us—the Nordic” and “gender- unequal immigrants.” I then focus on Iceland, where I propose a three-phase timescale based on prevalent but often contradictory gender images and correlated discourses on equality from the 1970s to the present. I name the period from 1970 to 1999 “a women’s/feminist era,” during which Iceland made some noteworthy contributions in terms of women’s empowerment that attracted international attention. I label the era from 2000 to October 2008 “the era of masculinities.” Its defining features are two conflicting images of masculinity: the caring father and the risk-taking “Business Viking.” As for the period from post-October 2008 and the economic crash to the present, it is tricky to pick a defining label. In terms of visible gender images, it is nevertheless tempting to pinpoint the nation’s most prominent figure, i.e., Iceland’s prime minister, a lesbian woman in her sixties, so maybe this could be termed an “intersectional era.”