Abstract
This chapter examines the notion of the Nordic countries as a queer utopia as it addresses sexuality and gender equality, within society in general as well as in the educational sphere. This is explored by giving an account of the development of progressive human rights policies as they relate to addressing sexual and gender inequality. Moreover, social attitudes and the construction of Scandinavia as a utopian ideal, both in terms of gender and sexual equality, are discussed, and even disputed, especially with respect to how this utopian notion of the Nordic countries is manifested in education policies and school contexts. In this regard, there seems to be a gap between more progressive society and conservative schools.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Act of 17 July 1998 no. 61 relating to Primary and Secondary Education and Training (the Education Act). Retrieved from https://www.european-agency.org/sites/default/files/Education_Act_Norway.pdf
Act on Registered Partnership. (2001). Retrieved from http://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/kaannokset/2001/en20010950.pdf
Alþingi. 120. löggjafarþing. 159. fundur. Atkvæðagreiðsla 14923. Retrieved from http://www.althingi.is/thingstorf/thingmalin/atkvaedagreidsla/?nnafnak=14923
Ambjörnsson, F. (2004). I en klass för sig. Genus, klass och sexualitet bland gymnasietjejer. Stockholm: Ordfront förlag.
Apple, M. W. (1993). The politics of official knowledge: Does a national curriculum makes sense? Teachers College Record, 95(2), 222–241.
Baldacchino, G. (2002). The nationless state? Malta, national identity and the European Union. West European Politics, 25(4), 191–206.
Baldacchino, G. (2008). Studying islands: On whose terms? Some epistemological and methodological challenges to the pursuit of island studies. Island Studies Journal, 3(1), 37–56.
Baldacchino, G., & Royle, S. A. (2010). Postcolonialism and islands: Introduction. Space and Culture: International Journal of Social Spaces, 13(2), 140–143.
Bergsson, G. (1984). Hinsegin sögur [Queer stories]. Reykjavík: Forlagið.
Björnsson, P. (2002). Að búa til íslenska karlmenn: Kynjahugmyndir Jóns forseta [Constructing Icelandic Men …]. 2. Íslenska söguþingið, ráðstefnurit. Reykjavík: Sagnfræðistofnun Háskóla Íslands.
Blossing, U., Imsen, G., & Moos, L. (2014). Nordic schools in a time of change. In U. Blossing, G. Imsen, & L. Moos (Eds.), The Nordic education model. ‘A school for all’ encounters neo-liberal policy (pp. 1–17). London: Springer.
Booth, M. (2014). The almost nearly perfect people. The truth about the Nordic miracle. London: Jonathan Cape.
Brandal, N., Bratberg, Ø., & Thorsen, D. E. (2013). The Nordic model of social democracy. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Brown, W. (2008). Regulating aversion: Tolerance in the age of identity and empire. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Buschschluter, V. (2009). Iceland’s PM Marks gay milestone. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7862804.stm
Christiansen, N. F., & Markkola, P. (2005). Introduction. In N. F. Christiansen, K. Petersen, N. Edling, & P. Haave (Eds.), The Nordic model of welfare. A historical reappraisal (pp. 9–31). Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press.
Curriculum for compulsory school, preschool class and the recreation centre. (2011). Stockholm: Skolverket. Retrieved from http://malmo.se/download/18.29c3b78a132728ecb52800034181/1383645293487/pdf2687.pdf
Curriculum for upper secondary school. (2013). Stockholm: Skolverket. Retrieved from http://www.skolverket.se/om-skolverket/publikationer/visa-enskild-publikation?_xurl_=http%3A%2F%2Fwww5.skolverket.se%2Fwtpub%2Fws%2Fskolbok%2Fwpubext%2Ftrycksak%2FBlob%2Fpdf2975.pdf%3Fk%3D2975
Diskrimineringslag. (2008). [Law on discrimination]. Retrieved from http://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokumentlagar/dokument/svenskforfattningssamling/diskrimineringslag-2008567_sfs-2008-567.
Dupriez, V., & Dumay, X. (2006). Inequalities in school systems: Effect of school structure or of society structure? Comparative Education, 42(2), 243–260.
Economist. (2013, February). The Nordic countires. The next supermodel. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21571136-politicians-both-right-and-left-could-learn-nordic-countries-next-supermodel
Ellenberger, Í. (2013). Iceland: Trouble in queer paradise. Retrieved from http://gayiceland.is/2013/trouble-in-queer-paradise/
Erlendsdóttir, S. T. (1993). Veröld sem ég vil. Saga Kvenréttindafélags Íslands 1907–1992 [History of the Icelandic society for women’s equality]. Reykjavík: Kvenréttindafélag Íslands.
European Value Survey. (1990). Retrieved from http://www.europeanvaluesstudy.eu/
European Value Survey. (1999/2000). Retrieved from http://www.europeanvaluesstudy.eu/
European Value Survey. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.europeanvaluesstudy.eu
Fortin, J. (2012). The politics of gay marriage: Why liberal Denmark waited 23 years for legalization. Retrieved from http://www.ibtimes.com/politics-gay-marriage-why-liberal-denmark-waited-23-years-legalization-705554
Gísladóttir, I. S. (1980). Að hafa kynhneigð til eigin kyns [Being homosexual]. Forvitin rauð, 8(1), 6–11.
Hald, G. M. (2006). Gender differences in pornography consumption among young heterosexual Danish adults. Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 35(5), 577–585.
ILGA-Europe. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.ilga-europe.org/sites/default/files/Attachments/country_ranking.png
ILGA-Europe. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.ilga-europe.org/resources/rainbow-europe/2016.
Jakobsson, Á. (2013). Nine saga studies. The critical interpretation of the Icelandic sagas. Reykjavík: University of Iceland Press.
Jorgensen, C. (1967). Christine Jorgensen: A personal autobiography. New York: Bantam Books.
Jósepsson, Æ. Ö. (2009). Tabú: Hörður Torfa—ævisaga (Biography of Hörður Torfason). Akureyri: Tindur.
Kjaran, J. I., & Jóhannesson, I. Á. (2015). Inclusion, exclusion, and queering of spaces in two Icelandic upper secondary schools. Ethnography and Education, 10(1), 42–59.
Kjartansson, H. S. (2002). Ísland á 20. öld [History of Iceland in the 20th century]. Reykjavík: Sögufélagið.
Kristinsson, Þ. (2000). Island: Att ta sin plats. Lambda Nordica, 6(2–3), 112–125.
Kristinsson, Þ. (2011). Brot úr sögu samkynhneigðra á Íslandi [A short overview of the history of gays and lesbians in Iceland]. Retrieved from http://www.gaypride.is/-Index/UmHinsegindaga-/Brotursogusamkynhneigdra/
Kristmundsdóttir, S. D. (1997). Doing and becoming: Women’s movement and women’s personhood in Iceland 1870–1990. Reykjavík: Félagsvísindastofnun Háskóla Íslands and Háskólaútgáfan.
Kumashiro, K. K. (2002). Troubling education. Queer activism and anti-oppressive pedagogy. New York: Routledge/Falmer.
Lehtonen, J. (2015). Going to “men’s school”? Non-heterosexual and trans youth choosing military service in Finland. Norma, 10(2), 117–135.
Leósdóttir, J. (2013). Við Jóhanna [Me and Jóhanna]. Reykjavík: Forlagið.
Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture. (2011). Aðalnámskrá framhaldsskóla: Almennur hluti [The Icelandic national curriculum guide for upper secondary schools. General section 2011]. Reykjavík: Author. Retrieved from http://www.menntamalaraduneyti.is/utgefid-efni/namskrar/adalnamskra-framhaldsskola/
Namaste, V. (2000). Invisible lives. The erasure of transsexual and transgendered people. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
OECD. (2015). Education at a Glance 2015: OECD indicators. Paris: OECD Publishing. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2015-en
Osbeck, C., Holm, A. S., & Wernersson, I. (2003). Kränkningar i skolan—förekomst, former och sammanhang. Göteborg: Centrum för värdegrundsstudier. Retrieved from https://gupea.ub.gu.se/handle/2077/8440
Røthing, Å. (2007). Gode intentioner, problematiske konsekvenser. Undervisnig om homofili på ungdomsskolen. Norsk Pædagogisk Tidsskrift, 91, 485–497.
Röthing, A. (2008). Homotolerance and heteronormativity in Norwegian classrooms. Gender and Education, 20(3), 253–266.
Rydström, J. (2011). Odd couples. A history of gay marriage in Scandinavia. Amsterdam: Aksant.
Rydström, J., & Mustola, K. (Eds.). (2007). Criminally queer: Homosexuality and criminal law in Scandinavia 1842–1999. Amsterdam: Aksant.
Skollag, 2010:800. Retrieved from http://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-lagar/dokument/svensk-forfattningssamling/skollag-2010800_sfs-2010-800
Steinarsdóttir, G., & Pétursdóttir, G. (2010). Siðafár og samfélagslegar breytingar. Áhrif fjölmiðla á baráttu samkynhneigðra [Moral panic and societal changes. The influences of the media on the civil right struggle of lesbians and gays in Iceland]. In H. Ólafs & H. Proppé (Eds.), Þjóðarspegill. Rannsóknir í félagsvísindum XI. Erindi flutt á ráðstefnu í október 2010 (pp. 1–8). Reykjavík: Félagsvísindastofnun Háskóla Íslands. Retrieved from http://skemman.is-/en-/stream/get/1946/6838-/18596/3/46-52_-GunnhildurSteinars-_Gyda-MargretPeturs-_FEL-MANbok.pdf
Storhaug, H. (2006). Men størst av alt er friheten. Om innvandringens konsekvenser [But the greatest of these is freedom. The consequence of immigration in Europe]. Oslo: Kagge forlag.
Sveinsdóttir, J. (1985, February 21). Ég get ekki á mér setið. [I cannot stay silent—An interview with Þorvaldur Kristinsson]. Helgarpóstinn [Icelandic Weekend Magazine], p. 14. Retrieved from http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?issId=53778&pageId=982302&lang=is&q=%C3%A1
TGEU. (2015). Trans rights Europe map, 2014. TGEU/ILGA-Europe. Retrieved from http://www.tgeu.org/sites/default/files/Trans_Map_Index_2014.pdf
Time Magazine. (1953, April 20). The case of Christine. Retrieved from http://www.christinejorgensen.org/ReadPubs/Time2/Time2P1.html
Traustadóttir, R., & Kristinsson, Þ. (2009). Rainbow families in Iceland. In J. Westlund (Ed.), Regnbågsfamiljers ställning I Norden: Politik, rättigheter och vilkår (pp. 257–272). Oslo: Nikk Publikationer.
Valgeirsson, G. S. (1975, October 10). Viðtal við Hörð Torfason [An interview with Hörð Torfason]. Samúel [Icelandic Weekly Magazine], pp. 10–18.
Waaldijk, K. (2001). Small change: How the road to same-sex marriage got paved in the Netherlands. In R. Wintemute & M. Andenaes (Eds.), Legal recognition of same-sex partnerships: A study of national, European and international law (pp. 437–464). Oxford: Hart Publishing.
Walby, S. (1990). Theorizing patriarchy. Oxford: Blackwell.
Wilborg, S. (2013). Neo-liberalism and universal state education: The cases of Denmark, Norway and Sweden 1980–2011. Comparative Education, 49(4), 407–423.
Wockner, R. (2007). World’s first gay marriage. The Queer Times, June 21. Retrieved from http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=249273
World Bank. (2013). World development indicators 2013. Washington, DC: World Bank. Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators
World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index. (2015). Retrieved from http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2015/rankings/
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kjaran, J.I. (2017). The Nordic Context: LGBTQ Civil Rights and Educational Policies on Gender and Sexual Minorities. In: Constructing Sexualities and Gendered Bodies in School Spaces. Queer Studies and Education. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53333-3_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53333-3_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-53332-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-53333-3
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)