Feminism in Sweden

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Feminism in Sweden dates back to the 17th century and has been discussed in intellectual circles throughout the 18th century. Since the publication Samtal emellan Argi Skugga och en obekant Fruentimbers Skugga by Margareta Momma in 1738, followed by Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht's famous poem Fruntimrens försvar (To the Defense of Women, 1761) debate on gender roles and gender equality has become a mainstream topic.

With a relatively high level of education, in 1862, unmarried Swedish women were the first worldwide to be granted some limited right to vote in municipal elections. Universal women suffrage only followed in 1921, but since then, Sweden has remained a forerunner of gender equality driven by a both intellectual and practical feminist movement.

Today, with its increasing multiculturalism, Swedish society has embraced third-wave feminism. Sweden's Feminist Initiative became the first feminist political party to win a parliamentary mandate in the 2014 European elections, rediscussing feminism from a decisively antiracist perspective that includes the perspectives of people of color.

History

Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht by Ulrika Pasch

Sophie Sager.

During the 17th-century, questions around gender roles, gender equality and women's rights were raised by individuals such as Sophia Elisabet Brenner and Beata Rosenhane, but these were rare exceptions.

During the 18th-century, gender roles, gender equality and reform in women's social and legal status were discussed in public debate and literature. Many anonymous female journalists and writers participated under pseudonyms in temporary periodicals, often in the form of a fictions correspondence, questioning the status of women, only a minority of whom, however, has been identified. Among them were Margareta Momma, Catharina Ahlgren and Anna Maria Rückerschöld. In 1761, Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht wrote her famous poem Fruntimrens försvar (To the Defense of Women).

19th-century

The first civil society organized by females was the charitable society Välgörande fruntimmerssällskapet, which was founded in the capital in 1819 by a group of upper class women under the leadership of Princess Sophie Albertine of Sweden with the purpose to support poor women. This was the first time in Sweden women organized to achieve and reform something in society by a public voice, and though the subject may seem non controversial, the act of women organizing to change society was in itself radical. This was to be followed by numerous other charitable women's societies during the 19th-century.

In 1839, Carl Jonas Love Almqvist started a long literary debate regarding gender roles through his famous novel Det går an, in which he argued for free love and the right of Cohabitation without the restrictions of marriage and the right for women to experience love without losing their independence.

In 1848, Sophie Sager aroused considerable controversy when reporting a rape attempt and winning the case. She became the perhaps first woman in Sweden to make public speeches in favor of feminism, which made her famous but also ridiculed as a feminist figure. Hers was, however, an isolated attempt, and did not start any organized movement. In 1855, Josefina Deland founded the Svenska lärarinnors pensionsförening (The Society for Retired Female Teachers) to provide for retired female teachers and governesses, as that point almost the only profession for an educated woman to support herself, which was at the time an important question for women. This was arguably the first time women organized themselves to deal with a women's issue in Sweden.

In 1856, Fredrika Bremer published her famous Hertha (novel), which aroused great controversy and created a debate referred to as the Hertha Debate. The two foremost questions was to abolish coverture for unmarried women, and for the state to provide women an equivalent to a university. Both questions were met: in 1858, a reform granted unmarried women the right to apply for legal majority by a simple procedure, and in 1861, Högre lärarinneseminariet was founded as a "Women's University". In 1859, the first women's magazine in Sweden and the Nordic countries, the Tidskrift för hemmet, was founded by Sophie Adlersparre and Rosalie Olivecrona. This has been referred to as the starting point of a women's movement in Sweden.

The organized women's movement begun in 1873, when Married Woman's Property Rights Association was co-founded by Anna Hierta-Retzius and Ellen Anckarsvärd. The prime task of the organization was to abolish coverture. In 1884, Fredrika-Bremer-Förbundet was founded by Sophie Adlersparre to work for the improvement in women's rights. The second half of the 19th-century saw the creation of several women's rights organisations and a considerable activity within both active organization as well as intellectual debate. The 1880s saw the so-called Sedlighetsdebatten (Virtue Debate), were gender roles were discussed in literary debate in regards to sexual double standards in opposed to sexual equality. One of the organs for this was the Svenska Federationen, who worked to put a stop to the regulation system of prostitutes and questioned the contemporary sexual double standards by which this system was justified.

20th century

In 1902, finally, the Country Association for Women's Suffrage was founded. In 1921, when women suffrage were finally introduced, women were formally awarded equal rights as male citizens. From 1921 to 1954, Kvinnliga medborgarskolan vid Fogelstad (The Fogelstad Citizen School for Women) held courses to educate women in their new rights as full and equal citizens and encourage them to use their new rights.

During the Interwar period, various women's magazines and organizations existed for women of all political views and classes. Women also organized in the women's wings of the political parties, such as the Social Democratic Women in Sweden and the Moderate Women, through which they channeled their demands, entering the political life.

During the 1960s- and 1970s, Sweden experienced a new wave of feminism: in 1968, the Group 8 (Sweden) was founded and raised a number of issues within gender equality. In 1973, Women of Labour was split from Group 8. Popular culture included feminism values, such as Röda bönor.

Contemporary feminism

Gudrun Schyman speaks for Feminist Initiative (Sweden) (Fi), 2014, in Stockholm

The late 1990s saw a renewal of feminism activity in Sweden, which was given great encouragement by the government. Left Party (Sweden) was particularly active to raise the question under Gudrun Schyman.

In 1997 Swedish Women's Lobby was founded by the Government of Sweden. During the 2000s, it lead to feminist campaigns such as Bara Bröst and Dirty Diaries, as well as anti-feminist reactions such as The Gender War.

In 2005, the Feminist Initiative (Sweden) was founded as a political force, centered around Gudrun Schyman, who has since the 1990s been a leading figure within Swedish feminism.