An essay about how masculinity in a national minority group is affected by the technological development

Page 2 (total of 3 pages)

AIM OF THE STUDY
My aim is to analyse if and how the male identity in Tornedalia is affected by the technological development, and how this technological development is affecting the region.

QUESTIONS
Below I have listed the central questions. To those questions I have given some examples of questions relating to the central questions. Before getting on to the central questions I asked the informant about his name, age, family relations, work and tried to get to know something about the persons background.
Knowing the persons background made it easier for me to analyse the answers on the central questions. It also created a better atmosphere as I also told the informants about myself and my aim with the study. I had a basic formula with supporting questions around which I tried to control the discussion, but as the interviews were going on, new questions came up, developing and transforming the interviews.
None of the interviews were similar to the other ones, though some are more similar and some less.

• How does the Tornedalian men relate to work?
  • - How important is your occupation?
• How does the Tornedalian men relate to IT and computers?
• - What are the opportunities and obstacles of the technological development for the Tornedalian men?
• Does the change from an industrial to a technological occupation have any impact on the individual?
• - Is it socially accepted to be a man and work with IT and computers?
• - Is the traditional working class society "forced" to become a middle class society?
• Which impact does the technological development have on the societal norms?
• - Is peoples view on other people working with IT positive or negative?
• - How is knapsu defined today?

LIMITATIONS
My essay concerns masculinity, but focuses basically on how male identity and discourse is affected by the technological development.
My idea was to limit the interviews to three, but suddenly I had made contact with six people. So I actually made six interviews with different men, but in the thesis I am only using four of the interviews. Why I chose these four people was because they differed in ages and occupations, and the other two informants had similar occupations and the most of their answers were, more or less, similar to the answers of the informants I am using in the thesis. If time were not limited I would have included all informants in the thesis, to give an if possible even broader view. I have done qualitative analysis of the interviews. I have also participated on two official events, where I made observations and gathered information. I have also made contact with key persons connected to the fields I have studied. Although I have tried to limit the study it became much broader than I had planned. Still I think that to get an even better result the study might have needed to be even broader. The time limitation is the obstacle for not making a broader study.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
As a theoretical guide I have used R.W. Connell's theory about hegemonic masculinity. By using Connell's theory I am able to study how men relate to their work, IT, and how the hegemonic masculinity is formed and perhaps transformed in Tornedalia.
The concept "hegemony" derives from A. Gramsci's analysis of class relations. The cultural dynamics makes it possible for a group to claim and maintain a leading position in societal life.
Hegemonic masculinity could be defined as the configuration of gender practices the at the moment accepted answer on the question of the legitimacy of the patriarchy. In this way man's domination and woman's subordination is guaranteed. It doesn't have to be individuals with great institutional power who are the most powerful, although it often is.
Hegemonic masculinity contains a "commonly accepted" strategy. When the conditions for the defence of the patriarchy are changed, the base for a new type of masculinity is undermined. Women could challenge any base of these groups of men. Hegemony is a historically changeable relation.
It is to assign to a cultural dominance in the society as a whole. Within this cultural framework there are special gender relations between different groups of men, built upon dominance and subordination.
The normal definitions of masculinity have the problem that few real men line up to the normative standard. Still the majority of men take advantage from this masculinity's hegemony, as they are winning from women's subordination.
Closely linked to the hegemonic masculinity I will use the knapsu concept. Knapsu is defined as something non-male. Something a man should not be. I want to analyse how the hegemonic masculinity is arranged in Tornedalia so that the men are not knapsu. Knapsu is not a sociological concept or theory, but in my study it is very useful as a tool for analysis.

METHOD
When I had decided to make my field study in Tornedalia, I contacted Svenska Tornedalingars Riksförbund - Tornionlaaksolaiset (the Swedish Tornedalicans National Association). Through their help I got hold of a couple of my informants.
They also helped me with a lot of information and gave me the opportunity to participate on a seminar about Meänkieli. I contacted the other informants when I was on place in Tornedalia.
I have relatives in Tornedalia. Through them I also got much help especially with accommodation and transport. I am very glad that the work went smooth, as time was short.
The interviews were conducted in Tornedalia during ten days in May 2001. I have recorded my interviews on a tape recorder, which I got to borrow from the local radio station in Boden. Some of the interviews were done in the homes of the informants, a couple at their works and one during a break at a seminar.
My intention was to start my writing during the fieldwork, but as time was short and during the evenings I didn't have access to a computer, I did not start my writing before the fieldwork was over. This left me with a lot of material and very little time.
While listening to the interviews I wrote down the key parts, which could be of use for the thesis. To make interviews was the only sufficient way to conduct my work. I asked questions concerning the individual. This demanded time for the respondent and for me to create thrust and confidence.
Afterwards I think that more time might have been needed. I believe that if I had made the interview, listened to it and through the answers given, tried to formulate new questions and made a second interview, we would have reached deeper into the issue. The interviews became better and better along the way as new questions and answers had reached me through making the other interviews.
To i.e. do a survey would not respond to the type of analysis I made. Surveys could be used as a complement if time would have been available. The advantage of making a survey is that you are able to cover a larger group of people in short time. It is though more suitable to make interviews when dealing with identity issues as you have the possibility to take your time, and make long answers.
During my fieldwork I also red literature and articles concerning both masculinity and Tornedalia, to get deeper into the issue of my work.
I have made qualitative interviews with 6 Tornedalian men. From the beginning I had planned to do only 3 interviews, but it was difficult to keep this limit because of the circumstances around the work. Time was very limited, so I had to take the time and people that were given. I cannot call this a miss success.
The base for my information is wider than I had planned, but this base also demanded more time and work which of course made it tougher for me. Still I only use four of the informants in the thesis.
The men were between 20 and 56 years of age. They had different backgrounds and occupations. The informants used in the essay are (I am not using the men's full names as I do not see it as necessary to reveal their identities.):
Anders, church organist, Jerijärvi, 20 years
Peter, IT-worker, 36 years
Sören, wood industry worker, Nuoksojärvi, 50 years
Sven, teacher and politician, 56 years

Except from these interviews with the men, I have also discussed the issues concerned with some women. I have also had the opportunity to talk to the Rural Development Officer of Pajala municipality, who gave me a lot of useful information. The culture worker, Erling Fredriksson, who gave me his view and experiences of the knapsu concept.
I have participated on two different events to gather information and make observations:
I participated on an official session with the County governor of Norrbotten, Kari Marklund, in Pajala. The people of Pajala had the opportunity to discuss their specific situation with the County governor.
The second event was a seminar about Meänkieli in Övertorneå, with active people in different ages, many of them from Svenska Tornedalingars Riksförbund-Tornionlaaksolaiset (STR-T, The National Association of Swedish Tornedalicans) discussing their language.

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE LANDSCAPE
I took the bus from Boden to Korpilombolo, and at the bus station my grandfather picked me up. We took the mud road from Korpilombolo to Tärendö, and passed through some villages with old houses. I get in a kind of melancholic mood when I come there. In many ways it is my second home as I've visited my grandparents so often in my younger years.

The melancholy comes mainly from the fact that I know that half of the houses we pass are empty, lifeless. Today they are working as summerhouses or just standing there. In the rest of the houses the average age is very high and I know that in a few years probably more than two thirds of these houses will be empty and two thirds of the population will be gone.

Why is that I can ask myself. This is not a bad place to live in. The nature is beautiful. The forests and the lakes and the rivers are full of food. The air is clean. The sun is never setting in the summers. Of course the mosquitoes and the dark and cold winters may be called the negative parts of this region.
The fact that Tornedalia is about to be almost totally depopulated seems to be something people more or less have to live with or can they do something about it?
During our journey to Tärendö we have to stop many times for the animals on the roads. The Capercailzies are mating at the moment, and at least every fifth kilometre they are running in our way. Now and then the reindeers are crossing the road. This is an area where people live very close to the nature.
In Tärendö I settle down in my grandparents home, the old grocery store, which will be my base during this field study.
The most of my work has been done in Pajala municipality. Pajala municipality is 8000 km2, and has 84 villages. The smallest village is Pimpi, with 1 inhabitant. The largest is Pajala with 2 205 inhabitants.

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