An essay about how masculinity in a national minority group is affected by the technological development
Page 1 (total of 3 pages) Minor ThesisDaniel LaksoSpring semester 2001ISP 1, Växjö UniversityExaminator: Nihad BunarTutor: Stefan Petersson
Thanks to:- My six informants and all other people who have me with information, in other words, the people of Tornedalia.- Stefan Petersson who was tutoring me and by that cleared my thoughts. Stefan helped me to pinpoint the problems. - Nihad Bunar, who managed through his course to make me understand many problems related to gender and intercultural issues. His main achievement was probably to make most of us who participated on the course understand how to apply theories on empirical findings. - My family and relatives who supported me in doing my study. Table of contents
INTRODUCTIONThis minor thesis was made within the Intercultural Studies Programme held at the Växjö University in Sweden, spring semester 2001. My thesis concerns the men of the national minority Tornedalians, as well as the region as a whole. I will first of all give an introduction to the region, the national minority and the main problems in the region. I will tell you about how my work was conducted and what tools I have used in my study. After that comes the section where the informants and their answers are presented. Finally come my conclusions. I am trying to se the correlation between the technological development of the society and the traditional values of men in a remote and depopulated area of Sweden. At the same time as technology is offering new opportunities for the society, there are hegemonic discourses working against this development. When I talk about Tornedalia I mean the Swedish Tornedalia, although the situation might be similar in Finnish Tornedalia.
Daniel Lakso fjolltrask@hotmail.com
TORNEDALIATornedalia, or the Torne valley (Tornedalen), is a large, sparsely populated area along the Torne River in the North east of Sweden and north west of Finland. The Swedish side of Tornedalia consists of the municipalities: Pajala, Övertorneå and Haparanda. The Finnish side of Tornio, Ylitornio, Pello, Kolari, Muonio and Enontekiö. The valley reaches about 500 kilometres from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Arctic Ocean, with a varying climate and vegetation. Considering the geographical situation of the valley it is strange that the climate is not arctic. Iceland's capital Reykjavik is further south than most of the Tornedalia region. The climate is warmer thanks to the Gulf Stream. Along the valley the landscape is varying from fertile cultivated soil to barren wilds. The Tornedalicans live very close to their nature. The natural phenomena you can experience in Tornedalia are very different from other. There is the midnight sun, the northern light, the break-up of the ice and a fantastic wild nature with elks, reindeers, black grouse, capercailzie and other amazing creatures. People are also living there. About 23 500 in the Swedish Tornedalia.
CULTURAL & ETHNIC REGIONTornedalia is not only a geographical area but also an ethnically and culturally specific region. The people of Tornedalia are called Tornedalicans (Tornedalingar). The Tornedalicans have their own language, history and traditions. Linguistic Tornedalia, or what also has been called Norrbotten's Finnbygd (Directly translated: Norrbotten's Finnish region - it could more correctly be called the Meänkieli speaking region of Norrbotten.), covers five municipalities in Sweden. Except from the three mentioned before, Kiruna and Gällivare are included in Norrbotten's Finnbygd. A study made by E. Cullblom in 1994, showed that people in Haparanda, Pajala and Övertorneå defined themselves as Tornedalicans, while the people in Gällivare and Kiruna defined themselves as Malmfältsbor. The criteria were mainly regional belonging, ethnic unity and bilingualism. Norrbotten's Finnbygd is covering an area of 500 square kilometres, more than half of the County of Norrbotten, but only 27% of its population. Norrbotten covers 24% of Sweden's surface and has decreased its population from 3,4% in 1950 to 3,0% 1996 of the total Swedish population. During the centuries the Tornedalian community has been tested many times. The Swedish-Russian war in 1808-09 split the river valley between two nations. In Sweden more than 99% were Swedish speaking, in Finland about 88% (1997: 94%), were Finnish speaking. The common language and economy was divided into two parts, but the cultural belongingness and the relationship were still strong. The Tornedalian Finnish - Meänkieli, is used parallel to the Swedish and Finnish. The native language got official status as a national minority language on 1 April 2000. Sweden and Finland has been a common kingdom since Sweden was formed into one unity, a long time before the southern landscapes were included in the Swedish kingdom. Norrbotten was multilingual, and the only region in the country, distinctively differing linguistically and culturally, from the other Swedish regions.
THE CWENASSince the 10th century there are notes from people visiting Ultima Thule, what we today often call the Nordkalotten. One often mentioned is the Norwegian Ottar, who visited king Alfred of England. Ottar said then that he was living furthest north of all Norwegians, in Tromsö. Ottars story clearly shows that there were other people living there before him. He tells about Terrafinns, Bjarms and Cwenas. The Cwenas had obviously a well arranged society and with help from them Ottar could defend himself from the Karelians. The story also shows that the Cwenas had their own country, Cwena country (Kvänland). They spoke a language similar to the Bjarms. The language is considered to be the roots of Meänkieli. Geographically the Cwena country was north of the Baltic sea. The Terrafinns are considered to be Lapps on the Kola Peninsula. Stone age findings show that the area has been populated as early as 4000 years ago.
MEÄNKIELIThe language Meänkieli (Our Language), often called Tornedalsfinska (Tornedalian Finnish) has through history mainly been a spoken language. Probably because it has not been allowed to develop and cultivate Meänkieli. The Tornedalicans have been oppressed by the Swedes until nowadays, and their language was not allowed to be used in schools until lately. But today there are organisations and authors trying to develop and define rules for the written forms of the language. To simplify it Meänkieli could be described as a Finnish dialect, using some Swedish words, but in forms grammatically fitting into their own language, although it is not a dialect but a language of its own. Many people still believe that the Tornedalicans are Finns who have moved across the border. The oppression has created a shame among the Tornedalicans. People have been ashamed of their own language. Maybe that is why the word proud does not even exist in Meänkieli. In modern time there are about 30 book titles written in Meänkieli. The Tornedalian schools recently had as a goal that 70% of the pupils should know Meänkieli when leaving elementary school. After protests from the parents, the goal is now changed to that 70% of the pupils should understand Meänkieli. The protests were probably coming out as a rage against something being forced upon the children. Today's parents and their parents were not allowed to use Meänkieli, and forced to speak Swedish. Now their children were to be forced to learn Meänkieli. There are about 50 000-60 000 Meänkieli speaking in Sweden, but Meänkieli is also spoken in Finland, Norway, and Russia.
LAESTADIANISMThe Laestadianism is a revivalist movement that rose in Tornedalia in the mid 19th century. It is deeply rooted in the Lutheran doctrine. The founder of the movement was Lars Levi Laestadius (1800-1861), also called the Lapplandic apostle. One reason for why the movement reached many people is its non-proffessionalistic view. Laestadius chose unlearned men as his disciples and they walked around preaching his doctrines to the people. The biggest mission the movement had in that time was to decrease the huge problems with alcoholism. They were very successful with this after long preaches about the effects of alcohol. This created a strong unity within the movement. Gällivare has become the Rome of the Laestadianism, where the leaders are settled. The general meetings are of great importance for the movement. Nowadays a new year starts with either a week of prayers or a general meeting. Except from in Sweden there are many Laestadians in Finland, Norway, Russia, Hungary and USA. The Laestadianism is not always met with understanding, and even today you can hear people mock and despise the weekday of a Laestadianist. By many people the movement has been seen as very strict, traditional and conservative. In some parts this might be true, but from what I have heard and read the movement is changing and perhaps becoming modernised (for better and for worse that might be, of course). The Laestadianists are split into two groups: the East Laestadianists and the West Laestadianists. The West Laestadianists are seen as stricter than the East Laestadians. Something very specific and obvious in Laestadianistic families is their size. In most parts of the movement it is not allowed to use prevention, why the families often are very big. This among other reasons to secure the survival of the movement.
A RATHER DEPRESSING DEVELOPMENTIn many ways Tornedalian culture could be considered to be more traditional than most other Swedish cultures. The reasons for this could among other things be the geographical situation, the impact from Tornedalian religious movements and the workers culture. Tornedalicans have lived from (and still partly do) the forest, the rivers, the minerals, the soil, raising kettle, and hunting. Now, as these industries are decreasing and the new, more efficient technology demands fewer people in the traditional industries, the unemployment is rising and the area is successively depopulated. In 1953, 15392 people lived in the municipality of Pajala. In 2001, the population is about 7480 (less than one person per one square kilometre). More women than men have been leaving Tornedalia. This has created an unequal gender balance. Pajala has lost 100 farms in ten years from 120 to today's 19. A whole industry was lost when 500 woodmen got out of work. The last 12 years about 600 state jobs have gone from Pajala (everything from road workers to different offices provided locally). 40% of all state jobs gone have left Norrland. 13% of the Swedish population live in Norrland, an area covering about 2/3 of Sweden. Norrland includes the Counties of Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Västernorrland, Jämtland and Gävleborg. People feel helpless and desperate from the situation.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYThe Information Technology (IT) has created new possibilities for the rural areas. The geographical position is today less important than what you can offer. Product is more important than position. This might help the Tornedalicans to decrease the unemployment and depopulation. Tornedalia is though a region where physical work has been highly ranked. To work was to get physically exhausted. The working tools were the axe, the saw and the gloves. Non-physical work was for women or weak men. In this context the development of the Tornedalian region could be based upon how new technology, IT and computers is accepted by the male culture. It could be seen either as an obstacle or as an opportunity.
THE MEN AND THE NEW TECHNOLOGYThe IT is very different from the traditional industry. It demands, "more brains than muscles". In Tornedalia, the physical work has had a higher value than the mental. The development of the region might partly rest upon how new technology is accepted among these men. Their masculinity might be threatened or at least transformed by the new technology. The change might also "force" the working class to become middle class. R.W.Connell writes in his book "Masculinities", about how IT has put the men behind the computers. To typewrite was from the beginning classified as women's job, but it has changed to become an area for competition and power - masculine, technical, but not working class. In literature about Tornedalia the sex roles of men and women are often described as very traditional (maybe it is partly because most literature about Tornedalia concerns old times and adult or elderly people). Men and women live up to polarised ideals. Typical lifestyles are more visible and more polarised in Tornedalia than in other places. At the same time the traditional might converge with the modern. The technical development of the daily life, all modern things people are surrounded by, might get a special function in traditional industries. Mikael Niemi describes in his book "Populärmusik från Vittula", the meaning of the Meänkieli word Knapsu. Knapsu means not male, womanish, something that women should be and do, not men. Niemi writes that men's role in Tornedalia is built upon one thing: To not be Knapsu. In old times the work division between men and women was clearer, but when the welfare society arrived, new occupations developed. Engines are male. Fuel driven engines are more male than electric engines. In other words cars, snowmobiles and chainsaws are not knapsu. But, sewing on a sewing machine, putting on the dishwasher or vacuum cleaning might be knapsu. In this context what R.W. Connell calls hegemonic masculinity could be the men keeping and preserving a certain system of rules for how you should or should not be. The hegemonic discourse decides what is knapsu and who will be included in or excluded from the hegemonic group (see pages 14-15 about hegemonic masculinity). Most or all of my informants are clearly stating that knapsu does not exist in Tornedalia today. At least not in the same way as the older generations were using it. Still other people might look at you when you walk the streets with a pram or work at a kindergarten, and in both the childcare and the care of the elderly people there are almost no men. A work place dominated by women does not seem to attract the men. What I try to show in my thesis is that knapsu as a concept or a mentality still exists and is rooted in the culture of Tornedalia.
WOMEN ARE FLEEING FROM TORNEDALIADuring the last decades Tornedalia has been noticed because as women are leaving the region, this especially from the Pajala municipality. Lars-Erik Borgegård discusses a number of reasons for why women in higher degree than men leave their home areas in his essay "Arbetsmarknad och flyttningar - bidrag till en kunskapsöversikt". This seems to be a fact of general characteristics. Borgegård mentions reasons such as women's earlier maturity compared to the men, which among the women might be an earlier need for separation from the parents. The young men are also in higher degree than the women subjects for care from the parents. Often military service is mentioned as a reason for a later separation from the parents. Borgegård also mentions emotional reasons as hypothesis for the women leaving their homes and home regions: that the men outside the home region are seen as more interesting. E. Cullblom writes in her report "Män styr och kvinnor flyr Tornedalen", about why women decide to leave Tornedalia in much higher degree than men. She means that the male power dominance is a strong factor, especially in religious and official institutions. But also in the families the patriarchy still exists, although it is weakened as a result of that the women have a newly won freedom to make their own money. In politics men dominate not only because of their average in number but also through tactical moves and power techniques. The women's not being present in the politics has as a result that the types of work and leisure activities that exist in Tornedalia are more what you could call male than female (if you don't count health care, elderly care, child care and education, where there are much more women working than men). Cullblom means that democratic rights are not given to the women, which appears as a given reason to that women are moving away from the region and are afraid of returning. They feel powerless. The religious power in Tornedalia is mainly about control, performed by representatives within the Laestadianistic movement. That control has been focused in first hand towards the women, sometimes towards their occupations. There is no doubt that the Laestadianistic action has been seen as very offensive by many women, and that is one of the reasons for women's not staying in Tornedalia. Within the Laestadianistic movement the woman has for theological reasons a subordinated position. She is not allowed to preach. In the family the man is having the main responsibility not because of his competence, but because he is a man. The woman's obligation is in first hand breeding children, which then ties her to the home. To use prevention is forbidden in most Laestadianistic groups, and the families are often large. This is a way of ensuring the movements continuation. The movement creates a social unity and safety. The woman is proud of her place and accepts the man as the family leader. The woman is highly valued if she can give birth to many children. Similar sex roles can, to some extent, be seen outside the Laestadianistic movement. It is possible that the strong patriarchy within the Laestadianism is influencing the whole Tornedalian society. Still Cullblom believes that Tornedalia has possibilities to develop towards a more women-friendly and equal society. Tornedalia carries a historical weight of male power dominance, which is important to make aware among the women as well as men. The means of power are many times so subtle that their consequences are difficult to notice, why knowledge about the techniques must be spread, so that they become subjects for influence and in some cases for counteraction. A woman in Tornedalia said to me:I have thought about lately that in Meänkieli there is no word for a woman, but a word for wife. There are names for boys and girls and men but not for women. Does it mean that we are only some kind of appendage?Unfortunately I have not spoken to so many women about this while doing my work, but if you should believe E. Cullblom the situation is very bad. Some of the men I have spoken to questioned this. One man had read the report and called it "quasi-science". He told me that he could give me a number of situations where the situation is the opposite. He said that the housewives in Tornedalia have had very strong positions in the society. If you talk about this you should also investigate that part. But the given role of the woman as the bookkeeper or the one who decides about the economy is lost. The men have been forced to take the women's duties maybe without becoming knapsu. When everyone has to do it, suddenly everyone is knapsu, and then it is not interesting anymore. It has not been men oppressing women. It is the system that oppresses. That the women are leaving from here is not because of the men's society, but because of what this society cannot offer. Is Stockholm in that case a women's society? That the women leave from here is not because of the men, but because of what this society cannot offer to them. Today because of the changes in the society there are more typical women's jobs than men's jobs, why the youths are staying or leaving Tornedalia to a similar extent, no matter if they are boys or girls. The people in the region are filled with fear in their hearts and tears in their eyes as they see their valley full of nature beauty slowly die.
DEPOPULATIONDepopulation is nothing new. In Norrbotten it is especially from the interior parts people have left. This has happened to such an extent that whole villages have disappeared. The negative effects are strengthened by the fact that it is mainly youths between 20-24 years who leave the countryside. From 1968-1972 Pajala lost about 20% of their women and 16% of their men in that age group. It was about the same in Haparanda and Övertorneå. All through it were more women than men who left the area and it has been like that all the time. One reason why people are leaving is the lack of work. Regions with few inhabitants and few urban areas never got industrialised. You could say that they walked from the pre-industrial to the post-industrial society without going through the phase of industrialisation - a development otherwise often connected with the developing countries. Agriculture and forestry, which has dominated during more than a century, is winded up. This has mainly been replaced by a huge public sector. In 1990 40% of the population in Pajala and 42% in Övertorneå and Haparanda municipalities were employed in the public sector, while 11,5% respectively 4% got there incomes from agriculture or industries. In the rural areas the labour market has been more fit for the men than for the women. But the now actual unemployment has hit the men very hard so that the women in general have a higher frequency of gainful work than the men, still the frequency is lower than in the rest of Norrbotten as well as in the rest of the country.
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