Paper short abstract:

In Swedish media and published books, there are stories of men who defected from Nazi organisations, and other stories linking becoming “common” with masculinity and nation. In my presentation, I will examine these narratives from an intersectional perspective to understand their constructions of normalcy.

Paper long abstract:

The forming of normalcy is part of paradoxical processes of both social change and stability. Gender issues are often brought to the fore in times of social change. This certainly seems true regarding current debates on what it means to be a man today. Swedish masculinity, especially when addressed as a homogenous entity, is contested.

On the one hand, there are the images of the gender equal Swedish man, brought about not least as a result of Sweden’s entry into the EU coinciding with the appointment to being the world’s most gender equal country. This “soft masculinity” is often spoken of as normal in public debates.

On the other hand, that cluster of new masculinities are used as a counterimage in the production of what in the public debate is viewed as traditional, intolerant and problematic masculinities. These could be seen as emerging from what Michael Kimmel has termed “aggrieved entitlement”, a loss of privileges promised to men by patriarchal and heteronormative structures.

In my presentation, I will examine the stories of right wing men (and some women) told in the media, as well as in (auto)biographic books. What can these stories tell us about how they perceive normalcy and the “common people”? Many of the stories are told by defectors from Nazi organisations, which spurs questions concerning how they perceive this defection in regards to themselves as men, fathers, or citizens, for example.