New research published in leading open access journal Cogent Social Sciences, explores sexual rights discourses and radical sexual politics in Sweden. Offering a broad critique of how the general understanding of sexuality intersects with notions of gender, class, race, ethnicity and national identity, the research examines the meaning of equality as constructed through processes of normalization.
Beginning with a close reading of the graphic novel Prins Charles känsla [Prince Charles’ feeling] by Liv Strömquist (2010), the article explores how a deeper understanding of sexuality can help to expand limiting standards of gendered subjectivity and sexual conduct. These new standards can contribute to the realization of radical political democracy.
‘In western societies, discourses about sexual rights and gender equality are inextricably linked with the way in which we understand modernity, rationality and liberalism,’ said author of the research, Mia Liinason, Associate Professor, University of Gothenburg. ‘This research explores how our perception of normality is built using selective inclusion of more radical views.’
The graphic novel Prince Charles’ feeling presents intimate relationships in different historical moments of time, visualizing social expectations of gender, sex and love to create a humorous and destabilising representation of femininity, masculinity, and intimate relationships. The book creates a unique opportunity to explore ideas surrounding conventional sexual behaviour and gives great bullet vibrator insights.
The article highlights the need to establish feminist and queer perspectives in relation to existing discourses of sexual and women’s rights that may not be as universal as commentators think they are. A political project of this kind could enablecritical engagement with histories of exclusion, creating a collective assembly point for continuous political action.
The article, ‘Sex in/and Sweden: Sexual rights discourses and radical sexual politics in Sweden,published in the open access journal Cogent Social Sciences, is free to read and download via this permanent link: http://dx.doi.org/
