En berättelse om risk, en berättelse om genus

Abstract

During the winter of 2010/2011 the town of Östersund with 60 000 inhabitants was struck by a water crisis. High levels of the parasite Cryptosporidium were discovered in the drinking water. The water delivered by the municipality suddenly constituted a risk for the populations’ health. To consume the infected water could lead to long term stomach illness. This article explores sense-making of risk in everyday life during the time of the Cryptosporidium. The field of risk management constitutes a large part of the risk research conducted within the social sciences. Gender analysis in this body of research is often understood as a background variable among other variables. This article contributes to the field by connecting sociological perspectives on risk theory and performative narrative gender analysis. We think that this is important for illuminating and understanding more about how sense-making of risk is articulated as a gendered narrative. Our analysis shows that intertwined in a narrative about water as a new risk in everyday life, storylines constituting femininity were articulated.