Varannan damernas väg till riksdagen. En romantisk historia

Abstract

This article explores the impact of a romantic discourse in Swedish gender politics and more so; a heteroromantic discourse on closeness and passion between men and women. This is done through a close reading of the Swedish debate on “varannan damernas”, a quota measure to increase the number of women in parliament. The article argues that part of what turned this into a gender political success-story is the heteroromantic framing together with an adoption of ideals of cooperation inside the existing parties. The change in status is marked by a shift in terminology from ‘quotas’ to ‘varannan damernas’ (‘every other women’). In its earlier usage the expression refers to a phrase from the dance halls in which women were allowed to ask men up for every other dance. The metaphor thereby brings the question of women’s political presence into the intimate sphere and turns the previously conflictual framing of enforced legislated gender quota into a dance that symbolically guarantees both parts free will. The discursive embedding of visions and strategies is decisive in order to make gender equality an intelligible target for political action and change. With the counter-case of a women’s party, the article claims that the acceptance of certain gender equality solutions is not only due to a strong women’s movement or a general public interest in gender related matters. It is foremost a question of how claims and strategies are made intelligible and how they are incorporated into normative ideals of Swedish politics (mutual agreements and block-politics) and gender equality (cooperation between men and women). Thereby the case demonstrates that visions of emancipation are structured within relations of power. Gender politics can be described as a striving for gender equality, but is also a struggle over the classifications and legitimacy of certain world views as well as over material resources.