Within the Nordic "paradise for women" (Fougner & Asp‐Larsen [ 2]) there have for decades appeared critical feminist analyses of gender equality, growing in intensity since the 1990s. Today numerous critics point out the discursive and/or ideological (in the Gramscian sense) nature and deployment of Nordic gender equality (cf. NORA 2/2002). This Special Issue of NORA on Critical studies of Nordic discourses on gender and gender equality offers examples of current feminist scholarly thinking on how Nordic gender and gender equality are constructed.
What should historians do with contrasting and contradictory accounts of male sexual practices and how should these be connected to notions of masculinity? Although the analysis of masculinity has developed sophisticated models of hierarchic and multiple masculinities, the history of sexuality has long been dominated by a phallocentric model. In this model, before the emergence of modern concepts of sexual identity in the nineteenth century, male sexual behaviour and desire were really about domination and the demonstration of social power, primarily symbolized by the active performance of penetration and the passive submission of the penetrated partner whether in hetero- or same-sex relations. The first sections of this essay deal with the relevance of this model for eighteenth-century Sweden, with reference to male self-apprehension and descriptions of male sexual practices in two secret diaries and autobiographies which, taken together, provide very different images of male sexuality. It will be argued here that the concept of virility in the sense of culturally constructed notions of bodily and sexual comportment as ultimate symbols of masculine strength and vigour could play a crucial role in connecting male sexual practices and meanings of masculinity. The essay closes with a brief suggestion of where the basis for hegemonic ideas of masculinity may be found.
Women with breast cancer are naturally exposed to strain related to diagnosis and treatment, and this influences their experienced quality of life (QoL). The present paper reports the effect, with regard to QoL aspects, of an art therapy intervention among 41 women undergoing radiotherapy treatment for breast cancer. The women were randomized to an intervention group with individual art therapy sessions for 1 h/week (n = 20), or to a control group (n = 21). The WHOQOL-BREF and EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire-BR23, were used for QoL assessment, and administrated on three measurement occasions, before the start of radiotherapy and 2 and 6 months later. The results indicate an overall improvement in QoL aspects among women in the intervention group. A significant increase in total health, total QoL, physical health and psychological health was observed in the art therapy group. A significant positive difference within the art therapy group was also seen, concerning future perspectives, body image and systemic therapy side effects. The present study provides strong support for the use of art therapy to improve QoL for women undergoing radiotherapy treatment for breast cancer.
Between 2001 and 2004, 42 women with breast cancer (20 women in the study group and 22 women in the control group) participated in an intervention study involving art therapy. This article elaborates on previous quantitative results, taking a discursive approach and drawing on gender theories in analyzing the women's use of interpretative repertoires in interviews and diaries and their answers on single items of the Coping Resources Inventory (CRI). The aim was to inquire into whether and, if so, how and with what consequences women with breast cancer who participated in art therapy improved their access to beneficial cultural interpretative repertoires, compared to a control group. The results showed a connection between participation in art therapy, talking about protecting one's own boundaries, and scoring higher on the CRI compared to the control group. There was also a connection between the control group, repertoire conflicts, and lower scores on the CRI. Our interpretation is that art therapy became a tool the women could use to distinguish cultural understandings about boundaries and, through image making and reflections, to give higher legitimacy to their own interpretations and experience.
OBJECTIVE: Women with breast cancer suffer from considerable stress related to the diagnosis, surgery, and medical treatment. It is important to develop strategies to strengthen coping resources among these women. Research in art therapy has shown outcomes such as an increase in self-esteem and cohesion, significant improvement in global health, and a decrease in anxiety and depression. The aim of the present article was to describe the effects of an art therapy intervention program on coping resources in women with primary breast cancer. METHOD: In this article, we report some of the results from a study including 41 women, aged 37-69 years old, with nonmetastatic primary breast cancer, referred to the Department of Oncology at Umeå University Hospital in Sweden for postoperative radiotherapy. The women represented various socioeconomic backgrounds. They were randomized to a study group (n = 20) with individual art therapy for 1 h/week during postoperative radiotherapy or to a control group (n = 21). The article focuses on changes in coping resources, as measured by the Coping Resources Inventory (CRI) before and 2 and 6 months after the start of radiotherapy. The study protocol was approved by the Umeå University Ethical Committee at the Medical Faculty (archive number 99-386). RESULTS: There was an overall increase in coping resources among women with breast cancer after taking part in the art therapy intervention. Significant differences were seen between the study and control groups in the social domain on the second and third occasions. Significant differences were also observed in the total score on the second occasion. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: This study shows that individual art therapy provided by a trained art therapist in a clinical setting can give beneficial support to women with primary breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy, as it can improve their coping resources.