ISSN 1653-2244

INSTITUTIONEN FÖR KULTURANTROPOLOGI OCH ETNOLOGI DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY

From a hashtag to a movement From MeToo to being rightless in 2020’s

By Klara Fröberg

Supervisor: Dr Charlotta Widmark

2021

MASTERUPPSATSER I KULTURANTROPOLOGI Nr 104

Abstract

This thesis investigates the continuance of the MeToo movement in the Swedish context via the digital platform Instagram, collective action and feminist organizations that are engaged to end sexual vio- lence. It illuminates how the sisterhood impacted by the practice of challenging the script a con- cept used to describe the discourse on how should be like, and how victim-survivors should behave, how the engagement is made among the activists that engage to challenge the rape script and lastly, how since the MeToo movement started a discourse of rightlessness have been ex- posed through the sharing of experiences that the MeToo movement initiated. The ethnographic study is based on participant observation of feminist actions in real life and on Instagram as well as interviews with 13 activists from feminist organizations and with background as organisers of collective actions. It is found that the MeToo movement in Sweden is commonly practiced through an engagement in Feminist organizations that serve to keep the movement alive through continuous work to keep sexual violence on the agenda by keeping it visible, and that the engagement is driven by an experience of anger towards the societal discourse that sets the discourse on rape which affects the possibility to be recognized by the legal system. The thesis will overall suggest that there is a sisterhood built on a collective identity, and that the shared identity and oppression between non-men with an aspiration to support one another in the experience of oppression as well as organize safety nets for those who are sentenced for defamation as a consequence of speaking out. Key words: rape script, MeToo, sexual violence, Rättslösa, radical , Sweden, Femi- nism, political engagement, feminist organization, collective action, rightlessness, movement, patriar- chy, collective identity, feminist , discourse theory

For victim-surviors

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Charlotta Widmark, who has offered me guidance and support throughout the journey that this thesis has been. I would also wish to express the deepest gratitude to the participants, the passionate feminists that made this thesis possible through sharing their insights and experiences with me, and to the organizations that allowed me to follow their work and helped me find participants for this study, it would not have been possible without you. And a big thank you to my family that has supported me and never stopped believing in me, and to my friends, Johanna who has been my cheerleader and inspiration throughout this process, and to Bim, Frida, Martin, Sara, Kaitlin and James who have offered me their insights, support and study company.

Content Acknowledgments ...... v 1. Introduction ...... 1 Aim and Research Questions ...... 3 Outline ...... 4 Background ...... 5 The Origins of the MeToo Movement ...... 5 MeToo in Sweden ...... 5 in Sweden ...... 6 Rape, Sexual Abuse and Sexual Harassment ...... 7 The Women’s Organization Context ...... 8 Different “” ...... 9 Oppression ...... 9 Academic Relevance ...... 10 2. Theoretical Tools and Terminology ...... 14 Discourse ...... 14 Rape Script ...... 15 Vulnerability and Resistance ...... 16 Networked Connectivity and Digital Sisterhood ...... 17 Reinhabiting the Body ...... 18 Collective Identity ...... 18 Cultural ...... 19 Non-Men ...... 19 Participating in Activism ...... 20 Fieldwork Online ...... 20 Interviews ...... 21 Ethical Considerations ...... 23 Position in the Field ...... 23 3. #MeToo: Speaking out ...... 25 Making sexual violence visible ...... 25 Identifying Experiences ...... 30 Conclusion ...... 36 4. “Somebody has to do something” – Engaging in Feminist Organizations ...... 38 Feminist Identity ...... 38 Engaging in the ...... 41 Collective identity – non-men welcome? ...... 44 Networked Feminism ...... 48 Conclusion ...... 51 5. #Rättslösa – Without Right to Justice ...... 53 Being Rightless ...... 53 Engaging in a Collective Action ...... 55 Defamation – Speaking out for Redress ...... 61 Conclusion ...... 65 6. Concluding Discussion ...... 67 Conclusions ...... 67 The impact of the MeToo movement ...... 68 The Rightless Discourse ...... 69 Further Research ...... 70

References ...... 72 Interviews ...... 72 Interview 1 ...... 72 Interview 2 ...... 72 Interview 3 ...... 72 Interview 4 ...... 73 Interview 5 ...... 73 Interview 6 ...... 73 Interview 7 ...... 74 Interview 8 ...... 74 Interview 9 ...... 74 Interview 10 ...... 75 Interview 11 ...... 75 Interview 12 ...... 75 Interview 13 ...... 76 Observation ...... 76 Organizations and Instagram accounts ...... 76 Literature ...... 77 Electronic resources ...... 79

1. Introduction

I am mostly angry and disappointed after this. I am mad and disappointed over our justice system when it comes to preliminary investigations. I have field a plaint to ’s district court in order to get better structure of the preliminary investigations. How police and prosecutor work. I am suggesting that it have been way to bad and that the person who is in my position do not have a rule of law (Lambertz 2021).

This is how Göran Lambertz who previously worked as attorney general in the supreme court, an alleged rapist expressed himself after the case towards him was closed due to lack of evidence. He is accused of raping a student at and the describes the experience as “I passed out due to the alcohol and woke up by him having sex with me, afterwards he apologized to me for what had happened, and I was near collapsing physically and mentally. He was a person I trusted completely, like a father figure in my life” (Falkirik 2021). During a press conference Lambetz ex- plained that he was sticky (kladdig) meaning he was handsy towards her but explained that she later wanted to have sex with him while referring to her as a liar and a fraud for reporting him (Skoglund 2021). And in April this year the documentary “Persona non Grata” aired at the Swedish state televi- sion (), a documentary about the alleged rapist Soran Ismail, a Swedish comedian who was called out by three women for allegedly raping and assaulting them, as they reported the crimes their cases were closed, and one of the women who called him out in a closed Facebook group to get support from other women, she later was charged for defamation. The documentary was highly criticized and consisted of Ismail claiming that he had sex with a lot of people and that he has been hurting many, yet he states that he did not assault anyone, and that he should be considered as non- guilty and should get redemption (Åhman 2021). The two cases from the Swedish media, mentioned above, could be seen as evidence that the feminist movement had a backlash and the MeToo movement was over and done with. But, on the contrary, the media cases were at the time of the writing of this thesis used as examples by several activists to stress why the MeToo movement is still needed and should continue. According to them,

1 a consequence of the space given to alleged perpetrators in media is that victim-survivors are silenced, as expressed by the organization Breaking the Silence1:

Is this what responsible to publicizing look like 2021? That women’s voices are silenced? That reported men should have right to airing time where they freely get to give their perspective on the event? Is this the punishment for women who managed to speak out during #metoo? A revolution that has led to more sentences regarding defamation then for rape.

Women like myself posted #MeToo in 2017 followed by the quote by Alyssa Milano "If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote "Me too” as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem”. Going into the fieldwork I was under the impression that the MeToo movement was what happened during the autumn of 2017, as the literature on the movement com- monly refer to the movement in past tense, or as an era that we have passed, Savigny (2020) stresses in the introduction to the book Cultural Sexism that “this book is about working out, how and why, in an era that we might even call post #MeToo, very little seem to have changed structurally” (2020:4). In the light of that quote, this study was supposed to be on the post-MeToo era, but as the interviews proceeded, I was counterclaimed as I asked the participants in past tense how they had experienced the MeToo movement, one of the participants Amina immediately corrected me as she wrote:

I experienced it as a new demonstration of strength against sexual violence and I still consider the issue as current and highly relevant. We cannot say after MeToo until ALL sexual violence have ended. I was quickly proven that the MeToo movement is still powerful and alive.

And by the statement, she expressed what many of the participants have stated in the interviews, that the MeToo movement is far from being over. The MeToo movement has alongside pointing out the magnitude of the problem served to shed light on the flaws within the justice system, and how the norms on how sexual violence “should be” is acting to undermine testimonies’ and are acting to minimize victim-survivors’ opportunities’ to iden- tify their experiences and report them to the police. The space given to alleged perpetrators to claim their perspectives in media, is acting as a method to attempt to ensure that women know, that they are rightless. In this thesis I will address how the MeToo movement in Sweden has served to make the norms on sexual violence visible, and how the movement is acting to change the norms. The Rightless movement (rättslösa) came to be an extension on the MeToo movement that pointed out that only 5 out of 100 reported lead to conviction (Brottsförebygganderådet 2019), and as a consequence

1 All organizations mentioned are pseudonyms to protect the identity of the participants in this study. 2 actions were arranged in Swedish cities mainly during 2019 where non-men collectively stood outside police stations and courts side by side with their mouths taped shut to symbolize how the lack of sentences towards assaulters is acting to silence women’s experiences. Another aspect that the MeToo movement brought forward was that a woman that speaks out publicly about her experiences can be charged with defamation, the Swedish newspaper Daily News (Dagens Nyheter) shared the story of a woman referred to as K who came to be sentenced for defamation after speaking out:

K has on Facebook under the hashtag MeToo written among other things" The man who raped me is called [NN], born [XX] is white, lives in Solna and has a partner and children "," he is a repeat offender " , "I never reported him because the law did not go through" and "the shame that often afflicts people who are abused made it take time before I even understood that I had been raped (Schultz 2018)

K’s story points out what this thesis is about, the MeToo movement, the rape script which is the norm on how a rape should be to be considered real, and to be recognized. The script controls who are to be trusted in their story and how a rape “should be” in order to be legit both in front of the law and to be recognized in the society. The norm has over the years been acting to silence victim-survivors, leaving them with a feeling of being rightless in front of the law. The rape script has through the MeToo campaigns been recognized as a consequence of the non-normative accounts of rape that have gained a space to be heard, as they may not have been recognized by the legal system or been identified as rape before by the victim-survivors themselves due to the script. During my study I have come to the understanding that little scholarly work has focused on how the MeToo movement is affecting the norms on how rape and sexual violence is understood within Swedish society. Therefore, this thesis will make an effort to provide an account of how the rape script is being challenged and are changing as a consequence of continuous efforts of MeToo activists.

Aim and Research Questions

The aim with this thesis is to contribute to an understanding of how the MeToo movement is acting to challenge the normative account of rape in Sweden through collective action and analyze the media debate that is surrounding the movement. The overall research question I am pursing in my study is: How is the MeToo movement at- tempting to challenge the rape script in Sweden? The question will be answered through three in depth questions: 1) How is the sisterhood impacted by the practice of challenging the rape script? 2) how is feminist engagement practiced in the movement I have studied? 3) How is the rightless discourse manifested within the groups studied?

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I suggest that the MeToo-movement has two effects on the Swedish feminist movement, 1) a focus on challenging the rape script has been integrated into the feminist discourse; 2) the discourse focuses on rightlessness, as opposed to the earlier focus on the extent of sexual violence 3) the sister- hood that emerged as a consequence of the MeToo movement exists to support and inform victim- survivors.

Outline

In order to introduce the context of the study and introduce the reader to the MeToo movement and gender equality in Sweden the introductory chapter includes the section background. It discusses the origin of the MeToo movement, the MeToo movement in Sweden, gender equality in Sweden and the context of feminist organizations in Sweden. I then proceed to outline the previous research in the area of MeToo and its campaigns, digital activism and experiences of sexual violence. Then, continue with outlining the theoretical and terminological framework applied in the study and the ethnographic methods employed and the ethical considerations. In chapter 3-5 I will present and analyze the ethnographic data in detail. In chapter three, I will investigate how the MeToo movement is acting to make sexual violence visible and how the feminist organizations in my study are acting to keep to movement alive through continuing the practice of sharing testimonies and articles. The chapter presents the participants the participants personal expe- riences, and how time and context is essential to understand experiences of sexual violence. The chap- ter will include a discussion on vulnerability and resistance (Butler 2016) and how the MeToo move- ment challenges the rape script (Marcus 1992, Loney-Howes 2018) and how the MeToo movement have allowed women to revisit past experiences and identify them for what they are (Ahmed 2017). In chapter four, I outline the characteristics of the feminist engagement that I have focused on in this study and the feminist identity, feminist rage, on building a collective identity, collective action and a connectivity through belonging to a sisterhood and the practicing of feminism through digital platforms. In chapter five, I will present the characteristics of the rightless actions arranged during 2019 and 2020 which continued to shed light on sexual violence and the unjust treatment of victim-survi- vors, I will present how the movement was understood by the those who arranged an action and the participants that did not arrange an action. I will provide details on the discourse where feminist sense that they are rightless, as victim-survivors are being charged with defamation and only 5% of reported rapes lead to eviction.

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Lastly, a concluding discussion is presented in chapter 6 where the answers to the research questions will be concluded.

Background

The Origins of the MeToo Movement In 2006 Tarana Burke founded the MeToo movement as a method to raise awareness and understand- ing about within underprivileged communities of color in United States. Burke stated that MeToo “was a catchphrase to be used from survivor to survivor to let folks know that they were not alone and that a movement for radical healing was happening and possible” (Shugerman 2017) the purpose of the movement in 2006 was to help young women of color that have survived sexual assault, later the movement took a life of its own according to Burke as she came aware of that adults needed the movement too (Santiago and Criss 2017). On October 17th, 2017 Alyssa Milano called for victim- survivors to use the hashtag #MeToo on social media as she stated that “if you’ve been sexually har- assed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet” and “Me Too. Suggested by a friend: If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote Me Too as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem” (Fileborn and Loney-Howes 2019:3). Twitter ex- pressed that the hashtag had been used 825 000 times within the first two days and Facebook stated that within 24 hours 4,7 million people around the world have used the hashtag and that 45% of the people in United States were friends with someone that have posted Me Too (Santiago and Criss 2017).

MeToo in Sweden In United States the MeToo movement came to focus primary on the entertainment industry and media, while in Sweden the movement came to have a wider spread as a consequence of the widespread debate on gender equality that already exists, in surveys such as the World value survey Sweden have been ranked as one of the countries with most equality in terms of gender, and that a large number of the citizens are considering that men and women should have equal opportunity. It has been argued that as feminism is highly recognized in Sweden has allowed for more women to break the silence as there is a sense that when speaking out one will be heard, which has been reflected in the reactions within the government, the parties, from the large media houses and from law firms (Börling and Eriksson 2017). The MeToo movement in the Swedish context came to be characterized by the vast number of campaigns (65 in total) based on separate industries experiences, such as #silencerecording 5

(#tystnadtagning) where 703 Swedish actresses described experiences of sexual harassment within the film and television industry in the Swedish newspaper (Svenska Dagbladet). The testimonies came to inspire many more initiatives of similar character within other occupations that created their own hashtags under which they shared their testimonies. The Swedish MeToo movement later came to encourage political action, on December 17th, 2017, the consent law was proposed by the government lead by the Swedish prime minister Stefan Löfven, a law which would prohibit non-consensual sex. The Swedish parliament unitedly voted for the law to pass, and in July 2018 the law came into force (Pollack 2019:186-187). While the MeToo movement initially focused on collective actions within separate industries, the focus later shifted to public outings of alleged perpetrators and the media cov- erage of the individuals involved. As people were publicly named and accused of abuse, one of them was Fredrik Virtanen a reporter at the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet by the Instagram activist (Pol- lack 2019:189-190) Cissi Wallin, who came to be sentenced for grave defamation for claiming that Fredrik Virtanen is a rapist on her Instagram at multiple occasions (Lindkvist and Lenas 2019). Cissi Wallin plays a central role in the MeToo movement calling out her alleged perpetrator gained plenty of media attention, and later she came to be the founder of what came to be referred to as the Rightless movement that serves to point out the how there is an problem with the rule of law when it comes to sexual violence consisting in both how only 5% of rape is reported to the police, and out of small proportion only 5% lead to a sentence and then, those who choose to speak out publicly are charged with defamation (Cissi Wallin 2019). According to numbers reported by Swedish Television News in May 2021 all of the 10 women that have been reported for defamation for speaking out against their alleged perpetrator have been sentenced for defamation (Wanngård 2021).

Gender Equality in Sweden

The overarching Swedish principle for gender equality is that everyone, regardless of gender, has the right to work and support themselves, to balance career and family life, and to live without the fear of abuse or violence (Swedish Institute 2021).

The Swedish government in place 2021 led by Prime minister Stefan Löfven who has been Prime minister since 2014, states that they are the first feminist government in the world, and that gender equality is central to the priorities of the government, as well as claiming that they would ensure that gender quality perspective is bought into policy-making processes at a national and international level (Regeringskansliet 2021). Despite the efforts of the government, Sweden is currently battling high , some of the highest in the world, which is stated to be partly because every rape is 6 reported as a separate crime, which is not the case in every country (Swedish Institute 2021). In the Gothenburg-post (Göteborgs-posten) Lena Ag director general at the Swedish Equality Agency (Jäm- ställdhetsmyndigheten) and Lena Nyberg’s director general at the youth and civil society (myndigheten för ungdoms- och civilsamhällesfrågor) claims that being a young woman in Sweden is living with circumstances that are not acceptable in the modern society. Almost half of all young women are re- porting that they are feeling unsafe (osäker) walking in their own neighborhood at night, and 23% of women in ages 16-24 declare that they have experienced sexual violence and harassment. And every second and young woman up to the age of 29 will at some point in their lives experience sexual violence (Ag and Nyberg 2021). The Swedish act applied from 2009 demands that employees should act against harassment in the workplace on the basis of sex, transgender identity or expression, sexual orientation. religion or belief, ethnicity, disability and age. The goal for gender equality is to ensure equality between women and men in all domains, such as equal distribution and to ensure that knowledge and experience of women and men are applied to promote progress within all aspects of the society (Swedish Institute 2021).

Rape, Sexual Abuse and Sexual Harassment In 2018, the definition of negligent was added to the Swedish laws of sex crime that is commonly described as the consent law led to redefinitions of the laws regarding sex crimes. The definition of rape is described as the following: “Anyone who, with a person who does not participate voluntarily, performs or another sexual act that, in view of the seriousness of the violation, is compa- rable to intercourse, is sentenced for rape to imprisonment for a minimum of two years and a maximum of six years. When assessing whether a participation is voluntary or not, special consideration must be given to whether voluntariness has been expressed through words or deeds or in any other way” (Brottsbalken, 2018:618, 6:1, my translation). Negligent rape is further described “Anyone who com- mits an act referred to […] and is grossly negligent regarding the fact that the other person does not participate voluntarily, is sentenced for negligent rape to imprisonment for a maximum of four years” (Brottsbalken, 2018:618, 6:1, my translation) Sexual abuse is defined as the following:” Anyone who, with a person who does not participate voluntarily, performs a sexual act other than that referred to in section 1, is sentenced to sexual impris- onment for a maximum of two years.” (Brottsbalken, 2018:618, 6:2, my translation) and here the neg- ligent term is applied “Anyone who commits an act referred to in section 2 and is grossly negligent regarding the fact that the other person does not participate voluntarily, is sentenced for negligent

7 sexual abuse to imprisonment for a maximum of four years” (Brottsbalken, 2018:618, 6:3, my trans- lation). Sexual harassment is defined as the following in the Swedish law: “Anyone who physically assaults someone else or exposes another to disturbing contacts or other reckless conduct is sentenced, if the act is likely to violate the victim's peace in a tangible way, is sentenced for harassment to a fine or imprisonment for a maximum of one year” (Brottsbalken 2017:1136, 4:7, my translation).

The Women’s Organization Context In an effort of building on the equality work of the Swedish government a new authority was put in place in January 2018 to ensure the priority of gender equality is being institutionalized, the authority came to be called The Swedish Equality Authority (Jämställdhetsmyndigheten). The new authority is tasked to work closely to other authorities, county councils, regions, municipalities, civil society and the business sector to follow the process and development of equality and act as experts within the area. Another key aspect of their work is grants, they have two major focus areas for grants, one being recently established women’s organizations with at least 75% female members to support women’s organization and support women’s participation in the democratic process and society, the financial aid is to enable women to monitor their rights and process their demands according to the agency (Jämställdhetsmyndigheten 2020). Another grant available is for equality projects, which is handed out to innovative projects that contribute to raising knowledge that is of value for the equality work. The grant is available for non-profit organizations (ideella organisationer) and foundations (stiftelser) (Jämställdhetsmyndigheten 2021). On the advisory council for the authority is a representative from the non-profit umbrella organization Sweden’s women’s lobby (Sveriges kvinnolobby) an umbrella organization founded 1997, whose purpose is organizing women’s organizations in Sweden. The lobby which currently consist of 50 organizations is requiring that member-organizations must have at least 80% female members in the organization and must be working for gender equality and women’s rights. The umbrella organization is a member of the European Women’s Lobby and is consulting the United Nations in the economic and social councils’ and is participating on the behalf of the member-organi- zations in the Commission on the Status of Women on a yearly basis. At a local level the umbrella organization is conducting reports to the Swedish government and parliament (Sveriges Kvinnolobby 2021).

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Different “Feminisms” Feminism has its foundation in demanding equality between men and women, and to end male domi- nance and the power imbalance consisting in the subordination of the woman. Since the 1920s different feminist groupings have developed as different approaches and focus areas have developed among feminists (Rupp and Taylor 1999:372-376). Here I will define the main feminisms, argues that sex should not determine the value of an individual and that men and women should be considered equally capable of being chief (Weedon 1999:14-15). Liberal feminists are generally fo- cused on women’s access to qualified work and that women’s unequal position in the society is due to women having been excluded from the politics and law in the past. For liberal feminists, there is a focus on that women should have the same freedoms and rights as men already inherit, and that the solution is education, upbringing and change of attitudes (Gemzøe 2017:34). Weedon describes the socialist feminist analysis as;” In socialist feminist analysis, exploitative class, race and gender inter- ests will persist until capitalism as a social system is transformed” (Weedon 1999:147), it is suggested that the socialist feminist agenda is to change the order of society as the class system is subordinating women within the spheres of the workplace, sexuality, family and motherhood (Weedon 1999:146- 147). , which is the primary focus of this study is stating that women are oppressed due to their sex and that oppression of women is the most common and widespread oppression. The oppression is expressed through men’s controlling of women, sexual oppression, abuse of women and . Radical feminists have their foundation in the expression of “the personal is political” and are traditionally organizing themselves in groups and are practicing against their common enemy which is the societal structure of men’s domination over women (Gemzøe 2017:48-49). To define feminism, and who is a feminist might seem difficult as there are different focuses within the different feminisms. Gemzøe has identified a feminist as a person who consider “1) that women are subordinated men and 2) that this relation need to change” (Gemzøe 2002:13, my translation).

Oppression A central aspect of the feminist movement is that of ending oppression towards women, and that the oppression is embedded within the societal structure created by norms, habits and symbols, as the oppression is deeply imbedded oppressors commonly act unaware of the consequences of their actions. Ending structural oppression is therefore a difficult matter since it is embedded in the cultural, political and economic institutions. There are multiple grounds of oppression which are in fact, embedded in

9 the structure of the society, this thesis will focus on the oppression of women and non-men in general. The oppressed group is defined by the existence of a power imbalance where one group is privileged over the other, the benefits that the privileged group attain serves as motivation for the oppression to continue (Young 1990:41-42). In the case of men’s oppression of women, it consists in a power, status and money imbalances which is expressed through the exclusion of women from positions of power which allows for men to practice control over women (Young 1990:50). Another important aspect of the oppression is the aspect of systematic violence that is defined as a directed violence towards mem- bers of a group, simply because they are members of a group, which is an important aspect for this thesis as Young (1990) suggest that every woman have a reason to fear rape, everyone knows that I happen, and everyone knows that it will happen again the author states “the oppression of violence consists not only in direct victimization, but in the daily knowledge shared by all members of the oppressed groups that they are liable to violation, solely on the account of their group identity” (Young 1990:62). define feminism as “the movement to end sexism, sexual exploitation and sexual oppression (2000:33) therefore the feminist movement consist in what has not yet ended (Ahmed 2017:5). Feminists are commonly theorizing the structural oppression of women as patriarchy, patri- archy stands for a political, social and ideological system where men enforce through traditions, rituals, language, education, law, education and labor division the roles women should and should not play within the society. The structure ensures that the women is always beneath the man, thus this does not mean that no women have power, or that all women within a culture does not have power as there are examples of cultures and societies that women are above the male in the power structure (Weedon 1999:20). Ahmed (1998) explains that western feminist may hear the voices of ‘other’ women who are raising their voices against cultural traditions but shall not speak for ‘other’ women and should not use ‘other’ cultural traditions to conceptualize an understanding of a universal patriarchy (1998:57). Which is why, this thesis is focusing on Swedish feminism and western feminism instead of an attempt to universalize and speak for those who I do not have mandate to speak for.

Academic Relevance

Kelly (1987, 1988) have raised perspectives of sexual violence in different forms that take place over a women’s lifetime and feminist thought of the experience of sexual violence, which sets the founda- tion of the theoretical understanding of sexual violence in this thesis. Gribaldo (2019) is an anthropol- ogist that have written an article on anthropological perspective and the study of gender-based violence

10 and the MeToo movement where they draw from the concepts of witnessing and speaking out which will be applied in this thesis, the author called for anthropological perspectives on gender-based vio- lence to provide an articulated picture of the issue, which this thesis attempts to do by building on ethnographic material to analyze the experience of violence and the resisting of violence. Savigny (2020) demonstrates how sexism has been normalized in the culture, media, politics and news which have allowed for sexism to be a part of the everyday life, and that #MeToo were a force that recognized that, and Fileborn and Loney-Howes have developed perspectives on the aspects of MeToo activism, inclusion within the movement and the media reporting, but both works lack a perspective of how the movement continues and lacks notion of the MeToo movement in Sweden as well as personal accounts from activists within the movement, whereas this thesis is contributing with a Swedish perspective that origins from activists and organizations that are engaging in the movement. Uimonen (2019) is an anthropologist that have been combining with anthro- pology as they has studied the visual aspect of the MeToo movement in Sweden through the concept of hashtag visuality and has focused on how #MeToo on Instagram is creating a digital archive of pictures and written stories, which is connected to the usage of Instagram material within this thesis which have contributed to an understanding of the contemporary feminist discourses, but the author lacks a perspective on the continence of the movement as well as the perspectives from those who are engaging as the focus is on archive material and what took place during 2017-2018 in the initial stages of MeToo. This thesis will contribute with a perspective of what have happened since 2017-2018 in- cluding the Rightless movement and the challenging of rape norms. Mendes et al. (2018,2019) have presented a perspective on the characteristics of the digital activism aspect of the MeToo movement which has contributed to the discussion on activism on digital platforms in this thesis, but the work fails to recognize the Swedish context of the movement and how an experience of being Rightless have raised as a consequence of the light that have been put towards sexual violence and the legal system that I will address. Pollack (2019) is an anthropologist that have been combining feminist theory with anthropology in her work on the MeToo movement in Sweden as they write on the movement and its impact on the Swedish society and the different petitions that have been forming the movement, which built a foundation of background information on the move- ment for this thesis but focuses on the media aspect of the movement instead of the perspective of the activist which this study will contribute with. Perspectives have been brought forward on MeToo campaigns from different Swedish indus- tries such as Jangland et.al (2019) coverage of sexual harassment within the Swedish social services and Bjurwald and Dejemyr (2021) who conducted journalistic research on sexual harassment and

11 assault within the Swedish police force, but the books do not recognize how the movement is contin- uing beyond the separate industries as well as current examples of how the movement continues which will be addressed through the ethnographic fieldwork that this thesis relies on. Anthropologist Ambjörnsson (2001) have over the years been incorporating feminist theory in her anthropological research, as they have been focusing on women’s experiences on misogyny and feminist engagement in Sweden before MeToo in similarity to Eduards (2002) who contributed with perspective on women’s organization, their demands and politics in Sweden. This thesis will contribute with an understanding of experiences of misogyny, feminist engagement and women’s organizations in Sweden from the aspect of what is happening since MeToo was initiated, and how the activism targets sexual violence. Liinason and Cuesta (2016) provided an account on how feminist activism were practiced in Sweden before the MeToo movement through an ethnographic fieldwork focused on activists and rep- resentatives from feminist organizations, while this thesis will contribute with an understanding of how the MeToo movement is continuing through feminism activism online and in the streets in Swe- den. Sandbekk Nordsted (2021) have provided an account for how the feminist activist community in Stockholm is with aspects of safe-spaces, as feminist practice, male feminist’s en- gagement, feminist engagement in class politics and the anxiety within the movement. Doing so, Sandbekk Nordsted have been applying feminist theory in their anthropological writing that I have been taking inspiration from. My thesis will contribute to an understanding of how the MeToo move- ment has impacted the activists understanding of past experiences, and how the movement is continu- ing to address sexual violence through digital platforms and in the streets activism that Sandbekk Nordsted (2021) did not address. Commonly mentioned in the works on the MeToo movement is the post aspect of it, Savigny (2020) suggested that the current time could be referred to as the post-#MeToo era, Uimonen (2019), Sandbekk Nordsted (2021) Fileborn and Loney-Howes among others refer to the movement as past tense signaling that the movement is over, but my study suggests that in Sweden at least the movement is far from being over. Since 2017 the movement have continued, both in terms of petitions arising such as #wetakethecartridgeout (#vigörpatronur) that were started by female hunters in 2019, and #itendshere (#härtardetslut) which were initiated by female chefs in 2020. Alongside the continued rise of petitions a majority of the participants in my study have expressed that the MeToo movement have not ended and is not close to ending. My study has brought forward that the movement may only have started, and that the self-identified women that I have interviewed in my study are eager to con- tinue the work. As addressed, the movement that is commonly considered as being over by scholars is

12 due to its continuance and development from a movement that have been focusing on the experience of sexual violence to containing the experience of an unjust justice system and the charges of women speaking out during the MeToo movement.

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2. Theoretical Tools and Terminology

Discourse

The thesis will overall consist of a discourse analysis, which will be done in a Foucauldian sense. Therefore, I will apply the Foucauldian notion of discourse, which is defined as ways of constituting knowledge together with power relations, social practices and forms of subjectivity. The body, mind, thoughts and feelings are given meaning to by the discursive context, but they are always a part of wider network of power relations (Weedon 1987:108). Foucault himself, explains the concept as:

The discourse should not be perceived as all the things that are said, nor as the way of saying them. The discourse exists as much in what is not said, or in what is marked by actions, attitudes, ways of being, behavioral patterns, and spatial dispositions. The discourse is the totality of the delimiting and delimiting designations that pass through them social relations (Foucault 2008:181, my translation).

Foucault introduces the Foucauldian discourse analysis in the book The Will to Knowledge: History of Sexuality Volume I (1976) in a discussion on the history of sexuality and the discourse the produces the meaning of it. Foucault writes the following:

Why has sexuality been so widely discussed, and what has been said about it? What were the effects of power generated by what was said? What are the links between these discourses, these effects of power, and the pleasures that were invested by them? What knowledge (savoir) was formed as a result of this linkage? […] The central issue, then (at least in the first instance), is not to determine whether one says yes or no to sex, whether one formulates prohibitions or permissions, whether one asserts its importance or denies its effects, or whether one refines the words one uses to designate it; but to account for the fact that it is spoken about, to discover who does the speaking, the positions and viewpoints from which they speak (Foucault 1976:11)

Discourse analysis is applied to discuss how there are forces that reinforce norms and structures that are serving to limit victim-survivors ability to get recognition and redemption, how a social movement can through the written and spoken word challenge a discourse and who is to be included in the move- ment. How the debate between the activists, and the critical opponents are carried out and the dynamics of power between the parties, and who is allowed to speak and claim a space within the movement. The discourses identified and analyzed in the thesis is those of the main topics in the thesis is the

14 following: the discourse of rape, mentioned as the rape script that consist in how rape is understood due to the norm that is communicated through media and the way it is spoken about in public, the MeToo discourse that is a space for women, and non-men in general is allowed to speak and recognize their experiences and bear witness to other’s experiences. The Rightless discourse is expressed through how women and non-men in general claim that they are rightless due to the experience of not enough rapists get sentenced in court alongside with the defamation trials that are spoken about as a method to keep women silence, the discourse is meeting resistance by counterclaims of that men in fact are rightless as a consequence of the consent law and the MeToo movement. Another discourse that will be analyzed is the discourse within the feminist movement itself, how the engaged activists communi- cate and how the movement that I have studied is deciding on who is allowed to be included. While the discourse analysis tells us that the norms that control to what extent sexual violence is allowed to be recognized, and the way that the media and the movement I have studied communicates around the discourses I have identified, it does not provide an answer of how that happens, and to which extent it is affecting those involved. However, it is meaningful that the theory regardless of its inability to pro- vide an answer to how sheds light on that the discourses exists.

Rape Script Rape script is a central discursive tool applied in the chapters. And is defined by Marcus (1992) as an “scripted interaction which takes place in language and can be understood in terms of conventional masculinity and as well as other gender inequalities inscribed before an individual instance of rape […] To speak of a rape script implies a narrative of rape” (1992:390). The author further suggest that the rape scrip involves the portraying of female bodies as violable, vulnerable, penetrable and wounded. The myths of rape are consisting of reinforcing the ideas of how rape should be, such as the idea that women should be afraid outside their homes as there is a risk of being raped, while in reality most rapes occur inside women’s homes (Marcus 1992:398-399). Loney-Howes (2018) contin- ued developing on the definition of rape script as the author brings attention towards the rape scripts impact on victim-survivors ability to speak about their experiences of rape. To speak out on experi- ences of rape one is required to present the testimony within the parameters of what is permissible speech within the discourse if the experience should be considered authentic. The rape scripts serve to govern which rapes are allowed to be articulated. The raped person, generally a woman is supposed to be helpless and vulnerable, and the experience should be terrifying and control her life (Loney-Howes 2018:26-27) and that being raped is an unspeakable experience (2018:29). It is further acknowledged that the rape script act as a force to deny rape in the court of law, that have created a yardstick outside

15 the courtroom to measure if the experiences should be recalled as rape which do not fit the actual parameters of the legal definition of rape. Which affects the ability to report crimes, but also in the sense of that it limits the ability for victim-survivors to identify or claim their experiences as rape (Loney-Howes 2018:37-38). Rape script will be applied in the thesis as a discourse, that sets the nar- rative of what rape ‘should be’ that is reinforced by the legal system, media and how it is spoken about in common speech. The rape scripts serve as a tool to point out the limiting norms and structure as well as what the social movement is aiming to overthrow by changing the way sexual violence is spoken about. There are limitations of the theory that should be addressed, and that is that it sets a heteronormative account of rape that does not take into account how the rape script is affecting victim- survivors of gender transgressive rapes, as well as female perpetrators are not taken into account, which is important aspects to recognize. I have chosen to use the term rape script in this thesis as the accounts of rape that are focused on in the thesis is from self-identified women, that have been victimized by men, and that the study has focused on men’s that have allowed for the theory of rape script to be applied.

Vulnerability and Resistance

Resistance is identified by Hollander and Einwohner (2004) ton include the following components: 1) an active form of behavior 2) an opposition or a challenge of norms, values, structures or roles (2004:538) 3) resistance is understood by the interaction between targets, resisters and third parties that acts to understand resistance (2004:548). Foucault (1978) describes resistance as “where there is power, there is resistance, and yet, or rather consequently, the resistance is never in a position of exte- riority in relation to the power” (1978:95) which leads to a cyclical relationship, where domination leads to resistance that leads to further exercising of power (Hollander and Einwohner 2004:548). Using a resistance framework when doing feminist writing is forwarded as a method to not further victimize women and consider them as passive objects of a system, instead focusing on their resistance towards the asymmetrical power relations is a method to restore the balance between op- pression and agency (Hollander and Einwohner 2004:551). Therefore, the framework provided by Butler et al will be applied in this thesis, where resistance is considered in a new light, as they propose “to think about modes of vulnerability that inform modes of resistance and to “resist” those frameworks that seek to underplay or refuse forms of political agency developed under conditions of duress, with- out presuming” (Butler et.al 2016:6). Vulnerability should be considered as what one is firstly and to overcome vulnerability through acting to resist (Butler 2016:12), but also that publicly resisting leads

16 to vulnerability and that vulnerability itself leads to resistance. Thus, resisting does not necessarily lead to overcoming, but as a force to mobilize politically (2016:14). The framework that is combining vulnerability and resistance functions to build the discussion on how the MeToo movement is functioning as an act of resistance of the rape script. Rape victim- survivors have commonly been considered as vulnerable, passive victims according to the rape script, their usage of their vulnerable position of being a victim-survivor, and the possibility of being victim- ize once again or that anybody close to them would be victimized serves as a ground for their reliance. Through recognizing these aspects, and the notion of the vulnerability that lays in the act of speaking out I will provide an account for how vulnerability acts as a force to resist.

Networked Connectivity and Digital Sisterhood

Networked connectivity is an extension from the notion of social imaginary defined as “the way people imagine their social existence, how they fit together with others, how things go on between them and their fellows, the exceptions that are normally met, and the deeper normative notions and images that underline these expectations” (Taylor 2002:23). The notion of social imaginary focuses on how people “imagine” their social environment, which may be shared by a large group of people. The social im- aginary is based in a common understanding that enables common practices and a shared sense of legitimacy (2002:23). In this thesis I will use the concept of networked connectivity in Fotopoulou’s (2014) understanding, where it is applied to conceptualize an understanding of feminist organizations, groupings and individuals connect in a social imaginary referred to as a ‘digital sisterhood’ that con- sists in the aspiration of a shared space through digital platforms and an idea of a digital engagement being a necessary tool practice feminism and campaign which has led to organizations adopting to use networked practices as a key feature in their engagement, and that being a feminist is commonly per- formed online as a consequence of the sense of networked connectivity (2014:993). The theoretical tool will be applied to conceptualize the understanding of a broader network of feminists, connecting in a sense of sisterhood manifested by the feminist engagement in contempo- rary Sweden, but also with a broader network in shape of the MeToo movement where feminists from all over the world connect in a collective action against sexual violence.

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Reinhabiting the Body

I will apply the terminology brought by Ahmed (2017) of reinhabiting one’s body and the past, sug- gesting that feminism involves finding a new way of living in your body, and allowing space and room for oneself to exist as well as allowing one to revisit previous experiences, that may have been over- looked in the past. It’s about becoming conscious about the injustices that one has been overlooking in your life, and gaining the terminology, concepts and understanding of and patriarchy to come to terms with experiences as well as identify them (2017:30-31). The thermology of reinhab- iting the body and the past to dwell on how the MeToo movement through the challenging of the rape script, has allowed for victim-survivors to re-visit past experiences, and redefine them for what they are.

Collective Identity

Collective identity is a concept that is central for understanding how actors within a social movement belong to a “we” and how that “we” is distinguished from the “other” that is anchored in an imagined or real shared experiences and attributes which constitutes the collective identity, which is a central part in understanding the social movement and organizations that this thesis is about. Embedded in the collective identity is the sense of a collective agency. Social movement groups tend to produce some sort of identifier or label that those within can recognize themselves in, and at the same time distinguish themselves for those on the outside as well as recruit members that can identify themselves with the group (Flesher Fominaya 2015:65-67). Despite most activists never interacting with one another, they are still able to identify with one another due to shared goals within the collective which allows for the movement to produce elements of a collective identity, a collective identity could therefore be de- scribed as the identity of a person as a member of a group, and not as an identity of the group. The collectiveness of the identity comes from the sharing the source of the identity with a group (Saunders 2015:91). Applying the concept of collective identity has been a central tool in the analysis of feminist organizations and groupings, and how they build on a group identity where they build on a collective identity on both shared understandings, as well as building on a sense of being safe within the group by deciding on a group that is not considered to be welcome within the group. While critics such as Lichterman (1996) suggest instead that movements are consisting of ‘personalized commitment’ con- ceptualized as personalism which is defined as “shared ways of speaking or acting that emphasize the personal self rather that its relationships to specific communities or institutions” (1996:17). I have 18 decided to use collective identity as a theoretical tool instead of personalism, due to the nature of the movement that is based in a sense of a shared identity and shared oppression.

Cultural Sexism

Cultural sexism is a terminology that describes how sexism is constituted by and a part of westernized capitalist culture, the culture acts through silencing women and denying their voice through disciplin- ing women into what they should be like and how they should look like which sets her role in the society. Cultural sexism is functions through violence, at a symbolic as well as a physical level that reinforces one another, which ultimately undermines the legal structures within a society. Cultural sexism stands for how sexism is incorporated in the Western cultural narratives which reinforces the subordination of the woman (Savigny 2020:24). Cultural sexism is applied as a theoretical tool to conceptualize the systematic sexism that is expressed by the participants as their goal to overcome through their engagement. Cultural sexism is applied as a framework that describe the systematic oppression that is commonly mentioned as patri- archy by the participants and the literature and its various methods of oppression that is practiced. Therefore, cultural sexism may be understood as a complementary tool to understand the concept of patriarchy and its impact on various levels.

Non-Men

The thesis is using the concept of non-men as a terminology to describe organizations that are wel- coming to everyone, that is not identifying as male. Therefore, the word non-men welcome will be used to describe the organizations that are open for those who identify as women, transwomen, gender queer or non-binary. Instead of naming all gender identities I have chosen to identify those who are not welcome in the organizations by using the term non-men to describe the organizations as their decision is to exclude men but include everyone else, the concept is to describe how the organizations is a space free from men’s influence which is introduced by one of the who describe that “a space to organize themselves and have discussions without men[…]” (Feminist Sisterhood, my translation). Therefore, the term of non-men is used to describe that everyone, but men is welcome.

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Participating in Activism

As the initial fieldwork begun in 2019, the initial phases of the fieldwork consisted of participation in an activist action, but as the Covid-19 pandemic came along and the guidelines and restrictions pro- hibited the gathering of people in larger groups whereas the activism moved into digital spaces, and I followed. Before the switch of venue, I got the opportunity to participate in one of the collective actions arranged. This took place on the 5th of September of 2019 in Uppsala and was part of the wave of Rightless actions that took place mainly during 2019, the action took place outside the Police Station in Uppsala. In the action, roughly 100 women and I participated by standing side by side outside the police station with taped mouths to manifest the at the time 236 reported sex crimes that were currently being investigated at the Uppsala Police station, according to statistics from the Swedish Crime Pre- venting Council only 5% of them would lead to eviction (Brottsförebygganderådet 2019), the action’s goal was to show that sex crimes should lead to eviction.

Fieldwork Online In August 2020, my fieldwork on Instagram was initiated as I unfollowed accounts on my private Instagram and created a new Instagram profile that would be used for my fieldwork. This to ensure that the material I saved was gathered from accounts that were open to the public, or that the account had granted me permission to use their content for my study. In my bio I stated that the account was used for an ethnographic study on the Swedish feminist movement, and I published a photo of myself alongside more detailed information on my study and contact details which could be used to contact me with interest or concerns. I decided to mainly follow public accounts that belonged to feminist groupings and organizations engaged in the MeToo movement and Rightless movement. The accounts I selected were at the time all actively engaged as organizations or groupings working for gender equality and to end sexual violence. Cissi Wallin’s account is the exception as her account is private and belongs to a single person. In her case I had her permission to use what she published for my study. Why I decided to follow her was because she was a person that was mentioned in most of my inter- views and on a large amount of the Instagram accounts from organizations that I followed, as a conse- quence I wanted to see what she posted since her posts seemed to have a large effect on the feminist community that I was studying. I decided to follow only feminist organizations that are posting about sexual violence alongside Cissi Wallin who a central figure in the movement. My fieldwork on Instagram consists of following 19 accounts over 9 months, including in the accounts are 5 organizations that I have interviewed activists from. I have been documenting my field- work through print screens of Instagram posts and Instagram stories. Boellestorff (2012) describes 20 print screens as a source to rich data when it is combined with other materials since they provide us with a picture of what was present, what is going on as well as giving us visual details (2012:115).

Interviews

The participants were selected from their engagement to end sexual violence, in feminist organizations that are continuing the MeToo movement through raising awareness and making sexual violence vis- ible. All of the participants were selected due to their engagement in feminist organizations except from Emelie and Ebba who were selected to participate due to their engagement in the Rightless ac- tions, that is a part of the MeToo movement or a continuance of the MeToo movement. Therefore, all the participants in this study are selected due to their engagement in the MeToo movement, either through engagement in a feminist organization or by participation in the rightless actions that ties together in the act of raising awareness about sexual violence. I interviewed women in different stages of life, in ages between 20-60 years old all of them engaged, self-identified feminists, who represent three parts of the engagement in the movement. Eme- lie and Ebba are both activists that are not bound to any organization at the time of the study but are tied to an organization and both took a leading role in the arrangement of rightless actions in their cities. The second group of participants are engaging in women’s sheltering/ support line organiza- tions, Mia and Mona are both engaging in the organization Women Supporters that are acting to sup- port women, men and non-binary that are experiencing or have experienced sexual violence or domes- tic violence through chat, and the organization is acting to raise consciousness on the issues on their social media platforms. Both Mia and Mona are volunteers on the chat function. Amanda is engaging as a board member in the organization Women’s Support Organizers, that is also engaging on digital platforms to raise consciousness on sexual and domestic violence. The third group of participants is women that are engaging in consciousness’ raising and activist organizations, Amina, Beatrice, Cata- rina and Daniella are all engaging in No More Violence an organization that is open for everyone to engage in. Alice is engaging as head of the organization Breaking the Silence, that is acting to raise consciousness’, and is engaging politically for women’s rights. The organization is open for engage- ment from all genders. Paulina is engaging in Feminist Sisterhood that is a local consciousness’ raising and activist organization in her city and Jennifer is engaging in a similar organization referred to as Women United. Both of Paulina’s and Jennifer’s organizations are open for non-men. The participants were found trough contact with the organizations, a Facebook group, Insta- gram posts and messages as well as personal recommendation. The persons I interviewed were all self-

21 identified women as the major focus of my study were women engaging in non-men welcome organ- izations and the Rightless movement which were a non-men welcome movement of collective actions. The interviews are consisting of 9 interviews in spoken format and 4 interviews in written format. All interviews took place over distance as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic which allowed for different tools to be used to do the interviews as I wanted to use the tool that the participants found being most comfortable for them. Two of the interviews took place over phone as they found it more convenient to do the interview over a walk or while doing errands, one over Facebook call, six over the video call platform Zoom and four in written format. This allowed me to have participants from Skåne in the south to Uppsala in the middle part of Sweden which did not limit this study geograph- ically. All of the interviews were recorded with my personal computer which only I have access to, and they are all stored on the same computer. All of the interviews are all transcribed and are stored on the author’s computer. I decided to have semi structured interviews as all of the women who participated in the inter- views are all different, the questions and the structure of the interviews were therefore different with every participant. I had prepared myself before the interviews with 10 questions that I had as a basis for the interview, but during the interview other questions often came to emerge depending on what the women told me. With some of the participants only one or two of my prepared questions were asked and sometimes all. As Boellstorff (2012) suggest having a list of question prepared for the in- terview can be a way to check of themes in the interview, but the questions do not necessarily have to come in the same order as it is a matter of being flexible with what is being mentioned in the interview (2012:97). For me having the questions were both a safety net for myself to ensure that I follow the themes I have set out to ask and to have some sort of structure to fall back on.

Coding the Material In order to identify categories and patterns the researcher can code their material such as transcribed interviews and by identifying the patterns in the interviews we can make sense of the data and ask new relevant questions in upcoming interviews (Cope 2003:441). In my study this came to be a key aspect, as I had identified after the first interviews that some patterns emerged as I was going through the interviews, which gave me a sense of which questions would be relevant to ask in upcoming interviews as well as which questions, I could skip in the upcoming interviews. Another aspect of coding the material has been printing my transcripts of interviews, and going over them over and over again, something that is encouraged by Cope (2003) as it allows the researcher to identify topics that are reoccurring in the material, as well as finding important insights (2003:444-

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445). In my case this meant printing all transcripts of interviews and print screens from Instagram and sorting them into folders and marking them with index tabs to state from which account or which interview the material comes from. After completing the sorting of the material, I started going over all the material once again with different colors of markers and index tabs with each color representing identified key themes in the material which I stated on a list in the beginning of the folder with each color next to them to keep track of their meaning throughout the writing process.

Ethical Considerations In my work I have been taking the ethical aspect in consideration therefore I have been following the American Anthropological Association’s Statement of Ethics (AAA 2012) therefore I conducted an informational text that I sent out to the women when I was asking them to participate in interviews so that they would be aware of my motives and what it would mean for them to participate. In this text I explained my research interest, that they are free to withdraw consent to the interview, they are free to decline to answer questions during the interview and choose what they want to tell, that the interview will be recorded and stored on my personal computer, and that I will be using their interview for this thesis and that I will be the only one listening to the actual audio file. I will anonymize the participants and organizations as far as possible this including giving them pseudonyms to avoid connection to their real name. They will all get the opportunity to read the essay as well, to ensure that they feel like they have been represented in a fair way. The information was later repeated during the interview, and they had the opportunity to ask questions and bring up concerns both before and after the interview. For my internet fieldwork, I have decided to anonymize the names of the accounts that have been included in my research. This to ensure that the participants will not be connected to their organ- ization, since identifying an organization that are in relation to an individual that have participated in in my research may uncover their identity (Boellstorff 2012:137). Therefore, I have given pseudonyms to all the organizations.

Position in the Field As I am 23 years old and identifies as a woman as well as feminist, me and my participants had a common ground, as most of them were close to me in age and all of them identified as female and feminists. Sharing an identity trait with the participants in my study I am sure affected the results in a positive direction, as we found ground to relate to each other in the interviews. The dichotomy of outsider-insider perspective has been criticized and discussed among femi- nist anthropologists over the years. López (2013) forwards that there are advantages and limitations to

23 belonging to either of the definitions, and sometimes you are both at the same time (2013:144). During my fieldwork I related to López (2013) as I found myself being both and insider and outsider in context to the field, I am an outsider as a master student that are not engaged in any of the organizations that are included in my study, and I have not participated in any demonstration before my research started and I have not organized one either. While I would consider myself as an insider as a person who identifies as a woman and feminist and posted #metoo on my Facebook and are considering the move- ment against sexual violence as important. And I was not completely new to the field as somebody that have been following feminist organizations and different feminists on my Instagram for a few years. The fact that I am both outside and inside the movement has been central in my study and has allowed me to have multiple perspectives on the field. My identity does not allow me to be completely objective in my field, but as Davies and Craven (2016) forwards the question if anyone would be able to stay completely objective with any research project and that all scholarly inquire is subjective since we decide our questions, how we gather the data and our position in relation to the participants during our fieldwork. But it should be clear that just because you share membership with a group it does not mean that you are automatically the same (2016:60-61).

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3. #MeToo: Speaking out

When the MeToo movement was initiated, women begun to question themselves and their past expe- riences to see where they fit into the context. For Mona a master student in human rights and a volun- teer in the organization Women Together where she supports victim-survivors over chat, the MeToo movement allowed for her to reflect on the lump she had been sensing in her stomach for a while. She started a process of ransacking herself to see if that lump in her stomach had anything to do with past experiences. What Mona came to find out as she reflected on the origin of that sense of a lump in her stomach, was that she had been suppressing experiences of agreeing to have sex with persons after saying no multiple times and having people deciding for her what is okay to do with her body. Expe- riences she later came to realize have been part in forming her sexuality. For Mona, the MeToo move- ment came to be a way for her to have something to fall back on when establishing boundaries for what she is okay with. In this chapter I will firstly introduce how the MeToo movement is kept alive through a con- tinuous engagement from activists and feminist organizations that are acting to make sexual violence visible through sharing of testimonies and news articles and secondly, discuss how the MeToo move- ment has allowed for past experiences to be identified, and how the rape script is serving to silence experiences that do not fit into the discourse of rape. The concepts of rape script, resistance, vulnera- bility and networked connectivity will be used as analytical tools in the chapter.

Making sexual violence visible

I believe that if you want to change something you have to talk about it, like when homosexuality was illegal or when rape within marriage were... or anything else so I believe that we have to normalize speaking about it so that people understand the seriousness of the issue and how many people it affects so that the laws can become sharper (Ebba, my translation)

The MeToo movement initiated in the autumn of 2017 quickly spread from United States to Sweden, what for the anti-rape activists were a method to turn their vulnerability into resistance, where the vulnerability functions as a force for political mobilization (2016:14). The MeToo movement has its strength in the practice of resistance through the sharing of vulnerability, which sets out a foundation

25 of a networked sisterhood. The resistance is practiced through the sharing their testimonies of assaults, abuses, harassments and rapes through specific social media platforms, which encouraged others to participate in the resistance either by joining themselves or to be witnesses, the movement fulfills multiple aspects such as unburdening, enlightening, empowering and conscious raising according to Loney-Howes (2019:54-55). While the experience of the movement for those engaged and their supporters have sensed it as an act against sexual violence, the movement quickly gained critics that were mainly criticizing the characteristics of the movement. In the Swedish evening paper Aftonbladet, Mparmpagiannis (2017) published a debate article suggesting that the MeToo movement is to be compared with lynching and witch hunting (häxjakt) of men, as the movement portrays men as perpetrators. His suggestion is, that since women are about 50% of the population there must be a lot of women that are violent towards men, but the movement lacks that perspective as it was founded to recognize women’s experiences and not men’s. It is suggested that it is tied with the lack of recognition abused men receive, and that men do not report their experiences to the extent that women do. Later in the article Mparmpagiannis continues to criticize the lack of credibility of the movement, as there are people that could use it for attention or even revenge (hämd) in his opinion (Mparmpagiannis 2017). The argument suggests that the movement should in fact have included men to a greater extent, as the consequence of the exclusion have led to a discourse where men are not recognized as potential victims, which have led to a dis- course where men are rightless due to the lack of recognition of women’s abuse towards men. Jennifer 24-year-old activist, who is engaging in the organization Feminist Sisterhood, a consciousness raising, and activist organization explains that MeToo is focused on women since patriarchy is the root of the problem, which she explains “have to be excavated and burned” (Jennifer, my translation) which ex- plains why the focus is on men’s violence towards women due to the nature of patriarchal oppression. Then there is the notion of witch hunt, that is expressed by Mparmpagiannis (2017) that is according to Savigny (2020) a common expression of misogyny, as the comment acts to potray women as pow- erless subjects belonging to men in the public discourse, instead of individuals who are speaking out to their own right (2020:23). Franks (2019) describes #MeToo as “an unleashing of women’s stories, a wave of women’s voices rushing to speak painful truths, to bear witness, to demand justice” (2019:85). The article writ- ten by Mparmpagiannis (2017) suggested that women would use the movement for attention or re- venge, and would therefore be lying is a claim that represents the common critics presented against the MeToo movement, where there is an idea that MeToo is constructed in lies, a person expressed in October 2018 in a debate field on the state owned news channel SVT that “Myself and all my friends

26 vomits on all lies, claims without substance, anonymous testimonies’ and public outing of men […] feminism equals hating men so I hate in return now” (SVT 2018) a claim that Brownmiller (1975) is addressing as a common practice by men that the author traces back into biblical times and were later reinforced by Freud and his followers that gave an account of how to defend oneself from rape claims from the lying and vindictive woman, which has allowed for a discourse where men have successfully been telling themselves and each other that women cry rape with ease, whereas the reality is that women that have been victimized rarely seek legal justice as a consequence of the feelings of shame and the sense of feeling responsible alongside with the fact that they are aware of the lack of recogni- tion the crime have within the legal system (1975:387). The consciousness’ raising organization No More Violence addressed the claim of using rape claims as revenge by reposting a text that was origi- nally published by the Swedish criminologist Nina Rung on their Instagram that states:

the idea that women make up or lie about rape because they 1. Want revenge 2. Regret having sex 3. Want to fuck men’s life up and therefore report innocent men is hard to get rid of. I have met young men that is under the impres- sion that it is only for a woman to report and one would get caught and grown men thinking that the new consent law (samtyckeslagen)allows for women to mention a name at a police station and then the man would get sentenced. Nothing could be more untrue. In 2019 8820 rapes were reported in Sweden. Which resulted in 409 sentences. It is not even 5% that got sentenced. That means that 95% go free. It is almost risk-free to rape. […] If revenge would be what one is after there is a lot of other crimes with higher expectation of a sentence (Nina Rung through No More Violence, my translation)

The fact that the idea of the lying woman has been rooted in the discourse of rape over many decades as a common response towards women reporting and speaking out, this claim was addressed in my study by the informants that suggested that publicly admitting one’s experience is not done easily as Brownmiller (1975) suggested. Ebba, a 22-year-old police student and arranger of Rightless actions expressed her experience as:

I find that men took it as an opportunity to ridicule women’s experiences and that it was the male voice that came to be heard the most as I heard expression of whether or not the allegations were true or not instead of believing in people and see the issue in that there are so many of them... surely there are a small amount of people posting untruths […] but that does not beat the unreported numbers (Ebba, my translation).

Amanda, a 26-year-old teacher student engaging in the board of Women’s Shelter United which is a women’s shelter and opinionizing organization described how posting #MeToo on her Facebook page was not an obvious decision and that she had to reflect on it over time before posting. When she finally decided to post, she did not regret it. She expressed that she had hoped that the movement made men

27 sweat (svettas) when going into their social media accounts and that they would start to question them- selves about their actions and ask themselves if any of the posts were about them. Amanda’s experience reflects what is commonly mentioned in the interviews, that speaking out about experiences is not something that is taken lightly, and that there is a feeling that speaking out may cause the perpetrators some sweat a term used by the feminist interviewed to describe how men should be anxious to be reported and called out by name over their behaviors. The participants explained that for them, the movement is rather for making the experiences visible than calling out persons by name in media, but that they hope that men recognize themselves in the testimonies ‘and change their behaviors. There is a common idea among the participants that MeToo is a method to understand the magnitude of the problem as expressed by Alyssa Milano. As it has been shown that there is few victim-survivors that actually report their alleged perpetrators as the statistics suggest that only 12% of sex crimes are re- ported (Evertsson 2011). Claiming that women are lying about their experience plays a key role in upholding the according to Savigny (2020) and is acting as a part of a structure that acts to place the responsi- bility on the victim, who in most cases is a woman. Coexisting is the idea that women are in fact enjoying the experience of being raped which further encourage the disbelief in women’s testimonies (2020:116). The consciousness’ raising and support line organization Women United responded to the critiques directed towards women’s testimonies of sexual violence stated the following on their Insta- gram account:

Telling your sexual assault/abuse story is not a trend, it never was. aren’t joining because it is trending. Girls are joining because after years of being ashamed and afraid to speak up, they found courage to talk about their experience because someone else did (Women United).

By continuing to make sexual violence visible they continue to challenge the rape script that sets the narrative of rape, as the script can always be changed according to the author (Marcus 1992:391), which has been proven by the anti-rape activists that are involved in the MeToo movement. By con- tinuing to make sexual violence visible through using the hashtag MeToo, the activists challenge the rape script by taking control of the narrative by sharing their own stories and at the same time using their platforms to allow for other women’s stories and experiences to be witnessed. Therefore, the MeToo movement has allowed activists to control how sexual violence is spoken about and which story is to be heard in a sense, a challenge to the patriarchal rape script. The practice of making sexual violence visible is practiced in multiple ways, for feminist or- ganizations included in the study sharing news articles is a common practice to both make the violence

28 visible as well as update on what measures are taken against sexual violence. An example of that is the article from the Swedish evening paper, Expressen shared by the organization Feminist Sisterhood a local consciousness raising organization stating that “during 2020 the number of reported violations of women’s integrity have increased in Lund and that the municipally executive board as a conse- quence want to prohibit the abusers to be in the same municipally as the victims” (Feminist Sisterhood, my translation). The organization No More Violence’s Instagram is mainly focused on sharing testi- monies of sexual violence that is sent in by anonymous non-men to the organization. But the organi- zation is also acting to make sexual violence visible through sharing news articles that serve to shed light on the magnitude of the problem, one example is an article from the Swedish daily evening paper Expressen that stated “women are having sex only to keep men calm and that rape in relationship is part of a larger violent behavior according to experts, and the women that are exposed to it tend to have difficulty telling somebody about the violence” (No More Violence, my translation). On the same day they posted another news article, this time from another Swedish daily evening paper called Af- tonbladet stating that seven men out of ten were sentenced after being prosecuted for purchasing sexual acts from a minor. The sharing of news articles to make sexual violence visible is not unique for the organization No More Violence, during our interview I asked Paulina about the usage of Feminist Sisterhood’s Instagram account to share news articles and how they reflect on the practice, she ex- plained how the practice of sharing articles is always done with careful consideration “there is always an ethical issue to shed light on a person that have been exposed to violence as it is a bit of a violation to the persons integrity, so you have to balance against each other if it is of benefit of the society or if it is gossip” (Paulina, my translation). The benefit she explained, is make the followers aware of what is happening, as there is a tendency among people to rather check their Instagram feed then the news. Therefore, sharing articles may act to raise consciousness and would therefore be considered as bene- ficial for the society. What is portrayed as the post-MeToo era by Savigny (2020), appears in my study to not be “post” as the MeToo movement is rather expressed as continuing till all sexual violence have ended, I suggest that MeToo is a method to challenge the rape script and to end oppression of women, by acting to raise consciousness of the magnitude of the problem and how the legal system is dealing with the violence. Four of the women in my study are engaging in No More Violence a feminist organization funded as a consequence of the rise of the MeToo movement and that aims to keep making sexual violence visible expressed. Amina is one of them, she expressed that she experienced the MeToo movement “as a new demonstration of strength against sexual violence and I still consider the topic as current and highly relevant. We cannot say after #MeToo until ALL sexual violence has ended”

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(Amina, my translation) and Beatrice who is another of the four women involved in the organization pinpointed the importance of the continuance of the MeToo movement by writing “making sexual violence visible serves to spread how common the issue is. The goal can be to get more people would look for support, to raise knowledge about sexual violence and that we must work preventive to fight sexual violence” (Beatrice, my translation). I propose considering the engagement in the MeToo movement as a discursive practice that consist in the challenging the rape script through raising consciousness on sexual violence and related issues, practiced through the sharing of testimonies, articles and memes that encourage understanding of the magnitude of the problem. Alma, a 60-year-old priest and chairperson of the organization Break the Silence which was founded to connect those who are engaging in the movement to collectively work to make a difference. She explained that the anger that awakened in her when the movement was initiated, and she became aware of the magnitude of the problem. The movement, she explained served as a motivating factor for her to engage to end sexual violence in every way she possible could, so her engagement came to be alongside engaging in the organization Break the Silence. She was also one of the leading forces in the MeToo call of the Swedish Church where stories of assault and misogyny within the church were exposed. For Alma, and other participants’ the MeToo Movement has already made an impact in Sweden, an indicator brought forward by the participants is the consent law that states that rape is built on lack of consent to sex, instead of focusing on violence, threats and vulnerable position (Riksdagen 2018). Paulina is hopeful that the law will impact young men in particular as they will be educated to understand consent and will therefore as she puts it “understand that they cannot get away with just anything” (Paulina, my translation). While Mona is afraid that the positive aspects that came with the MeToo movement have already been lost in several aspects, as she has noticed that people are getting comfortable in the understanding of Sweden being a country that are considered to be in the front of gender equality. For Mona it is therefore important to continue the MeToo movement and not get comfortable with the current state, because the fight is far from over.

Identifying Experiences

It is difficult to change that if we are in a situation where neither the perpetrator nor the person who has been raped understands that this was a sexual assault, I think it can be important to put that stamp on both for the victim but also I would consider it being important as a perpetrator that many times you do not even understand that I have done this I have raped another person and then I think that it is somewhere that you can start to figure out why it will be like it will be like but if no party understands that this turned out completely wrong, then it becomes very difficult to change (Mona, my translation) 30

The MeToo movement has served as a force to open a space for women to reinhabit (Ahmed 2017:30) their past experiences, when they are “coming out” as a victim-survivors they are acting to build on an allowing discourse. The practice of coming out is a method applied to change the rape script that dictates the way experiences is allowed to be expressed, and if the experience is considered as being authentic within the discourse (Loney-Howes 2018:26-27). By making multiple accounts visible, the account of what is normative and authentic is being challenged. Violence have been embedded in the societal structure as a method to silence and discipline women which have served to make the violence normalized in the societal discourse on multiple levels. This has set out a context of which symbolic violence and the act of silencing women’s experiences is the normal, which sets the basis for a dis- course where violence towards women become legitimate, and as a consequence the discourse that sets out the premises of violence have impacted the ability to recognize experiences as problematic (Savigny 2020:108-109). Kelly (1988) addresses the process of identifying oneself as a victim-survi- vor as a process that has multiple steps. First, one has to recognize the experience as lying outside what is considered to be normal and acceptable behavior, secondly, the experience must be recognized as abusive. And to contact support services, one has to take a third step, which involves defining the experience as a certain type of abuse, and to report the experience to the police one must identify the experience as a crime (1988:140). The MeToo-movement has allowed for women and non-men to start the practice of coming out collectively as victim-survivors, as a consequence of the space that opened up for them, which allowed non-men that have previously overlooking experiences, to revisit them with a new perspective and at last, define the experiences for what they are (Ahmed 2017:30-31). Mona explained that MeToo acted as a force that allowed for her to revisit past experiences, as the movement is not requiring that she would have been raped by definition as it is open to multiple accounts of assault. And the movement did not require having reported the abuse to speak out. All that was required from her was that she had experienced some type of sexual assault in her definition, not according to the legal system or the norm. She explained that she had over a longer period of time have sensed a lump in her stomach and that when the movement started, she did not have any choice but to reflect on what have been causing that sensation that she has been sensing in her stomach. But MeToo helped her realize that her sexuality has been built on men deciding for her what she should be okay with, and not her own will. She explained that what started with somebody touching her breast, continued to develop over the years and lead to her agreeing to sex after saying no multiple times. The experiences, she explained had not been recognized as experiences of assault on her behalf in the past, but as the MeToo movement came

31 along she started to reflect on the experiences, and finally she did come to terms with the fact that what had happened to her did not have her consent, and that in fact the experiences should be considered as assault. Mona’s experience is not uncommon according to Kelly (1988), as the author explains that sexual assault and rape commonly starts with consensual sex which later leads to pressurized sex. The experience is suggested to origin from men’s idea that women have a responsibility to meet their needs and women sensing that not meeting his needs would have negative consequences (1988:109-111). The rape script impact women’s experiences to the extent as it dictates what a rape should be like (2018:31), in Mona’s case the idea of how assault should be like limited her opportunities to identify her experiences for what they are as she explains:

It feels like it is commonly discussed that sexual abuse is when somebody is taking me with violence and then it becomes a hard discussion to take... but when the MeToo movement came it became something to lean on it is more about where my boundaries are and where you step on them and that it is both on an individual level and on the level of the society of what we think is normative and acceptable behavior I think that is what the movement inter- cepted (Mona, my translation).

For women like Mona, the MeToo movement became the force that allowed for them to look back on past experiences that have been overlooked due to the normative account of rape. When the multiple accounts of rape and sexual abuse, that before MeToo was not allowed a space to be recog- nized became visible as a consequence of the movement. Which allowed for a collective experience of being capable of revisiting the past, and as the past experiences were allowed recognition, they were allowed to reinhabit their bodies after accepting and defining the experiences for what they are. The quote that initiated this section of the chapter where Mona expressed the important aspect of gaining the tools to recognize experiences for what they are for both for the victim-survivor and the perpetrator, she explained that many times neither the perpetrator nor the victim-survivor recognizes the experience as an assault, which limits the possibility to change the behavior in her opinion. Then the importance of allowing multiple accounts of rape to be recognized in the discourse could not be stressed enough, as allowing for victims and perpetrators to recognize the assaults for what they are, is an important tool to allow for the rape script to change. Ahmed (2017) suggests that the experience of reinhabiting allows for the person to find an- other way to live in the body after the coming to terms with what have been overlooked and allowing the feelings entangled with the experience, by allowing the rage and pain to come forward you may be capable of directing them where the feelings belong, the knowledge involved with the experience al- lows for the persons to put the anger towards the system that allows the violence to continue to happen (2017:31). Closely related to the ability to reinhabit the body is the rape script that functions as a 32 discourse that dictates the terms of to which extent victim survivors’ experiences and the capability to recognize the experiences for what they are, as the rape script dictates the terms of recognition through setting the account of what is normative experience of rape. Loney-Howes (2018) dwells on the notion of a rape script, the author explains on how the discourse is commonly dictated by men who are the potential perpetrator than the potential victim, which is allowing the rape myth that decides to which extent women are allowed to claim their experiences, as the men sets out what “counts” as rape (2018:41). The myth serves to portray sexual violence as something that is rather infrequent experience and that it happens during particular circumstances, and that the victims are a certain type of woman, as well as portraying the offender as an aggressive or mentally unstable person, commonly a stranger. These ideas are linked to the understanding of rape as something that should be the most terrible thing that could ever happen to a person, an experience that is so traumatic to the extent that one would never recover from it. The normative account of rape is suggested to act as an indicator of the stereotype that in many aspects exclude persons that experience rape outside of the stereotype, such as persons that experience rape within relationships. The stereotype as a consequence, victim-survivors commonly lacks the abil- ity to recognize their experience as it does not fit in to the limited definition offered by the script, which constitutes as system where the person is less likely it is to identify the experience as sexual assault at the time of it taking place (Kelly 1988:148-149). The MeToo movement, I suggest has al- lowed for victim-survivors to challenge the normative account of rape that is defined as the rape script, which is allowing non-men to focus on their own personal experiences rather than the stereotype of what it should be, as Loney-Howes stresses an allowing space is crucial in allowing women to claim their experience (2018:41). The MeToo movement founded a space through the hashtag where every- one’s experience was allowed to be heard and recognized as Mona expressed were a crucial aspect for her to recognize her experiences for what they are. This is an aspect that Kelly (1988) lifts in connec- tion to her study where she interviewed women about their experiences of sexual violence, as the author explained that during her study the informant expressed that after participating in the study, and as an effect of reading up on sexual violence she started to reflect on her relations with men. Later, she came to categorize experiences in her past for what they were after years of suppressing them as a consequence of allowing space (1988:156). The participation in Kelly’s study has a lot of similarities with the participating in the MeToo movement as both of the occasions were consisted in an allowing space to speak out freely without taking the script into account, which in a sense sets the foundation of a allowing space for revisiting the experiences of the past and seeing them in another light as a consequence of the allowing nature of the spaces.

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The stereotype of classic rape has been affecting women over a long period of time and is expressed through an inability to categorize experiences of rape for what they are, alongside a sense that one brought it on oneself. Kelly (1988) states that the ‘classic rape’, is a stranger attacking a woman during nighttime and forces himself on her through the threat of killing her. What Kelly de- scribes as a ‘classic rape’ involves physical violence, the woman is expected to be acting to resist, a concept limiting many women’s chances to define experiences of ‘forced sex’ as rape (1988:148). Another aspect is that victims of sexual violence have a tendency to explain their experiences with self-blame through claiming that they bought it on themselves from going home with the man or lead- ing him on (2020:40). Amanda explained how the rape script made it hard for her to categorize her experiences of sexual violence for what they were as she had been telling herself excuses for what had happened, putting the blame on herself instead of the perpetrator. She explained that it took years to finally revisit the experiences and identify them for what they are, as she had a hard time categorizing the experiences for what they were as a consequence of the nature of the event did not fit into how the rape script as the person was somebody she knew and chose to visit on her own free will. The experi- ence of revisiting the past experiences for Amanda were slightly different from Mona’s experience. For Amanda everything took place before the MeToo movement were initiated, and it was not until she came in contact with a psychologist that she begun to open up about her experiences after having told herself during a longer period of time all the reasons to why her experience should be considered as being okay. She had used multiple explanations to explain for herself over the years that she had not been raped, like the fact that she went home with the guy on her own free will. When speaking to the psychologist and explaining the situation in full, the psychologist responded to her story through giving Amanda exactly what she needed to revisit the experiences with another perspective, that re- gardless of the circumstances around it, regardless of the fact that Amanda went home with the man, she had not asked for everything that happened after going home with him. When finally, the psychi- atrist said, “this was abuse, you did not want it, you said no” (Amanda, my translation) Amanda real- ized that she had been raped, and she was finally allowed to recognize her experience for what it is, which ultimately allowed for her to reinhabit her past (Ahmed 2017:30). Amanda and Mona have a lot in common, their experiences together suggest that there is a normative account of how rape “should be”, that is formed after what is understood as ‘classic rape’ which ultimately acts to set up limitations for women’s ability to define their experiences for what they are. Instead, women like Amanda and Mona did not define their experiences until they came across an allowing context, that allowed them to reinhabit their past.

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MeToo has acted as an empowering experience for victim-survivors, as the movement opened up a space where they could define their experiences in a space where the discourse of rape is not controlling the narrative. When MeToo was initiated, non-men began to claim a space within the dis- course that effectively challenged the rape script as the space that the hashtag constituted were open and welcoming towards all experiences of sexual violence. The discourse that the MeToo movement was unlike the rape script controlled by non-men, that had experienced violence themselves. The hashtag came to be as space where it was no longer men that controlled the narrative, which allowed victim-survivors to speak out regardless of the norm. As stressed by Mona, the importance of MeToo was that the non-normative account was recognized to the same extent as the normative accounts of rape, which ultimately allowed for victim-survivors to revisit past experiences and reinhabit past ex- periences and as they became aware of the structure of violence, at multiple levels (Ahmed 2017:30). The hashtag came to grow, and more and more non-men claimed the space to share their experiences and claim what had happened as they put words on it. Through the continuous sharing the allowing space were constructed and reinforced over and over again, and it still is. Which allows for other victim-survivors to recognize themselves in the experience of others and revisit their past and reinhabit their bodies. And as more victim-survivors began to claim their experiences, the persons around them came aware of the magnitude of the problem. For Mia a woman in her early thirties who are working on an authority alongside her volun- teering in Women United expressed how the MeToo movement had changed the discourse, as the first time she experienced sexual violence 15 years before MeToo her experience was met with petting on her head, but when it happened again, during the movement her experience were different. She ex- plained that the MeToo movement allowed for her to experience everything differently as the space was different, and as she expressed “its burning everywhere (det brinner överallt), let’s go” (Mia, my translation) she had located the strength in the movement, as the description of the fire burning could be described as a collective anger where feminists collectively have had enough of being silenced that she recognized herself in from her past experiences, but this time everything came to be different. Ahmed (2004) suggests that using the anger to critique the world is central to the feminist practice (2004:171) which constitutes what came to be different for Mia this time around, she had the sisterhood in the movement, and she was aware of that other non-men were experiencing the same thing as her. And she knew that the anger that she was experiencing was shared with others, unlike the first time Mia experienced sexual violence. She now had the sisterhood on her side which allowed for her to use her anger, to use the vulnerability in the experience of sexual violence to resist the system that allows for the violence to continue. Instead of remaining quiet, Mia spoke out collectively with other feminists

35 as she organized a play which addressed sexual violence in cooperation with eight other actresses. Their play consisted in an act of resistance towards the system that attempts to keep them silence through the rape script. When Mia allowed for her experiences to be a part in conciseness raising through the play that addressed sexual violence, she and the other actresses contributed through their acting, singing and sharing of testimonies on stage. As they gained public recognition, the media quickly got engaged and a large number of people came to see the play; the play became a success story and another method of engaging in the MeToo movement. Mia’s experience highlights the power of intertwining the personal with the political, as Savigny (2020) stresses, there is a power in sharing individual experiences of oppression as the collective expression of experiences of oppression facili- tate change by connecting the political to what is considered personal it allows to not only to see what is happening to individuals, but it allows for an understanding of the power structure that legitimate the oppression (2020:25). But there is also an expression of resistance in the vulnerable as Butler (2016:14) expresses, the claiming of experiences that are suggested to make women vulnerable and that rape should be an unspeakable experience, but as Mia and the other feminists stood on stage and spoke out, they resisted the structure and the norms of how a rape victim should behave, which is the ultimate expression of MeToo the resisting of remaining silent. I suggest that the challenging of the rape script by raising awareness through the act of speaking out and making sexual violence visible allows for victim-survivors to recognize their experiences for what they are.

Conclusion

In this chapter I have firstly given an account of what constitutes the powerful aspect of MeToo, which is the usage of experiences that are supposed to make victim-survivors silent, and vulnerable to resist as Butler (2016) have stressed functions as a foundation for social movements. And as non-men to- gether in a sisterhood based in shared experience of sexual violence is allowing them to challenge and take control of the rape script that acts as a discourse on how rape is ‘supposed to be’. It has been shown that the norm act to keep a rape victim-survivor silent through the aspect of the normative rape, and of the idea that the experience should be unspeakable. By sharing testimonies of sexual violence, the activists perform an act of resisting the space provided for them by the rape script, by forming a space where victim-survivors themselves sets out to define their experiences. The critiques that the movement has received, I suggest is an expression of the discourse of rape that serves to silence women’s experiences by attempting to undermine them.

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Secondly, I have stressed that how different participants have experienced how the rape script has an impacted their ability to come to terms with what they have experienced. Mona, who explained that the MeToo movement allowed for her to revisit past experiences and identify them for what they are. She had remined silent for long due to the discourse of ‘classic rape’ that reproduces an ideal of how a rape should be like for it to classify, similarly it took years for Amanda to identify her experience as she had been telling herself that her experience was not rape since she had gone home with the man, implying the idea of the rape script implies that it should be a violent stranger, which allowed for her to self-blame before putting the blame where it belonged. The experiences of Mona and Amanda have suggested that an allowing space is a crucial aspect of recognizing experiences for what they are, which allows for them to reinhabit the past and their bodies. Mia’s experience has suggested that experiencing sexual violence during MeToo is another experience than before, as the MeToo movement has awak- ened a sisterhood, where there is collective support through the sharing of the experience with others.

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4. “Somebody has to do something” – Engaging in Feminist Organizations

When one sees someone else's engagement, it gives hope to those who themselves do not have the strength to encourage their own engagement and what I think I see in the MeToo movement is that quite a few who have been driving in the movement and have engaged in the movement have a huge personal commitment and for quite a few, my experience is that it comes from having some kind of own experience of violation, harassment or bullying often it is something in oneself have experienced that makes you want to work with this type of issues and it is both that it feels as it may be given. It is both a great strength that it is like that, but it is also what makes many who are involved it is also a bit fragile or vulnerable (Alma, my translation)

In this chapter I will answer the question of how feminist engagement is practiced in the movement I have studied. I will answer the question in four parts, first I will present how the participants identify themselves within the feminist movement and I will suggest that the contemporary radical feminist movement is becoming intersectional. Secondly, I will suggest that feminist engagement is made through feminist rage and that feminist organizations are constructed from the concept of sisterhood. Thirdly, I will suggest that there is a strong discourse that including men in feminist organizations is disrupting the space for women and that that discourse is being challenged by those who argue that trans-women should be defined as men in an attempt to build a stronger “we.” Lastly, I state that ‘networked feminism’ is a method to create a broader sisterhood, as well as to raise consciousness and challenge the rape script. The chapter will be discussed through the concepts of discourse, rape script, collective action and networked connectivity.

Feminist Identity

For me being a feminist does not mean being anti men, but it means working to achieve gender equality and ac- knowledging that the world is unequal today. (Paulina, my translation)

The road to self-identifying as a feminist has been different for the participants, Ebba a 22-year-old woman studying to become a police officer who arranged a Rightless action (rättslösa demonstration)

38 in her city shared her journey to become a feminist with me. Her first feminist engagement was en- gaging in a collective action consisting in the collective understanding of the condition where only 5% of reported perpetrators were sentenced, blaming the legal system for not being just, which sets out the framework of a collective action (Benford, Snow 2000:615). Her journey to become a feminist and activist started in the definition of anti-feminist, as she in high school was portraying the feminist movement as a bunch of angry women who do not shave their legs, which is a common prejudice among anti-feminists. However, one day, she came across a podcast where Anna Manheimer and Mia Skäringer who are both comedians, writers and active feminists spoke about feminism in an approach- able way. Listening to the podcast raised her consciousness on the structural nature of oppression towards women, she explained, and she became aware that the movement consists of more than angry, unshaved women. Hooks (2000) suggests raising awareness of male domination and its impact on everyday life of women and how it exploits, victimizes, and sometimes oppresses women is an im- portant aspect of understanding patriarchy (2000:7). Being aware of the sexism and male domination may be identified as the common ground for persons who identify as feminists. Alma is a 60-year-old priest and PhD student who is one of the front figures for the organization Break the Silence. She has been an active feminist for about 40 years she explained. It all started when she was in her 20’s and one would identify as a “red stocking” (rödstrumpa) a name for persons en- gaged in the radical feminist movement (radikal feministisk rörelse) at the time, the movement was focused on the power imbalance between men and women as a class difference, as the movement was highly tied to the socialist ideals (Elgán 2015:241). When looking back, she notices a change within the movement when she sees her daughters’ perspectives on her feminism. For Alma, being a female priest and working on inclusive language within the church and working for justice in everything she does is something her daughters consider a normative action. However, for Alma, just being allowed to be a female priest is radical in comparison to what she grew up with. At the same time as she can see her daughters being conscious feminists, she can see that there are things that they are doing that would never would have been a choice for her when she was their age:

While some actions they do with great consciousness’ was completely unthinkable for me when I was growing up, At the time I was growing up I would never consider making myself financially dependent on a man for instance, but one of my daughters have done it out of the perspective that if he earns a lot of money, that is good, While I felt more “oh my god I would never do that!” and a way of thinking about body and appearance and so that has also changed over time, that I had some sort of thought of that not pleasing men was a part of being a feminist where my daughters just “no it is not” instead they go in their short skirts no matter what how and instead considers it being their right while I on the other hand find them a bit unthoughtful (Alma, my translation)

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How feminism has its foundation in the personal is manifested through the different ideas of how to be a feminist that Alma and her daughters manifested. Rupp and Taylor (1999) stress that the founda- tion of the feminist movement lays in equal laws and opportunities for women and men, since the 1920-30s feminist groupings have developed different definitions of feminism. Even though different definitions were applied in different feminist groups, they gathered around the common goal of ending male dominance and sexist oppression (1999:372-376). Hooks (2000) claims that feminism has grown to be more individual, a lifestyle which has allowed for feminism to have as many definitions as there are women. This has led the movement to lose its clear definition it is suggested (2000:5-6). This notion is manifested through Alma and her daughters and their way of reflecting on their actions. Alma’s feminist foundation is in the redstocking movement, and her daughters who are in their late 20’s and early 30’s built their feminist foundation in another decade in similarity with most of the participants in my study who mainly grew up during the 90’s and 2000’s. All of them agree on the fundamental idea of sexist oppression, which is the foundation in the collective action that their com- mon will to end sexist oppression is, yet their practices are different. As Alma’s experience suggest, both she and her daughters are feminists but their definitions of what that means in practice differ as they are different individuals with different experiences, as well as the fact that they grew up during different decades. The self-identified women that participated in my study were all are engaged femi- nists, and all are engaging against sexual violence, as well as the common idea of a discourse of sexist oppression and male domination, but there are many things that differ in their definitions, due to their different entry points and different lived experiences and their perspectives. This is made visible through the women I have interviewed that are identifying as radical feminists and are engaging in radical feminist organizations, while they share the common ground in the definition, their practices and values vary to some extent. The radical feminist movement started in the 1960’s and claims that women are oppressed as a consequence of their sex and that oppression of women is the most common and widely spread form of oppression and has a focus on how male domination is expressed through sexual violence and abuse and misogyny. Radical feminists commonly organize themselves to raise awareness and for allowing space for the personal experiences within the political. According to the radical feminist idea, all women are living under oppression and therefore all women should be included in the same movement (Gemzøe2014:48-49). I am suggesting that the radical feminist movement is becoming more intersec- tional through the intersectional engagement among feminists that engage in the movement. ‘Intersec- tionality’ refers to the interaction between gender, race, and other categories of difference in individual

40 lives, social practices, institutional arrangements, and cultural ideologies and the outcomes of these interactions in terms of power (Davis 2008:68). The intersectional turn is manifested by Amanda who is both a teacher student, government worker and active on the board of Supporting Women, when asking her to introduce herself when we started the interview, she told her name followed by announc- ing the pronouns she prefers as she/they (hon/henne/hen/den) a common practice among intersectional feminists to normalize the asking and mentioning of pronouns (Amnesty 2015). Paulina, a 29-year-old IT-developer, is a self-identified radical feminist engaging in the consciousness raising organization Feminist Sisterhood expressed how she is hoping that the feminist movement is moving in an “inter- sectional direction” (intersektionellt håll). She wishes that more understanding would be put towards the oppression of women and non-men, and not only gender confirming white women. According to her, the difference within the spectrum of women and non-men must be acknowledged within the movement in order for the movement to function for equality for all. Her aspiration is to have at least one black woman on the board in her organization Feminist Sisterhood as a direction towards building a more interactional perspective within the organization.

Engaging in the Feminist Movement

Klara: What is it that motivates you to work with these issues? And how do you keep it going? (my translation)

Jennifer: yeah.. it is because I feel like I have no choice this is the reality we live in and it is an reality I refuse to accept and I really do not want my future children or anyone’s future children to be brought in to this.. then someone has to do something (my translation)

Engaging in the type of feminist organization (feministisk organisation) that I have studied is com- monly connected with experiencing a feminist rage, which has been a contributing factor for the par- ticipants to engage in the movement. bell hooks (2000) famously stated that “feminists are made, not born” (2000:7), feminists are people that get engaged, not because they were born, engaging in feminist action is a choice to act I suggest. Feminism has its foundation in women gathering in groups to speak about the issues of sexism and male domination, and early on in the movement women started to gather in consciousness raising groups consisting in the rage of being victimized (bell hooks 2000:7). Sara Ahmed (2004) continues on hooks’ suggestion of rage over being victimized as a foundation for con- sciousness raising by suggesting that “It is not that anger at women’s oppression ‘makes us feminists’ […] identifying as a feminist is dependent upon taking that anger as the grounds for the critique of the world, as such” (2004:171). The anger, and the continuous criticizing of the oppressional system which

41 the feminist groupings consist in, expresses how the movement consists in a collective action to change the societal system that serves as foundation for the oppression. Jennifer, a student in her mid-twenties who are engaging in the feminist think-tank Feminist Sisterhood expresses how her feminist rage (fem- inistiskt vrede) is the force behind her engagement, which has commonly been recognized as a force behind engagement in an action or an organization. For Jennifer the rage has been building up over the course of multiple years of experiencing and being aware of the oppression towards women, so when Feminist Sisterhood were founded in her city and started looking for people to engage, the decision to engage was simple. For Alma, the MeToo movement contributed to build a rage within her so strong that she felt that she needed to roar. Alma’s roar came to be engaging in the MeToo movement and contributing to organizing an appeal within the Swedish church, later she came to be a significant figure within Break the Silence, an organization that is contributing to making women, non-binary and trans persons heard in MeToo questions. The participants in my study are examples of how the anger towards the system that oppresses has been used to build on their engagement in the collective actions of MeToo movement and the Rightless Movement, as their engagement in feminist organizations and actions are serving to raise awareness and criticize the patriarchal system (patriarkatet) their engage- ment is consisting in the idea that raising awareness is a method to challenge the oppression. In Alma’s case, her engagement came to be in one of the #MeToo calls, that constituted the MeToo movement in Sweden, which lead her to her engagement in the organization Break the Silence while Jennifer is engaging in the local feminist organization Women United. The self-identified women I have been in contact with commonly express that they have been conscious about sexism and the structural victimization of women over many years, but then there is something that have happened which have pushed them to take their engagement to another level. Frequently mentioned is that the MeToo movement or the Rightless movement was a starting point for their activist engagement. Paul- ina’s choice to join Feminist Sisterhood, an organization that drives feminist formation of opinion, feminist activities and surveys partly came from her awareness of the work that the organization had done with the Rightless action in her city, so when the organization reached to find persons to engage in a local feminist separatist Facebook group, she contacted them immediately as she had heard about their previous engagement. While for Alma the MeToo movement came to be a calling for her, as the movement built on her rage to the extent that she came to help organize a MeToo call within the Swedish Church where she together with the others engaged started questioning the old structures within the institution. As a consequence of the MeToo movement which was initiated in 2017 new feminist organi- zations were founded, that built on the idea of a sisterhood (systerskap). Hooks (2000) suggests

42 political solidarity between women has been a force that has contributed to positive change, but at the time of her writing hooks sensed that the solidarity was under threat and that women overall is forget- ting about the power of sisterhood, and therefore that author suggest bringing back the “” to the feminist movement in general as the work of continuing the formation of a sisterhood is now placed on the radical groups of women (2000:17). The concept of sisterhood which consists in a political solidarity between women who share a common suffering, and a political bond between women which is aiming to overthrow patriarchy and demine sexism (bell hooks 2000:15). I claim that the sisterhood that hooks (2000) was rooting for, was reinforced by the networked connectivity that raised during the MeToo movement. Where the sisterhood was reinforced by the sense of having shared the shared experience of sexual violence with others, came to form a sisterhood that does not require belonging to a certain locality. I suggest that there are various sisterhoods, as they exist on multiple levels. Many of the organ- izations that are included in this study are founded in a certain locality, building a foundation of sis- terhood within the organization and among their followers on their social media platforms. Examples of local organizations are Feminist Sisterhood and Women United, that promote a local type of sister- hood where the sisterhood is found within the organization itself, the sisterhoods that exists on various levels sets the foundation of the movement that I have studied. The sisterhood that exists within the organizations is tied to the broader sisterhood existing in the community and a networked sisterhood where women and non-men support one another without knowing one another that is made visible through the MeToo movement. The shared suffering and oppression are building a bond strong enough to support one another no matter what, which is expressed in the solidarity that women and non-men who are engaging in the rightless movement, MeToo movement and feminist organizations that I have studied share between one another. Mona expressed that “to engage in a feminist organization such as Women Supporters is connecting with other persons with the same values and goals a crucial part” (my translation), that is commonly mentioned by other participants and is to be connected with political solidarity, the foundation of the force of sisterhood. As suggested by hooks (2000), it does appear to be a strong sisterhood between the women that have a radical engagement, which has been stated by women who are expressing that they feel supported by the sisterhood, and that they know that the sisterhood is behind them in their actions. The MeToo movement allows us to recognize how a movement is spread across the world through the networked nature of the movement that founded a sense of networked connectivity through the hashtag that sets out the foundation for the networked sisterhood, allowing those who yet have not experienced it a sense of belonging to a larger community of support. Non-men started speaking out

43 through the hashtag a bond of women and non-men founded the sisterhood on digital platforms, which came to be visible as they found support in one another in the shared experience of sexual violence. Salmonsson (2021) suggests that the feminism in the 2020s has trough the usage of information tech- nology as a method of building a community (2021:440) and Fotopoulou (2016) states that the shared visions of social change in combination with social networks have contributed to a sisterhood consist- ing in networked connectivity (2016:41). I argue that the rise of networked connectivity that characterize the MeToo movement allowed for the Feminist organizations and feminist movements in Sweden to blossom, as a majority of the organizations in my study were founded after the MeToo movement were founded, it appears that the connectivity between non-men across the world have allowed for the sisterhood to re-emerge through the establishment of radical feminist organizations and the rightless movement where non-men gath- ered for their right to justice. It is indicated that radical engagement through feminist organizations have grown to be more common because of the MeToo movement, as the engagement has become more common, as the engagement has become more available through the rise of networked feminism.

Collective identity – non-men welcome?

We are welcoming trans people to our organization which not all feminist groupings do and as a consequence we have a different social community (Paulina, my translation).

The organizations included in my study are mainly consisting of persons who self-identify as women, a majority of the organizations included in the study are non-men welcome which is a term I apply in this thesis to describe organizations that are open to women, non-binary and trans-women but not persons that identify as men in the organization. Organizations such as Femcity are open to all but want at least 75% female members in the organization and No More Violence is on another side of the spectra, suggesting another type of engagement as they are arguing that the only way to achieve gender equality is to get everyone to participate in the movement, and that includes men. Their inclusion of men in the movement suggest that men do have the ability to resist acting as oppressors through en- gaging to end sexual violence and are showing that it is possible to resist being a part of the patriarchal structure that acts to oppress. Paulina and Jennifer who are both engaging in feminist organizations that are non-men welcome suggests that the discourse of having non-men welcome organizations is an act to provide a safe environment for non-men to engage Feminist Sisterhood explained that:

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Our by-laws state: “The association is open to anyone who accepts the association's by-laws and who identifies as a woman, transgender or non-binary" The main reason for this is for the association to be a safe place, where people should be able to feel that they can organize and discuss without men's input and influence. (Paulina, my translation) Jennifer’s response was of similar character that not allowing men within the organization is a matter of safety and to build a space that is founded in the absence of men. Fem-organizers states on their Instagram that “No one actually thinks all men. Just too many men. Just enough men to be afraid. Just enough men that all women have experienced it. Just enough to make it a social problem not a personal one” (Femorganizers, my translation). This explains that the fear of men is grounded in the idea that no one knows which man to trust, as there are too many men to be afraid of. Feminist Sister- hood stresses that it is difficult to trust men as they can on one hand encourage women to say no and that it should be enough, and on the other, act to question women’s right to say no and act to blame women for practicing their right to say no. This is one of the factors considered in the decision to keep men out of the organization, as it is not possible for the women to know which men are allies, and which men who would act to further oppress within the organization. Another aspect is the one of patriarchy, as patriarchy is a system of male domination and sexist oppression that affects women’s daily life as the system serves to oppress them in all arenas, the experience of being exploit and vic- timized for being women tend to awaken rage. As a consequence of the rage, women organize them- selves to raise consciousness and change the politics that are serving to oppress them (hooks 2000:7- 6). The male oppression is therefore one of the factors that allow for feminist groupings to be welcome to all but men. There is a will to form a collective action against male oppression, as having men involved risks affecting the power balance within the group, to be yet another space where men take over. The organizations that decide to have the membership in the organization for non-men only, are both constructing a space free from male oppression and building on a collective identity. The groups that have decided to be non-men welcome, have formed a sense of “we” that is distinguished from the “other” which in this case is men (Flesher Fominaya 2015:65). Due to the character of the feminist movement are constructed in the notion of gender, sex and sexuality the social identity is based in the same criteria (Barnes 2015:131). It appears to be another aspect of keeping the organiza- tions dominated by women and non-men as Femcity stated on their membership page that they are aiming to have at least 75% female members and are therefore having the persons interested in becom- ing a member fill in a box where they state that they are identifying as a woman. Why you may ask, the Swedish Gender Equality Agency is demanding that organizations that are requesting financial aid consists of at least 75% self-identifying women (Jämställdhetsmyndigheten 2020). If this is an aspect that is affecting other organizations is rather unclear, as the interviews have shown that the choice to 45 not include men is an aspect of safety and not one of funding, however the aspect of an authority like the Swedish Gender Equality Agency is setting out a context where organizations that work for gender equality to consist of if not all, by a majority of females. During the autumn of 2020 conflict came to rise within the part of the Swedish feminist move- ment as a consequence of the difference in definition and goals within the different feminisms, the intersectional feminists on one side, trying to keep the organizations open for everyone that does not identify as male, and the radical feminists on the other side that hold on to the concept that is focused on discrimination of women in terms of sex, not gender which intersectional feminists tend to focus on. This caused a tear among the activists involved in the movement that I have been studying, where they were forced to choose side on the issue of whether or not trans persons should be included in the movement. The Feminist Organization Gardet2 which is a feminist organization that I choose due to their impact in the movement to use their original name, describing themselves as “about women, for women, by women” (Gardet 2021, my translation) started the conflict as they expressed that “We consider trans women as men and that “cis” is made up by the trans movement to make women privi- leged because they are women and get allowance to state that women oppress men…” (QX 2020, my translation) which I on a later occasion could not find on their Instagram account. The organization came to post later the same month that “they are radical feminists that believe that women are op- pressed due to their biological reality” (Gardet 2020, my translation) and that they “wanted to focus on women in their feminist liberation movement without being identified as excluding or fobia” (Gardet 2020, my translation). Serano (2013) has identified that there is a discourse within the feminist movement that refuse to acknowledge intersectionality and are instead keeping a focus on framing as and consider transwomen as “entitled men” who have transitioned to infiltrate women’s spaces. The author further suggests that this rhetoric has been toned down, but there are still feminists arguing that trans women have no right in participating in the feminist movement as they were not socialized as women and that they have experienced benefits of male privilege (2013:58-59). Among the organizations in my study is about two of them closed off to trans-women, one of them is Gardet and as their statement spread thought the feminist community during the autumn of 2020 feminists were forced to pick a side, either stand on the side of Gardet and Cissi Wallin, who is the founder and initiative taker to the organization as well as a central feminist figure within the Swedish feminist movement or to state that they are trans-welcoming. Paulina was one of the women that expressed in

2 The organization’s name Gardet, comes from the notion of guarding force (vaktstyrka) commonly associated with the act of taking the law in one’s own hands. 46 her interview that she considers that transwomen belong in the feminist movement as any other woman, and that she feels like the energy should not be put into a debate of whether or not transwomen should be included in the movement or not as she considers the whole debate being very insulting as gender dystrophia is a real condition. Further she expressed that:

In the past month the movement have been moving in a direction where it is pro-trans against radical feminists and it does not seem very positive to me as it appears that a new definition of what it means to be a radical feminist for about a month ago it had nothing to do with being anti-trans and I hope that we are not going in that direction, and I hope that feminists stop saying that trans women is a threat to feminism and that if “men” change their gender they are stealing space from women” (Paulina, my translation).

The trans-exclusion statement by Gardet later caused one of the organizations that has been referring to themselves as a sister organization to Gardet to change their name which previously included Gardet as a consequence of the new turn of the organization that has caused distrust within the previous sister- organization as they no longer knew what Gardet stood for. The name changing came to be a method to show that they stand on their own, and that their values are that non-men should be welcome to engage in their organization. While Paulina among other participants expressed that she is not agreeing with what had been said, other participants were agreeing with what has been said and decided to side with Cissi Wallin and Gardet. Emelie who was one of the women who arranged a rightless action in her city expressed her loyalty to Cissi Wallin when being asked about the situation:

Klara: What is your opinion about what Cissi Wallin said? Has it affected your opinion on her? (my translation) Emelie: no, one can say that I agree with her on that topic and I have always been on her side because she is a very strong person and woman that have experienced a lot and she have done large things and what she does in her private life is not my concern one has to separate the person from their actions… about the trans question it is of course a feminist issue but it is first and foremost a question about sex and that is a little bit what feminism is about so of course one should be able to discuss the issue without somebody being called an idiot and being excluded because we are doing it together (my translation)

The conflict that was on the feminist agenda during the autumn of 2020 is manifested through the opinion of Emelie and Paulina, who represent the two sides of the conflict, a conflict that Åkestam (2018) suggest is representative of the contemporary feminist movement. The author claims that con- flicts within the contemporary feminist movement commonly have to do with the way social media has been brought into the movement. Instagram is one of the central digital platforms that is commonly used by those who are engaged within the movement, the accounts are set up by either a person or an organization consisting of a few individuals that are behind the accounts which have set up a discourse

47 where the focus commonly is on individuals. This has encouraged feminists to follow their feminist idols on Instagram, and as they are brought into the private life as well as their feminist ideas which contributes to building a network of allies as their followers start identifying with them. So, when conflicts arise, people tend to stand on the side of the person they like best. This switches the focus from feminism to the feminist – the person rather than the movement (2018:42). I am suggesting that there is a discourse within the feminist organizations in my study that serves to exclude since the majority of the organizations have decided to be non-men welcome, which may of course be different in other parts of the movement that have not been included in the study. And that during the autumn of 2020 a conflict on if trans-women should be included in the excluded group, that decided who is welcome to engage in the feminist organizations and who is not considered to be welcomed, which turned into a split between allies and intersectional feminists. It has been sug- gested that the conflict has been causing a distraction from the common sets of goals. Instead, there are discussions on which persons side one is on or who is to be included in the movement instead of working collectively towards the goal that is set out as the foundation of the collective action.

Networked Feminism

Klara: Do you use social media to practice feminism? (My translation)

Beatrice: Yes, partly through No More Violence and partly through my private account. Commonly it is about raising awareness about sexual violence, it can be done through sharing videos or posts with text. But it can also be posts where other individuals in the movement is given the opportunity to speak out (my translation).

Hashtag feminism is a great opportunity to articulate a response to rape culture (Fotopoulou 2016:16) and a method used within the practice of networked feminism which allows for feminists striving for social change to stay connected to each other, as they are striving towards the same visions which constitutes a sisterhood, which is reinforced by the continues contact (2016:40-41). The networked aspect of the movement has become a central aspect in practicing feminism and due to the Covid-19 pandemic as it has become one of the few tools available for the organizations in my study to stay active and in contact. Jennifer stressed how Women United had to rethink their planned activist actions which were meant to be taking place in a physical form that had to be canceled due to the pandemic, which she explained lead to a pitfall in the engagement within the organization. Later Women United came back to life as the engaged members started thinking creatively of different strategies to practice feminist activism, how other organizations had adopted to the new situation came to be an inspiration

48 for them she expressed, as they were arranging actions where the participants maintain social distance between the participants or switching to arranging actions through their social media channels. When the movement continues by moving into digital platforms they are adopting to the civil society, that is becoming more depending on the usage of digital platforms. The MeToo movement came to function as a force that allowed for feminists to discover the benefits of using digital platforms to connect, as they allow them to connect with others at high speed regardless of where the individuals are located (Fotopoulou 2016:37). This has been beneficial since the pandemic prohibited gathering in larger groups to stop the spread of the virus. The usage of digital platforms is a part of a wave of networked feminism where social platforms are used to link feminists to one another and gain recognition among other actors within the civil society. Paulina is of the opinion that digital platforms such as Instagram are a great way to keep in touch with the members of the organization, as her organization Feminist Sisterhood mainly uses their Instagram to keep their followers up to date with news and contemporary issues of interest for feminists their Instagram serves to both stay in touch, keep the followers updated and to discuss in the comment- ing fields, a method to engage in the collective action against sexual oppression. But being active on Instagram has its consequences, sometimes the commenting fields that are meant to encourage in- formative discussions are being overtaken by threats which results in removal of comments, and some- times being blocked from following the account. Regardless of the downside with moderating com- menting fields from antisocial behaviors, Paulina states that “being loud” on social media is the most effective method for activism as the capacity to reach out is far greater than what “being loud” in the street’s activism. Digital platforms have provided a paradigm shift in feminist protest culture according to Baer (2015) as they have changed the modes of communication as it has enabled different conver- sations to take place at the same time and across the globe, the movement to raise consciousness has gained new methods to reaching out with methods such as memes and hashtags. Amina and Beatrice who are both engaging in No More Violence are claiming that using social media as a feminist organ- ization is highly motivated by the enormous spread that it allows for the organization to have, which allows for a diversified conversation as well as reaching the target group. The large spread that comes with engaging in them is suggested to be highly beneficial method of collective action for the organization in terms of their goal of acting conscious raising on the issues of sexual violence as well as encourage victim-survivors to find support. No More Violence Instagram account is an example of how digital platforms can act to keep the MeToo movement alive, as a large part of their postings is testimonies from victim-survivors of their experiences of sexual violence. The testimonies through their Instagram account are being recognized by a larger group of people, as well

49 as the variety of sex crimes and assault that is becoming visible on a daily basis for those who follow the account. Their practice of making sexual violence visible through their account allows for a con- tinuous challenge of the rape script, due to various accounts of violence is being seen by the public. The script that is commonly being re-institutionalized by the reporting of media, the digital platforms instead come to serve as an alternative medium where the type of violence that is made visible does not depend on the norm, or the graphic aspects of the violence. A common aspect that is brought forward by the accounts that I have been following is that the media is focusing on the woman in titles such as “woman is suspected of having been raped” (kvinna misstänks ha våldtagits) making her some- body of suspicion, rather than the rapist. Something that many organizations focus on is to make people aware of how the writing shifts the focus, like how magazines and newspapers report on sexual vio- lence and creating their own discourse on how sex crimes should be spoken about and making the feminist perspective be heard in the debate. The organizations practice feminism through shared news articles alongside testimonies from individual women the script of a such experience should be, as more perspectives are made visible. Being active on digital platforms like Instagram is claimed by many participants to be an ef- fective way to practice feminism in the daily life. Mendes et al (2018,2019) states that the idea of Instagram activism requires less of the activist is grounded in the concept of the hashtag. Building a feminist campaign trough, a hashtag is commonly started by a person or an organization and then the public takes over which is building on less work, whereas activism in the streets requires more in terms of organizing and requires meeting at a specific space. The authors suggest that even though the work is different, being an activist on digital platforms often requires a daily engagement as well as in the street activism and heavily rely on the unpaid work of women (2018:239, 2019:80). Emelie who ar- ranged a Rightless action is not currently engaged in a certain organization point out the importance of keeping up with the Instagram feed, since she explains that is a useful tool particularly during the pandemic where one is not supposed to meet in person. For her, the digital platforms have served as a method to remain active due to their capacity to reach out to people regardless of their location. The frequent updating of Instagram accounts allows for one to follow the movement by minute, due to the rapid speed that the channels are updating in. The following feminist organizations and feminists are therefore an effective method to keep oneself updated and engaged. An aspect commonly mentioned is that use their private accounts to re-post from other accounts and take stand on feminist issues, or as mentioned by Ebba spreading news articles and reposting from other feminist accounts is an effective way of remaining an active feminist and raise consciousness among her followers. And Amanda stresses that Instagram is an effective way to keep updated as the accounts that she is

50 following are keeping her up to date with the news and the movement. Yet, not everyone is as positive to the notion of practicing feminism through digital platforms; Jennifer expressed that a great part of Women United’s issues with adopting the organization to the pandemic was that they did not want to be “Instagram feminists” as their initial goal was to arrange real life activism. They wanted to gather feminists to meet in real life and to arrange activist actions in the streets; while Jennifer is aware of the greatness of using social media platforms to engage in and with the movement, it was not what her organization wanted to focus on. The term “Instagram feminism” suggests that there is still remaining the idea that suggests that being active on Instagram as a feminist is less of an engagement than par- ticipating in activism in the streets. Practicing feminism through digital platforms has been recognized as a method to participate in the collective action on a daily basis, alongside the practice is allowing the organizations to reach out to a greater extent as the platforms do not require the activist to be in a certain location. It has been suggested that there are still feminists that are valuing the personal interaction and the gathering in larger groups in the streets to practice their activism over an active engagement on digital platforms, which will be described more in Chapter 5.

Conclusion

In this chapter I have suggested that the definition of radical feminist is being challenged, as the foun- dation of a common oppression through sex (Gemzøe 2017:48-49) is being questioned. And that there is a division between the radical feminists that is suggesting that trans-women should not be included in the movement on the same basis as cis-women and non-binary due to their definition of trans-women as men (Serano 2013) and the intersectional feminists involved in the radical feminist movement. Thus, I have stated that most of the feminists included in my study are intersectional feminists where their feminism is built up on the shared oppression within the group of non-men and the recognizing of the variety of oppression within the group, which is building a bond of sisterhood that is essential for the feminist movement and the organizations. I have suggested there is a majority of the organizations in my study that are non-men welcome, which builds on the discourse of having a space free from men allows for non-men’s voices to be heard. It has been stressed that the non-men welcome organizations build on a sisterhood within the organizations as it creates a group identity consisting of non-men the organizations build on the shared oppression within the group of engaged. And, that the rise of ‘networked feminism’ has allowed for a sisterhood that is not depending on time or space, where women through digital platforms allow for

51 feminists and feminist organizations to connect. I suggest that digital platforms are an essential part of the contemporary feminist practice as feminists and feminist organizations can act to raise conscious- ness on a daily basis from wherever. The feminist organizations that I have studied are proving that digital platforms can serve to challenge the rape script through raising consciousness and making sex- ual violence visible in a sense that newspapers and media houses fail to do.

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5. #Rättslösa – Without Right to Justice

It started with that I have been following Cissi Wallin and her organization Gardet, and in 2019 I followed on a daily basis and I thought shit this is a big deal and it continued to grow and when all cities begun to organize the actions someone wrote in a commenting field that we should arrange one in x city and then I took on the responsi- bility for arranging it and it was given for me so it was a bit random one could say (Emelie, my translation)

In this chapter I will first outline the characteristics of the rightless movement (rättslösa rörelsen). Secondly, I will expand on the collective actions arranged by the activists within the movement and their motives for their engagement. Thirdly, I will give an account of how the rightless is confirmed through chargers of defamation towards victim-survivors who speak out, and how feminist build on the sisterhood to build safety nets to protect one another. The chapter will be discussed through the concepts of discourse, rape script, collective action and resistance.

Being Rightless

Rightless (rättslösa), is a term used to describe the experience of not being able to count on the legal system for justice after being victimized. Since the MeToo movements were initiated in 2017, it has been suggested that the legal system is not serving to protect women and give them the justice they deserve, which founded a wave of feminist activist actions that came to be arranged in Swedish cities mainly during 2019. The Stockholm based feminist organization Gardet took initiative in the move- ment, summarizing their position in an article on their website with “what we know is that thousands of women and non-binary participated with some supportive men on the sidelines, in silent actions outside about 35 police stations and courthouses…” (Gardet 2019, my translation). Their aim was to shed light on how women that are reporting crimes of sexual violence are treated by the Swedish legal system, as the statistics in 2019 showed that 95% of reported rape investigations did not lead to con- viction of the alleged perpetrator (Brottsförebygganderådet 2019), leading to the conclusion that sexual violence is neither prioritized nor taken seriously. The movement engaged feminists all over Sweden, as they were asked to find out how many investigations their local police had open and then gather the same number of women outside their

53 station with taped mouths, to symbolize how a large majority of the investigations will not lead to a verdict (Gardet 2019). During the fieldwork I participated in the Rightless Action taking place in Upp- sala on the 5th of September 2019, at the time being there were 236 reported cases of rape open at the police station, which would make that about 220 of them would not lead to a verdict. The actions had various reactions depending on the city. In Uppsala the action was arranged in collaboration with the police which made the action peaceful and well planned. At the end of the action the police even gave the arrangers praise, had a discussion with them on the issue and allowed the arrangers to ask their questions. The action gained attention in the local media as both the local news- paper Uppsala New Newspaper (Uppsala Nya Tidning) and SVT Uppsala wrote about the action. In other cities the actions were not always carried out with the same success, as some were shut down by the police, and arrangers and participants were investigated for unlawful assembly. This is something that Emelie, who arranged a successful action, considers to be completely insane as the demonstration are for human rights. Brottsförebygganderådet’s (2019) investigation concluded that police as well as prosecutors dedicate considerable efforts to solve rape but that there is more that can be done. However, Brottsföre- bygganderådet claims that even if the investigation process were to be improved it is unlikely that a considerably larger amount of rape cases would be solved, due to reasons including for instance the high occurrence of cases being reported too late, cases not classified as rape according to the current legal definition, and the plaintiff deciding not to go through with the investigation (2019:123-125). While the rightless activists point out that the police have a lot left to do to ensure that victim-survivors report the crimes, there is a large proportion of rape’s that never get reported, which is a crucial aspect in the notion of being rightless. According to Emelie there are stories of victim-survivors being met with victim-blame when attempting to report, through the insulting question of her clothing as well as how much she had been drinking. Emelie suggest that if the police would have another focus when doing the investigations, the victim-survivors would be more , and more victim-survivors would be capable of reporting. According to Emelie and multiple other participants in the study, the system in its current form is making the experience of reporting into a second assault. If the legal system would change their attitude towards sex crimes, the victims suggest that things would be dif- ferent.

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Engaging in a Collective Action

I started following several people who are engaged in the Swedish Feminist movement among Cissi Wallin and them and a bit like those circles so through their channels I heard about the hashtag and what it stands for and figures and statistics about what it looks like with how sex offenders are convicted which I remembered, I was a little shocked by the fact that only five percent of all those who report are actually convicted (Ebba, my translation)

On the 5th of September 2019, myself and about 100 women gathered next to Fyrisån in Uppsala. All of us gathered there since it was nearby the Police station where we would eventually go to participate in the action. When I arrived there a woman with white tape and a thick black pencil approached me and asked me if I wanted a piece of tape to cover my mouth. I said yes and asked her if she could do the writing on my behalf as I consider my handwriting skills to be poor. She wrote with large, bold letters #RÄTTSLÖSA and asked me to cover my mouth with the tape as we were leaving for the Police station. I was surrounded with feminist activists with covered mouths that were holding signs that they had prepared out of carton stating “90-95% of sex offenders go free, the system needs to change. The police need resources, we need redress” (my translation). As we stood in front of the police station in line, side by side close to each other, about 100 non-men that I have never met before, I sensed the sisterhood that the organizations and the women I later came to interview were referring to. We stood there on behalf of ourselves as well for everyone else. The rightless movement, based on shedding light on sexual violence, started in 2017 with the initiation of the MeToo movement. The rightless movement, unlike the MeToo movement was based on collective action taking place in a physical form. The actions consisted of a shared understanding of a problematic condition that the group found in need of change (Benford, Snow 2000:615) that sets the basis of a collective action that came to be spread across the country as non-men found the statistics problematic. The issue that the actions were addressing is not a new one, as Kelly (1988) stresses that proving rape in a court of law is a difficult task due to the frequency of the experience (1988:108) which came to become even more visible as a consequence of the MeToo movement. In August of 2019 as the feminist organization Gardet published a post on their Instagram account where they stated:

65 investigations are currently underway regarding sexual crimes at the local police station here on Södermalm in Stockholm. About 90-95% of these 65 reports will never lead to a conviction. We gathered 65 women and lined up outside the police. For our sisters who will never get redress. Towards a so-called justice system where women and young girls are in practice #rightless (Gardet 2019, my translation)

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This initiated the movement. The organization had identified a condition in Sweden in need of change, and as the organization started with the one demonstration outside the police station in Stockholm, they encouraged people to act to change the system. Gardet managed to push the movement through making the public aware of the statistics of the amount of sex crimes that are closed without prosecu- tion, and then encouraging activists in other parts of the country to find out how many cases that currently open and under investigation at their local police station. This is according to Benford and Snow (2000) an effective method to frame a collective action (2000:615). The movement came to grow thought the late summer and autumn of 2019 as local activists arranged in 35 cities according to Gardet (2019), the actions were meant to symbolize the number of women that would never get the redress. The movement continued as cities gathered the same number of women as open investigations of sex crimes at their police station to stand outside with covered mouths, to symbolize that all of the women that will never get redress (Gardet 2019). Since the movement was initiated during the same year as the Covid-19 pandemic started, the movement was forced to end as the planned physical actions forced to be canceled. Instead, activists had to become creative in their ways of continuing the move- ment. One of the organizations included in this study is the activist organization Ending Sexual Vio- lence, a feminist separatist grouping that is aiming to put women, non-binary, and children’s issues back on the political agenda. They ensured that the movement would not end with the pandemic re- strictions, as they went out in the city that they are based in and covered the city square with papers stating #rightless (#rättslösa). The group referred to the action on their Instagram account as:

The action came to be decorating the city square with important messages. Shed light on. Fight for. In silence. Disrupt the order. Make people question. Search on Google. Read up. Realize. Wake up from the monotonous, everyday murmur of people on the street. Make people wonder and then realize that the fight is a force that change the society and people within. That every person can change. And that it starts in the small every day. Anywhere. Is change happening. Even at a lamp post at the city square in… is the chain of change happening. We disrupt. We disrupt with words that is on point, or not at all…how many people is behind the black letters. Rightless. In the small change is starting. Never forget that. (Ending sexual violence, my translation).

The action that Ending Sexual Violence organized in their city is rather different than the action that I took part in in Uppsala before the covid-19 pandemic started, but both of the actions could be identified as a collective action within the rightless movement since both of the actions served to raise awareness of the issue to change the approach taken by the legal system. The lack of sentencing I suggest is a consequence of the rape script that sets the discourse of rape which both acts to limit victim-survivors ability to report their experiences, and their opportunity to be trusted in a court of law. The discourse of distrust that affects victim-survivors ability to get

56 redemption through the legal system is addressed by Butler and Athanasiou (2013) who stress that women are turning to the law to get the crime against her prosecuted, and the court decides whether or not she is a reliable narrator. If the court finds that she is not, her claims and speech are not considered to have any value which runs the risk of the law breaking her. According to the authors a social move- ment can serve as the collective support needed by the women to regain their voice (2013:77). As mentioned by the authors, there is a common notion of courts breaking the women that are reporting a crime rather than sentencing the perpetrator which the participants testify against. In Ebba’s opinion the issue is deeply rooted in society, as she says that “we need to normalize speaking about it so that people understand and get how many people it affects so that we can build better laws so that we can get more people evicted” (Ebba, my translation). As pointed out by Ebba there is a discourse among women that the justice system is not on womens’ side. In contrast, No More Violence and a majority of the organizations that I followed during my fieldwork are doing their best to shed light on the sta- tistics of sex . The organization No More Violence published a list of statistics of sexual violence in Sweden which they encouraged other women to use in discussions, “speak about the rule of law, these numbers will show that there is a large issue with sexual violence towards people who do not dare to report” (No More Violence, my translation). No More Violence stated that only 1,5% of rape claims are considered false, that in the recent years only 5% of reported rapes have led to eviction and that 90% of women did not find the courage to report their experiences. The rightless movement consists of a resistance towards the fact that the women that do report their experiences do not get redemption, and the activists are experiencing that the legal system is not on their side, so they choose not to report. Since as Butler and Athanasiou (2013) stated that the court could break the women who report instead of offering them recognition and a sense of redemption. Many of the women that I was in contact with stated that they do not trust the system to convict their perpetrator, and that they would not report if something happened to them. Those that expressed that they would report stated that it would only be for the statistics and not for redress, as they do not count on the legal system to be capable to sentence their perpetrator. The movement for the engaged activists came to function as a method of raising awareness on how few cases of sexual violence statically are leading to conviction. Still, there are critics that suggest that the MeToo movement and the rightless movement has gone too far, that it is aiming to make men rightless. Lena Andresson, who is as well as being an author columnist in the Swedish daily news (Dagens Nyheter) expressed the following:

Women's greater sexual vulnerability is biologically constitutional, a fact to deal with. But the legislator in a liberal legal system must not, in his ambition to compensate the woman, make the man lawless and society legally insecure. 57

It is absurd to first dilute rape to include acts that have nothing to do with violence or coercion, and on top of that sharpen the punishment (Andersson 2020, my translation)

In an attempt to criticize the consent law and the attempts to increase the imprisonment term for one that has been sentenced for rape, Andersson (2020) claims that increasing the sentence would make men rightless and is in fact stating the opposite of what the activists are suggesting as they claim that women and non-binary are rightless due to the lack of sentencing and recognition of sexual violence. I suggest that Andersson (2020) is through her claims holding on to the rape script’s idea of rape, and that the article is an act to strengthen the script as it being challenged by the consent law and the MeToo movement as Women United suggest “#MeToo[…] have allowed for a broader awareness of how common sexual violence, assault and harassment is in our society today, who can be the perpetrator and how these actions may look like in the reality” (Women United). Andersson’s (2020) claim that the attempts to improve the justice system to be more capable of sentencing perpetrators and require consent for sex is making men rightless. In response to her claim, the organization Women United posted on their Instagram that the consent law is in fact “signaling that no one have the right to touch our bodies or initiate intercourse before there is consent, so it is made clear that it is about having authority over one’s sexuality and having free will and that Andersson is contributing to spread a wrongful and outdated idea of sexual violence” (Women United). Andersson and Women United here demonstrate the two sides of the debate. The activists that are aiming to continue to use the MeToo movement to overthrow the scripted account of rape, and Andersson who would rather defend the script by implying that the improvements are making men rightless. I started this thesis by introducing two men that have been criticized for their attempts of shift- ing the blame of their alleged actions towards the claimed victim-survivors. Lambertz, who has been criticized for being allowed to host a press conference in his garden that was aired on the tax-funded Swedish state television, where he spoke freely on his perspective of the experience and while painting out his accuser to be a liar for accusing him of rape alongside making claims that he has been victim- ized by the legal system as a consequence of the investigation (Wijk 2021). A claim that points towards his trust in the rape script, that in his opinion should be better capable to protect him, yet he did not get sentenced and nor did the claims lead to a trial. Alongside suing the state for being taken into custody during the investigation, he reported the woman that reported him for false accusations (Wijk 2021). On the other hand, Ismail, the other man introduced in the introduction to this thesis who was called out by multiple women for raping and assaulting them during MeToo, and was later reported by three of them for allegedly raping and assaulting them. Ismail was allowed a space in the documentary Persona non grata on the Swedish State Television to explain how he had been victimized as a

58 consequence of being called out during the MeToo wave in 2017 (Wijk 2021). Wijk, a journalist at the Gothenburg post (Göteborgs-posten), suggested that Ismail and Lambertz servs as examples of how there has been a backlash from the MeToo. As alleged perpetrators they are allowed the space to pub- licly downplay and insult the women behind the allegations, but the women that have experienced victimization as a consequence of the men’s actions are not allowed a space to speak out on their experiences without risking defamation charges (Wijk 2021). There is, therefore, an aspect to consider that both of the alleged perpetrators who did not get sentenced and were allowed the space in media to claim that men, in fact are rightless in front of the law in their opinion as Andersson (2020) had suggested, in a context where only 5% of the reported rapes lead to a sentence (Brottsförebygganderådet 2019). This after the consent law that according to Andersson (2020) would serve to make men rightless in Andresson’s (2020) opinion have been ap- plied, and in a context where alleged perpetrators such as Ismail report their accusers for defamation and later speak out how the experience have victimized him. Where men like Lambertz get to report the person that accused him of rape for false accusations and then call her a liar and fraud on state television is a confirmation of the existence of the rape script exists to protect men and is deeply im- bedded in the legal system. I suggest that the claim of alleged perpetrators as rightless is a response to the challenging of the rape script, which has served to make perpetrators less protected by the script, and that they now are to a greater extent held accountable for their actions. If not in a court of law, through media and digital platforms. As stressed by Ebba, men and women are not equal in front of the law in that matter, since women are not allowed the same space nor the same possibility to speak out, but through the actions where women are claiming a space that is going to change. The organiza- tion No More Violence builds on Ebba’s argument as they express on their Instagram account that allowing a space for alleged perpetrators such as Ismail to claim how in his experience has been sen- tenced by the public and is being victimized is a practice to silence women, and the direct action of pointing the victimization towards those who have been reported instead of those who are claimed victims are an act of punishing those who are speaking out during MeToo. Brownmiller (1975) states that rape by its nature in cases where it has not been an aggravated assault comes down to who is the one to trust, the man or the woman due to the nature of the crime sets the basis of the victim being a woman and the perpetrator a man. But as the author suggests, reported rapes seldom lead to a trial where the words would be allowed to be tested. Instead, the male constructed idea that female persons tend to lie and that therefore their words should not be tested in a court of law (1975:368-369). The organization No More Violence is expressing in a similar spirit that the allowance of alleged perpetrators to speak out is another method of continuing to undermine

59 women’s testimonies. Through the suggestion that false rape charges and lying women is the common narrative, it serves to rebuild the narrative of the rape script, and that is what the MeToo movement aims to overthrow through making sexual violence visible. Or, as the Rightless movement have aimed to make the statistics visible to make an attempt of building awareness on the extent of the situation as well as pointing towards the vulnerability of a person decides to report their alleged perpetrator. A vulnerability, that Ebba and Emelie who arranged rightless actions described as the force behind their choice to act to resist by arranging rightless actions. The postings from Cissi Wallin and Gardet that consisted of the statistics from Brottsförebygganderådet lead to an anger within that increased to an extent that they could not stand on the sidelines anymore, they had to do something, they had to resist. Emelie described how that anger motivated her to the extent that she sensed that she wanted to be one of the persons arranging it:

For me there was no discussion about this it is obvious when you know that 95% of reported sexual violence cases are being closed and that says a lot in my opinion and one knows how large the unrecorded number (mörkertal) is and I have friends who have been exposed where it did not lead anywhere and when they reported the blame was still put on the victim (Emelie, my translation)

In Emelie’s case she was motivated by her anger, which was built on the idea that it hit close to home, as she has friends who have experienced how the legal system were not on their side when they re- ported. The rightless movement served to awaken that anger and that came to be the force that moti- vated her to arrange the action in the city where she lives in cooperation with another female activist. For Ebba, a 22-year-old police student, she described her will to resist the lack of recognition sexual violence is allowed with the awareness of how vulnerable she and other women are towards the vio- lence, resisting is therefore based in the will to protect herself and other women:

I do not really know because it is not motivated by something that has happened to me or someone in my group of friends or someone in my family so but it is more because I myself am a woman and I know that I will experience them more or less it may not happen such a big thing so I have to have contact with the police but this oppression of women that it is based on who I have been born to be so it will always be sort of and then I feel that I cannot sit at home and complain but then I have to do something about it (Ebba, my translation)

Ebba’s engagement, and the anger that she has towards the oppression of women, came to be a drive her to act to resist. Her resistance was expressed in the organizing of two actions in her city which she did not consider to be a big commitment, as she is a person who enjoys organizing and arranging activities in her daily life. It was not until later after she had arranged the actions and she started to hear from other persons that they were impressed with her contribution to the movement that she came

60 to realize that what she had done was something that had affected a lot of people. After the actions she came to feel overwhelmed and needed space from everything, so she distanced herself from the move- ment and the city as she sensed that she needed a break. Now a year later and living in another city and having started her studies to become a police officer, she wants to change the system that she had been arranging actions against and aspires to be the person that a victim-survivor would trust to tell their experience to. Her ambition is to become a police officer, but she still lacks faith in the justice system as she does not trust it to sentence perpetrators, instead she considers the reporting as an act to contribute to the statistics on sexual violence rather than in an aspiration to get help, support, or justice. That is just the reality, she acknowledges, in her understanding the issue is not that there are too few police officers but that the prioritizing of the tasks is the problem alongside the issue that there is a knowledge gap in how a rape is experienced and how a victim reacts when being raped. Ebba’s expe- rience of the lack of understanding of the crime suggests that the rape script is deeply embedded in the police force, which has affected the amount of trust that is put into their ability to investigate rape cases thoroughly. While the movement was powerful for those that arranged the actions, it appears that not all women involved in the feminist movement consider it the same, as it is questioned by some of the participants. Mia a woman in her early 30s engaging in Women Together to support victim-survivors’ is questioning the name of the movement as she finds it slightly problematic since there is a law in place, and while she still considers that it was good that the movement happened, she could not see that anything has changed since. Others are concerned that this may scare women into not reporting as the movement points out that women do not have any rights. Mia agrees that there is an issue within the legal system, as she does not consider that the current system is taking the position of the vic- tim/survivor in consideration as the person has to tell their story in front a room full of people and their perpetrator. Overall, Mia sees that there is an issue with the lack of education on sexual violence within the justice system according to her, both within the police force and everyone involved in court which is contributing to an unjust treatment of women.

Defamation – Speaking out for Redress

“I do not think it should be possible to have to pay damages and be sentenced for it in the same way that you cannot prove that he did it, you cannot prove that he did not do it either. In Sweden we have the notion that you should be innocent till the contrary is proved so it is not really he who must prove his innocence but it is the plaintiff who must prove that it has happened and when you know that it is on such small details it is actually 50/50 that he has

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actually done and then when there is no evidence it becomes his word against hers and then I think it is far too great odds that she should pay someone who has raped her” (Ebba, my translation).

The rightless discourse is highly connected to the legal system, and the experience that if a female person chooses to report what they have experienced there is slim to no chance that their case would lead to a sentencing. The discourse has led to non-men attempting to find another outlet to get some sort of redemption, which the MeToo movement is characterized by, such as speaking out on digital platforms. Ebba stress that the laws need to be improved so that the number of perpetrators that get sentenced in court is increased, as the effect of the current inability to sentence perpetrators have led to women being reported for defamation as they speak out in social media and other channels about their perpetrators since they believe that legal system has failed them. When speaking with Mia about using social media to speak out, she mentioned that that it may be used to get some type of redress:

Klara: Do you think that sharing experiences on social media can give some type of redress for somebody that did not dare to press charges or did not get their perpetrator sentenced? (my translation)

Mia: I think that is what you have to settle for. It is hard to get somebody sentenced so if you want to report that will be for their own sake as the police report is a confirmation of that what happened has a criminal classification and is something that the society classify as not okay…but getting the person sentenced for this type of crime... it is hard to be optimistic about that (Mia, My translation)

Mia later explained that she would consider the rise in defamation cases is a sign that we need another wave of MeToo so that men would realize that they cannot keep acting as they like anymore, and that the rightless movement did not do enough to make any difference so far in that matter. She suggests that the state is prosecuting women that are speaking out about their experiences as evidence that the MeToo movement and the rightless movement are still needed to act as a resisting force, as men are allowed to silence women that are speaking out. Women speaking out about their experiences of sexual violence and later being prosecuted for defamation appears to be a recent trend, as the Swedish prose- cutor’s office has since the MeToo movement added to their page on defamation and offence that “largely spreading (e.g. on the internet) allegations that a person has committed a sex crime” (Åklagare 2021, my translation) as an example of an act may lead to prosecution. It is stated that it does not have to reach a large number of people, as the crime is to be considered as particularly serious at times when the information is sent to persons close to the person who are being exposed (Åklagare 2021). Accord- ing to numbers reported by Swedish Television News in May 2021 all 10 of the women that have been reported for defamation for speaking out against their alleged perpetrator during the MeToo movement have been sentenced for defamation (Wanngård 2021). Which may be directly connected to the aim 62 of the movement. Savigny (2020) suggest that cultural sexism is denying women a voice as women is disciplined to silence, as they suggest that the sexism is so deeply rooted within the society that it is incorporated in the legal system (2020:24), which is suggested by the participants in relation to the number of sentences of defamation in relation to how many sentences in relation to reported number when it comes to rape. When women began to speak out about their experiences of sexual violence on social media those who had mentioned their perpetrators name in their posts were reported for defa- mation, and later prosecuted as a consequence of them stating that the alleged perpetrator had victim- ized them. As previously stressed by Mia, speaking out on social media is in many cases the only outlet for women that have been turned down by the legal system due to their reporting did not lead to a sentencing, but that does not change their experience. Butler and Athanasiou (2013) are suggesting that the norm of how a victim-survivor should act in front of the law, which is directing the narrative of trials, is if a woman do not act the way the regard as a reliable victim, then her claims are not viable. In a similar opinion with Mia, the authors still think that women should turn to the law regardless of the outcome. However, the authors have stressed that turning to the law may lead to women being broken by the law, which may require a movement behind them to support and rebuild them (2013:77). The narrative of the trails is dependent on the rape script, as the script has set out the discourse on how rape should be understood, as well as a norm of how a victim should behave in relation to the experi- ence of being raped. In March 2021, it was announced on Cissi Wallin’s Instagram account and on the account of feminist organization Femorganizersthat a defamation fund has been created to offer financial support to women who have been charged with defamation as a consequence of speaking out during the MeToo movement. According to the founder Maria Sveland, a feminist front figure and journalist, women that have been charged with defamation describe it as a second rape as the trial is not about the crime he committed, but about him being a victim because you spoke about the crime, he had committed during the MeToo movement. According to the founder of Femorganizers:

the defamation trials that have been taking place over the last years is a shame for Sweden and says a lot about our justice system’s attitude towards raped women. It has created a great fear among many women who no longer dare to speak out about their assaults due to fear of being prosecuted. That’s why the defamation found now exists. So that every woman should be aware that financial support and back-up exists if they would ever be prosecuted for witnessing about the assaults they have experienced. The culture of silence must end! Everyone must feel free and safe to speak out (Femorganizers, my translation).

The Rightless movement, that initially focused on the aspect of the lack of sentencing of perpetrators, later came to include the aspect of the legal system going after women who are speaking out on social 63 media. As a consequence, the movement came to organize themselves behind those that are being charged for speaking out and as a consequence the defamation fund was founded. In April 2021 the movement gained public recognition as an article in Svenska Dagblandet was published with a public demand from 35 culture profiles. They expressed that as a consequence of the inability from society to ensure rule of law, since only 10% of victims report their experiences and 95% of them never see their perpetrators sentenced, they are therefore supporting the defamation fund that supports victim- survivors that have spoken out about their perpetrators. The persons claim that Sweden, like India and , should not allow sentencing persons for defamation when they have spoken out during MeToo (Ardin 2021). There have been multiple examples of persons that as a consequence of them voicing their experiences during the MeToo movement have been charged for defamation. I argue that the cases speak for the discourse of rightlessness as a consequence of the rape script that is incorporated in the legal institutions, and as participants are expressing that defamation as a method for silencing women’s experiences as they sense that the legal system is in fact on their perpetrator’s side. The rightless discourse, I argue is based in the assumption that legal institutions do not serve to protect female persons to the extent that they protect masculine persons. The defamation trials that were raised as a consequence of the women speaking out as part of the social moment that characterizes the MeToo movement, is yet again an example of what the activists see as the legal system being on the side of the perpetrators rather than the victims. As Nussbaum (1999) argues, women have a ten- dency to be considered as second-class citizens within the law and institutions and as a consequence the lives of men are valued more than the lives of women (1999:33). A consequence of the law being written by men to benefit men, who tend to be the perpetrators in cases of sexual violence, is that it leads to women having to find themselves a space of their own to speak out their testimonies as an attempt to challenge the dominant discourses of how rape and trauma is supposed to be spoken about. While the victim-survivors have gained a space to speak on their own terms it has been shown to have a limited amount of impact on the institutions, the testimonies shared in online spaces have better contributed to building a space focused on the victim-survivors experience and have contributed to challenging the rape-script outside the institutional and socio-cultural discourses (Loney-Howes 2018:51-52). In 2019, three women had been prosecuted for naming their perpetrators on social media forums such as Instagram and Facebook (Atallah 2019). One of the women who ended up with a sentence for including her perpetrator’s name in her #MeToo story was Cissi Wallin, who later came to pay a lot of attention to her defamation case on Instagram. In August 2020 she reposted a quote from Unni Drougge stating that “if women’s stories disrupt men’s careers is it because male carrier choices are a part of the societies infrastructure and then the law and order will jump in to forbid

64 women from telling” (my translation). In October 2020, Wallin began to build the foundation of a movement to resist the defamation trials against women that are speaking out, which started with a post about other women who like herself had been reported for speaking out and including the perpe- trators name. First, she announced the story of a woman who previously had reported the man for an assault that he was not sentenced for, so the woman decided to speak out on the assault through Insta- gram to warn others according to Wallin’s post. In the post Wallin called for women to gather outside Södertörn’s District court on the day of her trial. Later the same month, she announced that a young woman has been sued by the Swedish state for speaking out about her relative who had been sexually abusing her for years. As a result, she did not mention the man’s name and had to pay her abuser 10 000 kr as well as an additional fee to the fund for victims of crime alongside unit fines. In the post,

Wallin came to encourage her followers to support the woman financially through sending Swish3 donations to the woman’s to cover the fees, as she stated that no woman should have to pay her perpetrator. The defamation fund, alongside individual initiatives such as Cissi Wallin’s, indicate the strength of the resistance that the sisterhood is capable of and that has been strengthened due to the MeToo movement. As women in their collective rage have built a movement that consists of sharing the experi- ences that were not allowed to be heard in a court of law, and through the sisterhood acting as a col- lective movement that works to resist the system that is prohibiting victim-survivors of speaking out to the extent that they intend. The sense of the sisterhood acting as a protector of the voices of victim- survivors is supported by Amanda who expressed in her interview that she felt like she could publish her perpetrator’s name if she wanted to, as she would have the whole sisterhood behind her to support her. If her action possibly would end up with a sentence, she believes that the sisterhood would help her pay fine just like they did in the case of the other young woman. These examples suggest that the sisterhood represents the movement of women who need to reclaim their voice. Women report their perpetrator to see them get sentenced in court, and through the sentence they would get some type of justice. Since the courts of law have failed them, they seek justice elsewhere.

Conclusion

In this chapter I have introduced the rightless movement which was initiated by the feminist organiza- tion Gardet. The movement called for non-men to gather outside their local courts and police stations

3 Swish is a money transferring service commonly used in Sweden to send money instantly using the persons telephone number which is connected to the persons bank account. 65 to manifest that 90-95% of all reported sex crimes never go to trial. As the organizers called for femi- nists all over Sweden to engage, a new movement and collective action started as non-men all over Sweden begun to engage as they shared the understanding that something needs to change as women are not being treated justly by the Swedish legal system. I have argued that there is a discourse within the legal system that serves to break women who report as a consequence of the lack of trust in the testimonies’ given by women, which ultimately leads to them needing a social movement behind them to support them according to Butler and Athanasiou (2013). Persons who report crimes of sexual vio- lence are judged according to the rape script which dictates who is a victim-survivor and who is to be trusted in their testimony, which allows for a discourse where female persons are rightless. As Butler and Athanasiou (2013) stress, a collective movement can serve as the collective support needed for women to regain their voice, which the sisterhood came to fund through the MeToo movement and the defamation fund that serves as a safety net for those who decide to speak out. I have suggested that the collective movement is found in the MeToo and Rightless movements that are acting to resist the rape script. The statistics that fronted the rightless movement have been a contributing factor to in- crease engagement from women all over Sweden, while there are still significant opposition for other feminists that are less engaged in the rightless movement due to the name’s implications. Another key aspect identified in the chapter is that a common opinion among women who are engaging in feminist organizations and actions is that speaking out on social media about sexual vio- lence has become more common as the courts do not serve to sentence the men for sex crimes. As a result, women have built an online space where victim-survivors can speak on their own terms. This has produced a response from the Swedish legal system, that is sentencing women for defamation. The Swedish prosecutor’s office webpage is using women speaking out on sexual violence as an example of cases where one can be charged for defamation, which I state is an expression of cultural sexism (Savigny 2020) which is rooted in the justice system and serves to silence women’s voices. I suggest that the increase in defamation trials against women since the MeToo movement started has contrib- uted to building the kind of sisterhood that is suggested by Butler and Athanasiou (2013) as a method to help women regain their voice. Cissi Wallin and the defamation fund have been working to build this idea so that as women are getting charged, the sisterhood is behind them.

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6. Concluding Discussion

In this study I have made an account of how the MeToo movement is continuing in contemporary Sweden with the engagement of feminist activists, as well as organizations engaging in raising con- sciousness and support victim-survivors. I have aimed at understanding of the way the engagement is practiced within the movement I have studied, based on the importance of building a sisterhood and collective identity which serves as a safety net as well as creating a sense of belonging within the movement. I have investigated how the rape script applied in societal discourse is building feminist rage and how that rage is contributing to feminist engagement and the way the discourse of rightless- ness is articulated and motivated by those who engage within the movement. In this final and conclud- ing chapter, I will draw together my main findings and conclusions, reflect upon them in relation to the research questions applied and make an account of possible further research.

Conclusions

I found that the participants in this study were all driven by an urge to challenge the rape script, i.e., to change how rape is considered within the societal discourse. I have used Marcus (1992) and Loney- Howes’ (2018) definition of rape script as a discourse that sets the terms for which rapes can be spoken about and what persons may be trusted. The MeToo movement serves to challenge the rape script and allow for experiences of sexual violence to be recognized through continuous visibility and, as a result of that, recognize the magnitude of the problem. Most of the participants are engaging in a feminist organization to get a feeling that they are doing something to change the problem. Some engage by arranging actions to draw attention to the issue and challenge the script. I found that most of the feminists that participated in this study were motivated by the experi- ence of feminist anger, an anger that commonly has been building up over many years of experiencing oppression (Ahmed 2004:171). As the MeToo movement started in 2017 and the number of opportu- nities to engage increased, the women in my study took their chance to join the movement. Ahmed (2004) suggests that being a feminist involves taking the anger and using it as a foundation to critique the world (2004:171). This is an idea that has been central to this study. The participants’ engagements

67 to raise awareness of the sexist oppression and structuralized oppression of women are based on a feeling of anger towards being victimized, oppressed, and minimized by the patriarchal discourse. Applying the concept of collective identity alongside the discursive concept of the rape script allows for an understanding of how the collective identity is built on a set of shared goals (Saunders 2015) that are set out to be challenging the rape script in the movement I have studied. This allows for an understanding of the way a movement is built on a common understanding of what needs to change, and who is to be included in the “we” and who is the “other” (Flesher Fominaya 2015:65-67). It is common in the movement studied that the “we” is non-men which sets the definition of the “other” as men. This discourse of exclusion of men is promoted by the Swedish Gender Equality Agency which promotes grants to organizations with at least 75% of women in their organization. The exclusion of “men” allows for a sisterhood to grow within the movement, since the ones who engages are commonly non-men who share the experience of sexist oppression. In addition, the exclusion of men allows for the organizations to promote a safe environment for the members (free from men). I have suggested that the sisterhood is essential for the movement, and that it is based on the collective identity within the individual organizations. As Mona expressed in her interview, engaging in a feminist organization allows for her to connect with persons with the same values and goals, which is one important aspect of the sisterhood that I suggest. Then there is the other aspect, the sisterhood within the broader col- lective that is acting as a safety net for feminists all over Sweden as they engage to have each other’s back and organize payment for women that are being charged with defamation. I have found that fem- inist engagement is commonly founded in rage against the rape script, and that the experience of shar- ing that rage with others constitutes a collective identity among women that share the same rage. It is a collective identity which is expressed through the sisterhood.

The impact of the MeToo movement

Hashtag feminism or Networked feminism is an essential aspect of responding to rape culture (Fotopoulou 2016:16) This is both since the MeToo movement is based on the usage of sharing testi- monies of sexual violence under the hashtag #MeToo, and as a consequence of the possibilities offered by the digital platforms as it allows for individuals to connect regardless of where they are located. The fact that this study took place mainly during the Covid-19 pandemic has also had an impact, since the organizations were more or less forced to cancel their planned actions due to the requirement of social distancing. As for the feminist organizations included in this study, digital platforms such as Instagram allows for the organizations to “be loud” in a more effective matter than actions that take

68 place in the streets. As expressed by Paulina, it calls for a more regular engagement as many feminists are active on a daily basis. I have shown that their presence on digital platforms allows for a daily consciousness raising and challenging of the rape script as the activists commonly share testimonies of sexual violence, news articles, and informational pictures and texts. It is the continuous engagement that keeps the movement alive. For many of the participants the MeToo movement allowed them to revisit their past experi- ences and reinhabit their past and their bodies (Ahmed 2017:30) as they finally gained the tools, they needed to define their experiences. These were experiences that had been suppressed as a consequence of the rape script that serves to control the narrative of the victim-survivor. By challenging the rape script that came with the MeToo movement, women have gained a voice. Loney-Howes (2019) showed that the importance of the MeToo movement was the space women gained to speak out, and to witness other women’s experiences in an online space which also allowed for the enormous spread of the movement (2019:54-55). It has been suggested by scholars such as Savigny (2020), among others, that the MeToo movement is in the past. However, in my study it is clear that there is a contin- uation of the movement which is shown through the essence of making sexual violence visible, the growing numbers of testimonies of sexual violence, and the continuing challenges to the rape script. As suggested by Amina and Beatrice, we are still living in the movement, and it will not end until all sexual violence have ended.

The Rightless Discourse During 2019, a wave of collective actions took place in cities all over Sweden where non-men gathered outside police stations with their mouths taped shut to manifest how the Swedish justice system is failing women. This was inspired by the statistics showing that 95% of reported sex crimes never lead to a sentence (Brottsförebygganderådet 2019), nor is enough resources allocated to investigations and prosecutions. I have suggested that the sense of women being rightless is a discourse expressed by the common understanding that women are not equal in front of the law, and that the sisterhood found in the contemporary movement acts as the collective support that is needed to regain the voice lost by the insufficient support from the justice system (see Butler and Athanasiou 2013:77). The MeToo move- ment and the Rightless actions manifest the rightless discourse, as they serve as an outlet for the voices that were not allowed to be heard by the justice system. Speaking out on social platforms and repre- senting victimized non-men outside police stations is a method for them to become visible in relation to a discourse they see as serving to silence them. As expressed by Emelie, she did not have a choice but to engage when she found out that 95% of cases were closed and “who knows how large the

69 unrecorded number is”. As a counterclaim to the expression of the experience of being rightless by victim-survivors, alleged perpetrators are now claiming that they are in fact rightless. I suggest that this is an expression of the changing rape script, as a consequence of the MeToo movement that no longer keep men safe to the same extent as before MeToo. Another aspect of the rightless discourse points to the experience of the legal system going after women who speak out against their alleged perpetrators, often due to lack of recognition from the legal system or as a consequence of the accusation not leading to a sentencing. Commonly men- tioned is the aspect that the only reason to report a sex crime is to get a label on it or to have it included in the statics. For Mia it is hard to be optimistic about the outcome. It has been shown that speaking out has become an alternative way for redress, since there is little faith in the justice system. However, as a consequence of the increased number of testimonies shared on social platforms and the rise of the MeToo movement, women are now being sentenced for defamation when their alleged perpetrators press charges against them. Savigny (2020) suggests that cultural sexism is a affecting the legal system and therefore denying women a voice and in the long run, disciplining them to remain silent (2020:24). In an act to keep women from being silenced, the sisterhood offers to pay the fines.

Further Research

I have brought forward aspects of the MeToo movement and the engagement to end sexual violence that may merit further research. The concept of the rape script may be useful in future research as it allows for an understanding of the discourses that anti-rape activists are aiming to overthrow. Like- wise, the notion of cultural sexism allows for a contemporary understanding of the impact of sexism in contemporary western societies. Further, I suggest that the empirical data presented in this essay has shown that in studying contemporary anti-rape movement, one should remain open to the aspect that anti-rape activists do not necessarily consider the movement being over and limited to 2017. Further research is required in relation to the discourse of rightlessness since during the spring of 2021 an organization was formed to pay fines for those sentenced for defamation, which is briefly mentioned in this essay, and in April 2021 a call was announced with demands to not charge women for defama- tion as a consequence of the MeToo movement. This indicates that there is a lot of work left to be done, and that there is a lot that is happening at the moment. As this study has confirmed, rightlessness is an aspect that is targeted by the contemporary Swedish movement. In addition, this study suggests that there is more work to be done in relation to the understand- ing of the politics behind speaking out. As has been shown through this essay, speaking out is

70 complicated, especially in times when there is an overlaying threat of defamation as an aspect of the rightless discourse. It is suggested that more research should be put towards those who decided to speak out and reveal their perpetrators name, in order to understand the politics behind such an action. I would also suggest that there is a need of further understanding of the dynamics of feminist organi- zations, and the relationships between them. It would be interesting to further investigate the aspect of inclusion versus exclusion in the organizations.

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References

Interviews

Interview 1 Jennifer (Pseudonym) Occupation: student Engagement: Feminist Sisterhood (Pseudonym) Birthyear: 1996 Gender: Female Date of interview: 2020-10-02 Length of Interview: 30 minutes Interview by the writer. Interview in possession of the writer.

Interview 2 Paulina (Pseudonym) Occupation: IT Developer Engagement: Women United (Pseudonym) Birthyear: 1991 Gender: Female Date of interview: 2020-10-12 Length of Interview: 50 minutes Interview by the writer. Interview in possession of the writer.

Interview 3 Mia (Pseudonym) Occupation: Works at an authority Engagement: Women Together (Pseudonym)

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Birthyear: 1987 Gender: Female Date of interview: 2020-10-15 Length of Interview: 30 minutes Interview by the writer. Interview in possession of the writer.

Interview 4 Mona (Pseudonym) Occupation: Master Student in human rights Engagement: Women Together (Pseudonym) Birthyear: - Gender: Female Date of interview: 2020-10-16 Length of Interview: 70 minutes Interview by the writer. Interview in possession of the writer.

Interview 5 Emelie (Pseudonym) Occupation: Student Engagement: Rightless Action Birthyear: 1995 Gender: Female Date of interview: 2020-10-20 Length of Interview: 35 minutes Interview by the writer. Interview in possession of the writer.

Interview 6 Alice (Pseudonym) Occupation: Author Engagement: Organizing Women (Pseudonym)

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Birthyear: - Gender: Female Date of interview: 2020-10-21 Length of Interview: 115 minutes Interview by the writer. Interview in possession of the writer.

Interview 7 Ebba (Pseudonym) Occupation: Police Student Engagement: Rightless Action Birthyear: 1998 Gender: Female Date of interview: 2020-10-22 Length of Interview: 47 minutes Interview by the writer. Interview in possession of the writer

Interview 8 Alma (Pseudonym) Occupation: Priest Engagement: Breaking the Silence (Pseudonym) Birthyear: 1959 Gender: Female Date of interview: 2020-10-23 Length of Interview: 35 minutes Interview by the writer. Interview in possession of the writer.

Interview 9 Amanda (Pseudonym) Occupation: student and works at an authority Engagement: Supporting Women (Pseudonym)

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Birthyear: 1995 Gender: Female Date of interview: 2020-01-17 Length of Interview: 45 minutes Interview by the writer. Interview in possession of the writer.

Interview 10 Amina (Pseudonym) Occupation: - Engagement: No More Violence (Pseudonym) Birthyear: - Gender: Female Date of interview: 2021-01-05 The participant answered questions in written format. The text is in possession of the writer.

Interview 11 Beatrice (Pseudonym) Occupation: Master Student in Psychology Engagement: No More Violence (Pseudonym) Birthyear: 1989 Gender: Female Date of interview: 2021-01-05 The participant answered questions in written format. The text is in possession of the writer.

Interview 12 Catarina (Pseudonym) Occupation: Healthcare worker Engagement: No More Violence (Pseudonym) Birthyear: 1984 Gender: Female

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Date of interview: 2021-01-05 The participant answered questions in written format. The text is in possession of the writer.

Interview 13 Daniella (Pseudonym) Occupation: Works with communication Engagement: No More Violence (Pseudonym) Birthyear: 1984 Gender: Female Date of interview: 2021-01-05 The participant answered questions in written format. The text is in possession of the writer.

Observation

2019-09-05, 16.30-18.00, Uppsala, Police Station.

Organizations and Instagram accounts

@breakingthesilence 08.2020-2021.05 @Cissiwallin 08.2020-2021.05 @Endingsexualviolence 08.2020-2021.05 @everydayabuse 08.2020-2021.05 @fem.city 08.2020-2021.05 @feministorg 08.2020-2021.05 @feministsisterhood 08.2020-2021.05 @femorganizers 08.2020-2021.05 @feministsunited 08.2020-2021.05 @Gardet 08.2020-2021.05 @nomoreviolence 08.2020-2021.05 @organizingwomen 08.2020-2021.05 @supporting women 08.2020-2021.05

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@speakingouttogether 08.2020-2021.05 @undoingpatriarchy 08.2020-2021.05 @womensaid 08.2020-2021.05 @womensshelter 08.2020-2021.05 @womentogether 08.2020-2021.05 @womenunited 08.2020-2021.05

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Master Theses in Cultural Anthropology, Uppsala University, 2005 - ISSN 1653-2244

1. Levin, Ulf. Mayaness through time: Challenges to ethnic identity and culture from the past to Modernity. June 2005. 2. Berg, Angelica. Oligarkins järnlag – om demokrati i en frivilligorganisation. June 2005. 3. Tjernström, Hanna. Parents’ wishes and Children’s Lives – Where does the education lead? Social change among young people in west-central Tanzania. June 2005. 4. Hajo, Sirin. En länk till Gud i cd-format? Om qawwalimusiken i rörelse och globaliseringskrafter. January 2005. 5. Blum, Rebecca. Service or violence? Or a violent service: A fieldwork based study on change in attitudes towards the use of force within the South African Police Service analysed using the community con- cept. September 2005. 6. Molin, John. The past is present: Archaeological sites and identity formation in Southern . September 2005. 7. Kristek, Gabriela. “We are new people now”: Pentecostalism as a means of ethnic continuity and social acceptance among the Wichí of Argentina. September 2005. 8. Frykman, Carina. The power of waste: A study of socio-political relations in Mexico City's waste manage- ment system. January 2006. 9. Bjarnesen, Jesper. Waves of relief: An ethnography of humanitarian assistance to post-tsunami Sri Lanka. January 2006. 10. Emilsson, Malin. A place made out of music: An online field study of a forum for record collectors. May 2006. 11. Hellman, Erik. Battle over reality: Medical culture and beyond. Report from San Pedro la Laguna, Guate- mala. May 2006. 12. Molina, Natalia. Collected objects, hidden cultures: Colombian indigenous people in a Swedish ethnograph- ical collection. September 2006. 13. Spasenič, Jelena. Tiden i timglas: En studie om politiskt sanningssägande i Serbien. September 2006. 14. Svenfelt, Carina. Going to university, learning on campus: On the experiences of being university student and young in today’s Syria. September 2006. 15. Amankwaah, Clementina. Negotiating culture: Tradition and modernity in elite Ghanaian secondary schools. December 2006. 16. Sundberg, Molly. Filtering through “The White Paper”: Conceptions of cultural sameness and difference at two orphanages in post- South Africa. June 2007. 17. Rosen, Franciska. At the crossroads of subsistence farming and development initiatives: Gender and organizational culture among the Ovambos, Namibia. June 2007. 18. Lundberg, Arvid. Memory and imagination of Palestine. December 2007. 19. Rasmussen, Annika. Om det personliga är politiskt – är sexuella praktiker offentliga? BDSM-utövare och det sexuella medborgarskapet. February 2009. 20. Morton, Andrew. Accounting for difference: Is there an “Indian” Psychiatry? June 2009. 21. Jennische, Ulrik. Civil society and political debate among drivers and traders in urban Ghana: The Koforidua central market and taxi station. September 2009. 22. Bergander, Katrina. The reality of dirt: Perceptions of cleanliness, dirtiness and garbage in Kléla, a rural town in Mali. January 2010. 23. Bergquist, Angela Alcalá. Parallel perspectives: Children and adolescents in street situation in Colombia – their own views and that of their helpers. January 2010. 24. Karlsson, Rebecca. She walks with a man: Perception and practice of honour amongst women in Egypt. June 2010. 25. Baruffol, Sofia. Institutionalization and industrialization of organic farming in Sweden and in France: Organic farmers between quest for authenticity and economic sustainability. June 2010. 26. Rahbek, Lisa. Biopolitics on birth: Experiences on biopolitical use of biomedicine in the pregnancy and birthing arena. A case study from León, Nicaragua. June 2010. 27. Andersson, Erika. Israeli peace activists: Discourse, action and attitudes. September 2010.

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28. Emitslöf, Josefin. Promises of beach: Toursi(e)scapes, development and social navigation on Lamu Island, Kenya. June 2011. 29. Lindström, Josefine. House of memories: Tourism and local livelihoods on a World Heritage of the transat- lantic slave trade. June 2011. 30. Thompson, Robert Benjamin. Out of the frying pan, into the freezer: Anthropological perspectives of the experiences and challenges facing Sweden’s growing immigrant population. June 2011. 31. Tistedt, Lisa. Paradoxes of doing good in Africa: An exploration of identity and power in international volunteering in Kenya. June 2011. 32. Thews, Astrid. Imaginations of Egypt and Egyptians in a private Arabic language center in greater Cairo: Cosmopolitan imaginations of others and selves. September 2011. 33. Harada, Yuko. The song of peace: Ethnicity, development and gender in warfare and peace among Gabra Camel pastoralists in Northern Kenya. September 2011. 34. Muslim, Yusuf. Backs to the future: The mythologizing of modernity and the modernizing of magic amongst Muslims in east London. January 2012. 35. Sandberg, Andreas. “Little by little”: Dealing with HIV/AIDS in Ekwendeni, northern Malawi. January 2012. 36. Johansson, Fanny. It looks good on paper: An anthropological exploration of volunteer tourism and English teaching in North-eastern Thailand. February 2012. 37. Modin, Maja. “Thank God, Pythagoras was not from Bosnia”: A study about the dynamics of categorizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. May 2012. 38. Cakinel, Hande. One nation, one discourse: A study of nationalization and national identity formation in two Syriac ethno-religious communities in Turkey. May 2012. 39. Miller, Nina. Women’s access to subsidized antiretroviral treatment in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. September 2012. 40. Hultqvist, Hugo. Running for modernity: Athletics, social change, and replacing Kenyan traditionalism with a modern consciousness. September 2012. 41. Fendel, Benedikt. Process work, dreambody, and shamanism: A Study of Neoshamanism at the Process Work Activists’ Community and the theories of process work as laid down by Arnold Mindell. June 2013. 42. Obaid-ur-Rehman. Ethical-formation of self in Islamic discursive practices amongst Muslim youth: An eth- nography of the Uppsala Mosque. June 2013. 43. Sanogo, Aïdas. Behind the scenes: Urban planning and resettlement of displaced people following the flood- ing of the 1st September 2009 in Burkina Faso. September 2013. 44. Liggins, Arlena Siobhan. “They say it has no cure”: Illness narratives of diabetes patients in Uganda. September 2013. 45. Karcsics, Ann-Marie. “My friends are my safety net”: Friendship amongst young adults in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. September 2013. 46. Baumann, Amelie. Old AIDS, new AIDS: A study on the effects of antiretroviral treatment on non-govern- mental support communities for HIV-positive people in Germany. September 2013. 47. Maurin, Beatrice. “The Filipina is a fighter, a fighter for her rights, a fighter for her freedom to work and freedom to express herself”: An anthropological study about the feminization of migration in the Philippines. June 2014. 48. Woldegiorgis, Birhanu Desta. A blue print or a mirage: An anthropological study of agricultural and institutional practices, engagements and development discourse in Ethiopia. June 2014. 49. Provenzano, Fabio. “It is all about territory”: A study of a segregated group of Roma in Rome, Italy. June 2014. 50. Zauq, Ibrahim. An ethnographic study of 2010 flood affected people: The case of Kot-Addu village in Southern Punjab of Pakistan. June 2014. 51. Emitslöf, Emma. “The way we are speechless doesn’t mean our heads are empty”: An analysis of Rwandan hip-hop and its ambivalences as a youth cultural expression tool in Kigali. September 2014. 52. Källström, Dan. The Ladies’ Chairman: Male headship and gender equality in Pentecostal Ghana. June 2015. 53. Landström, Katarina. Financial crisis and experience itself: The beginning of a redeeming story in Iceland. June 2015.

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54. Lundqvist, Kee. Stories of significance: The process and practices of sense-making in the Sherlock fan community. June 2015. 55. Sörner, Sofia. Accountability, sovereignty, friendship: Inter-cultural encounters in a Ugandan- Swedish municipal partnership. September 2015. 56. Helmisaari, Tommi. Changing food choices in a changing city: Vietnamese youth in contemporary Hanoi. September 2015. 57. Caballero, Adelaida. The rebellion of the chicken: Self-making, reality (re)writing and lateral struggles in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. September 2015. 58. Gómez, Andrés. Resisting abandonment: An ethnography of oil workers’ resistance to political violence and capital accumulation in rural Colombia. February 2016. 59. Bädeker, Lars. “They want to control everything”: Discourse and lifestyle in contemporary Turkey. Febru- ary 2016. 60. Post, Rosalie A. “God will help me”: Of hopes and uncertainties, tactics and futures among Kampalan A-level students. February 2016. 61. Campanella, Mariapia Rosa. “The proof is in the pudding steak”: Halal food consumption, moral overtones and re-negotiation of categories among Muslim believers in Stockholm County. February 2016. 62. McEvoy, Caitlin. One-size-(does not)-fit-all: Adult immigration students’ understanding of the determinants for success in learning Swedish as a second language. February 2016. 63. Azis, Georgios. Rising up against the subordination of life in Barcelonès: An ethnography of the struggle of the afectadas for a future without debt chains. February 2016. 64. Garcia, Jennifer. New system, same problems: A study on the effects of unattainable healthcare and a non-government funded organization in New York City. February 2016. 65. Sandberg, Nanna. “Engineers optimize everything”: Socialization and control in software development work. June 2016. 66. Nilsson, Sara. Coloured by race: A study about the making of coloured identities in South Africa. June 2016. 67. Bilal, Muzammal. Policy and access: A story of marginalized fishing community in Pakistan. August 2016. 68. van der Bent, Maarten. “It’s two things mixed together!” A Baptist missionary nurse and her symbiotic relationship with Ndyuka medicine. January 2017. 69. Mallow, Stefanie. Between dark days and light nights: International PhD students’ experiences in Uppsala. January 2017. 70. Ståhlkrantz, Nils. The tiger in the cage: Discourse surrounding China’s engagement in Kenya. June 2017. 71. Drew, Liesl. “I’m from Barcelona”: Boundaries and transformations between Catalan and Spanish identities. June 2017. 72. Engberg, Anna. Ecocertifications and quality labels: For whom and why, in the case of Laponia. June 2017. 73. Gunnarsson, Malin. Self-care and injury prevention in the Swedish welfare society: An anthropological study on how physical activity and cardio exercise are used to self-care both physically and mentally. October 2017. 74. Konde, Patrick. Ra(ce)ising questions about school: Analyzing social structures in a Swedish high school. October 2017. 75. Alkarp, Jesper. Establishing a culture of migration: The spatial, economic, and social planning of Philippine- Korean labour migration. February 2018. 76. Abdi Ali, Dusit. The bright hopes and desolated dreams of Ethiopian women: A study of circular migration to and the Gulf states. February 2018. 77. Yllequist, Kajsa. You can’t eat the sweet with the paper on: An anthropological study of perceptions of HIV and HIV prevention among Xhosa youth in Cape Town, South Africa. February 2018. 78. Johansson, Lena. The in-betweens of space and time in transit: Spatial and temporal realities for urban refugees in Eastleigh, Nairobi. June 2018. 79. Sallstedt, Alexander. Performing the nation through nature: A study of nationalism and cultural objectification - Stories from Icelandic northern lights tours. June 2018. 80. de Vries, Louise Diane Susannah. (Re)assembling our past, present and future: The Slovene Ethnographic Museum as a platform for dialogue. June 2018.

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81. Sjödin, Jennie. Double bind tying breastfeeding women to a liminal position: Discourses about public breastfeeding in the Swedish media debate 1980–2016. June 2018. 82. Nordby, Linda. “Bikinis and fish don’t match”: Exploring conflicts and local development of tourism in Ngapali. Burma, June 2018. 83. Alves, Leonardo Marcondes. Give us this day our daily bread: The moral order of Pentecostal peasants in South Brazil. June 2018. 84. Fisher, Charlotte. A sense of place: Outdoor pursuits and cabin fever. A Nordic haven for gender equality. October 2018. 85. Becskei, Merlin. 40 years in the desert: Orthopraxy instead of orthodoxy in an anarchist kibbutz. October 2018. 86. Forss, Alex. “The city is yours”: Desegregation and sharing space in post-conflict Belfast. October 2018. 87. Crown, Juno. Home of the Japanese heart: Socio-historical contextualization of gender politics, commodity animism and super state-nationalism of Japanese modernity through the indigenous faith. October 2018. 88. Diederich, Jill. Trash to treasure: Art between contemporary and conventional - Ecological practices in Arkhangelsk, Russia. October 2018. 89. Omer, Ismael. Stories that cut across: The case of refugees and asylum seekers in Calais, France. October 2018. 90. Rossetti, Vanina. Talking through the body: Creating of common world and changing the community through a theatrical performance. A case study. January 2019. 91. Enbuske, Hanna. Take care! The ideal patient and self-governing. January 2019. 92. Van Cleave, Kayla. (Re)assembling integration: Swedish for truck drivers as a context for integrating. June 2019. 93. Öbom, Alexander. New roads taken by few: Motorcycle-taxi drivers and neoliberal development in rural Uganda. June 2019. 94. Repka, Robert. “It’s my city and I’m not going to move away!” Shaping a sense of being-at-home-in-the- world and seeking balance between acting and being acted upon in developing Bratislava. June 2019. 95. Kikuchi, Yuka. (Becoming) strong women in Sweden: Japanese female immigrants in the greater Stockholm area. November 2019. 96. Tesoro, Stephenie G. In (H)Arm’s Way: A look into the culture of the defense and security industry. No- vember 2019. 97. Alexander James Maxia. The principles of a stable community: 90 years of structured integration in a cul- turally diverse new town in Sardinia. January 2020. 98. Cicic, Ana. Yugoslavia revisited: Contested histories through public memories of President Tito. January 2020. 99. Juvrud, Justin. “ROFL F*ck You”: Understanding the current state of toxicity in Battlefield V. June 2020. 100. Ingrid Bäckström. Bodies, current vehicles, or embodied agents? An anthropological study of the human body and the human condition in an age of transhumanism. October 2020. 101. Maja Söderberg. Being and making home in the world: A glimpse into the complexity of ordinary life in the Swedish northern village Vittangi. October 2020. 102. Phaidon T. B. Vassiliou. Negotiating the moral community: Moral intimacy in the shadow of Colombia’s rebel rule. January 2021. 103. Bim Kilje. Quests for knowledge and social mobility: Vocational and on-the-job-training as navigational tactics in the urban labour market of Sierra Leone. January 2021.

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[email protected] Institutionen för kulturantropologi och etnologi Uppsala Universitet Box 631 SE-751 26 Tel. +46 (0) 18 471 22 85 Fax +46 (0) 18 471 70 29 ISSN 1653-2244 Available for download from DiVA Online Database: http://uu.diva-portal.org