The Swedish Pronoun "Hen"
Third person pronoun – both a trap and a gap
Introduction
Gender roles and stereotypes are obviously a part of today’s society, all around the world. However, some appreciate them more than others, and how these facts will develop in the future is something only time can tell.
In Sweden, the debate of equal rights between sexes is a part of the political agenda and the politics of equality was provided with 1.5 billion Swedish kronor between the years of 2007 and 2010.[1] Nevertheless, voices have been raised for the cause of accusing the government for not doing enough.[2]
During the spring of 2012, a vivid debate took place in the Swedish media regarding the gender-neutral pronoun “hen” (which is structured as a combination between the Swedish words for she and he). The pronoun has been used for decades within Swedish feministic networks.
For this reason, it is interesting examining why hen is as provoking as it seems to be and how it is illuminating the fact and question about mankind: are there humans or sexes?
Background
According to Göteborgs-Posten, the second largest daily newspaper in Sweden, the debate regarding “hen” snowballed when the children’s book Kivi and Monsterhund (Kivi and Monsterdog) was published in January 2012.[3] The genders of the characters in the book were intentionally chosen not being displayed and the author Jesper Lundquist has commented on the making of the book as both creative and enjoyable because of the decision to exclude stereotypes.
Due to, the criticism and the discontent conveyed about hen, have numerous times referred to the improperness of the children’s book mentioned above. For one thing, many critics are afraid the children can be confused by the message being sent.
However, the pronoun was included in the online version of the Swedish National Encyclopedia in 2009 and was introduced by Swedish linguists during the 1960’s. The linguist Hans Karlgren
Introduction
Gender roles and stereotypes are obviously a part of today’s society, all around the world. However, some appreciate them more than others, and how these facts will develop in the future is something only time can tell.
In Sweden, the debate of equal rights between sexes is a part of the political agenda and the politics of equality was provided with 1.5 billion Swedish kronor between the years of 2007 and 2010.[1] Nevertheless, voices have been raised for the cause of accusing the government for not doing enough.[2]
During the spring of 2012, a vivid debate took place in the Swedish media regarding the gender-neutral pronoun “hen” (which is structured as a combination between the Swedish words for she and he). The pronoun has been used for decades within Swedish feministic networks.
For this reason, it is interesting examining why hen is as provoking as it seems to be and how it is illuminating the fact and question about mankind: are there humans or sexes?
Background
According to Göteborgs-Posten, the second largest daily newspaper in Sweden, the debate regarding “hen” snowballed when the children’s book Kivi and Monsterhund (Kivi and Monsterdog) was published in January 2012.[3] The genders of the characters in the book were intentionally chosen not being displayed and the author Jesper Lundquist has commented on the making of the book as both creative and enjoyable because of the decision to exclude stereotypes.
Due to, the criticism and the discontent conveyed about hen, have numerous times referred to the improperness of the children’s book mentioned above. For one thing, many critics are afraid the children can be confused by the message being sent.
However, the pronoun was included in the online version of the Swedish National Encyclopedia in 2009 and was introduced by Swedish linguists during the 1960’s. The linguist Hans Karlgren