Female Masculinity in Interwar Sweden: Play, Agency, Desire

In the VR-funded project Female Masculinity in Interwar Sweden: Play, Agency, Desire, I study how the notion of the “masculinized” modern woman arose in the 1920s as a popular theme as well as a source of cultural anxiety, whether in regard to contemporary fashion-trends, films, sports, cross-dressing or associations with lesbianism. Exploring when and how female masculinity was read as harmless play, as female agency or as a sign of non-normative desire, is an essential task of the project. Through an analysis of debates and visual representations in a Swedish context, utilizing different materials (magazines, literature and film) and methods (archival research, textual criticism and visual analysis), the project makes a contribution to queer studies as well as critical history. It will shed important light on patterns (still at play) in cultural responses to transgressive gender expressions.

Contact: Jenny Ingemarsdotter