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Feminist Initiative (Sweden)
Encyclopedia
Feminist Initiative is a feminist
political party
in Sweden
. The party was formed (from a previous pressure group of the same name) in 2005 and announced on 9 September 2005 that it would put up candidates for the 2006 parliamentary elections in Sweden. They got around 0.68% of the votes, meaning they didn't pass the 4% threshold necessary to enter the Riksdag
.
on April 4, 2005. The announcement was preceded by a large number of rumours of a new feminist party. In particular, the rumours were concerned with the growing feminist movement around Gudrun Schyman
, a former leader of the Swedish Left Party
and at that time independent member of the Riksdag. At the press conference the founding members stressed that Fi was not yet a political party. The question on whether or not to stand for elections was postponed until further notice.
In 2008 it was stated that the organization was a political party that will stand for elections. In 2009 Feminist Initiative stood for the European Parliament election and got 2.2 percent. In 2010 they stand for the national, regional and local elections.
The inaugural assembly gathered some 350 members (still lacking a formal structure the participants choose to regard themselves as independent members rather than delegates from regions or local groups). The agenda included three major decisions: the establishing of a political party, formulation of a party agenda and organisational matters (notably a decision on chairperson). On 9 September 2005 the decision was taken to organise as a political party and stand for the parliamentary general election 2006. Media also focused attention on what came to be called "the decision to campaign to abolish marriage" and the current state-recognised cohabiting partnerships, and instead introduce a new Cohabitation Act (Swedish: sammanlevnadsbalk) which would encompass a new legal status for private relationships between more than two people, irrespective of gender, thereby possibly opening up for polygamy
. In reality, the decision was to enlarge the marriage law, so as to include any form of voluntary cohabitation.
Regarding the organisational matters, the conference decided to appoint three executive committee members as their spokespersons (Swedish: talesperson). So far it has, however, not been made clear to the public what the powers and functions of these spokespersons are. It was also decided that men can hold offices within Fi, upon which two men were elected to the executive committee.
Interest from the media has been unusually keen, and mostly negative. Government money for feminist research projects has been questioned and Professor Tiina Rosenberg
was accused of plagiarism by right-wing political scientist Johan Tralau, citing a 2000 book review of Rosenberg's "Byxbegär" ('Wearing the trousers'). After a review of the alleged errors in the book, Rosenberg's faculty at the Stockholm University
deemed the matter unnecessary to investigate further. Rosenberg left Fi October 2005, citing media attention and criticism directed toward her research and person as the reason, claiming to be the target of a deliberate antifeminist campaign instigated by right-wing lobbyists.
In the days before the Swedish election on September 17, 2006, American
actress Jane Fonda
came to Sweden to support the party's election campaign.
. In the European Parliament election, 2009
, the party improved its result, getting 2.2%. This was not enough to get a seat in the European Parliament
. It has been speculated that one reason for the improvement was the 1 000 000 Swedish kronor donation made to the party by former ABBA
member Benny Andersson
.
In the 2010 election F! Saw a slump in support compared to 2006, falling from 0,68 to 0,40% of the vote.
F! did however managed to become the third biggest party in the southern municipality of Simrishamn
with 8,9 % of the votes, giving them 4 seats in the city council.
, announced that she was leaving the party's executive committee, citing teamwork problems as the reason, but also stating that Fi was primarily pursuing a far left
political agenda, and therefore not representing all women. She has since become a regular critic of the party in the media. On 13 September 2005 another of the 15 founding members of the Executive Committee, Susanne Linde, resigned from the party. Linde was the only member of the founding group who had previously been active in a centre-right political party, the Liberal People's Party
. She gave as her principal reason the treatment she had received from another committee member Tiina Rosenberg, who, among other claims, had criticised her for being a heterosexual, and calling her a "middle class hag". Linde was unhappy with Rosenberg's "reverse homophobia". Witt-Brattström claimed Rosenberg had called her a "gender traitor" for having sex with men. Tiina Rosenberg herself later left the Executive Committee, but not Fi, after death threats to herself and her children, and perceived harassment from the media.
defected to Fi from the Liberal People's Party, due to “a lack of consideration for feminist issues among her former colleagues.” Just previous to her defection, Carlshamre had been convicted on charges on accounting fraud and the Liberal Party had called on her to resign as MEP.
, Helena Brandt, Lotten Sunna, Maria Jansson, Monica Brun, Monica Amante, Sandra Andersson, Sandra Dahlén, Sofia Karlsson
and Tiina Rosenberg
.
and Eve Ensler
supported Fi by joining the election tour in Sweden. Jane Fonda also donated 400,000 Swedish Kronor for the campaign.
In 2009 Benny Andersson
, one of the members of the group ABBA
, donated one million kronor for the European Parliament campaign.
In July 2010, the party burned 100,000 Swedish kronor ($13,000; £8,500) in a protest against unequal pay. Fi wanted to draw attention to its proposal for a government fund for equal pay. The money that was burned had been donated by the advertising agency Studio Total, and the event got major publicity around the world. In 2010, the Swedish electro group The knife
also donated money to the party.
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. The party was formed (from a previous pressure group of the same name) in 2005 and announced on 9 September 2005 that it would put up candidates for the 2006 parliamentary elections in Sweden. They got around 0.68% of the votes, meaning they didn't pass the 4% threshold necessary to enter the Riksdag
Parliament of Sweden
The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
.
Founding of the pressure group
The original pressure group was presented at a press conference in StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
on April 4, 2005. The announcement was preceded by a large number of rumours of a new feminist party. In particular, the rumours were concerned with the growing feminist movement around Gudrun Schyman
Gudrun Schyman
Gudrun Schyman is a Swedish politician. She served as leader of the Swedish Left Party from 1993 until January 2003. She remained a member of the Left Party until 2004, when she left to focus entirely on her feminist political work...
, a former leader of the Swedish Left Party
Left Party (Sweden)
The Left Party is a socialist and feminist political party in Sweden, from 1967 to 1990 known as the Left Party – The Communists .On welfare issues, the party opposes privatizations...
and at that time independent member of the Riksdag. At the press conference the founding members stressed that Fi was not yet a political party. The question on whether or not to stand for elections was postponed until further notice.
In 2008 it was stated that the organization was a political party that will stand for elections. In 2009 Feminist Initiative stood for the European Parliament election and got 2.2 percent. In 2010 they stand for the national, regional and local elections.
Founding of the political party
Following the introduction of the pressure group, things happened quickly. Six days later the Fi website announced that the association now had more than 2500 members. Regional and local groups of Fi were announced on the website regularly. Fi's first annual national conference was to be held in Örebro on the 9 September - 11 September 2005 and some 200 motions were submitted.The inaugural assembly gathered some 350 members (still lacking a formal structure the participants choose to regard themselves as independent members rather than delegates from regions or local groups). The agenda included three major decisions: the establishing of a political party, formulation of a party agenda and organisational matters (notably a decision on chairperson). On 9 September 2005 the decision was taken to organise as a political party and stand for the parliamentary general election 2006. Media also focused attention on what came to be called "the decision to campaign to abolish marriage" and the current state-recognised cohabiting partnerships, and instead introduce a new Cohabitation Act (Swedish: sammanlevnadsbalk) which would encompass a new legal status for private relationships between more than two people, irrespective of gender, thereby possibly opening up for polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
. In reality, the decision was to enlarge the marriage law, so as to include any form of voluntary cohabitation.
Regarding the organisational matters, the conference decided to appoint three executive committee members as their spokespersons (Swedish: talesperson). So far it has, however, not been made clear to the public what the powers and functions of these spokespersons are. It was also decided that men can hold offices within Fi, upon which two men were elected to the executive committee.
Interest from the media has been unusually keen, and mostly negative. Government money for feminist research projects has been questioned and Professor Tiina Rosenberg
Tiina Rosenberg
Tiina Rosenberg is a Professor of Gender Studies at Lund University in Sweden. She was formerly professor of Theatre Studies and lecturer of Gender Studies at Stockholm University. She received her Ph.D...
was accused of plagiarism by right-wing political scientist Johan Tralau, citing a 2000 book review of Rosenberg's "Byxbegär" ('Wearing the trousers'). After a review of the alleged errors in the book, Rosenberg's faculty at the Stockholm University
Stockholm University
Stockholm University is a state university in Stockholm, Sweden. It has over 28,000 students at four faculties, making it one of the largest universities in Scandinavia. The institution is also frequently regarded as one of the top 100 universities in the world...
deemed the matter unnecessary to investigate further. Rosenberg left Fi October 2005, citing media attention and criticism directed toward her research and person as the reason, claiming to be the target of a deliberate antifeminist campaign instigated by right-wing lobbyists.
In the days before the Swedish election on September 17, 2006, American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
came to Sweden to support the party's election campaign.
Public support and election results
According to surveys made in 2005, as many as 10% might vote for the party. However, in the 2006 election, the party got only 0.68% as a result of several controversies made by the party. The reason for Fi's drop in popularity is believed by some to have been a result of increased radicalism in its platform and its activities. A party needs 4% to get into the RiksdagParliament of Sweden
The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
. In the European Parliament election, 2009
European Parliament election, 2009
Elections to the European Parliament were held in the 27 member states of the European Union between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making these the biggest trans-national elections in history...
, the party improved its result, getting 2.2%. This was not enough to get a seat in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
. It has been speculated that one reason for the improvement was the 1 000 000 Swedish kronor donation made to the party by former ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
member Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
.
In the 2010 election F! Saw a slump in support compared to 2006, falling from 0,68 to 0,40% of the vote.
F! did however managed to become the third biggest party in the southern municipality of Simrishamn
Simrishamn
Simrishamn is a locality and the seat of Simrishamn Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 6,546 inhabitants in 2005. Simrishamn is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still referred to as a city....
with 8,9 % of the votes, giving them 4 seats in the city council.
Internal criticisms
On the 23 August 2005 one of the key, high-profile founders, Ebba Witt-BrattströmEbba Witt-Brattström
Ebba Witt-Brattström is a Swedish scholar in comparative literature. She is Professor of Literature and head of department at Södertörn University outside Stockholm, and a well-known feminist...
, announced that she was leaving the party's executive committee, citing teamwork problems as the reason, but also stating that Fi was primarily pursuing a far left
Far left
Far left, also known as the revolutionary left, radical left and extreme left are terms which refer to the highest degree of leftist positions among left-wing politics...
political agenda, and therefore not representing all women. She has since become a regular critic of the party in the media. On 13 September 2005 another of the 15 founding members of the Executive Committee, Susanne Linde, resigned from the party. Linde was the only member of the founding group who had previously been active in a centre-right political party, the Liberal People's Party
Liberal People's Party (Sweden)
The Liberal People's Party is a political party in Sweden. The party advocates social liberalism and is part of the governing centre-right coalition The Alliance, which achieved a majority in the general election of 17 September 2006...
. She gave as her principal reason the treatment she had received from another committee member Tiina Rosenberg, who, among other claims, had criticised her for being a heterosexual, and calling her a "middle class hag". Linde was unhappy with Rosenberg's "reverse homophobia". Witt-Brattström claimed Rosenberg had called her a "gender traitor" for having sex with men. Tiina Rosenberg herself later left the Executive Committee, but not Fi, after death threats to herself and her children, and perceived harassment from the media.
Defection to the party
On the 1 March 2006, MEP Maria CarlshamreMaria Carlshamre
Maria Robsahm, before June 2008 Maria Carlshamre, , is a Swedish politician and was a Member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2009. She was elected as a member of the Liberal People's Party, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe...
defected to Fi from the Liberal People's Party, due to “a lack of consideration for feminist issues among her former colleagues.” Just previous to her defection, Carlshamre had been convicted on charges on accounting fraud and the Liberal Party had called on her to resign as MEP.
First Executive Committee
The first Executive Committee included Ann-Marie Tung, Anna Jutterdal, Cecilia Chrapkowska, Gudrun SchymanGudrun Schyman
Gudrun Schyman is a Swedish politician. She served as leader of the Swedish Left Party from 1993 until January 2003. She remained a member of the Left Party until 2004, when she left to focus entirely on her feminist political work...
, Helena Brandt, Lotten Sunna, Maria Jansson, Monica Brun, Monica Amante, Sandra Andersson, Sandra Dahlén, Sofia Karlsson
Sofia Karlsson
Sofia Karlsson may refer to:*Sofia Karlsson *Sofia Karlsson *Sofia Karlsson...
and Tiina Rosenberg
Tiina Rosenberg
Tiina Rosenberg is a Professor of Gender Studies at Lund University in Sweden. She was formerly professor of Theatre Studies and lecturer of Gender Studies at Stockholm University. She received her Ph.D...
.
Major events
In 2005 Jane FondaJane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
and Eve Ensler
Eve Ensler
Eve Ensler is an American playwright, performer, feminist and activist, best known for her play The Vagina Monologues.- Personal life :...
supported Fi by joining the election tour in Sweden. Jane Fonda also donated 400,000 Swedish Kronor for the campaign.
In 2009 Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
, one of the members of the group ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
, donated one million kronor for the European Parliament campaign.
In July 2010, the party burned 100,000 Swedish kronor ($13,000; £8,500) in a protest against unequal pay. Fi wanted to draw attention to its proposal for a government fund for equal pay. The money that was burned had been donated by the advertising agency Studio Total, and the event got major publicity around the world. In 2010, the Swedish electro group The knife
The Knife
The Knife are a Swedish electronic music duo from Gothenburg, formed in 1999. The group consists of siblings Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer, who together also run their own record company, Rabid Records. They first received international attention after their song "Heartbeats", covered by...
also donated money to the party.