In the article “Raping turtles and kidnapping children: Fantasmatic logics of Scandinavia in Russian and German anti-gender discourse”, Maria Brock and Tina Askanius examine the social, political, and fantasmatic logics involved in the production of contemporary discourses about Scandinavia as a symbolic site and imagined place of sexual and moral decay and as a gender dysphoric dystopia by actors in the global anti-gender movement.
“The provocative title of our article refers to narratives that circulate about Scandinavia – and specifically, ‘perverted’ activities that supposedly take place in Scandinavian countries – according to news stories promoted by media actors located at the intersection of far-right and conservative anti-gender movements transnationally”, says Brock.
The study looks at news stories emerging from Russia and Germany in particular, and stories involving the corruption and harm of “innocent children” specifically.
“For both Germany and Russia, Scandinavia not only signifies a paragon of modernity, but also a (lost) fantasy of whiteness and patriarchal order”, explains Askanius.
“The ‘horrific scenarios’ which are projected onto Scandinavia by these right-wing and conservative actors are those of white displacement, the destabilisation of gendered relations and gender itself, and the ensuing loss of sexual, social, and economic privileges”.
The article is published in the latest issue of Nordic Journal of Media Studies, entitled The Return of Propaganda.
“While the news stories examined in our article could be characterised as ‘fake news’ or ‘disinformation’, they contribute to a growing transnational grammar of illiberalism, in which the image of a dysfunctional and decaying Scandinavia, and Sweden in particular, play a key role. This trope is equally used and useful to the far-right movement, conservative, ‘traditional values’ actors, and the anti-gender movement”, says Askanius.
“By utilising the figure of the innocent, vulnerable child as a central figure of these dystopian stories, the narrative gains greater urgency and emotional resonance. In many ways, the truth value of such claims made about Scandinavia is irrelevant. As a symbol, it is able to create a kind of emotional coherence, a transnational rallying point and a shared language with which to mobilise against and attack democratic values and rights long taken for granted in Europe”, says Brock.
Academic audiences, those working in journalism and the media industry, as well as industry adjacent settings, could benefit from reading this article, according to the authors.
“Particularly those interested in propaganda and disinformation narratives spread by state media in Russia, and the ecosystem of alternative far-right media across Europe, will find this interesting”, says Askanius.
The article “Raping turtles and kidnapping children: Fantasmatic logics of Scandinavia in Russian and German anti-gender discourse”, by Maria Brock and Tina Askanius, is available Open Access on Sciendo.
Julia Romell