The F-word (2008)

For my fourth book, the anthology F-ordet. Mot en ny feminism (The F-word: Towards a New Feminism) published in 2008 and then in paperback in 2009, I asked a number of writers and academics to address common feminist issues in uncommon ways. 

Offering a judicious selection of essays, the anthology presents contemporary interpretations of a wide range of feminist issues: Anna Svensson explains why rape may not be the worst thing that can happen to a woman; Minister Lars Gårdfeldt problematises the understanding of domestic violence through discussing the issue of same-sex rape; historian of ideas and culture Susanne Dodillet gives an account of how the German homemakers allied themselves and their struggle with sex workers in the 1970s; social anthropologist Don Kulick analyses animal pornography through the lens of radical feminism and concludes that the phenomenon can be understood as a desire to merge boundaries between man and animal; theologist Susanne Wigorts Yngvesson argues why polygamy can be a desirable feminist option; Inti Chavez Perez writes about "the modern man”; Boris Benulic writes about macho-sex; Jonah Nylund uses philosopher Elisabeth Grosz in order to discuss strap on-dildos; and XX gives a thought-provoking account of how societal attitudes towards him changed as he transitioned from female to male. 

The anthology received overwhelmingly appreciative reviews and was praised for its ability to "provoke the reader to think, react, process, reflect and laugh – and never be bored". A less favourable review described the book as "feminism in a circus version" - an epithet I thought was great!