Women's Liberation
Swedish Feminist Comics and Cartoons from the 1970s and 1980s
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Abstract
In Sweden, publication of original feminist comics started in the 1970s and increased during the following decade. This article describes and analyses the Swedish feminist comics published in the Swedish radical journals Kvinnobulletinen and Vi Mänskor, as well as in the Fnitter anthologies. These comics, representing radical feminism, played an important role as forums for debate in a time when feminist comics were considered avant-garde. The most prominent themes were, first, the body, love and sexualities and, second, the labour market and legal rights. The most frequent visual style was a black contour line style on a white background, recalling the comics of Claire Bretécher, Aline Kominsky-Crumb and Franziska Becker. Humour and satire, including irony, were used as strategies to challenge the patriarchy and to contest the prevailing idea that women have no sense of humour.
Contributor Notes
Anna Nordenstam is Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Gothenburg and of Swedish and Education at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. She has published articles about gender and comics, including a study of the work of Liv Strömquist. She is the project leader of the research project Contemporary Swedish Feminist Comics as Medium for Political Activism and Critique (VR2018-01165). She has contributed, with Margareta Wallin Wictorin, chapters on avant-garde comics, political comics and satire to various edited volumes. Email: anna.nordenstam@lir.gu.se
Margareta Wallin Wictorin is Associate Professor of Art History and Visual Studies and Senior Lecturer in Culture Studies at Karlstad University, Sweden. She has published articles and chapters with educational, postcolonial and feminist perspectives on comics. She is a member of the research project Contemporary Swedish Feminist Comics as Medium for Political Activism and Critique (VR2018-01165). With Anna Nordenstam, she has contributed chapters on avant-garde comics, political comics and satire to various edited volumes. Email: margareta.wallin-wictorin@kau.se