The looming problems of Sweden’s praised gender role experiments

While Sweden is often praised for trying cutting-edge gender experiments on its young citizens in the public education system, there are looming problems that rarely receive attention despite being serious threats to the stability of the country. These problems include breakdown of the family, parenting changes, and, ultimately, population decline.

An article recently published on New York Times explained Sweden’s unique approach to gender roles that was implemented in 1996 in public schools. Girls were taught to be strong and independent, example, being told to yell, while boys were taught to be more emotional and quiet, example, being told to massage each other’s feet. Teachers made effort to not say gender oriented terms like “boys and girls” but rather gender neutral terms like “friends.”

The article initially came off as many other articles I’ve read portraying Sweden’s gender experiment in a positive light, but as I continued reading I was surprised that the author noted how this gender experimentation came about. The author pointed out that the gender experiment was initiated by a journalist (not a scientist or educator) named Ingemar Gens, who personally studied Anthropology and Gender Theory, and was particularly interested in Swedish men importing mail-order brides from Thailand. Gens was appointed as a district “equal opportunity expert” and had the goal of dismantling Swedish masculinity.

This was amazing to learn because it conveyed that part of the foundation of Sweden’s experiments with gender roles actually correlates with the mating future of the child, specifically Swedish men’s mate preference. Was Gens’ goal to reduce the number of Swedish men importing brides from Thailand? Unfortunately, the author did not report if the rate of Swedish men importing brides from Thailand has fluctuated since the gender experiment was installed.

Documentary: “Swedish Theory of Love” (2015)Based on other information I’ve come across, however, Sweden is still facing problems when it comes to relationships and family development between native Swedes. The documentary “Swedish Theory of Love” (2015), which has been played on national Swedish TV, notes that Sweden has the largest sperm bank in the world and that increasing numbers of Swedish women are opting for self-insemination birth rather than traditional birth with a partner. If more Swedish women are choosing self-insemination birth, then that leaves me to assume Swedish men not hooking up with a Swedish partner is still an issue. On a side note, the film also notes that social engineering took hold in Sweden during the 1970s, a time when Swedes were told to abandon the traditional family model and to instead strictly focus on the individual and to put less effort into family. So the 1996 experiment is not the first time the Swedish government has dabbled with gender roles.

The preference for feminine traits in Sweden has had devastating impact on relationships among Swedes and overall attitudes of the genders. Little girls who were told to yell in school have become independent and often domineering adult women who feel they should be catered to by men. Little boys who were told to cry and massage each other’s feet have become meek adult men who are quiet and and lack assertiveness.

With women choosing self-insemination, the feminization of Swedish society is set to speed up considering increasing numbers of children will be raised in single parent households with only a female figure in their lives. When they go to school they will most likely be taught by a female teacher, meaning non-stop female-only influence. Where will masculinity come from if it is suppressed and wiped out?

An even more concerning topic of discussion in regards to Sweden’s gender experiments is the long term impact on Sweden’s population. If it were not for immigration, Sweden’s population would be in decline and the future of the Swedish society would be questioned. Sweden’s population currently stands at approximately 10 million people. Can it afford to continue gender experiments and risk the possibility of population decline?

A few Swedish politicians actually said the recent mass migration in Sweden, peaking in 2015, is good for the country because it will spark population growth. This is the same mass migration where over 200,000 refugees entered Sweden to seek asylum after 2014, and it has not only cost the Swedish citizens a pretty penny, but also reduced safety in their communities and diminished quality in healthcare and education. Does increasing Sweden’s population mean sacrificing the safety and quality of Sweden?

I do not praise Sweden’s gender experiments. I look at the long term negative impact it is having on the country and I am legitimately concerned about Sweden’s future. In fact, not only am I concerned for Sweden, but also for Europe and North America who are walking in similar footsteps as Sweden.

At this point in time I continue to look back in time when the genders relied on each other for love and family. A time when it was okay for women to put more effort into caring for their children, husband and household, and men took on the responsibility of providing for their families. This outdated talk sounds strange for me to say, since I was also taught to be a strong independent woman free of men while attending public school in the United States during the mid-’90s to mid-2000’s. However, after analyzing Sweden, I think there is a need for change, and that change is taking a few steps back, or a few steps forward depending on how you look at it.

Photo source: SpectrumNews.org

Lauren Ell is an American blogger born and raised in Southern California and is currently based in Sweden. She discusses Epilepsy, Politics and Fun. Professionally Ell is an Online Marketing Consultant and Virtual Assistant. She is also founder and president of Republican Atheists. Connect with Lauren on Facebook and Twitter.