#i need to read an history book about nordic countries now

[tomatoandlettuce]

tHIS

It took me like two weeks to finish it, and ive started to dislike it. Its not my fav work tbh, and it was part of an art trade (thanks god the person who received it, liked it, But i didnt) like the result was so different from my initial concept... But anyways, im posting it here bc, this is like my blog and ppl can see how my shitty art hasnt improved that much from 2014 ahahaha

[comrade-meow]

‘Sex work’ advocates and the Nazi propaganda playbook

Last month Nordic Model Now! was asked to participate in a University of Exeter student debate on the proposition that “This house believes that sex work is real work.” As a group, we are ambivalent about taking part in such debates. On the one hand, they are seldom a conducive forum for understanding nuanced and complex issues – but on the other hand, if we don’t participate there is a risk that the audience won’t hear the feminist analysis of prostitution. No one else in the group was able to take part that night, so reluctantly I agreed.

From the comments on social media during the debate, it appears that most of the students were won over by the arguments of the two proponents of the proposition – even though it was clear to me that they both had powerful vested interests in a booming sex industry, that much of what they said was palpably false and much of their argument relied on ad hominem attacks on myself and the other speaker against the proposition.

I was awake much of that night wondering why the students at one of the top universities in the UK appeared to be so unable to see beyond the self-satisfied veneer of the two speakers for the proposition. By the morning I’d resolved to analyse the arguments for the proposition and place them in context, with the aim of providing some help to those coming to similar debates in the future. This article is the result.

The Nazi Manual of Propaganda

Yale professor and expert in the history of fascism, Timothy Snyder, talks of the 1924 Nazi manual of propaganda that advised finding simple slogans and repeating them over and over and framing opposition as disloyalty or worse. Many people, he says, have taken up these tactics in recent years, leading not only to an erosion of the understanding that politics should be about reasoned debate leading towards constructive and informed policy, but also to politics being viewed as a battleground between ‘friends’ and ‘enemies’.

You would need to be blind to not recognise that these tactics have become increasingly common in the UK and US in recent years, and how they have been used to manipulate the public into support for policies that are not in their best interests and that might have catastrophic consequences. Depending on the arena, dissent is framed as hatred, ‘anti-science,’ or not ‘evidence-based,’ and this acts as a powerful silencing force that shuts down critical thinking and coerces acceptance of what is often little more than hot air.

These tactics obscure who are the real beneficiaries of the propaganda – usually people who gain power or who benefit in financial or other ways from whatever is being promoted. Bizarrely, we can observe these practices on both the right and left of the political spectrum.

These tactics were on display in the University of Exeter Debating Society debate. It was by no means the first or only such debate I have taken part in or observed, and nor was it the first time that I saw those promoting the idea that ‘sex work is real work’ consciously or unconsciously using tactics from the Nazi propaganda playbook.

You don’t have to take my word for it. You can read the transcript of the debate and I’ll illustrate my claims through an analysis of the key arguments used by the two speakers for the proposition.

Jerry Barnett

The first speaker for the proposition was Jerry Barnett, who’s the author of the book, Porn Panic. He regularly writes on sex and the ‘economics of sex,’ and runs a YouTube channel called ‘Sex and Censorship.’ In other words, the sex industry indirectly provides his daily bread and butter.

After introducing himself, he defined work as: “A voluntary exchange of time or labour for money or some other payment.” He didn’t mention that this definition deviates significantly from the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition, which is based on mental or physical activity, and he didn’t explain how you can exchange time for money.

One of the key arguments against prostitution being considered normal work is that although it involves some mental and physical activity (pretending the punter’s a great guy, cleaning up afterwards, etc.) the core feature of prostitution is that he uses her body – he gropes and penetrates her. This is not about her being actively engaged in mental or physical activity but someone doing something to her.

What other work involves someone doing something to you while you lie back and endure it? The only thing that I can think of is participating in medical trials – but that’s not considered work – even though you might be paid for taking part.

So, he sneakily expanded the definition to make it easier to argue that a man penetrating your orifices is a normal form of work – although of course he didn’t mention penetration because, like most sex trade lobbyists, he buries such fundamental realities in euphemism and obfuscation.

Interestingly, he did admit that it is invariably men who are the customers (or punters as we call them) and nine or more times out of ten it is women who are being penetrated – or earning an income from ‘sex work’ as he euphemistically described it.

His arguments hinged around two key contentions: First, that ‘sex work’ is well-paid, enjoyable work that has short hours and is particularly suitable for anyone who needs flexibility. I will leave aside the questionable ethics of promoting such a skewed reality to an audience of impressionable young women and men.

Second, that opposition to ‘sex work’ is based on false statistics, the conflation of trafficking and consensual ‘sex work,’ and moralistic values from people who are anti-sex and who attack women’s rights, and refuse to “listen to sex workers who say it’s empowering.”

Most of the time, he expounded on one or other of these claims, all presented with utter conviction, while implicitly framing anyone who disagreed with him as the enemy – the enemy of women’s rights, of rational debate, of men, of more or less everything that he considers good in life.

He dismissed my arguments as “anecdotes” even though most of his were based on wishful thinking rather than hard evidence – while at the same time claiming they were “evidence-based.”

For example, I mentioned that the murder rate of women involved in prostitution is the highest of any group, including in the UK, and that where prostitution is legalised, the murder rate of women in prostitution usually remains high.

His immediate response?

“Anna is good with anecdotes but when she tries to use statistics, they don’t seem to add up at all. I think the last time I looked, the professions with the highest [murder rate] were police and fast-food delivery people who are overwhelmingly men. But yeah, the anecdotes stack up, the statistics don’t.”

I didn’t manage to respond to this until much later in the debate, when I quoted a senior police officer who, when giving evidence at a Home Affairs Select Committee inquiry in early 2016, said:

“We have had 153 murders of prostitutes since 1990, which is probably the highest group of murders in any one category, so that gives the police cause for concern.”

I didn’t have the stats for police murders at my fingertips but I looked them up later and found data that suggested there had been about 28 murders of police officers in the UK during the same period (1990-2015). So, there were more than five times as many murders of women involved in prostitution as police officers. I couldn’t find any data on fast food delivery drivers other than a few isolated press reports.

So much for his grasp on statistics. But the damage had been done.

Charlotte Rose, the other speaker for the proposition, compounded the damage by asserting more than once that there had been no murders recorded of women involved in prostitution in New Zealand, where the sex industry is fully decriminalised.

But again, this is untrue. The German women who run the Sex Industry Kills project have documented 10 murders of prostituted women in New Zealand since the sex trade was decriminalised in 2003 along with a number of attempted murders. That is a significant number given New Zealand’s small population (currently less than 5 million).

One of my key arguments was that the sex industry normalises and eroticises male dominance and one-sided sex, and feeds men’s entitlement and reduces their empathy – which are the very attitudes that underpin the current epidemic of rape, child sexual abuse, and other forms of male violence against women and children.

Jerry’s response? That there was not an epidemic of male violence against women. He based this assertion on another made-up definition centred on “a steep sustained increase” – unlike the Oxford Dictionary, which centres the definition merely on a disease being widespread.

He said that not only was there not an epidemic of male violence but that the prevalence of such violence has been on a steep decline for 50 years.

But this is not true. Research has shown that male violence against women has risen significantly in the UK since 2010 and that new forms of gender-based abuse are increasingly prevalent. Even the UN describes male violence against women as a pandemic – which is an epidemic that has spread to cover multiple countries.

I mentioned that the judge in a judicial review about Sheffield Council’s relicensing of Spearmint Rhino (a lap dancing club) had castigated the council for rejecting a large number of objections from women and community members who said that the club had made the streets less safe on the basis that these objections were nothing more than “moral values.” The judge was clear that the objections were not about morality but were issues of equality.

Jerry responded as follows:

“There was briefly the anecdote about Spearmint Rhino and that women didn’t feel safe in the area. The fact is I’ve been involved, I’ve got stripper friends who’ve been involved in these campaigns to keep the venues open and these claims are false. They come up over and over again – that the presence of a strip club in an area makes women less safe. This has been de-proved, debunked, using evidence over and over and over again. So, the idea that women don’t feel safe in the area is a different thing.

Unfortunately, if women don’t feel safe, that’s sad but then they should acquaint themselves with the facts that actually the presence of a strip club in an area does not lead to an increase in sexual violence. And yet these kinds of things are continuously claimed to make it look like this is a woman’s rights movement rather than a morality movement, which it is.”

As for his claim that the increased violence in the vicinity of lap dancing clubs and similar has been “debunked” many times, well I couldn’t find any clear evidence that supported that. Rather I found much to the contrary. The Women and Equalities Select Parliamentary Committee in its report on its inquiry into Sexual Harassment of Women and Girls in Public Places, accepted the considerable evidence that sexual entertainment venues, such as lap dancing clubs, “promote the idea that sexual objectification of women and sexual harassment commonly in those environments is lawful and acceptable.”

But that is not good enough for Jerry. He sticks to what he knows is effective, and repeats sound bites that are simply not true while dismissing solid evidence and presenting any opposition as irrational and the work of moralistic enemies.

As to a man telling women they are being irrational to fear male violence, what can I say? I am not sure anything I would like to say is publishable.

Charlotte Rose

The second speaker for the proposition was Charlotte Rose, who was wearing a t-shirt advertising Fan Baits, a new commercial sex industry advertising platform. She introduced herself as, “a former multi-award-winning escort, current radio presenter and advocate for decriminalisation of sex work.”

She went on to say:

“I just want to discuss something that may affect your moral judgement. How do you all feel when I mention people who work in abortion clinics, abattoirs, factory farmers, nuclear power station workers? To name just a few. For me I do not like it. But just because we do not like what these people do, it doesn’t give us the right to state that their work is not legitimate.”

Since when have people campaigned against factory farming or nuclear power because they didn’t approve of the people who work in those industries? Eccentrics aside, the arguments are always around the impact of those industries on the environment, human and animal health and welfare, and other wider issues – and any personal disapproval is reserved for those who, knowing the damage caused, profit from those industries.

The inclusion of abortion clinics in this list is a sneaky attempt to associate our opposition to the commercial sex industry with extreme anti-woman protestors against abortion. This is a classic example of suggesting guilt by association. For an audience of students whose average age is likely to coincide with the peak age for abortions, this is particularly reprehensible.

Charlotte then said that “until you’ve worked as a sex worker, you’ve got no right whatsoever to dictate anything against [sex work].” This is an argument that we hear repeated over and over in true propaganda playbook style, making people lose their critical faculties and the ability to say, hang on a minute, I’m entitled to have an opinion on factory farming and nuclear power and other industries that have a wide impact, why on earth can’t I have an opinion on the sex industry?

And the truth is, of course you can have such an opinion, and indeed as a concerned citizen, you should – but they don’t want you to. Because once you really look at the sex industry, it’s hard to ignore the rampant abuses and negative impacts on us all, particularly young people.

Like Jerry, Charlotte expounded on how “consensual sex work” has nothing to do with sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking. But of course, it does. There is no separate market for trafficked women – they are on the same street corners and in the same brothels and so-called massage parlours as women who may have made some kind of choice to be there. From the outside you can’t tell what led a woman to that place – nor what is holding her there.

As we have written elsewhere, most pimping meets the international definition of human trafficking and most women involved in prostitution have one or more third party (i.e. pimp) feeding off their prostitution. And the evidence of the violence inherent in prostitution is overwhelming.

Charlotte may not be a male chauvinist pig as all the evidence suggests that Jerry is, but she was equally happy to misrepresent our arguments and frame us as hateful and dangerous. She claimed several times that we want to “delegitimise” her work. (What work? Didn’t she say she was a former sex worker?)

In an attempt to convince everyone that her work really is real work, she went into a long explanation of what it entails: dealing with emails (80 a day), text messages (120/day), phone calls (50), notifications, advertising, website SEO, updating her photos, social media and special offers, booking hotels, etc.

She then asked whether that sounded like work – which of course it does. But that was missing the whole point of the debate because she didn’t mention the core aspects of prostitution – sexual intimacy with a stranger who pays you to have his every whim and fetish met with a smile.

She claimed that “delegitimising sex work” damages her credibility and means men won’t see it as legitimate work and means she “can’t get a mortgage by writing down that I’m a sex worker.” But later when she was asked why she was against legalisation of the sex trade (she favours full decriminalisation), she said:

“Legalisation is what happens in Amsterdam, but women, or sex workers […] have to pay for a licence. So, first of all, they’ve got to give a large amount of money to be able to get a licence to give them the ability to work and be in a legitimate premise.

Number one, they cost a lot of money. Number two, their details are known so there’s no anonymity. If someone wants their business not to be known to the government, then unfortunately they won’t be able to work. So, these two massive factors are why we don’t want it to be legalised.”

But hang on a minute… Isn’t she arguing for ‘sex work’ to be considered ‘real work’?

And isn’t one of the things that distinguishes ‘real’ – or legitimate – work from scams, drug dealing and other illegal activity, that when you earn money from ‘real work,’ you fill out a tax return and inform the government about where your income comes from.

So actually it sounds like she doesn’t want it to be regular ‘real work’ after all.

She made other arguments that were equally dodgy. She claimed several times that by expressing our views, we are causing actual harm to sex workers:

“One of my morals is not to cause harm to other people. I would never use my morals to cause harm to anybody. Your moralistic view is causing harm to sex workers.”

She is talking about an industry in which women involved in it have an extremely high murder rate – almost invariably by male punters and pimps – and yet she suggests that the problem is naming and describing this reality.

I explained that our position is that nothing can make prostitution safe and so we need to reduce the amount that happens. Anything that normalizes it means it will increase – it will increase men’s demand for it and more women will be sucked in and be hurt. As her position is that prostitution should be legitimised and become a normal job, you could therefore argue that her position will cause harm – like she claims about us. However, we prefer to argue on the facts and actual evidence.

Conclusion

Judging by the comments on social media, the young audience were swept along by Charlotte’s glamorous and suave act – in the face of which our attempts to focus the debate on the depressing realities of prostitution appeared about as alluring as a school assembly address by Miss Trunchbull on a bad day.

But reality is what we must deal with. Basing public policy on wishful thinking and propaganda invented by those with powerful vested interests is a recipe for disaster. You only need to consider Brexit to understand that.

The Brexit debate was dominated by sound bites and hot air underwritten by hedge fundies and other capitalists salivating at the prospect of looser and weaker regulation of business and commerce. But large sections of the British population were swept along by the propaganda and were blind to the likely dangers. It is only now, four years later, as the actual reality of Brexit is becoming impossible to ignore that opinion polls are showing the majority turning against it and realising it is almost certainly a terrible mistake.

You can’t help wondering in this context why schools and universities are not educating students about the dangers of propaganda and how to recognise and resist it. All of us, but especially young people, need to understand how to identify vested interests, easy answers and soundbites that oversimplify complex subjects, attacks on opponents and unevidenced assertions that they are motivated by hate or worse, and to see these as red flags.

Much of life is complex and messy and inequality and abuse of power is rife. There are no easy answers. Real solutions require hard work and challenging powerful vested interests – not following them like sheep.

[draconesmundi]

What are some directions you almost took this book, but then didn’t? I think at one point you mentioned that people used to think there were mundane and magic counterparts of each animal in earlier drafts? Or that dragons were now extinct? Stuff like that.

The Alternate History and Death of Magic

So imagine a world where all the fantasy animals exist, and magic exists, but due to environmental changes the levels in magic were dropping. Most cultures have stories where humans can talk to animals, but there hasn’t been enough magic in the air to let that happen for centuries, so we lost our ‘talk to animals’ magic.

Within the most recent century, dragons have lost the magic that allowed them to fly, and if things get worse dragons themselves would also disappear, because they are creatures of magic.

At the start of the book it’s all “dragon’s can’t disappear there’s so many books about them, so many dragons on flags, so many pictures of dragons, we can never forget them!” and at the end of the book there was an author’s note saying “I don’t know what I meant by ‘we can’t forget dragons’, because they are fictional.”

Most of the people who read this version did not like it. And honestly, there is a lot of critiques for the ‘dragons are dead now and it’s sad’ trope. If you write a fantasy, you get to decide whether dragons live or die, so I dumped the whole “dragons cannot fly now so they are struggling to hunt” narrative and kept the dragons living and healthy.

There was more magic in the alternate history version, such as glamours that made dragons invisible, and dragons using magic to breathe fire, but as I delved deeper into biology I just preferred more believable dragons.

Point is, that version was sad, and also a bit pretentious. More than a bit pretentious; I was trying to make grand sweeping statements about how we need to save the environment and protect our imaginations or magic will be doomed to disappear - it was a buzzkill of a book.

The Encyclopedia of All Things In Dragon Mythology

This was a huge volume and it’s what I refer to as my ‘research notes’; it started as little appendixes at the end of my 2016 version with dragons that I didn’t want to include in the field guide part of the book. The book would be split two ways, the first half was “this is an animal called a dragon, this is where it lives and what it eats” and the latter half was “In nordic cosmology a giant serpent named Jormungandr wrapped himself around the world”.

That was the start of it, a few appendices named things like “Cosmological Dragons”, “Dragon People”, “Dragon Kings”, and something like “Chimeras, Hybrids and Other Impossible Dragons”. When I realised that not all dragons fitted into these categories, I then just made a huge alphabetic list. Which grew, and grew, and grew until this part looking into the mythology of dragons was a lot larger than the field guide aspect. Too big in my opinion.

It was like a dictionary or encyclopedia, and that is not what I want to write. I am not an anthropologist or folklorist, I do not have any authority to write a definitive work on dragon lore. I do not study this topic on an academic level, merely as a hobby, therefore I don’t want to even try to write a fully non-fiction book on dragons.

Trying to Write a Narrative Into The Book

Going around the world to release dragons into their natural habitats after a successful zoo breeding program - I have not experienced enough travel or done enough hours of zookeeper training to even pretend I can write such a thing.

Last year I read Merlin Tuttle’s Secret Life of Bats, which is an autobiography of one of the world’s leading bat experts and definitely the world’s best bat photographer - https://merlintuttle.smugmug.com/ - and if I knew more about traveling and visiting other countries I would definitely do the ‘scientist who has many interesting stories to tell’ approach. Tuttle’s book is a chapter-by-chapter story and bat case study, with each chapter talking about something that happened to him in relation to bats, and many, many facts about the bats.

But having a story that weaves in the dragon facts of every dragon in the world is difficult, even if I keep the book as a field guide with supplementary narrative materials such as sections of letters between dragon scientists, I’m just not sure that is what I want for Dracones Mundi.

Conclusion

What I want to say with Dracones Mundi is that the natural world is fabulous, mythology is wonderful, and together they make some amazing dragons. I want people to learn facts about mythology without drowning in them, and enjoy dragons without worrying about really complex world building which eventually comes full circle to kill the dragon. A fun book about dragons basically!

The changes I have made with each version makes the current book very strong.

[tarithenurse]

All is fair in Love & War - 4

Pairing: Loki x fem!reader Content: angsting, imprisonment, sexual undertones, killing, suffering, sneaking about, doubt, reluctant epiphany, more angst...the usual. A/N: This is a semi-AU in the sense that it is in a sort of medieval/fairy-tale setting, but Loki and MCU’s version of Nordic mythology still applies. If you want a tag, just let me know! I’ll be more than happy to hear anything on this as the continuation depends on popularity/feedback.

4. Gilded cage

You are not restrained for long, thankfully. Loki appears briefly to release you but does not utter a single word. Later a servant arrives with clean clothes (all dresses of fine fabrics and lavishly embellished) who helps you dress. She too leaves without giving you any information on what will happen. Another equally silent servant arrives with more wood for the fire.

Hours pass with nothing to do but walk about in the room, stare out of the window, and tend to the fire. By the time food is brought to you, it seems as though you have been starved for days. Perhaps time passes differently? Maybe the windows are enchanted to show me the wrong time of day? Either way, your stomach is growling at the sight of the steaming meal which is carefully served upon the little table by the fire together with a fine glass and a carafe of wine. You should at least hesitate to consider the option of poison in this meal despite the safety of the last, but it seems a waste of effort for the god to go through all this trouble only to kill you in such a manner (not to remind yourself that he has not seemed averse to violence). And so, you sit for the first time in one of the wide chairs, almost getting swallowed by the cushions and furs until you manage to rearrange them.

Grilled fish, vegetables, some type of mash. All of it smells of herbs and spices, most of which you cannot identify despite the mouth-watering effect it has. The cutlery is finely wrought of silvery metal. Perhaps the knife can serve as a weapon. It looks spindly, but it is better than nothing. For now, however, it will continue to be used as intended by the maker. A satisfied hum escapes you at the first bite.

“Glad you like it.” You almost choke at the sound of Loki. “No need for that, I’ve brought you something.”

That’s easy for him to say! There is plenty of reason to fear the madman and whatever he may have brought, so it is with a wary mind you watch him walk over to take the remaining seat. In his hands is a stack of books, all of them considerably thinner and with lettering on the spines that somehow is…simpler. Clearer. Gaudy colours grace some of the volumes.

“Please…you can continue your meal,” he urges, a smirk dancing on his lips, “I will show you these in the meantime.”

Not daring to enrage him again, you do as you are told trying hard to enjoy the taste of the food like with the first bite though your appetite has gone. Putting the stack aside, the god grabs the first book and holds it up for you to see. Only three letters are at the front and he points to them, as if explaining to a child, and announces that they spell out “A B C” which (according to him, at least) are the first three letters of the alphabet. Inside the book, each page is devoted to just one letter, and pretty images of things beginning with that letter (again you have to trust Loki on this) are depicted in pastels.

“Tell me, what is your name?”

It slips out of you before you can think better of it. Flipping through the pages, he reaches the page where the first letter in your name should be rendered and judging by the images, it may be correct.

…   LOKI’s POV   …

Putting the cutlery aside, the young woman, [Y/N], reaches out for the book with eyes round with wonder. Of course, he lets her hold it and watches as she traces the letter with a slender finger. He can almost recall the same wondrous feeling from his own discovery of the treasures words can hold. The power.

“What are the others? Your highness.”

She still feels compelled to show I am not her king in any way she can, Loki muses, but does not comment on it. Taking the children’s book back, he leaves through it until he has spelled out her name. In this moment, there is no fear. The air between them sings with victorious curiosity, sending warm ripples of her scent each time she reaches for the book to study it closer.

Then he takes another from the stack and opens it for her to see the pages with him. The smile on his own lips cannot be supressed when she scrunches her nose and wrinkle her brows in an effort to find any semblance in the few lines of text on each paper. This will be much easier than I thought.

“Your food is getting cold, little mortal.” And then he begins to read for her while she finishes the dinner.

…   READER’s POV   …

One day takes the other and a pattern starts to show. The morning includes a lavish breakfast with exotic fruits followed by a warm bath. Unfortunately, you are no longer taken to the bath hall by the kitchens, rather a smaller (though still full sized) tub is brought to your chambers each time and both filled and emptied by a flock of servants, people who do not say a single word to you…in fact some even scowl although you try to be kind to them, reminding yourself it is not their fault they have been born to serve someone like Loki.

It is odd, though. Looking at these people and their master, one would not think they hail from the same kingdom because these beings have subtle signs of the horrors you have heard ascribed to the god: nails reminiscent of claws; teeth too sharpened for comfort; lumpy scars and tattoos littering what skin there is to see. Their skin…each has an undertone of grey or blue reminding you of frost-touched mountains. It makes your own skin look as if it is burning in comparison.

Having people attend to you is disconcerting, making you heave a sigh of relief when the last one has left, locking the door behind them. If you are to be alone, then you would rather be so without anyone around you. And so, you while they day away in solitude, silently happy for the books that give you something to do with your mind – learning to read is not a skill most people possess and if you ever make it home again, then you know your fortune will be made thanks to this.

Home. More than once, you catch yourself staring out the windows (on a good day even pushing the glass pane aside to let the fresh air and shafts of sunlight in). Somewhere out there, maybe behind the forest at the horizon, is your homeland suffering under a decade-long war with the very same person whose prisoner you are. Because that is what you are. No luxury can change that you are locked in this room, held at Loki’s mercy until he bores of you…but so far, he has not. Each evening he arrives when your dinner has been brought and sits to read for or with you.

Tonight is no exception, and though the book he is reading from is too complicated for you to master your skill with you are hanging at his every word. He is telling a vaguely familiar story of the creation of the kingdoms. He calls them “realms”, but there is no doubt he means the same. Once there was peace (everyone knows that), but things changed as kings and gods broke treaties and grew greedy. The worst wars were between Asgard and Jotunheim, and the peace was new like the first leaves after the winter when the king of Midgard sought to grasp his opportunity, delving into a strife that still rages.

“No, that’s not right!” you exclaim with indignation. “Your highness, you cannot make me believe we- my country, my king would attack unprovoked?”

“Unprovoked?” A chuckle escapes Loki. “Resources and greed has been the motivation for worse deeds throughout history.” Reaching to the floor, he grabs a roll parchment and spreads it on his knees.

(Author’s note: decided to keep it overly simple because I’m no cartographer)

During your time in the army, you have seen enough maps to recognize what you are looking at although most of those hadn’t been anywhere near as detailed or for that matter featuring the entire world! All the maps you saw had to depict where to go to find the enemy. Blue and red lines zig-zag through the pastels of green and any variety of earthy hues you can think of, sometimes punctured by larger blotches of the first colours. Black dotted lines lead to the red blotches and you find lettering there.

Testingly, you begin to spell your way through a word that looks oddly familiar. “S-sjo…ö…sjöb-leek…lik. Sjöb-lik…OH! Sjöblik!” The capital of Midgard is penned out carefully on the map.

“Well done.” One of those unreadable glints plays with the green of his eyes, but it is gone and he is pointing at the mark. “That is where your kings sits, safe and sound while his loyal subjects fight and die for him.” He points to a red line between Midgard and the area to the east. “This border had been unrivaled for centuries. After the war, truce came about due to the death of the former king of Jotunheim, Laufey, and many thought this realm defenseless. Leaderless. They were wrong, as it turned out.” Loki chuckles coldly.

Again, indignation and rage bubbles within, making you slam the glass of wine you would been holding on the table with a clang. “How dare you?!” He does not answer, does not even look at you. “Look at me! You call yourself ruler. You mock my king for hiding behind safe walls, yet don’t you do the same this very moment? Why should I believe a word you say to discre–“

He is upon you faster than should be humanly possible, one grabbing your hair to force your face upwards while the other is raised as if to strike you. Instinctively, your jaw clenches, but the hit never lands.

“By Odin’s –“ He pauses to look you over and blow a wayward strand of black out of his face – “Why did I think it was a good idea to take you in? You do not want to learn the truth, stubborn mortal.”

“Learning’s not the same as accepting everything without question!”

A sharp tug of your hair tilts your head painfully, but it is the hurt in his eyes that silences you. “You think I would simply lie to you?”

“I know some of the names you go under. Silver tongue. Lie smith.” Your eyes are beginning to prickle, still you do not look away.

“And yet it is lies you seek to hold on to.” Seemingly lost in thought, he clicks his tongue a couple of times. “I suppose there is only one thing to do, then.”

Loki’s got you on your feet and drags you along. Thankfully he is favouring a grip on your upper arm rather than pulling you by the hair like some savage. At first the path is familiar: down the corridor and the stairs until reaching ground level, then the path differs and soon you have lost your way. It doesn’t matter, he won’t leave me ought of sight.

The two of you come to a halt to allow him a chance to open a smaller door that leads you into what must be some sort of storage mainly housing clothes and fabrics and...my gear! It is all there. Boots, leather armour, breeches, all of it. You grab it eagerly, happy to hold something that feels familiar. Safe.

“Change.” The god smirks at you from where he is leaning against the closed door. “And be quick about it.”

There is nowhere to hide from his gaze. Resigning, you tug at all the silly ribbons to loosen the dress which soon pools on the floor, allowing you to continue. All the time, you feel the bile of panic burning in the back of your throat. Even at the encampments on the way to and at the front, your fellow comrades had had the dignity to allow the women to sort their affairs in private, yet this so-called god shows no such manners. He is no king. Never will be. Finally dressed like the night you fell into his trap, you look for the few weapons you had.

“Do not be foolish. I would not trust you with my life.”

The words sends chills down you spine. Yet I have to trust you. There is no reason to voice the thought, because he must know what any sane person would think when at his mercy.

Silently, he leads you through the courtyard to the stables where he orders the stable boys to prepare his horse. The saddle is surprisingly simple, you manage to notice when an enormous steed is brought out moments later. Black like his hair, the beast blends in well with the night despite the torches and braziers. Standing before you, it bows its head to smell the shaking hand you present to it. Please, be kinder than your master, the prayer loops in your mind, and it is rewarded by the soft nudge of a muzzle begging for strokes and scratches between the ears although you have to stretch to reach.

All too soon, the calm moment ends. Loki lifts you onto the back of the horse before following swiftly and settling behind you. No matter what you do, you cannot avoid being pressed against his chest, caged by his arms and legs as he nudges the animal forward in what soon turns into a dashing gallop through the impenetrable darkness. Gripping the leather of the saddle tight, you try to focus on the movements of the horse rather than those of the man even as he sometimes slips an arm around you waist to pull you tighter. He’s simply making sure I don’t try to escape, the logical side of you reasons…even when his nose is buried in the hair by your neck.

“Now listen carefully, pretty mortal,” the cold  breath speaks in your ear, “I am taking you to the front, but I cannot have you betray our presence once there, so I will cast a spell to silence you, and I will be carrying you tied up to prevent you from doing anything…foolish.”

Naturally, there is a lot you want to say to him about that. Appease him. Yes, if you play his game then you might be lucky that he lets his guard down long enough for you to get away because surely, he cannot carry you all the time. Probably. Strong muscles are pressing against your back, butt and thighs, and somehow you do not fully believe that normal stamina has anything to do with any of…him. Also, there is his magic to consider.

“I know you are weighing you chances.” Once more a cold hand finds your midriff before blatantly sweeping over your chest (thank the gods for the barrier of the leather armour) until finally coming to rest on your throat. “I cannot recommend it, although it would a delightful change of things to truly hunt you down.”

Now that you believe.

The horse comes to a halt in, judging by the smell and sounds, a forest. How the creature and the god can have navigated the place without running headfirst into a tree or something is far beyond logic. You want to ask, but the hand on your throat burns hot and cold, stealing your breath away as your windpipe spasms uncomfortably. It is not painful, simply…wrong.

“ – !” None of the curses leave your mouth.

Feeling the air stick in your lungs, your tear Loki’s hand away, your nails digging into the skin before he manages to restrain you.

“Shush, breathe. Just breathe.” Somehow, he manages to soothe your frayed nerves. Shallow gasps turn into deep inhalations that in turn combat the tension in your shoulders, neck and chest. “Much better. I will restore your voice once this endeavour is over. Now, we have to walk from here.”

You feel him sliding away, and although you do not hear it, he must have landed on the ground too because a moment later his hands are on your waist and he pulls you down to stand next to him, both of your wrists in one of his large hands. Familiar golden-green-glowing dust emanates from his fingers and lights up the narrow space between you as it coils around your wrist where it turns into metal, cold and hard against the skin, but by then the light disappears. Blind once more, there is no warning before Loki hoists you onto his back and wraps you legs around his hips where he keeps them pinned as he begins to move effortlessly through the night.

The jostling motion continues for a long time, or so it feels, and you almost cannot believe it when you finally see a flicker of fire between the black silhouettes of tree-trunks and bushes. As Loki reaches the edge of the camp, it is evident that this is no little outpost.

The colours of the Midgardian army can be seen everywhere despite a thick layer of dirt and the worn condition of the fabrics, both a telling symbol of the state the forces are in. Most are asleep, exhausted and hungry as they are it is impossible to truly get any rest (you remember this all too vividly), and the few that should be on guard are fighting the urge to mimic their comrades. They’re not fulfilling their tasks! The enemy is walking through the camp, silent as a cat he moves from shadow to shadow and not a soul stirs as he passes, allowing him unchallenged access to enter the biggest tent in the camp.

In there, things look different. You have never been inside any other tent than your own (which was more of a shelter than an actual tent) and you are stunned at what you see in the soft light from the embers in the firepit. An actual cot is covered, improved with furs and a few cushions so that the man sleeping there suffers none of the hardships his men does. Of course, you expected the captain to have more favourable conditions, they were all thanes or chieftains and as such their status would merit certain comforts. But to see this leader snoring comfortably next to a low table with the unfinished scraps of his meal made you shake with anger. Chicken, vegetables, barley-mash, even fruit and wine! More than he could eat and drink, which contradicts everything you have been told on the “consequences everyone suffers from Loki’s invasions”.  Apparently, some suffer less than others.

“Look.” The god’s whisper makes you reposition your head to his other shoulder so you can get a clear view at the item he is pointing at.

On the table (a real, proper, wooden table) are documents in gnarly handwriting, but it is a crudely drawn map that has caught your captor’s attention. The borders are familiar thanks to the landmarks and the letters inserted in the rivers’ flow. The arrows signaling troop movements and planned battlefields, however, tell a different story than the one you were told by your superiors. According to the orders you had listened to, had memorized, the Midgardians were fighting to take back their own lands which had been stolen by the instigator Loki who, according to your king and commanders wanted nothing more than to wipe your homeland off the face of the earth. That is not what the map shows. Each arrow crosses from Midgard to Jotunheim.

“See that river?” Loki points to a set of somewhat parallel likes snaking across the parchment. “This used to be the border. You can even see the old line has been blurred, here.” Tapping his finger to indicate where for your sake. “We would need to walk west for two days before reaching where Midgard ought to begin.”

Having no words, you are left to nod mutely. Whether he cares remains a mystery to you because he has become engrossed in the letters, studying the (for you) impossible handwriting before stuffing them inside the leather armour together with the map. When did he change? Only now do you realize that the refined shirt has been gone for a long time, replaced with an outfit similar to the one he had worn the night you found him. It doesn’t matter. Why should you care what he wears? Truth is you do not, of course. The whispered sound of metal calls you out of the nonsensical babbling of your mind to see Loki leaning over the bed, a long knife gleaming in his hand for half an eternity before it is plunged into the unsuspecting Midgardian. Bloodshot eyes flutter open, locking briefly with his killer’s. Then they see nothing but the emptiness of the afterlife.

You have seen people die before, both naturally and by the hands of someone else. Witnessing the murder of this gluttony commander, it is the fact that you do not feel sorry for him that shocks you to your core. Lost in a debate on whether or not you are losing your soul, you pay little attention to Loki’s actions as he makes his way through the camp by seeking out the armouries, the enclosures for the beasts of burden. Bit by bit, he sabotages all he can, before eventually returning to the cover of the forest and the darkness there.

“This is what I do.” He still whispers although the enemy, the Midgardian camp, is safely behind. “Each night after we have read, I head out to gather information and delay the next wave of attacks to prevent meaningless bloodshed on both sides. You must understand this too.”

The rest of the journey back to Loki’s keep is passed in silence even though he restores you ability to speak once you reach his horse which has been waiting exactly where he left it.

…

The next evening, the god only visits briefly in your fancy prison to inform that he will be away.

It is a promise he keeps which at first feels wonderfully freeing but soon brings a new emptiness to the stale routine where the only other company grows increasingly hostile and negligent. Meals become simpler (still filling, at least), and the bath is replaced by a single bucket of cold water and a cloth in much the same way that the clothes suddenly are simpler too. You are not lacking anything, as such, but it is clear to you that only Loki has been the reason for the lavish attention you have received before and most likely it is their fear of him, or warped loyalty, that is keeping you alive.

Then comes the day where no one sees to you. Then one more…and one more. You keep the thirst at bay by drinking sparingly from the bucket of dirty bath water, prizing yourself fortunate that you had not poured it down the loo after use when no one had come to collect it as usual. The temperature, however, is a different matter: during the day, the room is cool, but at night the place does little to insulate against the dropping temperatures that penetrate the walls and the glass of the narrow windows. Some mornings, you wake to frost on the furs and pillow, and ice on the water in the bucket. No one comes. You grow lethargic from the hunger that no longer bites and tears at your insides but simply…is. At least sleeping can take your mind away from it.

[lo-lynx]

Power relations in His Dark Materials

TW: racism, eugenics, sexism, ableism

Spoiler warning: The main His Dark Materials novels, minor spoiler for La Belle Sauvage.

In the His Dark Materials novels power is a quite a central theme. Who has power, what do they do with that power, how can you fight power? This is of course also salient in our own world, which is why social theorists have been trying to explain power and power dynamics pretty much as long as social theory has existed. In this text I therefore want to look at some of these ways of explaining power and see if they can tell us anything about the universe of His Dark Materials (focusing on Lyra’s world). This will also dovetail with an analysis that I wrote a while back of the Nordic influences on His Dark Materials, especially regarding the history of racism and eugenics in Sweden and Scandinavia in general. Reading that text is not necessary to understand this one, but in the end of it I wrote:

Another thing I want to highlight is the comparison between the severing of children and dæmons, and sterilisation. In the books, children’s bond to their dæmons (their soul) are severed by the GOB [General Oblation Board] in order to prevent “Dust” settling on the children (Pullman 2007, 275). Dust is considered dangerous and sinful, something that according to the church started infecting humans after their fall from the garden of Eden. Sterilisation in our world, on the other hand, took place in order to make the population “cleaner” and of “better” stock. Groups who were in different ways considered degenerate were targeted, including women who were perceived as promiscuous/sexual transgressors. In Lyra’s world a spiritual connection is severed by the Church in order to curb sinfulness. In our world a biological connection is severed by “scientists” (in collaboration with the Church at times) to control sexuality and reproduction. There is a definite similarity here. (Lo-Lynx 2019)

In this text I want to further that argument by analysing the way sex, gender, sexuality and power functions in Lyra’s world. I want to thank the lovely gals over at Girls Gone Canon for helping inspire me to write both of these texts, and especially with this one because when Eliana mentioned Foucault in their latest episode a light went off in my head and I knew that I had to write this analysis (Girls Gone Canon 2019).

So, Foucault. Michel Foucault is perhaps one of the most influential theorists in contemporary social theory. His stuff props up everywhere. That unfortunately does not mean that it’s easy to understand. Here I want to explain some of his theories and concepts, and then apply them to the universe of His Dark Materials. One of the theoretical works that Foucault is most know for is his analysis of the history of sexuality (in the Western world) (2002). Foucault writes that contrary to the popular belief of sex being oppressed and tabu, people have always talked about sex, just not always outright. For instance, he writes about how admitting one’s sexual actions have become institutionalised first through confession (in church) and later by explaining ourselves to doctors/psychologists/scientists (Foucault 2002, 77). By confessing we feel that we become free, our secret truth has been let into the light. Foucault also claims that through these institutionalised confessions we contribute to the discourse about sex: “One pushes the sex into the light and forces it into discursive existence.” [my translation] (Foucault 2002, 56) Part of this discourse is that if we understand the “truth” about sex, we understand the truth about ourselves (Foucault 2002, 80). Sex is in this discourse considered a vital part of who we are. Now, what exactly does Foucault mean by discourse? Discourse, according to Foucault, describes the way society talks about a phenomenon but also how it does not talk about said phenomena (2008, 181). What is left unsaid. What is possible to say. Foucault also describes discourse analysis as a scientific method and claims that by analysing discourses one can understand why one statement was made in a situation, and not another one (2013, 31). He also claims that when we can see similarities between different statements, we can find a discursive formation (ibid, 40). Further he also writes that when analysing discourses, one should analyse who speaks (who has the authority to speak), from which institutions the discourse gains its legitimacy, and which subject positions individuals are placed in (ibid 55-57). Which position a subject is placed in effects their ability to inhabit different spaces (ibid, 58). Now, in his writing about discourses, Foucault mostly saw power as something unpersonal. Power existed in power relations between individuals in the discourse, and the discourse affected how individuals acted. Power as something unpersonal was a view that he kept, but in later writings he would analyse it further.

So, how does this apply to His Dark Materials? Like I explained previously, I see a definite parallel between how the Church/the Magisterium in Lyra’s world approach Dust, and how sex has been viewed in our world. The Church explains Dust by linking it to original sin. In their version of the Bible, when Adam and Eve eat from the apple of knowledge, they do not only become aware of their nakedness, their demons also settle (Pullman 2007, 358). And when demons settle (in puberty) Dust starts sticking to people. This can be compared to how the church of our world during the 5th century started propagating that the reason for human’s expulsion from the garden of Eden was because they had fallen prey to carnal desire (Mottier 2008, 19). Therefore, intercourse was tainted by original sin. In this way Dust is both linked to forbidden knowledge, sex, and sin. Like sex in our world, Dust is something that the Magisterium feel the need to investigate even though they find it dangerous and sinful (Pullman 2007, 361). If we use Foucault’s theory here, this is understandable. If Dust is a result of original sin, then it explains the inner nature of humans. Just as sex is considered to be a secret truth inside of us, Dust can be considered the same in Lyra’s world. Dust is something sinful, something that needs finding out, so it can be destroyed. But, when the scholars of Lyra’s world investigate Dust, they need to be careful to not commit heresy. I think heresy in this case could be considered to be the limit of the discourse. When scholars and others discuss matters of science and theology, they constantly need to act in relation to what would be considered heresy. Now, in our world the limits of discourse usually aren’t as overt, and at least in democratic countries you won’t be punished in the way the scholars risk being punished when they commit heresy. But in the way certain characters challenge the discourse around Dust, we can see what Foucault might call a discursive struggle. On one hand we have the discourse around Dust that gains its legitimacy from the Magisterium. On the other hand, we have challenges to this discourse from for instance Lord Asriel. He doesn’t have the same sort of legitimacy as the Magisterium of course, but in the beginning of The Golden Compass when he has his presentation at Jordan Collage, he tries to make his views legitimate by presenting scientific evidence (Pullman 2007, 26). Here one could say that he tries to appeal to the legitimacy of science, which seems appropriate when talking to scholars. Asriel here resist the power that be (the Magisterium), but he also resists the power in the discourse. Just as Foucault says, where there is power there is also resistance. It is through just these kinds of discursive struggles that Foucault sees society changing. Yet, the scholars of Jordan are notably scared of the Magisterium finding out about their part in this resistance. This leads us in to another theme in Foucault’s writings that I want to explain: surveillance.

One way that Foucault furthered his theoretical exploration of power was through did his writing on surveillance. He explains how surveillance works in modern society by likening it to a prison where one guard can observe all the prisoners from a guard tower, but where the prisoners can’t see the guard (Lindgren 2015, 357). Therefore they can never know when they are under surveillance. He calls this a panopticon, based on the description of such a prison by the philosopher Bentham. Foucault claims that the result of this is:

Hence the major effect of the Panopticon: to induce the inmate in a state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power. So to arrange things that the surveillance is permanent in its effects, even if it is discontinuous in its action; that the perfection in power should render its actual exercise unnecessary… (Foucault 2012/1975: 315)

That is to say, the prisoner feels like they are constantly under surveillance, even if this is not actually the case. In that way the prisoner will obey the powers in charge, so that practical/physical power is not necessary. Foucault claims that this is the case in society as a whole; we know that we could be under surveillance all of the time, and therefore we behave in accordance with that (Lindgren 2015: 359). This turns us into docile bodies that can be used productively in society, since we unconsciously behave like the power wants us to (even when the power isn’t a clear individual or group). Other writers have also used Foucault’s theory on surveillance and his concept of docile bodies to analyse how this affects the gendered body, specifically the feminine body (Bartky 2010).

In Lyra’s world this surveillance is perhaps even more overt than in our world. People are seemingly very aware that their every move could be watched by the Magisterium. This theme is even more present in Pullman’s novel La Belle Sauvage that also takes place in Lyra’s world (Pullman 2017). I won’t spoil that novel too much, so I won’t go into that theme further now, but parts of it very much paints society as a panopticon. Now, what consequences does this have? Well, it mostly makes most people in Lyra’s world just go along with what the power wants. Some does it because they are aware of the constant surveillance, others have internalised this surveillance and does it unconsciously. One aspect of this that I want to explore further is the way it effects gender and gender expression in Lyra’s world. In the chapter in The Golden Compass when Lyra first meets Mrs Coulter, she contrasts Mrs Coulter to other women academics that she has met (Pullman 2007, 69). In comparison to them Mrs Coulter seems refined, glamorous, precisely what a woman in Lyra’s world should be. Women should be pretty, and, tellingly Lyra thinks the female scholars are both boring and less fashionable. The materiality of the body is here connected to other assumptions of gender, such as women scholars being less accomplished than men. In the patriarchal world of His Dark Materials, women who try to integrate themselves in male institutions are very frowned upon. Later, in The Subtle Knife, when Lyra has learned that all that glitters isn’t gold (such as golden monkeys), she still has this internalised view of what a women’s body should be like. When she has to find new clothes to wear and Will suggests some pants she refuses, claiming that girls can’t wear pants (Pullman 2018, 56). Here she has internalised the surveillance of the power structure that effects how women will behave. No one from Lyra’s world is there to tell her that she, as a girl, can’t wear pants, she monitors her own behaviour. This is just one example of many where one can see how the constant surveillance makes people in Lyra’s world, just as our own, internalise that surveillance.

One final part of Foucault theories that I want to explain is the concepts of biopower and biopolitics.  Foucault writes that while at previous times in history regents such as kings and queens have had the power over their subjects’ life or death directly (such as by capital punishment), today the state’s power more lies in the power to support lives or let them perish (Foucault 2002, 137 & 140). He describes our current time as one of biopower, where the state controls our bodies to make them as efficient/productive as possible for capitalism (ibid, 142). Foucault also writes that because of this, norms has in part replaced the law, or rather that the law has become the norm, and therefore people doesn’t always have to be threatened by legal consequences in order to behave (ibid, 144). A state that wants a productive population doesn’t want to have to threaten them with death every time it wants to control them. This can obviously also be thought of in terms of the panopticon and surveillance that I described above. But Foucault also writes that since sex is considered so important in society, that is also one of the most controlled things (ibid, 146). This control takes place both on a micro level by doctor’s appointments, psychosocial tests etc, and on a macro level by statistical measurements etc. If this sounds similar to the way eugenics tried to control the” health” of the population, that is no coincidence, Foucault cites this as the most extreme example of these biopolitics (ibid, 148). It might also be worth noting here how other theorists has expanded this by writing about for instance “the bio-necropolitical collaboration”, and how inclusion or exclusion of certain bodies/people in society indirectly produce life and death (Puar 2009). Certain bodies get support to live and thrive, while other bodies (such as disabled bodies or bodies from the global south) is not considered worth to invest in.

Now, if we have established the link between Dust, sex and sexuality, then we could apply Foucault’s analysis of biopolitics on the Magisterium’s attempt to control Dust. In the Golden Compass we can see this through the General Oblation Board’s work on severing children, to make them not infested with Dust (Pullman 2007, 275). Like I’ve previously mentioned, one can see a link here to sterilisations, one extreme form of biopolitics that are aimed at controlling the sexuality of the population. It is also interesting to note here which children, which bodies, are being experimented on. Like I established in my other analysis, this is mostly lower-class children and children of ethnic minorities. This seems like a clear example of how the bio-necropolitical collaboration that Puar writes about decides which bodies should be protected, and which are disposable. Another example of biopolitics can be found in The Amber Spyglass when The Magisterium tries to prevent Lyra from being an Eve 2.0. Like Mrs Coulter says:

My daughter is now twelve years old. Very soon she will approach the cusp of adolescence, and then it will be too late for any of us to prevent the catastrophe; nature and opportunity will come together like spark and tinder. (Pullman, 242)

They need to control Lyra’s blossoming sexuality in order to control Dust, and the possibilities of free thinking. Mrs Coulter prevents The Magisterium to take control over Lyra, because as she says:

If you thought for one moment that I would release my daughter into the care, the care! , of a body of men with a feverish obsession with sexuality, men with dirty fingernails, reeking of ancient sweat, men whose furtive imaginations would crawl over her body like cockroaches, if you thought I would expose my child to that, my Lord President, you are more stupid than you take me for. (Pullman, 243)

Here we again see the connection between controlling Dust and sexuality, specifically female sexuality. Such a focus on female sexuality often existed within our world’s eugenics as well, since women were often seen as the reproducers of the nation (Mottier 2008, 90). Statistics show that 90% of sterilisations being carried out was on women in both Switzerland and Sweden. As Mottier writes:

Female bodies were a particular source of eugenic anxiety, as indicated by the gender imbalance in the removal of reproductive capacities. Reflecting traditional associations of reproduction with the female body, women were also seen as particularly important targets for the eugenic education and state regulations that eugenicists called for. As sociologist Nira Yuval-Davis has pointed out, ideas of the ‘purity of the race’ tend to be crucially intertwined with the regulation of female sexuality. (Mottier 2008, 92)

That it is specifically a girl’s sexuality that the Magisterium wants to control seems depressingly fitting in this light.

So, in conclusion we can see that the Magisterium considers Dust to be something that needs to be controlled. This partly happens through discourse, partly through surveillance, and partly through biopolitics. In many ways we can see how this parallels the way sex/sexuality is conceived in our world. Now, I’m not sure how much of this was deliberately put there by Pullman. Perhaps he didn’t intentionally make Dust a metaphor for sex/sexuality. But the way he connects it to original sin, puberty, temptation etc, makes me think that at least some of it was on purpose. Lyra’s world is not that different from our own after all.

  References

Bartky, Sandra Lee. (2010). “Foucault, Femininity, and the Modernization of Pathriarcal Power.”, pp. 64-85 in Weitz, Rose & Samantha Kwan (eds). The Politics of Women's Bodies, New York: Oxford University Press.

Foucault, Michel. (2002/1976). Sexualitetens historia 1: Viljan att veta. Translated by Birgitta Gröndahl. Göteborg: Bokförlaget Daidalos AB [This is the Swedish translation of L'Histoire de la sexualité I : La volonté de savoir/ The History of Sexuality I: The Will to Knowledge]

Foucault, Michel. (2008). Diskursernas kamp. Eslöv: Brutus Östlings bokförlag Symposion.

Foucault, Michel. (2012/1975). ”Discipline and Punish”, pp. 314-321 in Calhoun, Craig, Josepth Gerteis, James Moody, Steven Pfaff & Indermohan Virk (eds), Contemporary Sociological Theory (3rd edition). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Foucault, Michel. (2013/1969). Archaeology of knowledge. New York: Routledge

Lindgren, S. (2015). ”Michel Foucault och sanningens historia”, pp. 347-372 in Månsson, Per. (eds.), Moderna samhällsteorier: Traditioner, riktningar, teoretiker (9th edition). Lund: Studentlitteratur.

Lo-lynx. (2019). “The Nordic influences in His Dark Materials” Accessed: December 1, 2019. https://lo-lynx.tumblr.com/post/189230180712/the-nordic-influences-in-his-dark-materials

Mottier, Véronique. (2008). Sexuality: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Puar, Jasbir K. (2009). “Prognosis time: Towards a geopolitics of affect, debility and capacity,” Women & Performance: a Journal of Feminist Theory, 19:2, 161-172

Pullman, Phillip. (2007/1995). Guldkompassen. Stockholm: Bokförlaget Natur och Kultur [this is the Swedish translation of The Golden compass]

Pullman, Philip. (2018/1997). The Subtle Knife. New York: Scholastic.

Pullman, Phillip. (2001). The Amber Spyglass. New York: Random House.

Pullman, Phillip. (2017). La Belle Sauvage. New York: Knopf.

[yvoi]

I hate it when white americans like you call themselves “witches”. shut up you just like the aesthetic.

Heathenry, also termed Heathenism or Germanic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religious studies classify Heathenry as a new religious movement. Its practitioners model their faith on the pre-Christian belief systems adhered to by the Germanic peoples of Iron Age and Early Medieval Europe. To reconstruct these past belief systems, Heathenry uses surviving historical, archaeological, and folkloric evidence as a basis, although approaches to this material vary considerably.

hey dipshit! seems like your heart is in the right place but you’re making some real weird assumptions about me!

I’m not american

I’m a germanic polytheist, aka a heathen, aka I follow the religion from my own country pre-christianity

I’m not american

I’m not american

I’m dutch! european! shut the hell up dumbass!

I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that witchcraft is very much tied in with european history and pagan religions, but here are some links for you anyway because I don’t want your ass coming back to my inbox ever again!

The roots of European witchcraft and magic lie in Hebrew and other ancient Near Eastern cultures and in the Celtic, Nordic, and Germanic traditions of the continent.

this wholeass book which you might want to read

The origins of witchcraft in Britain and Europe are vague, extending into pre-history, and probably back to the first human communities when individuals first attempted to conjure nature and discovered the power they gained over others.

actually just google it it aint hard!

bye forever now!

[margridarnauds]

angel-starbeam replied to your post: Gotta love how Tumblr buys into Victorian...

Elaborate please.

I’m not sure if I’m ultimately elaborating or just tossing word vomit into the void here, but here goes nothing!

Obviously, this is dealing more with the specific phenomenon that I’ve noticed re: posts about Europe being essentially unwashed savages while everywhere else was going through some sort of golden age. Which! Around the world, people were doing cool things. Obviously, discussing the events of, say, the Golden Age of Islam or the achievements of the Aztecs and Mayans are important, especially when it comes to combatting Eurocentrism in the study of history.

But, at the same time, there’s absolutely no need to do that while throwing the Middle Ages under the bus, and it’s right next to the idea that somehow all knowledge of the ancient world died after some singular burning of the Library of Alexandria and oh, how painful, we all had to go through the DARK AGES. (Which. No one dealing with the field calls it “The Dark Ages.” Because it wasn’t.) 

Sanitation wasn’t AS GOOD as practiced in, say, the times of the Romans, depending on where you are in Europe and in what time during the nearly thousand years that we call the Middle Ages you’re situated in. (I repeat: A THOUSAND YEARS. THE ENTIRE CONTINENT. Like, that would be the same as lumping people in the present with people who lived in the 11th century and not taking into account regional diversity. It’d almost be like, you know, completely generalizing a 3000 year old civilization. I mean, who would even do that?)Because the Romans had aqueducts all over the place and were meticulous about their cleaning. (Though they also used a little sponge on a stick to wipe themselves with after going to the bathroom.) But, if you’re in one of the Nordic countries during this time, you’re going to have a wash day, and we know they washed their faces every morning. (The idea that they cleansed themselves without washing the bowl is something that has been heavily debated, but the general consensus I’ve personally seen is “they washed it in-between cleanings”.) We have Anglo-Saxon writers talking about the Vikings and essentially going, “Stupid Norsemen with their fancy hair and their wash days and their jewelry, looting our country, running off with our women. What do they have that we don’t?” 

Around the rest of Europe, we know that the common people had communal baths and, for the nobles, they would have their own individual baths, occasionally using it as a source of bonding (much like the Romans did, when they would conduct business together). We get a lovely account of Charlemagne that says that, “he would invite not only his sons to bathe with him, but his nobles and friends as well, and occasionally even a crowd of attendants and bodyguards, so that sometimes a hundred men or more would be in the water together.” And I’ll take this one moment to also mention that one of the most famous legends of the Middle Ages, Melusine, literally revolves around a woman being left in the privacy of her bath as one of the terms of her marriage (which is then broken. Which then causes problems. Because you don’t break prohibitions like that when it comes to marriages in medieval literature. It never ends well.)

And, of course, since we’re not just talking hygiene, but a general outlook on culture, which is such a BROAD category as far as talking “sophistication” and “advancement”, I will remind whoever might be willing to read this that medieval manuscripts and stained glass windows are two of the things we IMMEDIATELY spring to when we think “The Middle Ages” and both of them are time consuming, meticulous activities. To give a hint: As an amateur stained glass artist, I can spend probably about 10 hours non-stop on a project of about 40-60 pieces, supposing I already had the glass on hand and a pattern in place. That involves cutting the design out, tracing it in the glass, labelling it, cutting the glass out, getting it sawed to size, foiling it, and then sautering it. The pieces you see in a cathedral, like at Chartres? 

Those are THOUSANDS of pieces, most of which was made in an approximately 35 year period from about 1200-1235. Like, Chartres originally had 176 glass WINDOWS. I can’t even begin to imagine it. And, also. You’re working with GLASS. AKA “One wrong move and you will feel the pain of a thousand cuts.” Ask a stained glass artist. They’ll have stories. And when I’m working, I’m working with the advantage of modern equipment to cut the glass out. And the one thing they did at Chartres that I still can’t do? Painting. So, not only did those pieces of glass have to be perfectly cut and put into place, but THEN they had to be painted. The folds in the robes, the faces on the angels and the saints, the detailing along the edges...all that stuff is painted on. And with a lot of that glass? We can’t replicate those colors anymore. And, I mean, Chartres wasn’t the ONLY cathedral with stained glass in Europe at the time, just probably the best surviving one of the group. 

And, of course, in terms of manuscripts... 

So, yeah, Europe was a “cultural backwater” that was creating breathtaking works of art that took DECADES to create. And, of course, all of this relies on the idea of “Europe” and “The rest of the world’ being isolated which SURPRISE they weren’t. Like, you’ve got Greek and Roman books going to the Middle East, then being translated, then having Arabic natural philosophers working with the ideas and improving on them, then them being brought back to Europe  and translated, usually into Latin because it was the language of the academics and the learned AKA the only ones who were rich enough to buy this type of thing. You’ve got Arabic writers traveling around the place, writing about what they’ve seen, like Ahmad ibn Fadlan. And of course up until Isabella and Ferdinand commit genocide during the Reconquista, you’ve got the Moors in Spain. So, while the majority population of Europe was what we’d call white today, to just lump it all together into a homogenized group to prop up another location really only serves to, for want of a more academic term, shit on EVERYONE ELSE who was in Europe at the time. Like, it’s not just inaccurate, it’s buying into the idea propagated by white supremacists that the face of the Middle Ages was a bunch of white men. 

Alright, now that I’ve probably spent way too long on this part of the rant, onto the “Victorian propaganda”. And, really, I’m being overly harsh on the Victorians here, because the Renaissance (lit. “Rebirth) and the Enlightenment’s also to blame and really set the stage, posturing themselves as the successors to Greek and Roman thought after centuries of darkness. “Enlightenment” - “Dark Ages”, the idea is kind of in the words used to describe them. Which completely ignores the long, long history of natural and other forms of philosophy in the Middle Ages that made it possible for Voltaire, Descartes and co. to so much as wipe their noses. The Middle Ages becomes a time of religion and superstition, not like our time, oh no, we’re above that. We’re Free Thinkers™. This is also where we get the idea of “Gothic” architecture being used to describe medieval architecture, because OH MY GOD HOW BARBARIC. IT’S NOT GREEK. (Yes, they were the equivalent of those fifteen year olds who post melancholy comments on YouTube videos of 60s songs about how “Teens today don’t understand REAL music.) And what’s the classic setting for the 18th century gothic novel? A medieval castle or an abbey, filled with leftovers from the barbaric past, focusing on heightened emotions and the supernatural, as opposed to the focus on reason that characterized the era, especially as exemplified by the French Revolution which attempted to turn rational ideals into political reality. (Whether they succeeded or not, and if they didn’t then WOULD they have if not for *insert factor here* is another discussion altogether and would probably cost me my life.)

That being said, the term would become popularized during the 19th century, so I’m rolling with that. 

But, the Victorians brought one MAJOR development that would kind of determine how ideas of race and civilization would be dealt with for many, many years, Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. And, as soon as the book hits, people start talking about it, the good, the bad, and the ugly. And here, we’re definitely dealing with the UGLY. 

“This aggressive colonial competition at the end of the century drew support from supposedly scientific and biological ideas about racial superiority and inferiority. Darwin’s Descent of Man suggested a graduated evolutionary chain of development. It seemed to sanction ideas of ‘primitive’ peoples supposedly lower on the evolutionary scale than the white Europeans who were invariably presented as the model of evolved civilisation.”

Now, obviously, this idea was used first and foremost to deal with race. BUT if white Europeans are more “evolved” then they have to have evolved from something, and the Middle Ages were convenient to this image, especially when the Enlightenment had already done a decent job of beginning to distort the record. If humans were animals, descended from primates, then, by this manner of thinking, the history of humanity is evolution in action, with the weak being weeded out by the strong and the humanity of centuries past being obviously less involved than the humanity of the present. As Lewis Henry Morgan wrote, “It can now be asserted upon convincing evidence that savagery preceded barbarism in all the tribes of mankind, as barbarism is known to have preceded civilization.” It’s a very convenient, nice little ladder that they’ve created there, and it’s one that conveniently throws anyone who’s not a white Victorian male under the bus.

I wouldn’t say that Darwinism necessarily created anything NEW in terms of dealing with Middle Ages, but it did provide confirmation to Victorian males that they were The Pinnacle of Evolution and that the human race is moving in a grand new direction that will eventually eliminate Lesser Societies (gee, I wonder how THAT theory could be used and abused.) And, of course, with Darwinism, you have the debate between science and religion, the Middle Ages being heavily associated with religion...it’s a mess. 

However, in all fairness to the 19th century, these ideas weren’t NECESSARILY the only belief in vogue, as some people also viewed the Middle Ages through a highly nostalgic lens, looking back at a simpler time, before the Enlightenment. “Many of the qualities the Romantics saw in the period – elevation of faith over rationalism; devotion to hierarchy, tradition, and authority; emphasis on communal rather than individual artistic and intellectual achievement – were the same as those recognized by Renaissance and Enlightenment thinkers, only viewed in positive rather than negative terms, prompted by rejection of modernity, religious revival, or some combination of the two.” This was a period of time that was still dealing with the CATACLYSMIC affects of the French Revolution a century before. Which is also why so many white supremacists like to wank over it. Because it reminds them of a happier, nicer time with strict gender roles and little cultural diversity. (NEWSFLASH ASSHOLES: THAT ISN’T WHAT HAPPENED. AT ALL. FUCK OUT OF MY FIELD. but i digress) 

(Okay, technically this comes from 1900, so not a 19th century painting, but STILL Victorian.)

 Which also gives you a harsh BACKLASH, as people start to rebut that by painting the Middle Ages as a period where science was sacrificed to religion, most notably in the White-Draper Conflict thesis, which, suffice it to say, is INSANELY simplistic. And you’ve got people like Auguste Comte who expressed a high regard for both the Middle Ages AND Darwin in his creation of Positivism, which earned him some amount of scorn, such as when Auguste Blanqui wrote, “These blind systematisers’ mania for progress regardless of what happens even leads them to indict, as a reactionary movement and negative impulse, the renaissance of Greco-Latin letters, and according to them this victory over the loathsome works of the Middle Ages was a backwards step.” You’d almost get the idea he didn’t like it. This is also, incidentally, where we get the idea that everyone in the Middle Ages was rolling around, believing that the Earth was flat. Because of course everyone in the Middle Ages was a religious nut. (Note: I’m saying this as an atheist.) 

So, really, there’s a heavy amount of religion VS science, romanticism VS rationalism, etc. 

Really, and this is my own personal opinion/open-ended question that I’m not really sure can ever be answered, any take on “civilized” and “uncivilized” or any real barometer for advancement of cultures is going to be flawed, because ultimately what are you using as your yardstick? Are we really that far up the imperialism ass still that we’re judging historical cultures by how closely they resemble us, with everyone else being “primitives”, or, to use the language of the God-awful Tumblr post, a “cultural backwater”? Does it have to be in ALL areas, or just in a few? If a civilization practices human sacrifice on a massive scale but builds some awesome monuments, do they get the “more civilized than the others” stamp? Hey, at least they had running water! What about if they give rape the death penalty, but only if it’s a free woman? What standards of living do they have to have to make the cut? Is there a minimal limit for monuments, and if so, how are we judging what a monument is?

We all want to show that our pet favorites are “advanced,” that they did marvelous things so much better than everywhere else, but I’m not sure anyone’s willing to have the conversation on what “better” or “advanced” mean in this instance. 

Tl;dr: The Middle Ages were not as filthy as they’ve been made out to be, they DID produce cultural artifacts of great beauty, and do we really want to use descriptions of “cultural backwaters” and “progress” and “advancement” that rely heavily on notions popularized during the 18th and 19th centuries as a means of justifying imperialism? Especially when said notion promotes the idea, POPULARIZED BY WHITE SUPREMACISTS, that the Middle Ages in Europe were populated by a homogenous white population? Like, is that the hill you really want to die on, Tumblr? Is it really? 

[carlsensei]

The Phantoms of Socialism and Libertarianism

A phantom is haunting the discourse—the phantom of socialism. From Bernie and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to the Democratic Socialists of America and The Jacobin, socialism is the hot topic of the moment.

But what is "socialism"? This is its most phantasmagoric quality. To its detractors, socialism is the doctrine of Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Kims Sung-Il through Jong-Un, and possibly even Hitler, the leader of the National Socialists. To its fans, however, socialism is the philosophy responsible for the pleasantness of the Nordic countries, and capitalism itself is responsible for African slavery, the destruction of the Native Americans, and the peril of climate change. Of course, there are more complicated cases that are not discussed because they don't seem to bring polemical benefit to either side: Should China be seen as socialist or capitalist? Is it a success or a warning?

What interests me, however, is for all its spectral energies, socialism at least has some referents in the real world. In this, it is a sharp contrast to its ideological mirror image: libertarianism. Libertarianism is hugely influential as a political philosophy in the contemporary United States, if not as a distinct political party. And yet, can we point to any libertarian countries, successful or otherwise, with which to ground our debate about it? I asked this on Twitter and was told that America used to be libertarian. When I asked when this was and why it changed, I received no reply. Some might point to Singapore as a libertarian success story, but if you read the autobiography of Lee Kuan Yew, the leader of Singapore for most of its existence, you will clearly see that he self-identified as… a socialist! What does it say about libertarianism that its philosophy has either never been instantiated, or if it was, it quickly came undone as history unfolded and its closest current realization was by its ideological opposite?

What made libertarianism interesting as political philosophy, to me at least, was never its end goal. There never was a possibility that the United States that we live in today was going to become a libertopia any time soon. Instead, libertarianism is interesting because libertarian intellectuals stand outside of the two party system and critic both sides in productive ways. In doing this, they changed the grounds of debate and created that third boogeyman which is everywhere and nowhere: neoliberalism. Neoliberalism was an attempt to bring market principles to bear on government and in so doing provide more efficient services and more extensive personal freedom. Years of experimentation have resulted in some successes but also many glaring market failures, and I for one am happy for us to try something else for a while.

So what is socialism? Socialism is the name of our desire: our desire for an end to war, our desire for the conservation of the Earth, our desire for a more humane world for all people. If it's going to be useful, socialism must be something outside of the two party system that challenges our assumptions. What we need now is not a grand all-encompassing ideological vision, but a picture of what the world could be like if we took some incremental steps, however small, towards the provision of human needs outside of the logic of money and markets. That is what socialism brings and that is why it is resonating today.

[primortravel]

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My Top 27 Norway Itineraries - Two Days to Two Weeks in Norway

I’ve made so many trips around Norway in the past six years I’ve been living here, so I thought it could be helpful for me to gather all of my itineraries in one place. I also find that I often get questions from people trying to organize their Norway trips that I’ve already answered in past itineraries, so I wanted to make it easier to find all the information in one place.

Okay, so here’s a collection of all my top Norway itineraries, organized in order of length.

I’ve started with weekend trips, where I’m just giving suggestions for single places to visit, but if you scroll farther down I’ve linked my longer one and two week + itineraries later in the post.

And of course if you have lots of time you can mix and match these destinations and itineraries to fit your schedule! Just keep in mind that Norway is really big. Like I think people way underestimate its size because we’re only five million people here.

I can’t tell you how many people have come to me saying they have five days in Norway and will start in Oslo, then get the train over to Bergen and then drive up to Tromsø to see the Northern Lights. Um, Bergen is an overnight train journey from Oslo, and driving from Bergen to Tromsø will take you 28 hours without stops.

And no, sadly Norway’s train line does not go all the way up to Tromsø – it ends in Bodø.

If you want more in depth advice, I’ve also gathered all my best tips for planning an incredible trip through southern Norway (from the far south up to Trondheim) in a 93-page ebook that covers my top recommendations for places to visit (both on and off the beaten path), the best times of year to visit, how long to visit for, the best accommodation choices, transportation, what to eat, what to pack, and a sample itinerary that covers my personal favorite route through the south. You can purchase The Southern Norway Travel Guide here.

And if you’re coming to Norway for the northern lights, I’ve written an in depth ebook covering all aspects of planning your northern lights trip, including the best places in Norway (and the Nordics) to see the northern lights, the best time to see the northern lights, my top northern lights accommodation choices, tour options, how to chase the northern lights (including which apps I use), how to photograph and film the northern lights, what to pack for your trip, and other exciting Arctic activities to try on your trip up North.

If you want to ensure you have the best northern lights trip possible, you can purchase the ebook here.  

Norway Weekend Itineraries

If you’re coming to Norway for just a weekend I’d really recommend sticking to one place. Norway is a big country, public transport doesn’t run that often and can have delays, and moving around to a bunch of places in a short time frame can get expensive.

That said, you could also consider renting a car and exploring a bit of the area if you can, as the best part of Norway is getting out of the cities and towns and seeing some of the beautiful nature here. Norway is also an easy country to drive in, as there is so little traffic here.

Though if you get motion sickness definitely bring some tablets or Sea Bands, as the winding roads here can do a number on your stomach! I’ve written a more detailed guide to things to know when planning a road trip in Norway here.

Oslo

Sometimes I feel guilty when I’m in Oslo because it’s such a fun city, but I am always telling visitors to Norway to skip it, or at least cut their time there short.

Why?

Oslo is fun for locals and the only city in Norway that actually feels like a big city, but there are a lot of other cities in Europe that do what Oslo does best even better. In other words, Oslo is a great city for Norway, but I wouldn’t necessarily consider it one of Europe’s great cities.

And that’s totally fine, because Norway isn’t really about cities.

Okay, maybe I’m being harsh, and maybe it’s because I’ve received too many messages from people telling me how disappointed by Oslo’s “fjord.” Yes Oslo is technically on a fjord, but if you’re looking for those famous mountainous fjords you’re going to need to head west or north.

But if you do have your heart set on Oslo, it does have some great shopping, amazing restaurants, sort of okay nightlife (lol), and lots of museums. You won’t be bored. I’ve written about things to do in Oslo here, the Oslo Christmas markets here, and a guide to finding the best Oslo accommodation for your budget here.

Rjukan

If you’ve found a cheap flight to Oslo for a weekend trip but now I’ve scared you off spending all your time there, consider spending a night or two in Rjukan! You can book a bus to Rjukan here, but I’d really recommend renting a car if you can, as the drive to Rjukan via Gaustatoppen is truly spectacular.

Rjukan is a quirky mountain town with an important World War II history. It’s also listed as a UNESCO Industrial Heritage Site and it’s really cool to see the old factories and worker accommodation.

But I also love that it’s at the foot of both Gaustatoppen, one of Norway’s most beautiful mountains, and Hardangervidda, Northern Europe’s largest high mountain plateau (which is also home to Norway’s largest herd of wild reindeer).

I used to live half an hour from Rjukan so I visited the town many times (and even briefly considered moving there), and I’ve written a guide to things to do and where to stay in Rjukan here.

This would be an especially great place to visit with kids, with lots of fun sites like the Krossobanen cable car, the Gaustabanen funicular, and the Vemork WWII museum.

Bergen

Bergen is probably the most popular destination for a weekend trip to Norway – and for good reason. The city is gorgeous (sorry Oslo, but Bergen is way prettier), and there are loads of international flights here.

This is also an easy base from which to take a day trip out to the fjords, and as it’s a big tourist hub there are lots of activities and tours organized out of Bergen. I’ve written about how to have an amazing weekend in Bergen here and the best Bergen accommodation here.

This is also where you can take the famous Norway in a Nutshell tour, which goes up the Flåm Railway and through the gorgeous Aurlandsfjord. But! Before you book the tour, read this to find out how you can save tons of money on Norway in a Nutshell. 

If you want any easy weekend destination in Norway, Bergen is perfect. You’ll get a very Norwegian experience and everything is set up perfect for tourists, from all the lovely hotels here to the unique activities and adventure tours offered here.

Hardangerfjord

If you fly into Bergen, you could also rent a car and drive down to Hardangerfjord to spend a night or two.

Hardangerfjord is beautiful and so peaceful, especially in the spring when the orchards are in bloom. I’ve written more about driving through Hardangerfjord here.

And if you do spend the night here, I can recommend staying at Utne Hotel, which dates back to 1722 and is perfect for anyone who enjoys unique, historical accommodation. Check current rates and availability here

Or if you want something a bit cheaper but equally lovely, stay at Ullensvang Gjesteheim, which is in the prettiest part of Hardangerfjord. Check current rates and availability here

There are a few Airbnb options around Odda, like this ground floor apartment with stunning views, this apartment near Trolltunga, or this lovely little cabin right on the fjord.

A lot of people head here to hike Trolltunga, or the famous Troll’s Tongue that you’ve probably seen all over Instagram and Facebook. Just be aware that it’s an advanced level hike and extremely popular – these days you’ll usually find a long line of people waiting to take photos on the rock. You can read more about hiking Trolltunga here.

Ålesund

Whenever someone asks me where they should go in Norway if they only have a few days, I tell them to go to Ålesund or Lofoten.

Ålesund really gives the best introduction to Norway, because you get to experience a Norwegian city and then you can drive up to Trollstigen for those amazing mountain views, and then over to Geirangerfjord to see Norway’s most beautiful fjord!

Ålesund is such a beautiful city, and the surrounding nature is seriously stunning. Like, I definitely think this is one of the prettiest corners of Norway, and I’m always shocked that most tourists choose to visit Oslo and Bergen instead. I’ll never understand.

But that’s also good news for you if you like to get off the beaten path a bit!

Ideally I would recommend spending a night or two in Ålesund and then renting a car and spending a night or two in a quieter area on the fjords. I’ve written a guide to things to do and where to stay in Ålesund here, and where to stay around Geirangerfjord here.

Trondheim

Another great weekend destination in Norway is Trondheim – my old home!

Trondheim has a rich history and in fact at over 1,000 years old Trondheim is the oldest of Norway’s major cities. It was the religious center of Northern Europe during the Middle ages and has a beautiful old town and Norway’s most impressive cathedral, Nidaros Cathedral.

It’s a really walkable city and the airport is just a short bus or train journey away, so it’s definitely one of the easiest places to spend a weekend in Norway.

Trondheim is a big foodie city with several award-winning restaurants, so if you like to go out to eat, Trondheim is perfect.

It’s also a university city so there’s a great young vibe here and lively night life. And then of course the old town area Bakklandet is one of the prettiest corners of Norway.

I’ve written a guide for things to do in Trondheim here, and where to stay in Trondheim here.

Trondheim – Oppdal

I’d say the only thing missing with a weekend trip to Trondheim is that you don’t really get to experience Norway’s beautiful landscapes. I mean, the city is on the coast and there is a lovely park area to go hiking in above the city, but it’s not the sort of dramatic landscape that Norway is so famous for.

But if you wanted you could spend a night or two in Trondheim (I’d say one full day in Trondheim is plenty to see the main sights) and then rent a car and drive down to Oppdal. I spent a weekend here while living in Trondheim and it’s one of my favorite memories from my time there.

The drive is beautiful and the scenery there is amazing as you climb up into the mountains. This is the perfect place to experience Norwegian cabin life, just relaxing inside at night and hiking or skiing during the day, and there are lots of cabins available on Airbnb, like this big cabin and this traditional Norwegian cabin.

This is the ultimate Norwegian experience, because this is how Norwegians spend their free time in Norway – in their cabins!

Trondheim – Røros

Another great combination with Trondheim would be to take the train down to Røros. This old copper mining town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and truly like nowhere else in Norway. It’s especially beautiful in the winter, as it gets lots of snow and is even known as Norway’s “Christmas town,” but I visited in late spring and loved it then too.

I’ve written more about visiting Røros here, including where to stay and eat.

Lofoten

Like I already said, when someone says they only have time to visit one place in Norway, Lofoten is one of my top choices.

I mean, Lofoten sort of has it all. Okay, it doesn’t have any big cities, but Svolvær is quite a large town with a lot going on, and then you’ll find mountains, beaches, fjords – you’ll even find people surfing here!

It also has a historical significance as a center for fishing, which is why the islands are covered in those iconic red fisherman cabins. You’ll get a great sense of Norway’s fishing history here, as well as the Viking history here.

But mostly, the Lofoten Islands are just really, really beautiful. In fact probably most Norwegians would say Lofoten is the most beautiful place in Norway, and I wouldn’t argue.

Lofoten has also grown in popularity in the past few years, and they’ve done a good job of keeping up with the increase in tourism by establishing more unique accommodation options and tour activities. There’s seriously so much to do here, and so many cool places to stay.

You could either fly into Bodø, rent a car there and take the ferry over to Lofoten, or fly into Svolvær and rent a car from there. It is possible to explore Lofoten by public transport, but you will be limited by bus schedules and will end up missing out on a few of the more off the beaten path areas.

I’ve written a guide to planning a Lofoten road trip here, a sea eagle RIB safari and Northern Lights chasing here, and horseback riding here. And here are 11 things to know before visiting the Lofoten Islands.

Helgeland Coast

I love the Helgeland coast and while you would need more than a weekend to properly explore it, you could very easily visit just one of the islands.

The Helgeland coast has the same dramatic landscape and fisherman cabins of Lofoten, without all the tourists. This is seriously such a hidden gem in Norway. I’ve also heard people say that the friendliest people in all of Norway are on the Helgeland coast. You will be warmly welcomed here!

You can fly or take the train to Bodø, and then from Bodø get the express ferry to Støtt. I’ve written more about Støtt, how to get there, and where to stay here.

Or you could get the express ferry to Lovund, another beautiful island on the coast. I’ve written more about Lovund, Norway here. Or if you have some extra time visit both Støtt and Lovund!

This would be a really unique weekend trip to Norway, as not many foreign tourists plan trips here. So if you like to get off the beaten path and discover the local culture, and if you love beautiful landscapes, definitely consider spending a weekend on one (or a couple) of these islands.

Tromsø, Senja & Dyrøy

After Bergen Tromsø might just be the second most popular weekend destination for tourists coming to Norway – at least in the winter during the Northern Lights season!

I’ve written more about things to do in Tromsø and where to stay here. To be honest I didn’t super click with Tromsø when I visited last summer and this past December, and I’ve heard so many locals complain that now it’s getting way too full of tourists. Then again I know a lot of people who absolutely adore Tromsø, so you might love it.

Update: it’s funny that I wrote that, because I’ve actually just moved to Tromsø!

But what I really loved was flying into Tromsø and then driving down to Senja and Dyrøy. The drive is beautiful and both islands are so magical.

You’ll probably only have time to go to one unless you take a long weekend (we had four nights so we flew into Tromsø and then spent two nights on Senja and two on Dyrøy). Senja has more dramatic scenery and famous hikes, while Dyrøy is the loveliest quiet escape into nature.

I’d say Senja will give you those big bucket list experiences with its Instagram famous hikes, whereas Dyrøy would give you a really authentic, off the beaten path local experience in Norway. I’ve written about visiting Senja here and visiting Dyrøy here.

There are lots of other nice places to spend a weekend in Norway as well, but these are the main ones I’d recommend, especially if you’re new to the country and want to see a highlight. I do include other spots in my longer itineraries for when you have more time to spend in Norway.

So I’m sorry if I missed out on your favorite spot – don’t be mad at me!

Five Days to One Week in Norway Itineraries

Bodø – Helgeland – Lofoten – Vesterålen

If you only have a week in Norway, I really recommend sticking to the north and skipping Oslo and Bergen altogether.

Okay, you might think I’m biased because I live in the north, but actually I chose to move to the north largely because it’s the most beautiful part of Norway and is the region I’m most excited to write about and photograph. I love the open spaces here, there are fewer people (and tourists), and the landscape is much more dramatic than in the south.

If you want to cover a lot of ground, this Bodø – Helgeland – Lofoten – Vesterålen itinerary will show you the best of Northern Norway. It’s a busy schedule, but if you want to see as much as you possible can in one week, this is for you! I did this in the winter, but it would be equally amazing in other seasons as well.

You’ll spend a couple of nights on a quiet island on the Helgeland coast, a day or two experiencing city life in Norway, you’ll get to explore the famous Lofoten islands with their mountains and fjords, and then go up to quieter Vesterålen to see reindeer and whales. So you’ll really get to see all of the highlights of Norway within one week.

Tromsø – Senja – Dyrøy

If you want to head even farther north,  I also loved my Tromsø – Senja – Dyrøy trip.

My friends and I flew into Tromsø and then drove straight to Senja, where we spent two nights, and then we headed to the island of Dyrøy for another two nights. We left Dyrøy early so that we’d have the morning in Tromsø before our flight, but if you have a full week you could spend a night or two in Tromsø as well.

I wouldn’t spend more than two days in Tromsø, as there’s not a great deal to do there. The city center is small and there are a few nice restaurants and cafés but that’s sort of it. It’s also a big tourist destination for Northern Lights tours, so downtown is full of tour offices, so if you want to get away from tourist crowds I’d recommend getting out of the city. But the surrounding nature is breathtaking!

Again, I did this trip in the winter, but Senja is a great hiking destination in the summer, plus in the summer you could stop by Sommarøy to see the amazing beaches there.

Lofoten

If you want a less hectic itinerary without so much driving, just spend a week on Lofoten!

The first time I visited Lofoten I stayed one week, and even after returning several times over the past few years I still feel like I have so much left to see on Lofoten. So you definitely won’t get bored.

This way you’ll be able to really explore the island, go on hikes, and get into the nature. I’d actually love to spend a full month on Lofoten one day, as there really is so much to explore there.

Narvik – Kiruna – Vesterålen – Lofoten

If you’re looking for those big Arctic bucket list experiences, this Narvik – Kiruna – Vesterålen – Lofoten itinerary is for you. You’ll get to see reindeer, huskies, and whales, and in the summer the midnight sun and in the winter the Northern Lights, and you’ll even get to sleep in an Arctic Dome – one of the best experiences I’ve had in Norway.

When my friend who hates the cold came to visit me in Norway in January, this was the itinerary I made to win her over – and it did!

Bodø – Helgeland Coast

The Helgeland coast is so dreamy, and still relatively undiscovered, especially amongst foreign tourists. Plus the people here are so, so friendly. It’s a totally different experience than visiting the super crowded and touristy areas of southern Norway (where the locals don’t always love all the tourists).

I still have so much of the Helgeland coast left to explore, so I’ll definitely be updating this with a couple of itineraries once I make some more trips here this spring and summer.

But for now I would suggest flying or taking a train to Bodø and spending a day there, and then getting the express boat to Støtt and a few of the other small islands along the coast. If you stick to the small islands you won’t need to rent a car, as you can get around them by foot or by renting a bicycle.

Plus the small islands are so special. You’ll get an immediate sense of Norway’s culture and history here, and the locals really are so friendly.

You can get the  Travel Pass Nordland for 990 NOK, which gives you access to all of the buses and express boats (not the ferries) in Nordland for one week, so you can island hop as much as you want.

Alternatively you could get the train or fly to Mosjøen and then rent a car there and explore the coast by car.

I’m going to try to do this trip both with and without a car and report back this summer!

Mosjøen – Helgeland Coast

Like I said, I still have a lot more of the Helgeland Coast to explore, but I did recently take a trip from my home in Mosjøen out to the islands of Dønna and Herøy, which many locals had told me were two of the prettiest islands along the coast here. And they weren’t wrong!

I drove from Mosjøen to Sandnessjøen and then caught a ferry to Dønna from there, but you could also fly directly to Sandnessjøen and then you wouldn’t even necessarily need to rent a car, because the islands are so small. Or it would be really fun to rent a bicycle in Sandnessjøen to explore the islands by bike!

Tromsø – Lyngen – Alta – Kokelv – North Cape

This Tromsø – Lyngen – Alta – Kokelv – North Cape itinerary is one of my favorite northern lights itineraries, as it includes some of Norway’s best northern lights hotels.

Kiruna – Hammerfest – Hamningberg – Kirkenes – Rovaniemi

This is one of the most recent one week trips I’ve taken, and it was one of my all time favorites! And as a bonus, this will also take you through Sweden and Finland, so you get three countries in one trip.

This Kiruna – Hammerfest – Hamningberg – Kirkenes – Rovaniemi itinerary will take you to the very top of Europe, the border of Russia, and through some of the most beautiful spots in the Arctic. I did this trip in the summer under the midnight sun, but you would have an equally amazing trip in the winter under the Northern Lights.

Okay so while I personally prefer northern Norway, I know a lot of people want to see the iconic destinations of the south like Oslo, Bergen, and the most famous Pulpit Rock and Trolltunga hikes.

And the most famous of Norway’s fjords are in southern Norway, so it’s not like the north has all the looks.

So don’t worry, I’ve made some itineraries for southern Norway too!

Oslo – Rjukan – Odda – Hardangerfjord – Bergen

If you want to do the traditional Oslo – Bergen – fjord loop but add in some special stops along the way, this Oslo – Rjukan – Odda – Hardangerfjord – Bergen itinerary is probably my favorite one week itinerary for southern Norway. This is the first itinerary listed in the blog post. 

You’ll start in Oslo, then spend a night in the lovely town of Rjukan, drive along Hardangerfjord, and get to see Bergen. This is a busy itinerary with quite a bit of driving, but I think you will love it!

Oslo – Kristiansand – Stavanger – Bergen – Hardangervidda

If you want to do the famous hikes like Pulpit Rock and Kjeragbolten (the rock stuck between two cliffs), then this Oslo – Kristiansand – Bergen – Hardangervidda itinerary is for you! This is the second itinerary listed in the blog post.

You’ll take a train from Oslo to Kristiansand, which is known as Norway’s “riviera,” and then you’ll head through some amazing mountain and coastal scenery through Stavanger towards Bergen. Then from Bergen you’ll drive over Hardangervidda, Northern Europe’s largest high mountain plateau, and through Telemark back down towards Kristiansand. You’ll see a huge variety of landscapes, as well as both villages and cities, so it makes for a great introduction to Norway.

Oslo – Røros – Trondheim – Kristiansund – Alesund by public transport

Most of the itineraries I’ve mentioned require you to rent a car, partly because I always love a good road trip, and partly because a lot of areas of Norway don’t have frequent public transport. But this Oslo – Røros – Trondheim – Kristiansund – Alesund itinerary uses only public transport, with a combination of trains, ferries, and buses. This is the third itinerary listed in the blog post. 

So usually when people want to see Norway by public transport they do the famous Oslo – Bergen Norway in a Nutshell route. But there’s a reason I’m not recommending that itinerary here.

I mean, if you really want to do it you can read more about how to plan Norway in a Nutshell here, but to be honest I really don’t think that route shows off the best of Norway, or the most beautiful sites. It’s a good route if you want something really easy, because you’ll basically be following the same route as everyone else on the buses, trains, and ferries, so you can just follow the crowd.

But if you’re a little more independent and want to get off the beaten path a bit and see even more impressive views, do this itinerary instead. It’s so much better, I promise!

You’ll get to see Røros, a really beautiful historic town, Trondheim and Ålesund, which are my top two favorite cities in Norway, and you’ll see some of the most stunning landscapes in southern Norway.

Ten Days to Two Weeks in Norway Itineraries

All of the one week itineraries I mentioned above could easily be stretched out longer. In fact the Odda – Hardangerfjord – Bergen itinerary mentions an optional extension by adding Ålesund and the Atlantic Ocean Road.

But otherwise I recommend one of the itineraries below!

Røros – Trondheim – Kristiansund – Atlantic Ocean Road – Molde – Romsdalsfjord – Hotel Union Øye – Hjørundfjord – Hoddevik – Stryn – Hitra – Golden Detour

This is one of my all time favorite Norway itineraries, but you’ll need at least two weeks for this – it will be even better with three weeks. This fjord and culture itinerary takes you through Norway’s most beautiful fjords as well as some Norwegian cultural heritage sites.

Oslo – Bodø – Helgeland – Narvik – Tromsø – Lyngen – Alta – Lofoten

My favorite two week trip I’ve done in northern Norway was this Oslo – Bodø – Helgeland – Narvik – Tromsø – Lyngen – Alta – Lofoten itinerary. You’ll get to see a huge portion of the country on the train ride up from Oslo to Bodø, and all of the stops on the way are some of my favorite places in Norway.

And if you have any longer, I would definitely consider adding a detour to Senja and even Dyrøy to your itinerary when you’re driving from Narvik up to Tromsø. You could also stop for a day in Oslo and Trondheim on your way up north.

And then if you have even more time, drive all the way up to the North Cape from Alta. It’s an extra 3 and a half hours of driving, but since you’ve made it this far north in Norway you might as well go as north as you can get!

Narvik – Kiruna – Vesterålen – Lofoten – Bodø – Mosjøen – Trondheim

If you want to check off a bunch of arctic bucket list experiences like husky sledding, staying with reindeer, overnighting in an Arctic dome, and whale watching, take a look at this Narvik – Kiruna – Vesterålen – Lofoten – Bodø – Mosjøen – Trondheim itinerary.

Plus you’ll get to go to Sweden as well!

This is the full trip that my friend Danielle and I did when she visited me in Norway, so if you’re wondering what I personally recommend to my friends coming to Norway for the first time, this is it!

I wanted to include Narvik for a stay in an Arctic Dome, which is Norway’s answer to the glass igloo, and then Kiruna has both the husky and reindeer Airbnbs which I love so much.

And then Vesterålen is amazing for whales, reindeer, and nature views, and Lofoten is one of the most beautiful places in Norway. The train ride from Bodø to Mosjøen is the most beautiful train ride in all of Norway, and you’ll end up in Trondheim to see big city life in Norway.

In Trondheim we went to a bunch of fancy restaurants and quirky cafés, and then Danielle flew straight out of Trondheim Airport instead of having to go back down to Oslo.

Trondheim – Mosjøen – Vega – Lovund – Lofoten

When my two travel blogger friends Sam and Sher came to visit I knew I had to put together an epic itinerary for us, and I think I succeeded with this Trondheim – Mosjøen – Vega – Lovund – Lofoten itinerary.

This trip covers the best of Norway, in my opinion, with one of Norway’s most beautiful big cities, Trondheim, gorgeous islands along the Helgeland coast, and then the iconic Lofoten islands.

That’s all my Norway itineraries for now, but I’ll be sure to update this as I write about more of my Norway trips.

Norway

Getting to Norway

Lots of airlines fly into Oslo, so you shouldn’t have a problem finding good flights.

And if you’re on a budget you’re in luck – Norwegian is a budget airline with some of the cheapest connections between the US and Europe.

I fly Norwegian all the time, but just remember that it is a budget airline so you’ll have to pay extra for checked luggage, meals on board, and even water during your flight. I always bring several sandwiches and lots of snacks and a big water bottle that I refill at the airport (after security of course!) to tide me over.

But the planes are really nice with big windows, lots of overhead space, and they’ve designed the lighting to help combat jet lag (not really sure how or if it really works, but I like to think that it does!). There’s also an option to fly their premium class, which I believe comes with meals and maybe checked luggage – I’ve never flown premium on Norwegian though so I can’t say if it’s worth it or not. I do know that it’s not as fancy as business class on other airlines.

Oh and be sure not to exceed the carry on luggage limit if you don’t pay for checked luggage with Norwegian, because they are super strict. My friend recently flew Norwegian to visit me in Norway and she had to pay $200 to check her bag at the airport, which was about how much her flight had cost! I mean, at least her flight had been super cheap to start with, but it was still a bit of a blow.

I do love Norwegian, but sometimes you can find even better deals with other airlines, and if you do it’s definitely nicer to fly a non-budget airline. Luggage fees add up and it’s so much nicer to fly an airline with meals and drinks included. I often fly KLM and Finnair as well.

I’ve also flown Icelandair directly out of Trondheim, though they’re also a budget airline and super strict with luggage – a flight attendant once really yelled at me for having two bags with me, even though my second bag fit under the seat in front of me and my larger bag was a backpack that was smaller than most of the suitcases other people had brought on as carry ons. I definitely hadn’t broken any rules but she was so mean about it anyway, and clearly I’m still feeling very bitter about the whole experience, haha.

So yeah, try to find a flight with a non-budget airline if you don’t want the added stress.

My go-to for finding flights are Skyscanner and Kiwi.com. Kiwi.com especially is a sneaky travel hack tool that can find great connections that other search engines don’t include – I’ve written more about Kiwi.com and how to use it here.

You’ll probably be flying into and out of Oslo Gardermoen Airport which seriously is one of the nicest airports in the world. And guys, I travel for a living so I spend a lot of time in airports.

Pro tip #1: if you want to look like a local, head straight to the Tax Free shop once you land. It’s always funny getting off flights in Oslo because every Norwegian will go straight to Tax Free to buy alcohol, and it’s only the tourists that skip it, haha. But seriously, if you do want to drink in Norway and are on a budget, you’ll save a lot of money by picking up something here.

Pro tip #2: Don’t get the Flytoget, or Airport Express Train, into Oslo from the Airport. It’s only three minutes faster than the regional train and costs twice as much!

Again, it’s only ever tourists who get the express (“express”) train while all Norwegians get the Vy train. You’ll see the Vy (formerly NSB) ticket machines on your right once you exit customs and you can buy your tickets there. You can also check the train schedule at vy.no.

What to Pack for Norway

The most important thing about packing for Norway is to bring lots of layers. The weather here is really unpredictable so it’s important to be ready for lots of different temperatures throughout the day.

Oh and you’ll definitely want waterproof shoes here, whether that’s hiking boots in the summer or winter boots in the winter.

I’ve written a complete guide for what to pack for winter in Norway here, and a guide to what to pack for summer in Norway here.

It’s also a good idea to buy travel insurance for your trip to Norway, as storms can often cause delays and if you’ll be hiking or doing outdoor activities you want to be covered in case of an accident. Plus Norway isn’t exactly a cheap destination, so you don’t want to end up losing money due to weather delays or unforeseen events.

I always get travel insurance wherever I travel, as several incidents in the past have taught me that it’s always worth it.

I personally use World Nomads because that’s what I used as a backpacker and I’ve had to file claims twice with them now and they paid me promptly, no additional questions asked. They also helped get me to a hospital in Beijing when I was too overwhelmed/dying to find one on my own, so I am forever grateful to those guys.

You can find a quote on World Nomads here, or pop your travel details into the chart below:

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[worldofcelts]

Hey, sorry for bother you, but I always had an enormous interest in the celtic and nordic mythologies and I'd like to be part of that but I don't know how, I don't know some things about the goddess and gods, culture... How can I do it? Also, I know that the celtic mythology says a lot about the feminine and masculine energy and I'm non binary, is that a problem?? Thank you so much if you answer me and sorry for any mistake, english isn't my native language.

Hi there. How to be a part of a culture? Great question…

First of all, acquaint yourself with that culture - read far and large, anything you can. Online articles, books, research, etc. About their traditions, mythology, history, origins, do’s and don’ts, anything. Learn to appreciate and respect them. But don’t think of it as a task or something you *need* to do, think of it as an exciting journey of exploration, of adventure, where you get to experience the uniqueness of a new culture and see all the charming ways it can relate to your own experiences. How every culture is just as human, as mysterious, as diverse, with their own version of a creation myth, how their people emerged out of the mists of time, the strife and struggle they faced. Once you have a fair amount of knowledge, so you at least know the basics, start engaging with that community! Don’t be afraid to ask questions, say hi, befriend people, exchange interests and experiences. Congrats, you’re now a part of it.

In my opinion, that’s all it should take to participate in a culture’s community. (I’m not talking about cultural appropriation, that’s another discussion entirely.) I mean simply being a so-called outsider of that country/culture/bloodline, but still being able to enjoy all its beauty. In that sense, I think everybody has the right to delight in other cultures and should be continuously encouraged to do so. PS: I think after some research you’ll find Celtic mythology to be most diverse and interesting in terms of sexuality and gender (more on that later)… so don’t ever feel excluded.

If you’re intrigued by a culture even the slightest, don’t let the foreignness of it intimidate you from exploring it. Once you do, you’ll realize that beyond all these languages, hair and skin color, beyond these creation myths and stories, we’re all equally human. And that’s the beauty of it.

- Lumen

[norsesuggestions]

Hi! It is me again, bothering you :3 I would love to read more about iron-age Sweden and North country in general but I can't seem to find any good resource beyond wikipedia, can you suggest any english book, even historical novel?

i i am guessing the reason you are having trouble is that swedish, danish and norwegian are all mutually understandble languages, and particular in the writing language. that means, we do not technically, need to translate articles nor history books to understand eachother academic texts.

icelanders academics useally speak one of the scandinavian languages too, wherehas, we 4 can spend time talking with eachtoher about the norse iron age without ever needing to use any  english. (except when communcating with finnish speaking academics who do not speak swedish/norwegian that is).

on the other hand, swedes have an obsession to use english in academia with eachother, even when no english speakers whatsoever are present (which can become pretty comedic sometimes pfft), wherehas you should be able to find at least swedish archeology texts in english. one thing you should be aware of too help googling, is that in swedish academia, the iron age is considered the region of of archeologists not historians, must of the time.

wherehas, to help googling, you should search on archeology of iron age [insert region] not history. that would, i suspect, be a good idea to get hits.

but i do have some recs! these are based on books i literally have in my home right now, there is much more

Price, S. Neil. 2002. the viking way. religion and war in late iron age scandinavia.

(given to me by my archeologist parents. i have no read it yet, but well, it is recommened two phd archeologists, with the swedish iron age as speciality, at least)

works by the archeologists Inger Zachrisson, who writes about the interaction between norse people, and sami people in scandinavia during particulary the iron age. i have read several texts by her, and i really like them! they are easy to understand and they actually talk about things that previously had been porpusely hushed down in swedish academia (that is, she talks about that the sami people, ALSO existed on scandinavia during the pre-historical times AND that they interacted alot with the norse people. and that the norse people were clearly aware of their existence etc).

some of Inger Zachrisson works:

Inger Zachrisson.“Saami and Scandinavians (Norsemen) : written sources and archaeological finds from A.D. 550-1350″ /  chapter in: Historia Fenno-ugrica (1 : 1993 : Oulu): Congressus primus historiae Fenno-ugricae / [editor: Kyösti Julku].

Inger Zachrisson.“Encounters in border country : Saami and Germanic peoples in central Scandinavia” /  chapter in: Kingdoms and regionality : transactions from the 49th Sachsensymposium, 1998 in Uppsala.

Inger Zachrisson.“Ethnicity - conflicts on land use : Sámi and Norse in central Scandinavia in the Iron Age and Middle Ages” / . chapter in: “Utmark” : the outfield as industry and ideology in the Iron Age and the Middle Ages. - [2005].

her search results in libris, which is the national swedish litterature database. it got lots of results in english!: http://libris.kb.se/hitlist?f=simp&q=Inger+Zachrisson&r=&m=10&s=r&t=v&d=libris&p=1

the other main tip is the to use the english version of the swedish national history musuems website. you can both find info there AND find litterature tips! historiska, as the musuem is called in swedish, is a state owned musuem which is connected straight to the swedish universities history and archeology deperements, which is why i rec there info! (99% archeologists and/or historians wrote the texts on their website).

link to the english version of historiska website: http://historiska.se/home/

link to the english version of info about norse mythology. the different articles comes with sources, and therefore litterture recs! http://historiska.se/norse-mythology/

the musuems text about their viking period exbition, in english: http://historiska.se/utstallningar/vikings-2/

i also rec to look up the websites of swedish archeology deperments. pretty often they will do their presenations research and their articles. oh and also, the archeologists at swedish archeology deperements will the absolute the majority of the time study pre-history in the nordic region. which is why they are good places to find recs for such things.

here is the link to stockholm universitets archeologists presentation of their research. some of the texts are in english:

https://www.archaeology.su.se/forskning/forskningsprojekt

direct link to english text version of one of their projects, religion and money (about trade relations between norway and byzantine among things):

http://www.khm.uio.no/english/research/projects/religion-and-money/

[painterlegendx]

9 Paintings Of Animals In Clothes Rituals You Should Know In 9 - Paintings Of Animals In Clothes

The faces of the animals in Jamie L. Luoto’s paintings are so astute they could about be mistaken for photographs. Their soulful eyes arise to be gazing beeline into the eyes of the viewer.

Amazing Animals in Clothes Portraits | Dog Artists - paintings of animals in clothes | paintings of animals in clothes On display at the Napa Main Library this month, Luoto’s paintings characterize 27 altered animals, alignment from agrarian animals, built-in to this breadth such as a bobcat and a rattlesnake, to jestic, alien creatures like an albatross and orangutan, to “some actual special” dogs and cats.She specializes in beastly delineation that explores capacity of identity. Like a avant-garde day Beatrix Potter, Luoto’s animals, antic admirable clothing, are anthropomorphically presented as if they were portraits of “kith and kin.”Luoto will allotment belief about these animals and acknowledge secrets abaft how and why she makes what she does at a wine and hors d’ oeuvres accession for her display from 6-7:30 p.m. on Friday, July 12. An artisan allocution is appointed for 6:30 p.m. Admission is free.For the aftermost 15 years, Luoto, a Healdsburg, California artisan originally from Minnesota, has been affairs her paintings, which accommodate cocky and association portraits, in this country and abroad. Her assignment can be begin in accessible and clandestine collections in 14 countries about the world.“I’m aflame about accepting my assignment in the Napa library. Back I was younger, I formed in four altered libraries. It’s abundant actuality about books and it is nice to see a library acclimated like this one,” Luoto said during an account in the library afterwards she completed dark her paintings.“I use my art to analyze capacity of character in ourselves and the apple about us, including animals,” she said. “Identity has been a constant allure of mine. I’ll be answer added in my allocution (at the reception).Pointing to assorted paintings, she appear capacity about the animals in them.“I see the animals as visitors to the library in their own way, administration the admirable activity of imagination, curiosity, and analysis with the Napa community,” Luoto said.

9 Best Animals are human paintings AKA Anthropomorphic .. | paintings of animals in clothes The “noble” chill bear, in one painting, is “an activist” boot for science to accompany acquaintance of altitude change.An chill hare in addition is one of the animals the chill buck is “standing up for.”A abundance lion, dressed as a affluent woman, is adumbrative of changeable entrepreneurs and business leaders. She is one of three North American animals Luoto fabricated in 2017, portrayed as female, to analyze the role of gender.A well-dressed atramentous buck represents women in science. “She’s a naturalist,” Luoto explained. “The baldheaded hawkeye is adumbrative of women in politics.”Many of her paintings accept been commissioned by pet owners. These are usually admired dogs or cats.An barring is a painting of an orangutan that was commissioned by a ancestors who admired orangutans.“This is appropriate to me,” she said. “It was afterwards the blaze in Sonoma County. The ancestors that commissioned it absent their home in the fire. Back I started this piece, I fabricated a affiliation of abode accident for orangutans with their forests actuality austere and the accident of the family’s habitat. The California alive oak aggressive over the orangutan’s account ties both places together.”All her paintings accept “layers of stories” anchored in them.

Animals In Clothes Paintings For Sale | Saatchi Art - paintings of animals in clothes | paintings of animals in clothes “I anticipate it is important for a assignment of art to accept a added meaning,” Luoto said. “ Not alone to be admirable but to accept substance.”A close-up painting of a reindeer was aggressive by Luoto’s adventure to Finland to analyze her ancestry. She is descended from the Sami people, semi-nomadic reindeer herders from abreast the Chill amphitheater in the Nordic countries.Luoto can’t bethink a time back she wasn’t an artist.“I consistently knew this (art) was what I was declared to do,” she said. “I knew I was an artisan continued afore I alike knew who I was. It’s the cornerstone of who I am and a way for me to accept and ascertain my identity.”She advised art at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Perpich Center for Arts Education in Minnesota, and Nocciano Institute for Arts and Culture in Italy.Luoto, the buyer of three admired cats, launched her beastly account alternation back a acquaintance was accepting a baby.“My acquaintance didn’t charge diapers, ”Luoto said, laughing. “She asked me to accomplish article for her baby. I capital to accomplish article that could be enjoyed forever, not aloof for the babyish stage.”Combining her adulation of stories, animals, portraiture, narratives and art, Luoto was aggressive to accomplish a adjudicator painting as a allowance for the newborn.

Animals In Clothes Art | Fine Art America - paintings of animals in clothes | paintings of animals in clothes Shortly afterwards painting the zebra, she was aggressive to acrylic a “cheeky” red fox, dressed like an English fox hunter. “He’s got article to say to them about the fox hunt,” Luoto said.“I allure visitors to the display to attending at anniversary beastly carefully to claiming assumptions and affect your own acuteness and to advance a claimed affiliation with one or two,”Before she starts painting an animal, she does all-encompassing analysis into the animal’s bounded location, diet, habitat, behavior.She said that authoritative her art is fun but activity intensive. Luoto uses altered admeasurement brushes as she works, eventually application a adornment besom to get up abutting to see anniversary of the besom strokes.Luoto thinks of the animals in her paintings as accompany and family. “They appetite to accommodated you. They appetite to accept a one on one chat with you,” she said. “It is adamantine to allotment with the originals, but I accept the prints.”Art in the library is sponsored by the Accompany of the Library Foundation. The accessible is acceptable to appearance the art and accommodated the artisan who gives a allocution about their work, action and inspirations.A board of bounded artists, a library abettor and art in the library coordinator Stephnia Pramuk appearance all entries and accomplish selections for the year.The anticipation is blind, after anecdotic factors that could analyze the artist.

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[kunkutarpulla]

Rant: 18 things white people seem not to understand (because white privilege)

Hello, everyone! Since “white privilege” is a famous topic in this century, let’s talk about it. I took the text from Macy Sto. Domingo.

  Remember guys: I’m not mocking her or hating her because of her skin color. Racism isn’t accepted. I despise her as a person.

  I was originally going to post this on deviantART, but I post it in Tumblr instead, because these people need to listen the voice of reason.

  Let’s start.

  “I don’t wake up every morning with the intention of pissing you off, I swear, and whether or not you believe it, I’m here to help you. “

  No, you’re here to show how stupid and ignorant you are, since you’re talking about something non-existent like white privilege.

  “I want you to recognize that on a daily basis, you hold a set of advantages and immunities that are a direct result of the oppression of people of colour. “

  No one in civilized countries like the USA isn’t advantaged or immune because of their skin color. Stop disgracing Albert Fish’ black child victims or Native Americans who were slaughtered by pioneers.

  “That doesn’t sound nice, does it? Makes you squirm in your chair a bit and maybe feel a little uncomfortable, right?”

  More like annoyed.

  “But here’s the thing – I’m not here to make you feel comfortable, that’s not my job. I’m here to erase the invisibility of the privileges you have that continue to help maintain white supremacy.“

  African slavery and apartheid already ended in the USA. Racism doesn’t equal white privilege. Using single racism cases to “prove” white privilege exists in the USA is like using single child abuse cases to “prove” oppression on children exists in the USA.

  “I’m here to show you what your White Privilege is.”

  I can show you what white privilege is.

  “White privilege (or white skin privilege) is a term for societal privileges that benefit people identified as white in some countries, beyond what is commonly experienced by non-white people under the same social, political, or economic circumstances.”

  Is anyone tolerating discrimination? No. There are no discrimination laws in your society, everyone are treated equally, no matter with the skin color. Do you have non-white politicians? Yes. You even had one as a president. Can black folks be rich? Yes. There are for example 29 black rich celebrities in US we all love and know. And do you know what’s funny? Asian people are getting richer and richer in America, they have highest study rankings and they have the best possibilities to get a job. Yes, even whites are losers compared to them. Why don’t you invent a new word and call it “Asian privilege?”

  “1. White Privilege is being able to move into a new neighborhood and being fairly sure that your neighbors will be pleasant to you and treat you with respect.”

  That’s called been able to move where ever you want and get good treatment, and it has nothing to do with white privilege. Except in some  African countries, where white-only cities and discrimination laws are still common. Why don’t you go there to complain about white privilege? Oh, I forgot. You’re an SJW. Their lives don’t matter, because they don’t concern around you and your first world problems. My mistake! ;P

  “2. White Privilege is being able to watch a movie, read a book and open the front page of a newspaper and see yourself and your race widely represented and spoken for.”

  Show me one recent movie or book where white race is praised, and other races are mocked. And praising a one single person doesn’t equal praising a whole race. Donald Trump gets lots of negative criticizing for being an asshole and he’s white.

  “3. White Privilege is being able to seek legal, financial and medical help without having your race work against you.”

  That’s corruption, not white privilege. Just like money, corruption knows no skin color. There are still places where gays aren’t allowed to donate blood, because people still believe in that ridiculous AIDS myth. And in the “Bible belt”, Atheists aren’t allowed to hold the office. In Oklahoma, they can’t even get married. And there are much more Atheists can’t do, because they’re Atheists. Majority of gays and Atheists are, surprise surprise, white. Where’s that white privilege you’re talking about now?

  “4. White Privilege is living in a world where you are taught that people with your skin tone hold the standard for beauty.”

  No. They. Don’t. Every country has their own beauty standards and they change according to the culture, and they have nothing to do with skin color.

  - In Ehtiopia’s Karo tribe, women create scars to their bodies, because body scars are considered beautiful, and they help you to get a husband.

- In Kenia’s Masai tribe, long eardrops and shaved heads are attractive.

- In Burma and Thaiwan, long, giraffe-like necks are an ultimate sign of beauty.

- In China, Thailand and Japan, being pale as a porcelain doll is considered beautiful. In Japan, women avoid the sun, while in China and Thailand; women are whitening their skin with skin-care products. Whitening skin was a thing before whites even came there.

- Maoris in New Zealand, take face tattoos.

- In Mauritania, being overweight is beautiful. That what SJWs like you love. My God, that’s cultural appropriation! Majority of overweight SJWs are white, so they have to go lose weight quickly!

- In Iran, surgical bandages are the most beautiful thing ever.  It’s a sign of their social status and their path on the route to beauty.

- In India, women decorate their skins with beautiful paintings for festivals and celebrations.

- In Japan, stick straight hair has always been a norm and a sign of beauty. Again, noting to do with white people.

  If white skin tone holds the standard for beauty, these beauty standards I mentioned wouldn’t exist.

  “5. White Privilege is never being told to, “get over slavery”.”

  Because white slavery is never talked about in school. Believe me, if it was, we would get a comment like “Our enslavement was worse than yours, get over it.” White Brittish sailors were kidnapped and sold as slaves in Africa. White women have been sold to Arab sultans. Germanians and Gallians were enslaved by Romans. Europeans ran serfdom. And the term “slave” originated from Slavic language, because majority of the slaves were white. Read history.

  “6. White Privilege is having the prevalence and importance of the English language and finding amusement in ridiculing people of colour/immigrants for their accents and their difficulty in speaking a language that is not their native tongue.”

  English is important language, because it’s an international communication language. Whenever you’re white or not, you must to study it. And if you move to country where people speak different language (France, Turkey, China), of course you study their native tongue. I’m a Finn, which means my native tongue is Finnish. But I still have to study both English and Swedish, which aren’t my native tongues, because English is important and Swedish is compulsory.

  “7. White Privilege is arrogantly believing that reverse racism actually exists.”

  Reverse racism isn’t a real term. It’s just racism. And yes, racism on white people actually exists.

  Are you denying how Brits referenced Irish as “white niggers” or how they can’t go to heaven because of their hair color? Or that how Finns were savages in pioneers’ eyes just like Native Americans? Are you saying white Romanians aren’t Romanians? Or Albert Einstein and Anne Frank weren’t Jews, because they’re white? Or Sami are less important, because they’re white? History has lots of examples of anti-white racism. In American universities, white people’s rights are limited because of their skin color. How that’s not racist? And what about BLM? They hold lots of anti-white ideals, shout anti-white slogans like “Hunting season on whitey” and have even committed crimes for them. Just go to YouTube or any other sites you know and see what bad things they have done. And Asia has the most racist people; they don’t allow non-Asian immigration at all.

  You are racist for denying existence of racism on white people and saying only whites can be racist.

  “8. White Privilege is being able to stay ignorant to the fact that racial slurs are part of a systematic dehumanization of entire groups of people who are and have historically been subjugated and hated just for being alive.”

  More like vice versa: You can say “cracker” without being labeled as a racist. But if we say “nigger”, we are racist, even though we wouldn’t be.

  8 mile, albino, blue-eyed devil, cracker, dog-fucker, egg, flour bag, gringo, haole, ivory, Johnny Red, lobster, maggot, nigger magnet, ofay, pig-fucker, redneck, serial killer, tornado bate, umlungu, vamp, white trash, yogurt and zeeb.

  Guess what these are? Racial slurs against white people. And that’s not even all of them. You can view the whole list in rsbd.com.

  “9. White Privilege is not having your name turned into an easier-to-say Anglo-Saxon name.”

  My name isn’t Anglo-Saxon, it’s Finnish. Nordics also had to adopt Anglo-Saxon names to use when they were baptized to Christianity, which originates from THE MIDDLE EAST, not Europe. You’re not that special.

  “10. White Privilege is being able to fight racism one day, then ignore it the next.”

  If you oppose racism, you always oppose racism. If you support racism, you always support racism. Political side isn’t a piece of cloth you change every day. It’s on your side for the rest of your life.

  “11. White privilege is having your words and actions attributed to you as an individual, rather than have them reflect members of your race.”

  Actually yes. People can referenced for saying “that white person” or “that black person”, and there’s nothing wrong with that. People do that, because they want everyone to know who they are talking about.

  12. White Privilege is being able to talk about racism without appearing self-serving.

  I don’t understand. How is a black girl who’s taking about her misery self-serving? That doesn’t make any sense.

  “13. White Privilege is being able to be articulate and well-spoken without people being surprised.”

  Show me one case where non-white person surprised everyone for being intelligent, because I have never seen a reaction like that in my whole life.

  “14. White Privilege is being pulled over or taken aside and knowing that you are not being singled out because of your race/colour.”

  Morgan Freeman is known as his own person, and he’s black. People love him, because he’s wise and knows what he’s talking about. They don’t give a shit about his skin color.

  “15. White Privilege is not having to teach your children to be aware of systematic racism for their own protection.”

  My God, don’t make me laugh! Everyone can be racist towards everyone, that’s how human race works. Learn the definition of racism and stop being so biased. And if you’re afraid to go out, study self-defense or move to safer place.

  “16. White Privilege is not having to acknowledge the fact that we live in a system that treat people of colour unfairly politically, socially and economically and choosing, instead, to believe that people of colour are inherently less capable.”

  We acknowledge that as well. How do you think there are white people in anti-racist organizations, if they deny the existence of racism?

  “17. White Privilege is not having your people and their culture appropriated, romanticized or eroticized for the gain and pleasure of other white people.”

  Firstly, we’re not claiming we own dream catchers, sombreros or kimonos. It’s not cultural appropriation. It’s cultural appreciation. You’re confusing us with Hitler.

Secondly, Kim Jong-un claims he invented hamburgers and sauna to spread the propaganda about that how great he is. These two are from white cultures.

  Thirdly,

  - Medieval Age is romanticized all the time.

- There are overly sexualized Viking and Scottish outfits.

- German Oktoberfest leads tourists all around the world.

- Sylvanian Families toys romanticize 50s’ England.

- Italian pizza has become majority’s favorite food.

- Greek cheese, olives and wines have lost of popularity everywhere.

- Finnish “Ievan Polkka” and Swedish “Carameldansen” are hits in Japan.

  All these examples are from white cultures. This should also be cultural appropriation, according to your logic. Over 90 % of everyday stuff we do is cultural appreciation. Don’t oppose cultural appreciation if you support multiculturalism, hypocrite.

  “18. White Privilege is being able to ignore the consequences of race.”

  That’s simply called being racist, not having white privilege.

  I know what white people have done in the past, and as a white person, I’m sorry about it. But every race in the world history has done exactly the same thing, even to people of their own color. This doesn’t give you any privilege to be racist today’s generation because of that what their ancestors did.

  As a Finn, I understand what your ancestors have faced. Finns have been oppressed by Swedes and Russians in their history. And also kidnapped elsewhere to slavery.

  I don’t hate modern generation of Swedes and Russians, or descendants of other oppressors, because it’s not their fault what happened. Without them, Finland wouldn’t be what it’s today. I have forgiven that, because it’s in the past. You should do the same.

  Sorry hun. With your claims you just proved me white privilege doesn’t exist. That text was illogical, ignorant, arrogant and annoying, and it was difficult to take seriously. My final rank is 0/5.

  Poverty rate (change percents into numbers): https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/poverty-rate-by-raceethnicity/?dataView=undefined&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Other%22,%22sort%22:%22desc%22%7D

History of Ireland: http://www.libraryireland.com/HistoryIreland/Title.php

History of Finland: http://motherearthtravel.com/history/finland/index.htm

History of Poland: http://www.intopoland.com/poland-info/history-of-poland.html

Finndians: https://brucemineincident.wordpress.com/related-places-of-interest-2/finndians/

Sami people: https://intercontinentalcry.org/new-finnish-forestry-act-could-mean-the-end-of-sami-reindeer-herding/

Barbary slave trade: https://face2faceafrica.com/article/the-shocking-history-of-enslavement-of-1-5-million-white-europeans-in-north-africa-in-the-16th-century

Ottoman Empire: https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/ottomanempire_1.shtml

Mongol Empire: https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-13e0517e00721e2bcff06236f46edc75

Armenian Genocide: https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/armenian-genocide

Political oppression in Iran (as far as I know some Iranians have white skin): https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/iran

Nazis and Jewish Holocaust: https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10008193

Anti-Semitism: https://www.britannica.com/topic/anti-Semitism

German culture: https://www.livescience.com/44007-german-culture.html

French culture: https://www.livescience.com/39149-french-culture.html

Russian culture: https://www.livescience.com/44154-russian-culture.html

Commercial of Japanese toys: https://image.rakuten.co.jp/ribbon-m/cabinet/epoch/sylvanian/dh-05_01.jpg

Sign which says “No Spanish or Mexicans allowed”, and as far as I know, Spanish people are white. http://www.texasstandard.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/03.Photo_No_Mexicans_Allowed1.jpg

Video about enslaving Slavics (Note: It’s a two-parter): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IILgM74iYZQ

Yes, racism against white people exists in South Africa. I don’t play favorites here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq0GReiZyKc

McDonald’s in the Middle East: https://delhi4cats.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/saudi-queu.jpg

Asian little girl eating pizza: https://d3jkudlc7u70kh.cloudfront.net/children-eating-pizza.jpg

Black kids celebrating St. Patrick’s Day: http://annandamy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/St.PatsParade_kids.jpeg

POC woman in Viking outfit: https://images.halloweencostumes.com/products/22657/1-1/womens-forest-princess-costume.jpg

Ievan Polka from 1937: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myzO3eZh22E

Ievan Polka from 1952: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8fW2n_ma9Y

Original Caramelldansen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBOWWbCf-KU

  That’s all, folks.

[oinfernoblog]

Inferno

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Jul 14

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HUMAN LIBRARY - Isn't it a cool IDEA?

What is the use of a library?

A library is a curated collection of sources of information and similar resources, selected by experts and made accessible to a defined community for reference or borrowing, often in a quiet environment conducive to study.

The library lends books or rents books, after a period of time we either need to return it back or pass it to the next interested person in the list.

Recently I heard about the Human Library!

When I initially heard about this, I was quite surprised does this “Human Library really exist?”

This Human Library concept is an international organization and movement that started in Copenhagen, Denmark in the year 2000.

What’s the use and aim of this organization?

The whole purpose is to meet who normally or rarely meets each other.

It aims to address people’s prejudices by helping them to talk to those who normally don't meet.

This organization lends to people rather than books. The organization uses library analogy to lend people, isn’t this idea great!

These people have experienced prejudice, social exclusion, or stigma attached to them. The participants can ask them questions so that they can learn about the other person and also can challenge their own prejudices.

This organization is currently active in 80 countries across the globe. There are few permanent Human Libraries but most of them happen to the events.

Now, Weren’t we really curious to know the history behind this organization?

Let’s get in!

The organization began in Copenhagen in 2000 when the first Human Library event was held at Roskilde Festival.

The event was run by Ronni and Dany Abergel, Asma Mouna, Christoffer Erichsen, then working at the Danish Youth NGO Stop Volden (which translates to Stop the Violence), inspired by the American Stop the violence movement.

How many days the first event took place and how many people took part in the event?

The first event ran four days with eight hours of conversations each day and more than 1000 people took part.

What about the next event, where did it take place?

The next Human Library was hosted in Oslo, Norway by Ronni Abergel for the Nordic Minister Councils youth assembly "Unge I Norden". The event was prepared in partnership with Terese Mungai-Foyn and went on to inspire the establishment of the Norwegian Human Library program in 2003.

Where is the first permanent Human Library established?

The first permanent Human Library was established in Lismore, Australia in 2006. Till 2019, the project has grown to have partners in more than 70 countries across the world.

Isn’t the idea behind this so good and unique?

We all should agree with the head nod!

As a result, the organization has received lots of awards and appreciation.

Below are few of them to mention :

Awards:

Labour Union Worker Culture Award 2017

Danish Dialogue Award 2017

Danish UNITY Award 2017 (Fællesskabsprisen)

Danish National Library Associations Honorary award 2010 (Doessing Prisen)

Hadn’t we learned something new?

Let’s all learn a few new things in a week that would boost us to do more different and new steps/ideas in our lives.

Please like, share, and comment on my article if you have liked it.

Thanks for reading and Happy Writing!

About the Author:

Srilakshmi Mrudula Nallagonda is a proud mother and a passionate blogger of one of the largest parenting websites and app called 'Mompresso'. Apart from that this multi-tasking woman is a brand ambassador of Sharadha Flora - Belur products. She is also a gold medalist in painting. She works in a few NGOs for women and children. Truly an inspiration to us.

#BLOG30 #humanlibrary #librarylove #education #learning #awards #teaching #keeplearning #selfstudy #blogs #blogging #bloggers #readers #writers #keepblogging #inspiration #motivation #information #books

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[biofunmy]

Climate of guilt: Flying no longer the high road for some

School’s out for summer and Swedish lawyer Pia Bjorstrand, her husband and their two sons are shouldering backpacks, ready to board the first of many trains on a whistle-stop vacation around northern Europe.

The family is part of a small but growing movement in Europe and North America that’s shunning air travel because it produces high levels of greenhouse gas emissions. While experts say fighting climate change will require bigger and bolder actions by governments around the world, some people are doing what they can to help, including changing long-held travel habits.

The trend is most prominent in Sweden, where the likes of teen climate activist Greta Thunberg have challenged travelers to confront the huge carbon cost of flying.

“Even I, who was climate aware 10 years ago, didn’t think about flying in the way that I think now,” said Bjorstrand as she waits on the platform of Nykoping station in eastern Sweden. “I didn’t know that the effect of flying was so big. So we flew everywhere.”

Airlines argue that flying accounts for just 2% of man-made greenhouse gas emissions and increasingly efficient planes now use about the same amount of fuel per passenger as a half-full car. Yet the ease and falling cost of air travel is enabling more people to fly more often, meaning airline emissions are soaring even as other sources decline.

In 2013, commercial carriers emitted 710 million tons of carbon dioxide. This year, industry group IATA predicts airlines’ emissions of CO2 will reach 927 million tons, more than an industrial country like Germany. The figures don’t include other factors that scientists say increase the greenhouse effect from flying.

Compared with rail travel, planes fare particularly poorly.

Bjorstrand’s train journey from Nykoping to the Danish capital Copenhagen weighs in at 2.4 kilograms (5.3 pounds) of CO2 per person, according to an online calculator created by the Germany-based Institute for Energy and Environmental Studies consultancy. That compares with over 118 kilograms (260 pounds) of CO2 for a one-way flight.

Such amounts quickly take a big chunk out of the annual carbon budget of 2,000 kilograms per person that scientists say would be sustainable.

The rail journey is almost twice as long by train — 5 ½ hours compared with three hours of flying and transit — but that’s fine with the family. There’ll be plenty of time for Oscar, 9, to pore over his comic books and Gabriel, 11, to read up on World War II history or just watch the lush green forests and lakes of southern Sweden glide by.

Last year, Sweden’s forests literally went up in smoke as the country experienced a heat wave that led to wildfires unprecedented in its modern history, driving home the possible consequences of global warming for this rich Nordic nation.

It was around that time that Thunberg, then a 15-year-old student in Stockholm, began staging weekly protests outside parliament that inspired similar demonstrations by teens and young adults elsewhere. Thunberg has become a celebrity among environmentalists for her heartfelt speeches, savvy use of social media and willingness to take long train journeys to attend events in Rome, Vienna or London.

In Sweden, this stance against air travel has spawned the term “flygskam,” or “flight shame.”

“I can see guilt growing,” said Bjorstrand. “Some colleagues try not to talk to me about their long-haul flights.”

The main Swedish train operator, SJ, says it sold 1.5 million more tickets in 2018 than the previous year. Even the number of business travelers is up, rising 12% in the first three months of this year, the company said.

Pushback against flight-shaming is coming from some unlikely sources.

Anders Levermann, a scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, believes that the world needs to stop adding carbon to the atmosphere by mid-century if it wants to keep average temperature increases below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) as outlined in the 2015 Paris accord.

But an abrupt end to air travel could have disastrous consequences for society, Levermann warns.

“I think travelling in general brings people together,” he said. “That includes aviation.”

Levermann argues that the climate movement shouldn’t focus only on air travel.

“At the moment it is treated like whales for biodiversity,” he said. “It’s a poster child.”

A more effective way to reduce carbon emissions would be to pressure political leaders into taking decisions that have a nationwide or global effect, rather than guilt-tripping individuals into minimizing their carbon footprint, said Levermann.

There is some hope that governments will act. Environmental parties were one of the big winners of last month’s European Union Parliament elections. Leaders of the 28-nation bloc will this week debate a long-term strategy on climate change, while lower-ranking officials meet in The Hague to discuss taxing aviation fuel and airline tickets.

“For decades, governments have failed to regulate aviation emissions,” said Andrew Murphy, an aviation expert at Belgium-based pressure group Transport and Environment.

Some pin their hopes on technological advances in aviation, including electric planes, though viable battery-powered models aren’t on the horizon yet.

In the meantime, airlines are trying to address customer concerns even as they prepare to fight new emissions taxes.

“It’s obviously a hot topic and something we’re seeing particularly in the European market,” said Steffen Milchsack, spokesman for Lufthansa. The German airlines group wants to start using synthetic kerosene produced with renewable energy in coming years and recently began paying a small fee to compensate the carbon emissions caused by staff travel.

Such small, voluntary payments — known as offsets — are preferred by airlines over government-imposed taxes or carbon caps.

So far, a majority of passengers are still unwilling to pay more for flights or fly less. A survey by the German travel agents’ association, DRV, found that only 2% of air travel last year was offset.

But Julia Zhu, a spokeswoman for Atmosfair, a German nonprofit organization, says the amount of CO2 offsets it processed rose from 550,000 tons in 2017 to 800,000 tons last year.

“The summer of 2018 was sort of a turning point,” she said.

Atmosfair uses money from offsets — typically a few euros (dollars) per person for a short-haul flight — to support small-scale carbon reduction efforts, such as buying efficient cooking stoves for families in Africa and Asia.

Zhu said companies are increasingly deciding to offset business travel, with a similar effort underway among U.S. academics. Murphy believes grassroots efforts to fly less could ultimately have a significant impact.

Pia Bjorstrand, however, isn’t prepared to give up flying altogether just yet. Last winter, like many sun-starved Scandinavians, the family took a long-distance flight. They bought carbon credits to offset the trip to Namibia.

“The U.S. or Africa or Southeast Asia, it’s hard to go by train,” she said.

———

Frank Jordans reported from Berlin. Mark Carlson in Brussels contributed to this report.

———

Follow Frank Jordans on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/wirereporter

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New world news from Time: 31 Athletes to Watch at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics

Every Winter Olympics has its breakout stars—the rookie defying the odds to win her first gold medal, the legend defying time to win his last. The 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea has no shortage of candidates on both counts, from teen phenoms like Russian figure skater Alina Zagitova and American snowboarder Chloe Kim, to hardboiled veterans like U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn and the man known as Legend, 45-year-old Japanese ski jumper Noriaki Kasai.

From French figure skaters to Nigerian bobsledders, here’s your guide to the Olympic athletes to watch as the 2018 PyeongChang Games kick off on Wednesday, Feb. 8:

Chloe Kim, Snowboarding, USA

Matthew Stockman—Getty ImagesOlympic athlete Chloe Kim of the United States competes in the FIS World Cup 2018 Ladies Snowboard Halfpipe final during the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix in Copper Mountain, Colo. on Dec. 9, 2017. Matthew Stockman—Getty Images

Talk about great expectations. Four years ago, Olympic athlete Chloe Kim qualified for Team USA in Sochi—but she was still two years shy of 15, the minimum age to compete in the Winter Olympics. “Looking back on it, I’m really glad I couldn’t go,” Kim says. “I don’t know how my 13-year-old self would have dealt with it.”

Now in PyeongChang, Kim is widely seen as the gold-medal favorite in the halfpipe event. Her top competition is likely her fellow Americans Kelly Clark, who won Olympic halfpipe gold 16 years ago, Arielle Gold and Maddie Mastro.

The exuberant Southern California native has a phenom’s resume: she is the youngest snowboarder to earn a gold medal at the X Games—in 2015, at age 15—and the first female athlete to land back-to-back 1080s (three full revolutions in the air) in competition. “She rides with incredible style and goes huge,” says snowboarding legend Jake Burton. “She’s at the pinnacle right now.”

Kim was raised in Torrance, Calif., but her parents, who immigrated to the U.S. from South Korea, were keen on family trips to the mountains, and Kim took up snowboarding at age 4. Kim started riding seriously when she was 8, after her parents sent her to live with an aunt in Geneva for two years. In the years since, Kim has medaled in all six of her X Games starts, including four golds, all while juggling online classes for high school. “I’m so, so honored to be in this position, where I get to represent both countries,” Kim says. “It’ll be a good time.”

Nathan Chen, Figure Skating, USA

Chen, the two-time U.S. national figure skating champion, is known as the Quad King for being the first skater in the world to land five quadruple jumps in a single program. Even most elite figure skaters perfect just one or two of the four-rotation jumps. But the 18-year-old’s ability to whip off five different quad jumps makes him a favorite to win individual gold in the PyeongChang Games.

A native of Salt Lake City and the youngest of five, Chen displayed his extraordinary skill early, landing his first triple jumps at 10. Trained in ballet and gymnastics along with skating, Chen’s strength and technique offer a strong foundation for his athletic repertoire of jumps. Adam Rippon, Chen’s training partner and Olympic teammate, says Chen is “one of the best jumpers in the world” and credits him with improving his own skating.

The downside of all that flexibility and sheer physical force is the toll it can take on his body—Chen was off the ice for five months after injuring his hip in 2016. “I never set out to do these programs, or to make history,” Chen says. “I just like to keep pushing myself and the sport.”

Mikaela Shiffrin, Alpine Skiing, USA

Olympic athlete Mikaela Shiffrin started skiing when she was around 2. By middle school, she was reading reading sports psychology books and studying video of her slalom technique. In high school, she skipped most parties in favor of sleep, knowing rest was critical to her performance on the slopes. Now 22, Shiffrin’s single-minded pursuit of skiing greatness had paid off. In 2014, she became the youngest Olympic slalom gold medalist ever. She won the World Cup all-around title a year ago, and leads the standings this season. For PyeonChang, Shiffrin has added speed events—the downhill and Super-G—to her program. Her chase for five Olympic medals—a haul that would set a new record for skiing—will be one of the biggest stories of the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Bradie Tennell, Figure Skating, USA

Matthew Stockman—Getty ImagesOlympic athlete Bradie Tennell competes in the Ladies Free Skate during the 2018 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. on January 5, 2018. Matthew Stockman—Getty Images

Figure skater Bradie Tennell is nothing if not prepared. After being derailed by back injuries, the 20-year-old from Illinois was cleared to skate again in late 2016, and she hit the ice in stride. This season, Tennell earned bronze at her first major international competition, won gold at the U.S. national championships and skated away with a surprise spot on the Olympic team. ““I had a renewed sense of motivation and was able to get down to business,” she tells TIME.

Tennell is now a dark horse to medal in PyeongChang. And while she couldn’t have predicted how things would turn out, she was, as always, prepared: Tennell’s short program is set to a patriotic song by a South Korean composer.

Magnus Kim, Cross-country Skiing, South Korea

Nils Petter Nilsson—Getty ImagesOlympic athlete Magnus Kim of Korea during the cross country sprint qualification during the FIS World Cup Ruka Nordic season opening at Ruka Stadium in Finland, on Nov. 24, 2017. Nils Petter Nilsson—Getty Images

South Korea rejoiced when cross-country skiing phenom Kim, 19, announced he would compete for the host country in PyeongChang. Kim’s mother is South Korean, his father is Norwegian and Kim held citizenship in both countries. In 2016, Kim became the first South Korean to win a gold medal at a major international cross-country event, when he took two golds and a silver at the 2016 Youth Winter Olympics. No Asian country has ever won an Olympic cross-country medal. While skiers from Norway, Sweden and Italy provide stiff competition, Kim has home-field advantage—and the hopes of a nation behind him.

Lindsey Vonn, Alpine Skiing, USA

Christophe Pallot—Agence Zoom/Getty ImagesLindsey Vonn of USA competes during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women’s Downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on Jan. 20, 2018.

The all-time women’s leader in World Cup wins–she has 79–Lindsey Vonn, 33, is making her first Olympic appearance since Vancouver in 2010, when she won the downhill gold and Super G bronze. The Olympic athlete has fought heartbreaking injuries since the 2010 Winter Olympics; knee damage caused her to miss the Sochi Olympics entirely, she fractured her right arm in a training crash a season ago, and Vonn even tweaked her back this season. After becoming the oldest winner of a World Cup downhill race in January, expectations are soaring for the veteran American downhill star.

Seun Adigun, Bobsled, Nigeria

What started out as a GoFundMe page in 2016 to finance an outlandish Olympic pursuit, is now a story worthy of Hollywood. A former sprinter at the University of Houston who ran for Nigeria at the 2012 London Olympics, Adigun, 31, will drive the first bobsled team to ever represent Africa at the Winter Olympics. In December, in the midst of training for PyeongChang, Adigun earned a masters degree in exercise and health sciences, as well as her doctorate of chiropractic.

Jamie Anderson, Snowboarding, USA

Matthew Stockman—Getty ImagesJamie Anderson of the United States trains for the FIS World Cup 2018 Ladies Snowboard Big Air final in Copper Mountain, Colo., on Dec. 10, 2017. Matthew Stockman—Getty Images

Before a competition, the eco-conscious, free-spirited Anderson, 27, will hug a tree if she spots one (she says it relaxes her). One of eight children, Anderson credits home schooling with giving her time to explore the outdoors, and find her calling on a snowboard. “It brings tears to my eyes, how much I feel that same vibration that kids should be kids,” Anderson told Today in 2014. “I think it’s sad how much time kids have to spend inside nowadays and I have so much gratitude for how my mom and dad chose to raise my family.” Anderson won the inaugural slopestyle event in Sochi; a repeat in PyeongChang would make her the first women’s snowboarder to win two Olympic golds.

Maame Biney, Speedskating, USA

Harry How—Getty ImagesOlympic athlete Maame Biney takes the corner on her way to victory in the Women’s 500 Meter A Final for a spot on the 2018 Olympic team on Dec. 16, 2017. Harry How—Getty Images

Maame Biney, 18, became the first African-American woman to qualify for a U.S. speedskating team. She moved to Maryland from Ghana at age 5, and took up the Winter Olympic sport when her father spotted a sign offering lessons. Biney started out in figure skating. An instructor, noting how fast she was moving on the ice, suggested Biney try speedskating instead. The high school senior is taking online classes during her intense Olympic year, and is interested in studying chemical engineering in college.

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, Figure Skating, France

Joosep Martinson—ISU/Getty ImagesGabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France perform in the Gala Exhibition during day five of the European Figure Skating Championships at Megasport Arena, in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 21, 2018. Joosep Martinson—ISU/Getty Images

Their coach says the pair skate so fluidly and quietly that it’s as if they aren’t touching the ice at all, but hovering above it instead. The French figure skating team, who train in Montreal, earned the highest scores recorded in ice dance for their free program set to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.

When they first started ice dancing together in 2008, the duo was coached by Papadakis’ mother, a former figure skater. They were vying for one of two Olympic spots in 2014, but missed the cut and decided to move from France to Canada to train. Cizeron designs most of their costumes.

Justine Dufour-Lapointe, Freestyle Skiing, Canada

Clive Rose—Getty ImagesOlympic athlete Justine Dufour-Lapointe of Canada competes in the Women’s Moguls qualification at the FIS Freestyle Ski & Snowboard World Championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain, on March 8, 2017. Clive Rose—Getty Images

Dufour-LaPointe, 23, is the defending Olympic champ in moguls; older sister Chloé, 26, who won silver in Sochi, will also compete in PyeongChang (a third Dufour-LaPointe sister, Maxime, 28, who finished 12th in Sochi, will be in PyeongChang cheering on her sibs). Justine and Chloé were just the third pair of sisters to ever win gold and silver in the same event in Olympic history. Austrian lugers Doris and Angelika Neuner did it in 1992, and French skiers Christine and Marielle Goitschel went 1-2 in 1964. The sisters will competing with heavy hearts; they recently shared the news that their mother, Johane Dufour-Lapointe, has been battling cancer, though the skiers say the illness has been in remission since August.

Meghan Duggan, Hockey, USA

After two straight losses to Canada in the women’s hockey Olympic gold medal game, U.S. team captain Duggan, 30, is seeking revenge against an archrival. The Americans are expected to meet Canada again in the final in PyeongChang. “Everything’s at stake,” she says.

Duggan is a former star at the University of Wisconsin, where in 2011 she was named winner of the Patty Kazmaier award, given annually to the top female college player in the country.

Noriaki Kasai, Ski Jumping, Japan

Christof Stache—AFP/Getty ImagesJapan’s Noriaki Kasai competes during his second jump of the individual competition of the ski flying world championships in Oberstdorf, southern Germany, on Jan. 19, 2018. Christof Stache—AFP/Getty Images

Kasai, 45, is making his record eighth straight Olympic appearance. After making this Olympic debut in Albertville, France in 1992, Kasai won a team silver medal in Lillehammer in 1994, then earned individual silver and a team bronze in Sochi–another record, for the longest gap between Winter Olympic medals. His hometown, Sapporo, is likely to bid on the 2026 Olympics; if Sapporo wins, Kasai wants to compete in those Olympic Games. He’d be 53. “It is too big a chance to give up,” Kasai told the Japan Times. His nickname: Legend.

Ryom Tae Ok and Kim Ju Sik, Figure Skating, North Korea

Atsushi Tomura—ISU/Getty ImagesNorth Korean figure skaters Tae Ok Ryom and Ju Sik Kim of North Korea perform during the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships at Taipei Arena in Taiwan, on Jan. 27, 2018. Atsushi Tomura—ISU/Getty Images

No figure skating pairs team will be more closely watched than these North Korean figure skaters, who spent last summer training in Montreal to prepare for their Olympic debut. Ryom and Kim will be the first pairs skating team from the Hermit Kingdom to compete in the Olympics.

Gus Kenworthy, Freestyle Skiing, USA

Kenworthy, 26, will join U.S. figure skater Adam Rippon as the first openly gay American athletes to compete in a Winter Olympics.“The thought of being the first openly gay male ever to compete in the Winter Olympics—I totally embrace that,” Kenworthy told TIME. “I so badly want to inspire that community and do well for them. It’s f–king cool.” The 2014 slopestyle skiing silver medalist has won the Association of Freeskiing Professionals overall world title seven straight times.

Maia and Alex Shibutani, Figure Skating, USA

It was Maia who found figure skating first, at the young age of four, and it wasn’t long before older brother Alex, who waited at the rink during her lessons anyway, was drawn to skating too. In their first U.S. junior championships, they earned a silver.

Their parents, Naomi and Christ, both musicians who met in college, realized their offspring were talented on ice, so Naomi moved with Maia and Alex to Colorado Springs, headquarters of U.S. Figure Skating, so they could take advantage of the nation’s best coaching and training facilities. Chris made weekly trips west from Connecticut, where the family lived, to see them. It wasn’t long before they outgrew that program, and moved to Detroit to work with the growing ice dance program under Marina Zueva, who trained 2014 Olympians Meryl Davis and Charlie White and Madison Chock and Evan Bates.

Two-time national ice dance champions, the siblings are hoping to earn their first Olympic medal in PyeongChang. “This competition is what we have been working for; everything has been building to this point,” says Alex.

Ted Ligety, Alpine Skiing, USA

Alain Grosclaude—Agence Zoom/Getty ImagesTed Ligety of USA in action during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men’s Combined in Wengen, Switzerland, on Jan. 12, 2018.

Arguably one of the more underappreciated recent U.S. Olympic athletes, Ligety, 33, will suit up for his fourth Olympics in PyeongChang. He’s the only American man to have won two gold medals in Alpine skiing. He became the youngest man to win a gold medal with his victory in the combined event in Torino—Ligety was 21—and he took the giant slalom in Sochi. Back surgery a year ago, and knee surgery the season before that, almost waylaid his hopes for the 2018 Olympics. But in the last giant slalom World Cup event before PyeongChang, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany in late January, Ligety finished third, his first World Cup podium appearance since 2015. “This is the first time in awhile,” Ligety says, “where I actually feel good.”

Shim Suk-hee, Speedskating, South Korea

Christof Koepsel—ISU/Getty ImagesOlympic athlete Hee Suk Shim of Korea competes of the ladies 3000m relay final A during the Audi ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating at Bok Hall in Budapest, Hungary, on Oct. 1, 2017. Christof Koepsel—ISU/Getty Images

The native of Gangneung—the coastal city hosting all the arena ice events at the 2018 PyeonChang Olympic Games—won gold, silver and bronze in Sochi. Short track is wildly popular in South Korea, and Shim, 21, holds the world record in the 1,000 m. Besides inspiring the hopes of the home city—and country—Shim is coping with controversy: her coach has been suspended after reportedly assaulting her.

Elana Meyers Taylor, Bobsled, USA

She won bronze as a brakeman in Vancouver and took silver in Sochi as a driver. A mishap in Russia— her sled smacked a wall—cost Meyers Taylor, 33, gold; the Olympic athlete has waited four years for another shot. In 2014, Meyers Taylor and two-time Olympic champion Kaillie Humphries of Canada, became the first women to drive four-man bobsleds in World Cup competition; the women still only compete in a two-person sled at the Olympics. Her husband, Nic Taylor, is a fellow bobsledder; he qualified as an alternate in PyeongChang.

Pita Taufatofua, Cross-country Skiing, Tonga

Hendrik Schmidt—Picture Alliance/dpa/APTonga’s Pita Taufatofua competes in the men’s cross country sprint qualification at the 2017 Nordic Skiing World Championships in Lahti, Finland. Hendrik Schmidt—Picture Alliance/dpa/AP

He’s back. Taufatofua, 34, earned temporary fame in Rio, when the Olympic athlete went viral after marching in the Opening Ceremonies shirtless and covered in coconut oil. Despite growing up in the South Pacific and never skiing before last year, Tautatofua secured a bid to PyeongChang in cross-country, a feat he’s labeled a “miracle.” No word if he’ll cover up in the PyeongChang during the 2018 opener, where frigid temperatures are expected for the Games.

Shaun White, Snowboarding, USA

Sean M. Haffey—Getty ImagesOlympic athlete Shaun White of the United States competes in the finals of the FIS Snowboard World Cup 2018 Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe in Copper Mountain, Colo., on Dec. 9, 2017. Sean M. Haffey—Getty Images

White is seeking redemption in PyeongChang: the snowboarding icon’s third Olympic outing, in Sochi in 2014, was bitterly disappointing. He tried to double up, and compete in both halfpipe and slopestyle, which was making its Olympic debut. But he pulled out of slopestyle before the Opening Ceremonies, and fell twice in the halfpipe final, finishing fourth. “You don’t really ever get over it,” White told NBC. But he’s back for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games; after suffering through a gruesome training crash in October that left him needing 62 stitches, the Olympic athlete, 31, scored a perfect 100 in an Olympic qualifier. The former Flying Tomato – the signature hair has been short for awhile – is going for his third Olympic halfpipe gold medal.

Alina Zagitova, Figure Skating, Russia

Joosep Martinson—ISU/Getty ImagesOlympic athlete Alina Zagitova of Russia performs in the Gala Exhibition during day five of the European Figure Skating Championships at Megasport Arena, in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 21, 2018. Joosep Martinson—ISU/Getty Images

A gold contender at just 15, Zagitova is among the Olympic athletes from Russia who were allowed to compete under the doping ban. She trains with the same coach as Olympic favorite Evgenia Medvedeva, and sometimes, the coach puts them on the ice together so they can push each other. Watch for Zagitova’s long program—she earns bonus points with the judges by packing all of her jumps in the back half.

Brian Gionta, Hockey, USA

Mark LoMoglio—Icon Sportswire/Getty ImagesBuffalo Sabres right wing Brian Gionta skates in the 1st period of the NHL game between the Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning on April 09, 2017.

A dozen years after competing in the Torino Olympics as a winger for the United States, Gionta—who at that time played for the New Jersey Devils—spurned offers from the National Hockey League this season so he could return to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games; for the first time since 1994, the NHL has declined to interrupt its season to send its players to the Olympics. The U.S. men’s team, which consists mostly of U.S. minor leaguers, pros playing overseas, and college players, will count on the leadership of team captain Gionta, 39, to return to the medal stand for the first time since 2010, when the Americans lost to Canada, in overtime, in the gold medal game.

Matt and Becca Hamilton, Curling, USA

Mark Felix—The Washington Post/Getty ImagesU.S. Olympic curling team member Becca Hamilton, center, looks down the ice during practice at the Western Fair Sports Centre in London, Ontario on Jan. 10, 2018.

The siblings from McFarland, Wisconsin, will be awfully busy in PyeongChang. Matt, 28, and Becca, 27, are America’s entry into the inaugural Olympic mixed doubles curing tournament. Mixed doubles teams consist of two curlers, instead of the usual four, and the format is a bit different from the single-sex competitions: there’s even a “power play” option in mixed doubles (see here for an explanation). The Hamiltons are also each competing in the men’s and women’s tournaments for Team USA.

Mikaël Kingsbury, Freestyle Skiing, Canada

Steve Russell—Toronto Star/Getty ImagesMikael Kingsbury of Canada soars off the first jump during training at the Phoenix Snow Centre at the 2018 Pyeonchang Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in South Korea on Feb. 6, 2018.

Kingbury, 25, could be the most dominant winter sports athlete in the world today. Until a second place finish at World Cup event in Quebec, his home province, in January, the moguls skier hadn’t lost a World Cup race in almost a year, a stretch that included 13 straight tour events. With 48 World Cup moguls wins, Kingbury already holds the record for most career wins in moguls and dual moguls combined. But Kingsbury, who won silver in moguls in Sochi, is still searching for his first Olympic gold.

Kelly Clark, Snowboarding, USA

Sean M. Haffey—Getty ImagesKelly Clark competes in the final round of the Ladies’ Snowboard Halfpipe during the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix in Mammoth, Calif., on Jan. 20, 2018.

A full 16 years after winning her first Olympic gold medal, on home soil in Salt Lake City, Clark, 34, will try to knock off younger competitors—even as she mentors them. The halfpipe star, who also owns two Olympic bronze medals, has grown particularly close to U.S. snowboarding prodigy Chloe Kim, 17, who idolized Clark growing up; when she was 8, Kim asked Clark if she could ride on a chair lift with her at the Mammoth Mountain Resort in California and Clark obliged. Friendship, however, only goes so far: Clark’s not quite prepared to anoint Kim, or anyone else, the PyeongChang Olympic champ.

Shani Davis, Speedskating, USA

Stacy Revere—Getty ImagesShani Davis competes in the Men’s 1500 meter event during the Long Track Speed Skating Olympic Trials at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, on Jan. 6, 2018.

Along with Kelly Clark and cross-country skier Kikkan Randall, Davis, 35, will make his fifth Olympic appearance for Team USA. Though no longer a favorite—his last international victory came in 2015, in the 1000-m at the world championship—the world-record holder in the 1000-m and 1500-m, and his long, powerful strides, are always worth watching. Winner of two Olympic gold medals, two silvers, and 10 world championship titles, the Chicago native started skating when he was 6, when a lawyer for whom his mother worked—who happened to also be a speedskating official—suggested he try the sport.

February 08, 2018 at 07:30PM ClusterAssets Inc., https://ClusterAssets.wordpress.com