#i think this is my primary now. her name is just varg

[mammalfriend]

my beloved new sona

[ave-cp-sai]

Interview Vera（Left）

1.Why were you interested in feminism? I think gender equality is very important for a future where everybody have the same rights.Women are not perceived as equal in our society today, and femininity is either put up on a piedestal or frowned upon.If you believe in a humane society where everybody gets the same opportunities and rights, I think feminism is a step towards that. For me, writing "feminism" in my Instagram profile is a way for me to aknowledge that while I dress up and like fashion and makeup I also have political opinions and think about important issues. I am not just something to look at, I am somebody with beliefs. While I like sharing my fashion I also go to demonstrations and vote and write my names on petitions. I am interested in feminism because I believe in equality, and even in a country like Sweden we are far from there.

2.How old were you interested? I have two sisters, one older and one younger, and my older sister Ester started to get interested in feminism when she was about 13 years old. She started reading a lot of books about it and I read some of the texts too (I was about 10). My mom has always been our househoulds primary breadwinner (稼ぎ手) and my dad works with art, and when my sister got interested he showed her artists and comic artists that where feminists. My mom and dad love to read so they got us a lot of litterature on the subject, and there is a lot of feminist litterature for young women and girls in Sweden. Even a lot of childrens books are sort of feministic. So around the time I was 10 I got interested in feminism, but I didn't start to call myself a feminist until I was about 12 I think.

An example of a childrens book with feminist themes are Pippi Longstocking!

3.What is gender equality for you? Gender equality for me has a lot to do with other politics and values that I have.A lot of people are discriminated against by our society, for their gender, religion, ethicity, sexuality or something else.I think we as humans should fight against everything that discriminate other humans and ourselves. Gender equality is to remove one of the gaps between humans for a more fair future.Equal pay, equal respect and equal responsibility are all a part of it.So for me gender equality and feminism is part of the way to achieve equality for everyone.

4.How did you know liv strömquist?Does liv appear on TV or magazines? I know of Liv Strömquist because my dad introduced me to her comics when I was about 13 years old, and I have been a fan since then. She sometimes appears on shows and interviews, and she has a podcast called "En varg söker sin pod" (A Wolf looking for it's podcast) together with Caroline Ringskog Ferrada-Noli. There is also a play based on her comics called "Liv Strömquist tänker på dig" (Liv Strömquist is thinking about you) which is really good, but she doesnt appear in it.

5.Do you talk about feminism with guy or friends? I talk about feminism with almost all of my friends and with my family, and some of them are men. Mostly we talk when a special issue has occured, or a political decision has been taken. With some of my close friends I discuss issues regarding feminism almost daily, even if we don't always call it a feminist discussion.

6.What do you think about gender equality in Japan?  Is there a wired system? I think gender equality and other social issues in Japan differs a lot from how it is in Sweden. One of the things that came as a surprise to me when I started studying japanese was that Japan is still largely dependant on a system where women are expected to stop working once they get married, and stay at home to take care of their kids. There are very few daycare centers, which stops women from being able to work and advance in the work place if they want to have a family. From what I can see, there is also a lot of pressure on how to look, and commercials everywhere for loosing weight and removing hair and similar things. I feel as though women are expected to always be in control in Japan - always look good, be happy, take care of kids and not complain. I also followed the news closely when the Ku too movement was going through Japan, and it made me angry and sad to hear women speaking about having to wear high heels at work even though their male colleagues didn't have to wear anything uncomfortable like that.I feel as though even small things like forcing women to wear high heels is a way to enforce the patriarchy in the work place, and shows how little men care about womens comfort.

7.Why do you think Scandinavia has a high gender equality ranking?  Do everyone talk about politics or systems? While a lot of people talk about politics in Sweden, I think its far from everyone. A lot of people in Sweden and in Scandinavia think that gender equality is not important, or at least not something we should talk about so much. For a long time, there havent been any wars in Sweden, which has made it possible to focus money and time on other important subjects such as education and equality. It has also helped that one of the leading parties in Sweden for a long time prioritized equality and equal rights as something important. This all, combined with the womens rights groups fighting for equality has contributed to why Scandinavia is high on the world equality ranking today I believe.Some of the things that helps with equality in Sweden is that there are a lot of daycare centers so that mothers can work (which also makes it possible to divorce your husband if you would like since you have your own money). You can also get support in the form of money from the state if you are a single parent, no matter the reason. If you decide to have a child, you also get monetary support from the state and the parental leave can be arranged so that the father takes half of the time and the mother takes the other half.However, there are still problems left and I don't think any country should stop where they are today.

8.I've heard that Swedish women pay split the bill  when they go out on a date.  Is it normal for you? Yes, haha, it is normal to split the bill if you go on dates in Sweden. Some people also pay every other date (like, the guy pays for date nr.1 and the girl pays for date nr.2). However some guys do still prefer to pay for everything, but it is a bit old-fashioned. I think it may be different depending on where you come from in the country though.

9.If you have any comments, please🧡 I don't have a website or so, but you can write down my instagram if you want to!I want to become better at japanese while I'm here, thats what I came here to do. Right now it's hard to find things to do (because of the virus situation) but when it gets better I would like to see more of Japan than just Tokyo! I really want to go to Nara, Yokohama and somewhere in Hokkaido someday (and other places too), and I want to make more japanese friends with the same interest! ❤