Schmidt, Garbi. ‘Law and Identity: Transnational Arranged Marriages and the Boundaries of Danishness’. (2011)

Schmidt, Garbi. ‘Law and Identity: Transnational Arranged Marriages and the Boundaries of Danishness’. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 37, no. 2, Routledge, Feb. 2011, pp. 257–275.

In Denmark, the practice of transnational arranged marriages among immigrants has stirred debate on several levels of society. One effect of the debate is a tightened regulation of family formation migration, seen as an effective means both of limiting the number of immigrants and of furthering processes of social integration. Within media-based and political debates, transnational marriages are frequently described as practices destructive both to individual freedom and to Danish national identity. Nonetheless, it is a practice in which both minority and majority citizens engage, one that frames both their family lives and their lives as citizens. This article analyses the dynamic relationship between public discourse and practices of transnational marriage. The first part describes how political and legislative perceptions of transnational (arranged) marriages are situated within a discussion of ‘Danishness’. The second part describes how second-generation immigrants from Turkey and Pakistan, all of whom have married someone from their country of origin, articulate how public discourse on transnationally arranged marriages affects their lives. This part particularly focuses on the informants’ expressions of autonomy and choice and their adaptations of such concepts to understandings of social belonging, inclusion and identity formation vis-à-vis the Danish nation-state.

doi:10.1080/1369183X.2011.521339.

https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2011.521339.

Rytter, Mikkel. ‘“The Family of Denmark” and “the Aliens”: Kinship Images in Danish Integration Politics’. (2010)

Rytter, Mikkel. ‘“The Family of Denmark” and “the Aliens”: Kinship Images in Danish Integration Politics’. Ethnos, vol. 75, no. 3, Routledge, Sept. 2010, pp. 301–322.

Applying insights from newer anthropological kinship studies, this article suggests that the current Danish immigration regime is based on and legitimized by a certain kind of ‘kinship images’ that are used and reproduced in Danish public and political discourses. Since 2002, every Danish citizen applying for family reunification with foreign spouses has been met with a ‘requirement of national attachment’, which basically distinguishes within the pool of citizens between the ‘real’ and the ‘not-quite-real’ Danes. The article discusses the possibilities of ‘integration’ in the current situation where Danish legislation and public discourses tend to distinguish between Danish citizens on the basis of their family history and national attachment. The article furthermore discusses different strategies of ‘kinning’ through which the ‘not-quite-real’ can aspire to become ‘real’ Danes.

doi:10.1080/00141844.2010.513773.

https://doi.org/10.1080/00141844.2010.513773.

Siim, Birte, and Hege Skjeie. ‘Tracks, Intersections and Dead Ends: Multicultural Challenges to State Feminism in Denmark and Norway’. (2008) [PDF]

Siim, Birte, and Hege Skjeie. ‘Tracks, Intersections and Dead Ends: Multicultural Challenges to State Feminism in Denmark and Norway’. Ethnicities, vol. 8, no. 3, Sept. 2008, pp. 322–344.

This article discusses multicultural challenges to state feminism in Denmark and Norway, focusing both on similarities and differences in the two countries policy responses. In spite of important differences, we point towards similar problems and dilemmas in the public responses to multiculturalism and diversity among women connected to a state feminist agenda that in both countries has been rather one-sided in its conception of what women-friendliness may imply. The first part of the paper expands on institutional ‘tracks’: (Variations in) state feminist traditions, in religious traditions, and in the inclusion of organizations of civil society in political power. The second part explores the framing of the hijab as a political issue of ‘intersections’ of gender equality versus religious belongings. The third part investigates what we see as a ‘dead end’ in policy making to prevent violations of women’s rights; that is the general, age based, restrictions on family unification as a means to combat forced marriages. Finally, we emphasise the importance of participatory women-friendly politics that include all who are affected by political decisions.

doi:10.1177/1468796808092446.

PDF: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251503744_Tracks_intersections_and_dead_ends_Multicultural_challenges_to_state_feminism_in_Denmark_and_Norway

Galal, Lise Paulsen, and Louise Lund Liebmann. Magt og (m)ulighed Forhandlinger af konformitet, autoritet og mobilitet blandt etniske minoritetsborgere i Danmark. (2020) [PDF]

Galal, Lise Paulsen, and Louise Lund Liebmann. Magt og (m)ulighed Forhandlinger af konformitet, autoritet og mobilitet blandt etniske minoritetsborgere i Danmark. Roskilde: Roskilde Universitet, 2020.

Forskningsprojektets fokus: Forskningsprojektet Magt og (m)ulighed har fokus på etniske minoritetsborgere og deres erfaring med og udlægning af begrænsninger i hverdagslivet. Særligt undersøges, hvordan begrænsninger hænger sammen med andres (og egne) forventninger til og forsøg på at tilvejebringe og kontrollere en særlig, normativ adfærd i minoritetsetniske miljøer. Hvor afsættet for projektet er at undersøge adfærd, der i Styrelsen for International Rekruttering og Integrations terminologi kaldes ’æresrelaterede konflikter og negativ social kontrol’, har forskningsprojektet valgt en undersøgende tilgang og et intersektionelt perspektiv med henblik på en bred og nuanceret forståelse af, hvad vi har valgt at kalde ’konformitetspres’. Ud over et hverdagsperspektiv er forsknings-projektets særlige fokusområder:

• Et ikke-institutionaliseret hverdagsperspektiv. I stedet for at fokusere på etniske minoritetsborgere, der i kraft af oplevelser med konflikt, kontrol og/eller vold har været i kontakt med myndigheder og hjælpe-indsatser, har vi talt med borgere, som ikke har modtaget en sådan assistance. På den måde inddrager vi ’almindelige’ hverdagserfaringer med og perspektiver på konformitetspres frem for at undersøge højspændte volds- og konfliktsituationer.

• Strategier og ressourcer. Frem for at have fokus på at måle omfang af et givent konformitetspres, undersøger vi, hvordan etniske minoritetsborgere forhandler, og hvilke strategier de trækker på, for at imødegå eller håndtere pres for at blive mere konforme.

•Tilskrivning af betydning til ære som begreb. Hvor æresrelaterede konflikter i myndighedssprog henviser til en specifik forståelse af ære knyttet (primært) til kvindens ærbarhed som betegnende for hele familiens ære, undersøger vi så åbent som muligt, hvordan etniske minoritetsborgere forstår og anvender ære som begreb, og hvordan de tillægger det betydning og relevans i deres eget, dagligt levede liv. Sammenfatning 8• Religions betydning for erfaringer med konformitetspres. Medborgerskabsundersøgelsen peger på, at unge med en religiøst praktiserende baggrund (og bosat i multikulturelle boligområder) i større grad rapporterer oplevelser med negativ social kontrol. Derfor undersøger vi, hvordan etniske minoritets-borgere anvender religion i forhandlinger af selvbestemmelse og lighed. Da flertallet af vores informanter har muslimsk tilhørsforhold, undersøger vi i praksis, hvordan de forhandler værdier og praksisser med islam. 

• Bosætningens betydning for erfaringer med konformitetspres. Medborgerskabsundersøgelsen viser også, at minoritetsetniske borgere – og særligt kvinder – oftere møder negativ social kontrol, hvis de er bosat i multikulturelle boligområder. Derfor undersøger vi, hvordan etniske minoritetsborgere anvender sted og mobilitet som ressource i forhandlinger af selvbestemmelse og lighed.

PDF: https://forskning.ruc.dk/files/67849011/RUC_MagtOg_M_ulighed_rapport_web.pdf.

Frello, Birgitta. ‘Sporløs–Om Biologi, Identitet Og Slægten Som Fjernsyn [Find My Family-On Biology, Identity and Kinship on Television]’. (2011) [PDF]

Frello, Birgitta. ‘Sporløs–Om Biologi, Identitet Og Slægten Som Fjernsyn [Find My Family-On Biology, Identity and Kinship on Television]’. MedieKultur: Journal of Media and Communication Research, vol. 27, no. 51, 2011, pp. 19-p,

DR har i de senere år lanceret flere programserier, som har slægt og slægtsforskning som fokus. Slægtsprogrammer er ’godt fjernsyn’ i den forstand, at de giver mulighed for en umiddelbar identifikation med hovedpersonen, samtidig med at dennes historie kan bruges som løftestang for andre historier. Imidlertid anlægger programmerne en vinkel på slægten, som forudsætter, at et øget kendskab til den biologiske slægt automatisk medfører et øget kendskab til den personlige identitet. Denne selvfølgeliggørelse af den biologiske slægts betydning problematiseres i artiklen, og med udgangspunkt i Sporløs diskuteres mulige implikationer og konsekvenser af den forståelse af slægten, som programmerne tager udgangspunkt i og tager for givet.

PDF: https://tidsskrift.dk/mediekultur/article/download/4073/5038.

Dalgaard, Nina T. ‘The Impact of Islam and the Public and Political Portrayals of Islam on Child-Rearing Practices—Discursive Analyses of Parental Accounts among Muslims Living in Denmark’ (2016) [PDF]

Dalgaard, Nina T. ‘The Impact of Islam and the Public and Political Portrayals of Islam on Child-Rearing Practices—Discursive Analyses of Parental Accounts among Muslims Living in Denmark’. Culture & Psychology, vol. 22, no. 1, Mar. 2016, p. 65.

With the rise of Islamist terrorist attacks in the US and Europe the impact of Islam on child-rearing practices has become a matter of public attention and debate. Within the political discourse in the Western world and in the mass media, Muslims are often being portrayed negatively. Research has documented how Muslims living in the West are adversely affected by the negative portrayals of Islam associated with the War on Terror. The aim of the present study was to explore the impact of Islam on child-rearing practices and parental identity formation among self-identified Muslims in Denmark. Using a discursive approach to analyzing interviews with parents in 29 Middle Eastern refugee families, six rhetorical strategies were identified: (1) minimizing differences, (2) highlighting compatibility, (3) emphasizing positive aspects of Islam, (4) countering common prejudice, (5) actively distancing oneself from terrorists/extremists, and (6) separating Islam as a religion from cultural traditions. It is argued that the global as well as national political discourse post 9/11 is reflected in all of the six rhetorical strategies. Whether parents position themselves as having a high or low bicultural identity or a Muslim parental identity, their positioning involves drawing on the discursive resources from the mass media, the global and national political and public discourse. Furthermore, it is argued that all rhetorical strategies can be seen as attempts to counter the hurt associated with the negative portrayal of Islam.

PDF: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1354067X15621478.

Bissenbakker, Mons, and Lene Myong. ‘Love Will Keep Us Together: Kærlighed og hvid transracialitet i protester mod danske familie- sammenføringsregler’. (2012) [PDF]

Bissenbakker, Mons, and Lene Myong. ‘Love Will Keep Us Together: Kærlighed og hvid transracialitet i protester mod danske familie- sammenføringsregler’. Tidsskrift for kjønnsforskning, vol. 36, no. 03–04, Universitetsforlaget, 2012, pp. 188–202.

De danske familiesammenføringsregler blev i 2010 genstand for kritik fra et borgerinitiativ, som i kærlighedens navn kæmpede for en lempelse af loven. Som politisk mobiliserende affekt lover kærligheden inklusion og frigørelse. Men risikerer den også at gentage racialiserede og seksuelle hierarkier? På hvilke præmisser kan seksualpolitiske kritikker udfordre disse hierarkier? Denne artikel søger at tage affekt alvorligt som politisk og analytisk fænomen, og den introducerer begrebet om hvid transracialitet som betegnelse for de underliggende magtformer, der informerer kærlighed som politisk protestform.

Denmark has imposed some of the strictest immigration laws in Europe since 2000. Consequently, family reunification in the country has become increasingly difficult for both immigrants and Danish nationals. This article looks at a political initiative called «Love without Borders» (LwB) and its attempt to mobilize the Danish public in a push to overturn the laws. LwB has generated momentum around the ideal of transraciality (straight, white subjects oriented towards reproduction and romantic love). At the same time, queer activists have offered  a political rebuke by pointing out how the laws (and in turn LwB’s critique) are built on heteronormative assumptions that ignore homosexuality. In both cases, however, love seems to promise affective ties to the nation, to the future, and to the political system in ways that sustain white hegemony. Building on Sara Ahmed’s reflections on love as cultural politics and Jasbir Puar’s notion of homonationalism, the article analyzes posters, viral videos and newspaper debates in its discussion of the promises and pitfalls of love as an affective political tool.

https://www.idunn.no/tfk/2012/03-04/love_will_keep_us_together_krlighed_og_hvid_transracialit

PDF: https://www.idunn.no/tfk/2012/03-04/love_will_keep_us_together_krlighed_og_hvid_transracialit. https://www.idunn.no/tfk/2012/03-04/love_will_keep_us_together_krlighed_og_hvid_transracialit

Ben-Zion, Sigalit. Constructing Transnational and Transracial Identity: Adoption and Belonging in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. (2014)

Ben-Zion, Sigalit. Constructing Transnational and Transracial Identity: Adoption and Belonging in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Palgrave Macmillan US, 2014.

Norway, Sweden, and Denmark are home to more than 90,000 transnational adoptees of Scandinavian parents raised in a predominantly white environment. This ethnography provides a unique perspective on how these transracial adoptees conceptualize and construct their sense of identity along the intersection of ethnicity, family, and national lines.

doi:10.1057/9781137472823.

https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9781137480644.

Bech, Emily Cochran, Karin Borevi, et al. ‘A “Civic Turn” in Scandinavian Family Migration Policies? Comparing Denmark, Norway and Sweden’. (2017) [PDF]

Bech, Emily Cochran, Karin Borevi, et al. ‘A “Civic Turn” in Scandinavian Family Migration Policies? Comparing Denmark, Norway and Sweden’. Comparative Migration Studies, vol. 5, no. 1, Mar. 2017, p. 7.

Family migration policy, once basing citizens and resident foreigners’ possibilities to bring in foreign family members mainly on the right to family life, is increasingly a tool states use to limit immigration and to push newcomers to integrate into civic and economic life. The family migration policies of Denmark, Norway and Sweden range widely – from more minimal support and age requirements to high expectations of language skills, work records and even income levels. While in Denmark and increasingly in Norway growing sets of requirements have been justified on the need to protect the welfare state and a Nordic liberal way of life, in Sweden more minimal requirements have been introduced in the name of spurring immigrants’ labor market integration even as rights-based reasoning has continued to dominate. In all three countries, new restrictions have been introduced in the wake of the refugee crisis. These cases show how prioritizations of the right to family life vis-à-vis welfare-state sustainability have produced different rules for family entry, and how family migration policies are used to different extents to push civic integration of both new and already settled immigrants.

doi:10.1186/s40878-016-0046-7.

PDF: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314143800_A_%27civic_turn%27_in_Scandinavian_family_migration_policies_Comparing_Denmark_Norway_and_Sweden.

Andreassen, Rikke. ‘Muslim Women and Interracial Intimacies’. (2013) [PDF]

Andreassen, Rikke. ‘Muslim Women and Interracial Intimacies’. Nordic Journal of Migration Research, vol. 3, no. 3, Sept. 2013, p. 117.

This article focuses on media debates about interracial and interethnic marriage practices. In 2012, Danish immigrants and descendants, especially Muslim women, were accused of harming the integration processes as they were not marrying ethnically Danish men. Through analysis of newspaper articles and Internet debates the article shows how Muslim women became excluded from the national community in these debates. Drawing upon previous debates about interracial/ethnic relationships, the article illustrates how the contemporary criticism mirrors historical criticism of sexuality. Moreover, the 2012 debate provides new insights and reveals how we need to nuance previous understandings of interracial relations.

doi:10.2478/njmr-2013-0002.

https://journal-njmr.org/articles/abstract/10.2478/njmr-2013-0002/

PDF: http://archive.sciendo.com/NJMR/njmr.2013.3.issue-3/njmr-2013-0002/njmr-2013-0002.pdf.

Andreassen, Rikke. Mediated Kinship: Gender, Race and Sexuality in Donor Families. (2018)

Andreassen, Rikke. Mediated Kinship: Gender, Race and Sexuality in Donor Families. Routledge, 2018.

Illustrating the fascinating intersections of online media and new kinship, this book presents a study of the increasing numbers of single women and lesbian couples reproducing by using donor sperm. It explores how they connect with each other online, develop intimate digital communities and, most importantly, locate their children’s hitherto unknown biological half-siblings, throughout the world. The author discusses how these new families – consisting of only mothers – engage in extended families involving large numbers of ‘donor siblings’. The new families challenge previous understandings of kinship, and provide illustrations of how norms of gender, sexuality and family are challenged, negotiated and maintained in contemporary times. A crucial study of contemporary formations of family, gender and race, Mediated Kinship discusses the racial aspects of the world’s largest sperm bank exporting Danish sperm (termed ‘Viking sperm’), and explores the narratives of whiteness and imagined racial superiority that circulate among mothers, as well as the racialisations accompanying commercial online sperm sales. By analysing contemporary families of donor-conceived children in the context of legislation, reproduction technologies and online media, the book will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in race and ethnicity, whiteness, gender, sexuality, kinship and the sociology of the family.

https://www.routledge.com/Mediated-Kinship-Gender-Race-and-Sexuality-in-Donor-Families/Andreassen/p/book/9780367478896