Fear and Love: Masculinities and Emotions in Autobiographies by Swedish Politicians

Abstract

In recent years, quite a few Swedish politicians have published autobiographies. For the most part, they write about their careers after they have left the political scene, and their writing often takes the form of an apology. They therefore adhere to a tradition within autobiographical writing that serves to enhance the unique qualities of the individual by using persuasion and defense. Their writings are aimed at the present while defending the actions of the past. Since political life has been dominated by men, both the structures of political life and the image of the party leader are gendered. Although masculinities are not fixed, but shifting over time, in the Western world masculinities such as white, middle class, middle aged, and heterosexual are still dominant in politics. Studying masculinities helps to reveal how power relations are constructed not only between men and women but also between men in organizations and workplaces. Power relations may change over time, even though the structures remain broadly the same. Political autobiographies are a valuable source material in studying these relations from a masculinity studies perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)