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Jens Rydström

Jens Rydström

Professor emeritus

Jens Rydström

Legalizing Love in a Cold Climate: The History, Consequences and Recent Developments of Registered Partnerships in Scandinavia

Author

  • Jens Rydström

Summary, in English

Why was Scandinavia the first place in the world to

introduce national laws allowing registered partnership between

same-sex couples? This article is a survey and historical

documentation of the registered partnership laws throughout

Scandinavia, documenting their origin in Denmark in 1989 and

their subsequent adoption by every Nordic country. The origins

of the laws are traced to the 1970s criticism of the nuclear

family, the AIDS epidemic, a general cultural emphasis of

consensus, and the structure of the welfare state. The article

investigates what the new homosexual family unit is permitted to

be, and asks whether the new laws have proven to be liberatory,

or a means of subtle repression and control.

Department/s

  • Department of Gender Studies

Publishing year

2008

Language

English

Pages

193-226

Publication/Series

Sexualities

Volume

11

Issue

1-2

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Topic

  • Gender Studies

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1363-4607