Public defence: Annette Winkelmann

Annette Winkelmann is defending her thesis for the degree philosophiae doctor (PhD) at the University of South-Eastern Norway.

She has attended the PhD programme in culture studies at the Faculty of Humanities, Sports and Educational Science, Department of Culture, Religion and Social Studies.

All interested are welcome to attend the trial lecture and the dissertation defence.

• Read the thesis here (link to be updated).

Summary

The Norwegian high school graduation parties (“russ” celebrations) are becoming more sexualized and gendered—while at the same time, what seems like today’s dominant feminism provides girls with few tools to protest.

This thesis explores the gendered aspects of a youth phenomenon; the Norwegian high school graduation celebrations, also known as russ. Drawing on qualitative interviews, fieldwork and textual sources, the analysis situates the phenomenon both in a contemporary context and in a historical perspective. Today’s high school graduation celebrations in Norway are organized in groups and they extend over a longer period than in the past. Therefore, the thesis distinguishes between the celebration month, the celebration period and the celebration culture. The three aspects of the celebrations are analysed using ritual theory, subculture theory and carnival theory. In the celebration culture, which seems to be becoming increasingly popular among others than russ, sexualization and objectification of girls and women in audiovisual and textual elements has become a stylistic feature.

The thesis' qualitative interviews show that the girls among the russ are more ambivalent about how girls and women are portrayed than the boys among the russ. The boys among the russ are more concerned that the portrayals of women and girls in the celebration culture are humorous, and that critics do not understand this. The thesis questions whether the use of ritual theory, subculture theory and carnival theory, in addition to clarifying several aspects of the celebration phenomenon, can also contribute to reinforcing the perception and experiences of the celebration as "masculine". The thesis therefore contributes with a meta-reflection on the use of these theories. The celebration culture also seems to stand in a contradictory relationship to school culture. Several school studies show that girls perform better in the school context. In the celebration culture, however, the boys among the russ seem to have an upper hand. Another perspective is how the historical review of the Norwegian high school graduation celebrations also shows cases of sexualization and objectification of girls, patterns that persist today, especially in the song lyrics. Finally, the thesis examines how the gendered celebrations can be understood in light of theories of feminism. Can the sexualized song lyrics be understood as a sign that misogyny is becoming more widespread?

The thesis shows that the lack of collective resistance to sexualization, objectification and derogatory characterizations of girls can be understood in light of the theory of popular feminism. This theory points out that the dominant feminism of our time tells girls that they should be visible and strong, but that they should not express anything negative. Popular feminism is shaped by neoliberal values ​​and has emerged in an era of social media. This form of feminism does not give the girls among the russ the tools to fight common battles or express negative messages.
(This summary is processed and modified with the help of artificial intelligence.)