‘Sometimes the Meaning of the Text is Unclear’: Making ‘Sense’ of the <em>SCUM Manifesto</em> in a Contemporary Swedish Context

Abstract

In 2003 the first Swedish translation of the well-known second-wave feminist manifesto, the SCUM Manifesto by Valerie Solanas, was published. Publication of this text became intricately involved with a number of other contemporary events in Sweden which pose questions about that country’s widely perceived status as one of the most “gender equal” in the world. In this paper, I use the text’s own challenging content, provocative language and complicated history as a way into exploring its disruptive effects on Swedish society. I ask how and why the text retains its power to provoke and challenge some forty years after its initial publication, and its place in the so-called “feminist canon.”