“Danish Women Put Up With Less”: Gender Equality and the Politics of Denial in Denmark

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In 2014, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights ranked Denmark as the European Union country with the highest occurrence of male physical violence and sexual assault against women. This report was described as ‘grotesque’, ‘misguided’ and ‘untrustworthy’ in the Danish mainstream media, which cited a number of prominent political commentators and expert researchers who debunked these findings. Using this case of overt public rejection of violent and white masculinity as a central analytical thread, this article explores how the invisiblization of Danish male violence, as well as the projection of sexual aggression onto minority communities, produces a peculiar politics of denial and denialism in Denmark. The authors argue that the nationalist myth of gender equality branded within the Danish mainstream media and society is a variety of gender exceptionalism; which in turn generates racist, reactionary and suppressive ideologies on violence, racial discrimination and social inequality.
Original languageEnglish
JournalEuropean Journal of Women's Studies
Number of pages15
ISSN1350-5068
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

    Research areas

  • Faculty of Social Sciences - Denmark, gender and sexual exceptionalism, male violence, politics of denial, whiteness

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