Summary of the individual study of the research project

In the paths of racism, masculinity and violence in Joensuu

Sini Perho, University of Joensuu, Karelian Institute

Emphasising one’s own nationality and especially its extreme forms, like racism, is often regarded as masculine (Gordon & Holland & Lahelma 2000, Harinen 2000). From that point of view opens up an interesting prominent position for examining boys as well as girls participating in this “men’s arena“ (Lähteenmaa 2000; Perho 2000). Still, as Gordon and Lahelma (1998, 251) argue, nationality and nationalism (and racism in this sense) are studied gender-neutrally and thus, there is a lack of the gender-sensitive knowledge to be filled up. Gender plays a central role in this study; there are both boys and girls studied within these racist youth scenes which are labelled as masculine from outside.

Gender in this study is understood from the cultural perspective: masculinity and femininity form a pair in which they are dependent on each other. Gender is seen as one of the most visible relational identity order (Fornäs 1995/1998, 297). In this study the specific meaning of masculinities (and femininities) in the youth scenes will be under examination. These youth scenes appear to combine elements of racism, violence and highly masculine and tough behaviour which are in this arena appreciated more than the other characteristics. Boys/young men have a central role in the construction of collective action (in its extreme forms) including heavy drinking, beating up the “enemies“ and hanging around in the group and taking the power over the public space (e.g., in the youth house or front of the shopping mall). The girls are in the margins - but in some cases – in comparison to the traditional subcultural frames, they may also able to take more space than it ‘belongs’ to them.

Increase of racism among youth in the Nordic countries has been notably strong during the last years. Racism as a way of thinking and acting seems to fascinate young people (e.g., Björgo 1997; Fangen 1995; Luukka and Muukkonen 1997; Lähteenmaa 2000; Puuronen 1996) and this is seen clearly also e.g., in Finnish youth opinion poll on ethnic attitudes by Jaakkola (1999). In her study the group who has the most negative in their attitudes towards refugees and foreign job applicants consists of boys of 15 to 17 years old (together with the oldest generations in Finland).

In this study racist youth scenes are examined in a mid-sized city of Joensuu near the eastern border of Finland. In the 1990s the city got a strong reputation connected with the racist violent skinheads and the racist attitudes are still part of the city’s youth scenes. Unlike earlier, racism is not only connected with one subculture but to a couple of them; there are also young ones who do not belong or aim to belong to any subculture presenting racism. The use of violence, in connection with racism, appears in these youth scenes as a clear factor – either as a “real“ or as a possible way of acting – which defines the position between the racists and the immigrants or tolerant Finnish youth in Joensuu.

The study will concentrate on conservative racist (masculine from outside) youth scenes in Joensuu which strongly “keep up“ with the ‘traditions’ (in Giddens’ 1994/1995, 92 terms) which are related to collective memory and remain in the lives of them, its group dynamics and individuals’ lifestyles and life politics (see Giddens 1991, 214-215). Within these frames the aspects of gender and violence and their presentation and construction are studied. Also life politics of the youth are examined in these terms to understand the inner ‘logic’ in the construction of these scenes and the individuals ‘living’ within these arenas. The larger questions to be examined in the study arise on how the youth scenes characterised by racism are composed? How the young ones present themselves in relation to masculinities? In what way violence is presented or used in these scenes, for example when connected with the ideology of the youth groups?

The study continues from my earlier research (Perho 2000) on young ones interested in skinhead subculture and it broadens the view from that. The data collection has thus started in autumn 1998 and it continues till autumn 2001. The methods used and to be used in this study include face-to-face thematic and biographical interviews conducted in groups, individually and in pairs in two youth houses of Joensuu. As part of the “EXIT” action research project the data collection includes participatory and non-participatory observation in youth houses, different events, smaller projects within it and being in contact with the young ones in different ways. The dialogue between these data – as the other part of the interviewees come from the area with relationally the largest amount of foreigners and the other one from the area with almost no foreigners – is an interesting point in this study as this factor is clearly connected to these young ones’ experiences and the intensity of their racist attitudes.

The supervisors of this study are PhD senior assistant Leena Koski, Department of Education and PhD senior assistant Päivi Harinen, Department of Sociology in University of Joensuu.