The world’s most feminist city: how Umeå in Sweden became an idyll for women
From snow-clearing to bus stops, civic furniture to football teams, women and men are considered and treated equally in this small city in Scandinavia – with the aim of making life happier for everyone
The big red puma is the focal point of Umeå. The world’s first publicly commissioned statue dedicated to the #MeToo movement depicts a snarling cat atop a steel frame designed to imitate prison bars. Its official title, according to its artist creator Camilla Akraka, is Listen but everyone just calls it “puman” – the Puma. Since it appeared in the main square in front of the old city hall in 2019, it has become the crowning symbol for this quiet, unassuming place a few hundred miles south of the Arctic Circle, known to some as “the most feminist city in the world”.
Umeå (pronounced oo-may-yoh, population 134,000) is famous in Sweden as the home of radical ideas and of “the red university” – during the 70s, the city hosted a large number of student strikes and left-wing, politically active students. A Swedish friend tells me that “everyone in Umeå is heavily into punk”. This seems to be a sort of code to mean that Umeå is thought of – and thinks of itself – as essentially “cool”. Even the website of Visit Umeå, the local tourist board, claims that the city has “the beardiest and most heavily tattooed population in the world”. Boringly, this does not refer to the women.
Continue reading...Topics
-
How Liberty Media became one of the world's most valuable sports empires
Business - CNBC - October 20 -
For Vance, an Idyllic Appalachian Startup Became a Hard Lesson
Business - The New York Times - October 22 -
How New York City’s Migrant Crisis Became a Potent Campaign Issue
Top stories - The New York Times - 2 days ago -
How the coldest place on Earth became one of the world’s hottest vacation spots
World - Yahoo News - 2 days ago -
Sexual assault scandal rocks Spain's 'most feminist' govt
World - Yahoo News - 5 days ago -
How United is trying to overtake Delta as the world's most profitable airline
Business - CNBC - 2 days ago -
The Strava problem: how the fitness app was used to locate the world’s most powerful people
World - The Guardian - 23 hours ago -
The Canadian comedian who became China’s most famous foreigner
World - Financial Times - October 19 -
How George Orwell became a dead metaphor
Business - Financial Times - October 19
More from The Guardian
-
Spain floods latest: three days of mourning declared after dozens killed – as weather alert level raised
World - The Guardian - 17 minutes ago -
Autumn budget live: Rachel Reeves raises taxes by £40bn and increases spending on NHS and schools
World - The Guardian - 13 minutes ago -
Middle East crisis live: airstrikes hit Lebanon’s Baalbek and Bekaa valley after Israel issues evacuation order
World - The Guardian - 11 minutes ago -
US elections live: Harris rejects criticizing Americans based on who they vote for after Biden ‘garbage’ remarks
World - The Guardian - 13 minutes ago -
Russian police charge woman in Crimea over daughter’s pro-Ukraine video
World - The Guardian - 2 hours ago
Latest in World
-
Poland's commission looking into Russian influences finds ex-defense minister at fault
World - ABC News - 7 minutes ago -
Middle East crisis live: airstrikes hit Lebanon’s Baalbek and Bekaa valley after Israel issues evacuation order
World - The Guardian - 11 minutes ago -
Autumn budget live: Rachel Reeves raises taxes by £40bn and increases spending on NHS and schools
World - The Guardian - 13 minutes ago -
US elections live: Harris rejects criticizing Americans based on who they vote for after Biden ‘garbage’ remarks
World - The Guardian - 13 minutes ago -
Texas woman died after being denied miscarriage care due to abortion ban, report finds
World - The Guardian - 15 minutes ago