When I went home from the Guide meeting in Stockholm, I was very happy, filled with culture, mediated by knowledgeable Stockholm guides. The same day it was in DN’s cultural annex, a two-page article entitled ”Loved culture representative.Without her stay Culture-Sweden ”. In the article presented to the familiar statistics – ie it is the women who carry the culture.Eg of Dramatic visitors are 72% women, Moderna Museet 63%, 70% of Dance House, State Theatre in Stockholm, 69% etc.This we have known a long time. This is largely a Nordic phenomenon. In Germany and France, ”men have not abdicated culture at all on the way here,” said the Director General of the Arts Council Kennet Johansson in the same article.
Guides if any are also bearers of culture. They must be able to history, architecture, future plans, be art connoisseur, able to debate – and to language course! At the meeting, it was mostly women and a few men. Why? No one knows. But it’s been a long time, I was told. It was nice and fun to be with at the meeting, to be one of these culture bearers.
But why is it called cultural aunt? Why not culture ladies or culture ladies? In the past year there have been several books about the ladies. You see ladies as something very positive and desirable. Merete Mazzrella wrote in 1994 book ”Lady and the crocodile,” where she described Aunt energy in a warm and humorous way. And research is in Aunt theme at Umeå University, Aunt research. In Umeå even played ”Aunt Theatre”.
But mom you do not want yourself to be. Not now – right? I would not use the word culture representative.
Culture Aunts we do not want to be – let’s be culture ladies – or culture ladies – or just a bearer of culture! What do you think?
Kaarina Honkanen