The Most Delicate Subject : A History of Sex Education Films in Sweden

The aim of this dissertation is to present a history of sex education films in Sweden, from their beginnings until the late 1970s, relating the films to the changing historical context of the Swedish welfare society. Within this framework, the dissertation explores two main sets of questions. First, utilizing a contextual understanding of genre, the dissertation analyzes how the films were produced, exhibited, and censored, what position and status they had, and where the borders were understood to be to kindred types of film, such as exploitation and pornography. Second, the norms and ideas about sexuality that the films construct are explored from a social constructionist perspective and put in historical context. Apart from the films themselves, the material used consists of censorship records, archival material, and articles and reviews from the daily press and the trade press. The study demonstrates that the sex education film has always been a delicate genre, and that this delicacy is related to the medium and to the fact that cinema is part of the commercial market. The sex education film came to Sweden through imported films during the silent era and was relatively common at Swedish movie theaters from the 1920s to the early 1970s. Very quickly, it became a contested genre thought to be in need of regulation, which can be seen in the censorship procedures. For instance, until the 1950s, screenings were often restricted through gender segregation. When film censorship was liberalized in the 1960s, sex education films could show more than before, and when the films in the sexually explicit Language of Love series (1969–1972) were released, their relationship to pornography became a central point of discussion. The changing views on using film in school sex education are also examined. Here, it is shown that if film was seen as a potentially helpful tool in the 1920s and 1930s, this view had changed into a more skeptical position by the early 1970s. In the analysis of the content of the films, only Swedish examples are studied. In the first group of theatrically shown films of this kind, which appeared in the 1940s and 1950s, sexuality is represented as problematic through the themes of venereal disease and abortion. Here, casual sex is seen as immoral and abortion is condemned. At the same time, the films display how traditional and modern views on sexuality and gender were under negotiation during this period. While reproduction was the dominating perspective in school films well into the 1970s, the Language of Love films display a radically different perspective on sex, not least because of their focus on sexual pleasure. However, while the films advocate a liberal idea about sexuality according to which science leads to liberation, a focus on romantic long-term relationships can also be noted. Throughout the period, there is an emphasis on rationality and science and on a secular perspective on sex in which love is seen as more important than matrimony. In this way, the films in general reflect a strong belief in modernity and progress that was characteristic of Sweden during the welfare era

Contested Pictures of Persuasion : American Images of Foetuses in Swedish Antiabortion Campaigns of the 1970s and 1980s

This chapter explores the circulation, use and public discussion of images of human foetuses travelling from the US to Sweden in the period before and after the introduction of abortion on demand in Sweden in 1975. In this period, new antiabortion groups formed and started to use graphic images of aborted foetuses in their campaigns. This chapter highlights the transnational and transmedial character of this material by demonstrating that many of the images originated from American sources and that many different media were used to spread them, for example, books, brochures, films and slides. Furthermore, this chapter analyses the public discussion about this material, focusing on the uses of words such as “truth”, “information” and “propaganda” in the debates

Multiparameter flow cytometry and minimal residual disease in patients with acute leukemia

The investigation of minimal residual disease (MRD) with multiparameter flow cytometry (FC) immunophenotyping has proven to be a powerful approach for disease monitoring in patients with acute leukemia (AL). This technique mainly relies on the identification of minor leukemic cell populations that can be discriminated from their normal counterparts on the basis of phenotypic aberrancies observed at diagnosis. The immunophenotypic profiles exhibited by B- and T-cells in normal bone marrow (BM) and CD34+ cells in hernatopoietic stem cells from blood collections (HSC-BC) have been established. Well-defined triple monoclonal antibody combinations showed patterns of antigen expression that corresponded to various maturation stages. Aberrant phenotypes were found in 98 % of B-precursor ALL and in all studied T-ALL. The identification of B- and T-cell subsets in BM allowed definition of "empty spaces". Areas of flow cytometric dot plots where no normal cell populations are located. Discrimination between normal and malignant cells can be done and used for MRD detection. The immunophenotypic evaluation of MRD during therapy provides crucial information about the response to treatment and the risk of relapse. In 97 % of 70 uniformly-treated children with ALL, the FC technique could be used for follow-up and detection of MRD. Patients with MRD levels greater or equal to 0.01 % after Induction and the following timepoint showed a significantly higher risk of relapse than patients with MRD values under 0.01 % (p<0.05). Experience from the BIOMED-1, a European Concerted Action, contributed to a MRD evaluation in a standardized way, obtained with optimal quality and sensitivity. Two main methods of MRD detection were compared: FC with 'live-gate" analysis and allelespecific oligonucleotide (ASO)-PCR, detecting patient-specific T-cells receptor gamma/delta gene-rearrangements. The comparison showed significantly consistent results in 78 % of the samples. BM samples taken during the first phase of treatment showed lower consistency when compared to samples taken during the later phase of treatment. An investigation of MRD levels in HSC-BC and BM samples before collection and transplantation of hernatopoietic stem cells was done. Low levels of MRD were found in HSCBC from 24 % of AL patients. MRD levels in HSC-BC correlated to the presence of MRD in the BM samples taken before collections. However, we could not find any correlation between the MRD levels in HSC-BC and outcome after hernatopoietic stem cells from blood transplantation. The investigation of levels and the dynamics of MRD by sensitive and quantitative FC technique can provide a basis for further clinical studies and decisions concerning patient therapy

Waiting for Abortion : Narratives of Passing Time, Decision-Making, and Late Abortions in Swedish TV Theater of the Late 1960s and Early 1970s

This article examines two Swedish TV theater plays from the late 1960s and early 1970s, which both portray the experience of waiting for an abortion. In the early 1960s, a major debate on abortion started in Sweden, which resulted in the creation of a public inquiry into the matter in 1965 and eventually the introduction of abortion on demand in 1975. In the period between 1965 and 1975, attitudes to abortion were changing, but women still had to follow a complicated procedure when applying for legal abortion. Through an analysis of narrative form and reception, the article explores how the two TV plays represent the experience of waiting for abortion caused by this legal and social framework and further discusses the plays as expressions of a form of waiting for political change. Moreover, the article argues that early television has been an overlooked source for Swedish historical studies on abortion

Waiting for Abortion: Narratives of Passing Time, Decision-Making, and Late Abortions in Swedish TV Theater of the Late 1960s and Early 1970s

This article examines two Swedish TV theater plays from the late 1960s and early 1970s, which both portray the experience of waiting for an abortion. In the early 1960s, a major debate on abortion started in Sweden, which resulted in the creation of a public inquiry into the matter in 1965 and eventually the introduction of abortion on demand in 1975. In the period between 1965 and 1975, attitudes to abortion were changing, but women still had to follow a complicated procedure when applying for legal abortion. Through an analysis of narrative form and reception, the article explores how the two TV plays represent the experience of waiting for abortion caused by this legal and social framework and further discusses the plays as expressions of a form of waiting for political change. Moreover, the article argues that early television has been an overlooked source for Swedish historical studies on abortion

Cinematic Sex Education in the Twenty-First Century: Narration, Reflexivity and Sexuality in Kärlekens språk (2004)

Comparative study of the Swedish sex education film "Kärlekens språk" (2004). Particular focus is given narration, reflexivity and sexuality