Joy and International Relations: A New Methodology by Elina Penttinen

Author:Elina Penttinen [Penttinen, Elina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: International Relations, Peace, Political Science, Political Freedom, General
ISBN: 9781136738470
Google: VXesAgAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 20854486
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2011-12-01T00:00:00+00:00

6 Women are always victims of war, is it true?

You can get over the fear of bombings, when you have to. I even used to scold myself, “What are you doing there screaming, it helps nothing.

I did not always even go to the shelter if there was an air raid. And I dared to live on the top floor of the building, where those who were afraid did not accept to live. I could live in a two bedroom apartment for the price of a single.

Lagerbohm et al. (2010: 62)

The above quotes are taken from a book called We Defended Life,1 a collection of memoirs and images of women’s experiences in World War II Finland. This chapter moves back in time, to stories of the war experiences of women in Finland during wartime. These stories of how women experienced war in Finland have only recently been made public and been opened to discussion. Much like the narrative about the women’s gymnastics team in Berlin presented in the introductory chapter, these narratives open a window onto the unfolding experience of war as it was felt and experienced at the time.

The stories reveal the experiences of women, with a focus on agency, capability and resilience. This alone would be enough to satisfy a feminist-oriented curiosity of looking back to see what it was like to live as a woman in wartime Finland. The focus on the experiences of these women as more than just an expression of curiosity derives from the extreme resilience and creativity the women of the Finnish Lotta Svärd organization exhibited throughout the war. As I wish to examine both the resilience of women and the question of what can be learned in terms of gendered agency in wartime situations, and in an attempt to expand the circle of those elements seen as relevant in a feminist study and understanding of international relations, the Lottas offer an ideal data set. The goal is to get beyond the belief that experiences of purpose, meaning, exhilaration and joy in wartime are somehow irrelevant or suspect in the serious discipline of international relations.

These experiences of women in wartime Finland are now being published in a way that prioritizes the women’s unique voices, in the form of memoirs, letters, diary entries, and interviews. An important part of this retelling and remembering is the publication of photos taken by women who were part of the Lotta Svärd female voluntary defense organization. These include images from military and prison hospitals, canteens at the front lines, their travel photos before, during and after the war, distinguished guests such as German and Finnish military leaders visiting the military installations, and of course, photos of their friends and colleagues at work. The images depict women cooking and doing laundry, mending clothes and preparing meals in the precarious conditions of war. They show images of women and soldiers smiling for the camera in war hospitals and at the garrisons, or in the woods beside a canteen tent. They depict

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