In her Op-Ed for the Guardian, journalist Van Badham argues that the reason for the political backlash against Finland’s PM Sanna Marin over her leaked party videos, is because she holds down a position of leadership that ancient prejudices still associate with old men and a different, gendered set of standards.
Van Badham / Guardian
Northern European politics rarely rates a mention in Australian media, but the young prime minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, has been making headlines here for a week. “Finnish PM apologises for topless photo as steamy images emerge” ran Wednesday’s headline in the tabloid Herald Sun.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that the images are of Marin herself, especially given the Herald Sun’s stablemate news.com.au similarly ran with “Finland prime minister Sanna Marin apologises for topless photo” and everyone from Australia’s public broadcasters the ABC and SBS to commercial channel 9 shared the tales of Finland’s “Party PM”.
The “topless images” are not, of course, of the Finnish prime minister – they’re not even particularly “topless”. Those on public view playfully shield the subjects’ breasts with a sign that reads “Finland” – a gesture of on-brand patriotism if ever there was one.
One infers the “steaminess” derives from the depiction of two women kissing, which for those of us who live in liberal, modern western countries like Finland – or Australia – is about as steamy as a Sunday dinner with your parents. For Marin, who was raised by lesbian parents, this is, perhaps, literally the case.
As has been pointed out in solidarity videos made in support of Marin and shared all over the world, women dancing, “grinding” and smooching at parties is ubiquitous enough a western pastime to be considered, frankly, ho-hum.
The issue is not, of course, that Marin does in her spare time what 36-year-old western women somewhere are doing at any given point. It is that a 36-year-old western woman is holding down a position of leadership that ancient prejudices still – still – associate with old men and a different, gendered set of standards.
There are topless photos aplenty of Marin’s Russian neighbour, the 69-year-old Vladimir Putin, whose idea of a party is quoting song lyrics about rape as he invades sovereign nations.
These stories about Marin have appeared at the precise time the young Finn outflanked the old Russian autocrat, asserting both strategic deftness and military preparedness with her government’s request that Finland join the Nato alliance.
In this context, footage of her partying is the opposite of disgrace. Putinist images of unrestrained power rooted in twee, kitsch stereotypes of masculine dominance are brutally undercut by a prime minister who can both party on with the girls and stare down militarism to her east at the same time.
You can read the full article here.