"Beard boys" : standing in the way of a transformation of the self

• In this chapter the thought-construct of skäggbarn [”beard children”] or, sometimes also skäggpojkar [”beard boys”], is explored. It constitutes a distinct form of hate speech, targeted against unaccompanied refugee minors in Sweden, and finds its outlet particularly on far-right internet sites (Hirvonen, 2013). By taking a cue from psychoanalysis and its two-way perspective on both inner world and society (Clarke, 2003), the meaning of facial hair in relation to the “racial” Other is interrogated as an example of how racist fantasies and caricatures can emerge. The analysis herein presented describes in what ways the Others, the “beard boys/children”, are degraded, as they come to represent an obstruction that frustrates one’s possible self belonging to a unified society. 

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Unaccompanied Minors

Beards

Racism

Nationalism

Masculinities

Child and Youth Science

barn- och ungdomsvetenskap

Aesthetics

estetik

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

kap (ämneskategori)