Jezebel: Sweden

Sweden's Twitter Account Now Controlled by Lesbian Truck Driver

Erin Gloria Ryan — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:20:00 EST

The country of Sweden is known for lutfisk, stoic, tall Nordicolk who would make perfect Die Hard villains, furniture, and getting the fuck along. Now, the country's got a new face: and she's a lesbian who drives a truck for a living. More »

Lady Managers Don't Reduce Pay Gap

Erin Gloria Ryan — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:10:00 EST

A new report issued by a Swedish labor agency indicates that female managers don't reduce the pay gap between male and female employees. If not even perfect, stoic, ice cold, blond, Ikea-decorated egalitarian socialist paradise Sweden can overcome the pesky gendered pay gap, then what faint hope do we have in the land of NFL cheerleaders, small town beauty pageant swimsuit competitions, and Slutoween? More »

Swedish Lingerie Chain Invites Employees To Advertise Their Bra Size

Cassie Murdoch — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 12:05:00 EST

A Swedish lingerie chain called Change has landed itself in some serious hot water for suggesting—or requiring, depending on whom you ask—that its saleswomen display their bra cup sizes on their name tags. The company claims that this practice was "designed to help customers see what size might be right for what body type." That makes almost no sense! But even if it did, there are plenty of reasons not to make your employees broadcast their size to anyone who walks into the store. As one employee explained, More »

Julian Assange Will Be Extradited To Sweden, Thanks To Flesh-Eating Radical Feminists

Anna North — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 09:50:00 EDT

A UK judge has ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden to face trial for sexual assault. Assange says he will continue to fight the ruling. More »

Denmark Imposes The World's First 'Fat Tax'

Cassie Murdoch — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:40:00 EDT

If you are in Denmark, go to the store and load up on as much junk food as you can right now, because your government is about to start charging the world's first "fat tax" in an effort to keep you thinner and healthier. Don't worry this is not a tax on fat people. It's only a tax on fatty foods, which the government has decided makes people obese and unhealthy. Here's what it will look like: More »

Assange Says He's A Chauvinist And A 'Little Autistic' In New Memoir

Anna North — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 11:35:00 EDT

The first excerpts of Julian Assange's memoir have been published, and, unsurprisingly, they include a denial of the rape charges against him. Assange also — conveniently, as it turns out — describes himself as "a little bit autistic." More »

Julian Assange Back In Court, Now With Less Victim-Blaming

Irin Carmon — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 18:33:00 EDT

Fresh from a birthday celebration that trumpeted his status as the "Most Dangerous Man in the World," Julian Assange was back in court today to fight extradition to Sweden. And though his new lawyers seem to have wised up that victim-blaming wasn't helping their case, they continue to argue that what took place in Sweden with the two women doesn't count as rape in the UK. More »

The Winner Of The Gender Equality World Cup Is…

Mark Leon Goldberg — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 18:50:00 EDT

After two weeks of round robin play, the FIFA Women's World Cup is entering the semi-finals. More »

Swedish School Eliminates Gender

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 18:07:00 EDT

A preschool in Sweden is doing its part to make Tucker Carlson's bowtie spin around in shock and surprise. More »

How Much Would You Pay For A Date With Julian Assange?

Irin Carmon — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:13:29 EDT

Wikileaks is auctioning off a lunch with Julian Assange and the philosopher Slavoj Zizek. As of this writing, the bid stands at £1,070.00, or $1,733.06. But what price the noted charm of Assange? More »

A Ten-Year-Old's Rant To "Boys Around The World"

Irin Carmon — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 14:48:00 EDT

Reader Becky Sayers writes, "I found this on 10 yr old [daughter] Eliza's bulletin board this morning in her room— when I asked her about it, she said it was an "editorial" she wrote last night after looking at the miniboden children's clothing catalog." With permission from both mother and daughter, we happily share this editorial with you. More »

Judge Orders Assange Back To Sweden

Irin Carmon — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 10:10:04 EST

A British judge has ruled that Julian Assange must return to Sweden to face questioning on allegations of sexually assaulting two women. Assange's lawyers said they'll appeal. The ruling examined and dismissed some of the major claims Assange and his lawyers have made about Sweden and its allegedly draconian, anti-male rape laws and prosecutors. More »

Assange Hearings: Extradition, Rough Sex, And Animal Abuse

Irin Carmon — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 15:00:00 EST

The hearings on the extradition of Julian Assange from England to Sweden have come to a close, with a decision expected in two weeks. But just because he wasn't actually being tried for the two rapes of which he's accused, didn't mean that the lawyers couldn't spar on "rough sex," consent, and toe-sucking. Also, allegations have emerged that he was cruel to cats. More »

Assange: "Sweden Is The Saudi Arabia Of Feminism"

Irin Carmon — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 10:10:24 EST

"Sweden is the Saudi Arabia of feminism," Julian Assange has said in a recent interview. "I fell into a hornets' nest of revolutionary feminism." And there's something the Guardian left out of its report on the accusations against him. More »

Assange: "I've Never Had A Problem Before With Women"

Irin Carmon — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:12:00 EST

Julian Assange just told the BBC, "Capable, generous men don't create victims, they try and save people from becoming victims." He also said his accusers had "unprotected sex and they got into a tizzy about" STDs. Generous, indeed! More »

Zooey Deschanel Sues Steve Madden

Jenna Sauers — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:41:00 EST

Actress/grammatically creative indie songstress Zooey Deschanel is suing footwear knocker-offer/convicted felon Steve Madden for reneging on a $2 million contract. For that sum, Deschanel would have spent 13 days "designing" and promoting a line called "Zooey's Shoes And Accessories." [NYPost]

Michael Moore Calls Assange Rape Case "Hooey"

Anna North — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 12:01:00 EST

The latest dude to misrepresent the Julian Assange rape allegations in front of a national audience is Michael Moore, who last night told a sympathetic Keith Olbermann it's a bunch of "hooey" over a broken condom. More »

Assange Accuser Leaves Sweden, May Stop Helping Prosecution

Anna North — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 12:20:00 EST

One of the Swedish women involved in the Julian Assange rape investigation may have stopped cooperating with the prosecution — and moved to the West Bank. More »

Some Thoughts On “Sex By Surprise”

Jill Filipovic — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 14:35:00 EST

Commentators are saying Julian Assange didn't rape anyone, and these are trumped-up charges of "sex by surprise," which means that Assange didn't wear a condom and days later the women he slept with are claiming rape. Totally unfair, right? More »

Assange Arrested Because Of "Radical Feminist" Bitches

Anna North — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 09:37:00 EST

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been arrested in London in connection with Swedish rape allegations, and guess who's to blame? Feminists, of course! More »

King Of Sweden's "Sex Romps" Will Sear Your Brain

Sadie Stein — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 18:15:00 EST

For a week, we have tried to ignore the lurid details revealed in a new tell-all about the Swedish monarch. We can no longer. So let's get this over with and then never speak of it again. More »

Take A Tour Of The New Women's Sports World Village

Margaret Hartmann — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 17:35:00 EDT

BIG Architects has designed a new facility in Malmo, Sweden for the research, education, and development of women's sports. While architects avoided the industrial look of most sports complexes, miraculously, the World Village Of Women's Sports isn't pink and curvy. More »

What You Need To Know About The Wikileaks Rape Scandal

Anna North — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:09:00 EDT

So Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, has been accused of rape, then un-accused, and now re-accused. Also potentially involved: Swedish pirates, and the Pentagon. A little confused about what's going on here? Don't worry, we're here to help. More »

Ancient Dildo Found In Sweden

Katy Kelleher — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:47:00 EDT

A penis-shaped object has been found in Sweden that some archeologists believe might been a Stone Age dildo. However, there is a chance it's an oddly-formed carving tool. Measuring just 4 inches, we sort of hope it's the latter. More »

Waitress Sues After Learning Boob Jobs Don't Count Towards Sick Days

Katy Kelleher — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:33:00 EDT

A Swedish waitress is suing her cruise-line employer after he docked her pay for time she took off work to recover from breast implant surgery. He claims boob jobs count as "self injury" and thus are not his responsibility. More »

Foreign Romance: Have You Ever Fallen In Love With A Place?

Katy Kelleher — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:48:00 EDT

According to a recent study, the five happiest countries in the world are Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands. This makes sense to me, seeing as I've been obsessed with this region for years. More »

Dutch Offer Makeovers To Unemployed Women — But Swedes Have Better Ideas

Anna North — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EDT

A Dutch program is trying to help unemployed women by fixing them up with dudes. But Sweden has upped women's paychecks in an equally surprising but probably better way: setting aside parental leave for men only. More »

Little Person, Big World

Anna Holmes — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 12:10:00 EDT

[Berlin, April 14. Image via Getty]

Blondes Have More Fun

Katy Kelleher — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:20:00 EST

The heterosexual standard is being eroded in Sweden, but unfortunately only among young women. Researchers noted "a growing resistance to defining oneself" and 39% of women (but only 8% of men) reported having sexual fantasies about both genders. [UPI] More »

Hot Shot

Dodai Stewart — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:10:00 EST

[Oberhof, January 7. Image via Getty.]

Slip 'N Slide

Anna Holmes — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:10:00 EST

[Are, Sweden; December 12. Image via Getty]

Rose By Any Other Name: Swedes Rename The Hymen

Katy Kelleher — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:20:00 EST

Members of the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education have taken it upon themselves to rename the hymen. Its new moniker? "Vaginal Corona." More »

Is America Ready For A "Spanking Ban?"

Sadie Stein — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:20:00 EDT

One New Year's, my family went to stay at one of those Catskills resorts, now closed, that catered to Jews of a certain era. Think Dirty Dancing with less Swayze, more sour cream. And one day someone smacked a child: More »

Sweden Denies Existence Of All-Lesbian Town

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:30:00 EDT

The Chinese media is reporting that the 25,000 residents of Chako Paul City, Sweden have embraced lesbianism and men who enter are "beaten half to death." The city doesn't exist... or so the Swedes claim. [The Local via Buzzfeed] More »

Painted Ladies

Katy Kelleher — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 09:40:00 EDT

A nightclub in Malmo, Sweden, has made news by turning away two women for sporting tattoos. Apparently, the club refuses to admit anyone with visible ink, on the grounds that it "looks distasteful." [UPI] More »

Knut To Stay In Berlin Zoo • Drunk Badger Disrupts Traffic

Katy Kelleher — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EDT

• Famous German polar bear Knut will not be leaving his home at the Berlin Zoo, despite claims that the Neumuenster Zoo is the true owner of the furry celebrity. Also: here's an adorable video of Knut swimming. • More »

Girl Interrupted

Katy Kelleher — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:40:00 EDT

A 35-year-old student from Stockholm, Sweden has been charged with violent resistance, dishonest conduct and raising a false alarm after she faked a suicide attempt in the name of art. A Scandanavian Shvarts? [UPI] More »

Bad Times Mean More Call Girls: Sex Work And The Recession

Anna North — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:00:00 EST

What will happen to "the supply of high end call girls" during the recession? The Economist's Free Exchange blog has an answer, if you can wade through the annoying jokes. More »

Gotta Go, Gotta Go

Maria — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:40:00 EDT

A court in Sweden rejected a woman's argument that she was forced to drive 53 mph in a 43 mph zone because she had a case of the shits. The court said that speeding was only acceptable in "cases of emergency," such as a danger to someone's life or to prevent a crime. [UPI] More »

To Regulate, Or Not To Regulate: Regarding Prostitution, That's Still The Question

Megan Carpentier — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EDT

Voters in San Francisco have the choice this year to decriminalize almost all aspects of prostitution. Proposition K would prohibit police officers from investigating or prosecuting prostitution, would eliminate funds for a first-offender program for people caught patronizing prostitutes and would prohibit the city from accepting federal or state money for trafficking programs that involve racial profiling (i.e., Asian "massage" parlors). Advocates say it will free needed police resources to prosecute violent crimes and help spur sex workers to report violent crimes; detractors dislike that it decriminalizes prostitution without regulation and ties law enforcements' hands in regards to trafficking, which often occurs within different ethnic groups. More »