1 Vuokko Jarva ja Kaarina Kailo Pääkirjoitus 3 ... - Meta-future.org

nological change, especially the increasing interrelations of sexualities, and sexual violences with
information and communication technologies.
Keywords: gender, sexuality, globalization, transnationalization, scenarios, men, women, virtuality
Kaarina Kailo
Gift and Exchange Economies as Gendered Paradigms. On
Visions and Preconditions for an Ecosocially Sustainable Future
The aim of the article is to introduce two possible visions of the future-- the neoliberal exchange
economy and the gift economy on which it builds--as a struggle for dominion over peoples’ minds
and the core values of modern societies. The two economic and equality-related paradigms reflect
and embrace very different notions about an ecosocially sustainable future and the preconditions for
gender equality and equity in the broadest sense of the word. I contrast at first the gift and exchange
economy and the sociological study of the Gift. Then I describe the feminist contribution to the Gift
paradigm. Finally, I consider the implicit sex/gender system of the neoliberal exchange economy
and its concealed masculated values. I conclude by considering the new manifestations of the Gift
and the possibilities that are opened by new types of “Commons”, provided they include gender
perspectives and promote sustainable ecological practices.
Keywords: Gift and Exchange economy, futures gender and equality regimes, the possibilities of an
ecosocially sustainable future, gender, social provisioning and economic sustainability
Anita Haataja
Taxation – Gender Neutral or Not?
The article discusses personal taxation from a gender perspective. While the goals of tax and transfer
systems can be aligned to promote gender equality, they can also be mutually conflicting. The
potential for such conflict is greatest with the family policy aspects of taxation, i.e., when women
and men are considered in terms of their roles as family members. That is why tax reforms are here
viewed alongside transfers. The article first considers the concepts of gender neutrality and gender
equality in the tax-transfer system. The main focus of the article is on the long-run development
from joint taxation to individual taxation and on the evaluation of recently introduced or proposed
reforms. One of these proposals concerns the possibility to choose joint taxation in families with
minor children. At the end of the article, Nancy Fraser’s three gender-equal utopian visions for carer
and earner models are taken as starting points when exploring the possibility to promote gender
equality in the present tax-transfer system.
Keywords: Taxation, joint taxation, gender equality, carer/earner model
Ilkka Pietilä, Hanna Ojala
Men’s Ageing in Finland in 21st Century – Perspectives to
Changing Everyday Practices and Social Policies
Populations are ageing rapidly in all developed countries. About a half of children born in the beginning
of 21 st century are estimated to reach an age of 100 years. By ageing of the population, the share
of men within the 75+ population grows. This article explores which kind of an effect the increasing
number of men has on various everyday practices and social policies. The article starts with consideration
of demographic prognoses and descriptions of future trends of ageing and gender divisions.
On the basis of this we outline some visions of the future Finnish society, in which old men are not
marginalised anymore but visible part of the societal life. In the future, the aged population more
often consists of old couples instead of single old women. This changes, among others, the ways
how sexuality of the aged appears in society. The latter part of the article is devoted to considering
how future aged men differ from the previous generations in terms of their generation-specific
experiences. We contemplate what kind of a role the higher level of education and language skills,
13
3/10
among others, have in the lives of the future generations of old men in comparison to the previous
generations. Does it make a difference that the future old men have lived their lives in towns and
cities instead of rural areas, and travelled more often in Milan and Phuket instead of Leningrad and
Tenerife? What can we say about future old men, who they really are?
Keywords: : Men’s ageing, future society, gender, generation
Virpi Honkanen
Is There a Future for the Women Entrepreneurs?
The aim of this article is to discuss of the graduate women entrepreneurs’ employment success and
prospects. The differences and similarities in employment success are compared between entrepreneurs
and waged workers, along with intra-group differences, in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland
and Norway using the Reflex-data. International comparisons help us to understand entrepreneurship
more comprehensively and how gender impacts on the employment success.
Keywords: Women entrepreneurs, employment success, comparative research, future
Irma Heiskanen
Structural Violence and Gender – Viewpoints Towards the Past
and the Future
In this article I analyze the psycho-cultural- and woman- specific background and underpinnings
of the Finnish word for violence, ´väkivalta´. It seems that the gradual anchoring of the meaning
of the word ´väkivalta´ (spirit power, folk power) as part of the Finnish vocabulary keeps
from sight the history of colonial and patriarchal power, that of disciplinary power over. This
process of violence aimed at appropriating and subjugating the archaic Finno-Ugric feminine
gift economy which was based on feminine relationships with nature. This attitude persists and
continues in the measurement system called the gross domestic product, GDP, which is based
on military industries. To define the woman-dominated care work and related fields as non-a
priori unproductive weakens their esteem and the sevices/status of those needing these services.
I propose as alternatives to GDP economics the use of ethical local currencies or regional money
systems and a way of life based on Indigenous gift economies. The futures gender equality
depends on how well this transformation succeeds.
Keywords: structural violence, Finnish word ‘väkivalta’ for ´violence´, patriarchal diciplinary power,
critic of GDP, finno-ugric feminine gift economy, gender equality
Eliisa Pitkäsalo
From Utopia to Dystopia and Back Again – Potential Worlds in
Johanna Sinisalo’s Novel Sankarit
In my paper I will examine visions of the future that are constructed in reading Johanna Sinisalo’s
novel Sankarit from the point of view of gender and science fiction studies. In her novel Sinisalo
retells the familiar heroic stories of The Kalevala by placing its characters into a fictive, contemporary
Finnish context. My article focuses on two characters, Mrs Alakorkee - Kalevala’s Louhi,
Mistress of Pohjola - and Auroora, the daughter of Rex and Oona (Kalevala’s Väinämöinen and
Aino). I will look at how Sinisalo uses the clash between good and evil (a theme also appearing in
the Kalevala) by transposing it in her science fiction work into a dilemma between dystopian and
utopian visions of the future. Unlike The Kalevala, which employs a clear, dichotomous stance,
in Sankarit, culture and hard technology, the feminine and the masculine, and the new and the old
world orders meet. The novel does not declaim, but rather introduces possible alternative images
of the future of our world.
Keywords: Johanna Sinisalo, Sankarit, The Kalevala, science fiction, dystopia, utopia
13
3/10