According to some cultural researchers, taboos, the customs that govern social relationships, say a lot about what a society believes.
Although Finland legalized same-sex marriage in 2017 and talking about homosexuality has become more common in recent years, researchers with Ph.D. Heidi Kosonen said Mr. Ale. The topic is still somewhat taboo.
According to a recent article in Finnish Yell, men’s experiences with miscarriages are one of the hardest topics for people to talk about, especially their emotional response to losing their partner’s pregnancy.
Other topics Finns like to avoid are personal finances, suicide, and supernatural beliefs.
According to Kosonen, whose research focuses on cultural taboos, taboo topics these days include voluntary unemployment, polyamorous relationships, and racism, with Finland being the most popular topic in the EU. There are also reports showing that it is a speciesist country.
She said taboos are related to perceived social dangers – how a society defines its boundaries and what values it considers central.
Tackling taboos
Society sometimes exposes taboos in unexpected places, such as on reality TV shows.
Finnish version beauty queen and single (Thinkut ParjanaAccording to Kosonen, the film touches on some taboo themes. The reality show depicts young women getting make-unders before starting a series of dates.
“In one episode, we talked about voluntary unemployment, which sparked a lot of polarizing debate on the subject. In that sense, unemployment is seen as a threat to society,” she explained.
The show also explores polyamorous relationships that challenge the heteronormative nuclear family model.
Many norms still govern romantic relationships. According to Kosonen, transgender issues are increasingly discussed today, but like homosexuality, they remain taboo in many circles.
But will being gay really be taboo in Finland in 2024?
Kosonen thinks so. Although homosexuality is no longer classified as a mental illness or approached from the perspective of a religious sin, hate speech against homosexuals shows that it remains a taboo.
Talking about homosexuality still evokes strong emotional reactions, Kosonen said. For example, Finland has been closely monitoring court cases such as: Paivi Lazenena former government minister who addressed her public comments about homosexuals.
Strong emotional reactions reveal what people consider taboo.
“If you think about war crimes committed by Finns and Finland’s ranking as the most racist country in Europe, these are questions about how a nation defines itself, whether it’s Finnishness or Finnishness. It threatens our perception of Finland,” she explained.
The climate crisis and the meat industry are topics that are currently polarizing and sparking hate speech. Kosonen says that while these subjects may become more neutral in the future, sexuality and death probably won’t.
“It’s inevitable that taboos will always exist because taboos are rooted in dangerous structures,” she says.
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