It is often said that it is typical of Swedes to seldom invite strangers into their private lives; that invitation is reserved for family members and close friends only. This exclusion of ”strangers” is not merely of foreigners, but even of their own Swed ish colleagues and neighbours. ”This seems to lead to difficulties for newcomers to establish satisfying private social lives.” (Allwood 1981:39). Interviews for the Public Investigation into Discrimination showed that the concept of Swedes as socially reserved was a universally held view (Bergman & Swedin 1982).
The research report ”Vittnesmål” (Bergman & Swedin 1982:201) points out, however, that many immigrants come from little communities in their home countries to the larger city areas in Sweden and therefore find an anonymous style of living which is typical for all large cities; in other words, that it is not just unique to Sweden. This is undoubtedly an important factor, but it is also important to point out that the difficulties involved in making social contact varies from city to city, and that the national culture plays an important role. Indifference towards strangers ia great whether in Stockholm, New York or Calcutta. But a difference between nations is shown when people eventually do get to know one another, such as neighbours or colleagues. It is then that the social reserve in the Swedish culture shows up most clearly.
This can be illustrated by a comment from the psychologist Edith Mägiste, Uppsala university, who was born and grew up in Berlin, where she says she enjoyed an ”active social life”. After moving to Sweden, her lifestyle changed completely, something which she thought was due to
...the poor interaction in this country at the emotional level. Social exchanges among adults are often strictly formal, allowing for few moments of spontaneity. It’s the shyness and guardedness which I experience as the most trying. Too many people are afraid: to get in volved, to take a stand, to say something straight out, to ”make a fool of themnselves” (”göra bort sig” - give themselves away” - in how many languages does such an expression even exist?).
The kind of social interaction in Sweden differs from countries in southern Europe and South Americe, from where many immigrants living in Sweden have come. But also immigrants from, for example, the United States, England, France, Germany, etc. and even from Denmark, see Swedes as being ”socially reserved” from their points of view. This experience is apparantely not shared by Japanese immigrants in Sweden - not because the Japanese are more welcome in Swedish homes than are other nationalities, but rather because there is a similar strict line in the Japanese culture drawn between what is private and what is public. In Japan, there is a differentiation between the private environment, ”uchi”, where people are spontaneous and show their feelings, and the public environment, ”soto”, where people do not expose their feelings, but instead behave formally. I have been told, however, that this avoidance of warawareu is most conspicious toward the members of a group with a certain degree of acquaintenceship, where one is not anonymous - located between the most intimate group and the public in general.
Only family and close friends belong to the private environment, the latter sometimes consisting of a group of close workmates who may even be put above relatives (Kazama and Akiyama 1980). But to be taken into such a group is extremely difficult, for a foreigner, practically impossible. The psychological dependency on such a collective is extremely great, greater than in the west (Smith 1983:68).
Nearly the opposite pattern of relationships is described by the American sociologist David Popenoe, who has studied patterns of relationships in Sweden. In no large city other than Stockholm do half of all households consist of single persons, he states. One of his explanations for this is the following: ”There appears to be a strong driving force among Swedes to establish one’s own identity. Relationships to others, therefore, become a complicating factor. Many people seem to choose to deny themselves relationships rather than risk their independence.”
There is, in other words, a similarity between Sweden and Japan. In both countries, there are difficulties for foreigners becoming socially involved. But the structures of the intimate or private environments are very different. The great importance being placed on workmates is characteristic of the Japanese, as well as the emotional dependence on an intimate groupof friends, which in itself provides a large part of a person’s concept of self. In Japanese culture, the individual is subordinate to the group. In Swedish culture, the individual appears instead to be placed superior to the group.
In discussing these and other generalizations about Swedish and Japanes cultures, we should be aware that the lack of a ”culturally-neutral” language leads to complications. That is why I, in a previous paragraph, underlined that immigrants from various countries classify Swedes as socially reserved ”from their points of view”. Swedes do not appear this way from the Japanese point of view, nor for that matter, from the Finnish, for example. What is included in the concept ”socially reserved” varies from one culture to another. What people mean with ”silent” and ”aggressive” also varies culturally. Still, in describin traits of behaviourwe need to use these words, although readers of different cultures will perceive them differently.
This ”social reserve”, the mental attitude or tendency, as described by some natinonalities, is nevertheless an empirical fact. The difficulty lies as was just said, in describing this attitude in a ”culturally-neutral” manner. It should be clear that this is something specific to Sweden, reregardless of the fact that individual Swedes are ”socially outgoing”, and regardless of the fact that the phenomenon is more valid for certain categories than others (more for middle-aged, middle-class librarians than for young construction workers), or of the fact that it depends on the situation - whether it is a football match where the home-team is winning, in a line at a department store, in the waiting-room at the employment center, etc.
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