Watch your shoulders!

The last few weeks I’ve been working on another series of educational illustrations for a major Norwegian publisher. They are going to be used for text books for foreigners who learn Norwegian. The publisher’s immediate thought was obviously to make the content acceptable for people from all cultures and religions, which means that the illustrations can not contain any bare shoulders or overly exposed body parts. The initial thought is to be nice, and that’s fine. But read on.

I also drew a plate of traditional Christmas food, including a chunk of pork roast, but the client later deleted this one from the list and replaced it with something else. Whether this was part of the “don’t offend them” thinking is impossible to say.

For quite a few people who come to Norway from cultures that are not westernized (and especially for women who might otherwise be somewhat isolated in their new country) I’d guess that the Norwegian language courses, such as those offered for free by the State, is a major way of learning what Norway’s all about. Traditions, the constitution, history, our industry and economics, and how people live and relate to each others.

And the latter includes the fact that women are liberated and that individuals are pretty much free to express themselves in any way as long as they follow the law.

While drawing, I’ve been wondering why the editor wants to depict Norway in another way than it is in real life. On the streets, when temperatures are rising, you will definitely see both guys and girls with bare shoulders and naked legs. Bellybuttons too. There will be topless swimming on every beach, and there will be served pork chops here and there in local restaurants. And yes, we have a general freedom of speech and no official censorship.

If I went to live in Malaysia I’d rather prefer someone I could trust, such as an educational institution, to tell me what the norms are. Both so that I’d be aware of it when I would have to see it with my own eyes, and to become more integrated with the deeper essence of what Malaysia is all about. Being taught norms and traditions is an essential part of the learning process that helps you become part of your new country. Just as learning the language is.

I would believe that any country that has a social or formal interdiction of showing bare shoulders or kneecaps would try to let me know in some way as soon as I entered their territory, so I don’t see why Norway should show foreigners the opposite of what’s actually going on here. Norwegians drink lots of alcohol - ok so tell’em we got a drinking “culture” with issues connected to it. Oh no but please no alcohol in that text book, alright?

I believe the publisher’s way of dealing with this question (and they are most certainly not the only ones in business doing so) is unwise at the best. And just plain stooopid if you let me express myself. As I will, since I’m Norwegian and that’s how we do it here.