“But It’s an Easy Process”: Power, Identity, and the Hidden Costs of Preferred Name Use in Sweden
(2024) TKAM02 20241Division of Ethnology
- Abstract
- Sweden’s population is becoming increasingly multicultural as evident from the foreign population reaching over 20% as of 2024, according to the National Statistics Agency Statistikmyndigheten. Yet even as the influx of migrants continues, changes in policies and norms do not necessarily change at the same pace. In particular, there is a difference between how migrants might prefer to use their names and how name use typically works in Sweden. In state-owned institutions such as universities, hospitals, and the postal service, the standard for staff and audiences alike is to display their full legal names on public domains such as digital platforms and email addresses. In this thesis, I use the political theorist Steven Lukes’ theory of... (More)
- Sweden’s population is becoming increasingly multicultural as evident from the foreign population reaching over 20% as of 2024, according to the National Statistics Agency Statistikmyndigheten. Yet even as the influx of migrants continues, changes in policies and norms do not necessarily change at the same pace. In particular, there is a difference between how migrants might prefer to use their names and how name use typically works in Sweden. In state-owned institutions such as universities, hospitals, and the postal service, the standard for staff and audiences alike is to display their full legal names on public domains such as digital platforms and email addresses. In this thesis, I use the political theorist Steven Lukes’ theory of three-dimensional power in combination with sociologist Jane Pilcher’s theory of embodied named identity to show the forces at play that shape migrant name use in Sweden. The aim is to reveal these underlying power dynamics and the personal cost on the migrants themselves of negotiating their name use. Data was collected from 16 one-on-one interviews with East Asian, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European migrants in Sweden who: go by multiple names, both legal and preferred, in everyday use; legally changed their first or last names to sound less ethnic; or have given Swedish or International names to their children. The ethnographic data is supplemented with data from current and previous Swedish naming laws, national name statistics in Sweden, and comparative studies from Scandinavian neighbors. The results show that migrants are constantly weighing the pros and cons of name use, deciding between fear of exposure and familial ties, against the economic and social advantages that a more local-sounding name can confer. Finally, the thesis offers ways that companies and state institutions can apply the findings to create more inclusive work policies. In addition, this thesis adds to the body of literature about preferred names, names in Scandinavia, and migrant names in particular. (Less)
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Sveriges befolkning blir allt mer mångkulturell, vilket framgår av att den utlandsfödda befolkningen utgjorde mer än 20% av Sveriges befolkning år 2024, enligt Statistikmyndigheten. Men samtidigt som tillströmningen av migranter fortsätter, förändras inte nödvändigtvis politik och normer i samma takt. I synnerhet finns det en skillnad mellan hur migranter kanske föredrar att använda sina namn och hur namnanvändning vanligtvis fungerar i Sverige. I statligt ägda institutioner som universitet, sjukhus, och postväsendet, är det standard för både personal och besökare att använda sina fullständiga juridiska namn i offentliga domäner som digitala plattformar och e-postadresser. I det här examensarbetet använder jag Steven Lukes teori om... (More)
- Sveriges befolkning blir allt mer mångkulturell, vilket framgår av att den utlandsfödda befolkningen utgjorde mer än 20% av Sveriges befolkning år 2024, enligt Statistikmyndigheten. Men samtidigt som tillströmningen av migranter fortsätter, förändras inte nödvändigtvis politik och normer i samma takt. I synnerhet finns det en skillnad mellan hur migranter kanske föredrar att använda sina namn och hur namnanvändning vanligtvis fungerar i Sverige. I statligt ägda institutioner som universitet, sjukhus, och postväsendet, är det standard för både personal och besökare att använda sina fullständiga juridiska namn i offentliga domäner som digitala plattformar och e-postadresser. I det här examensarbetet använder jag Steven Lukes teori om tredimensionell makt i kombination med Jane Pilchers teori om förkroppsligad namn identitet för att visa vilka krafter som formar migranters namnanvändning i Sverige. Syftet är att synliggöra underliggande maktdynamiker och den personliga kostnaden för migranterna själva av att förhandla om sin namnanvändning. Data samlades in från 16 en-till-en-intervjuer med migranter från östasien, mellanöstern och östeuropa i Sverige som: går under flera namn, både juridiska och föredragna, i dagligt bruk; juridiskt ändrat sin för- eller efternamn för att låta mindre etniska; eller har gett sina barn svenska eller internationella namn. Uppsatsens etnografiska data kompletteras med data från gällande och tidigare svenska namnlagar, nationell svensk namnstatistik, och jämförande studier från skandinaviska grannländer. Resultatet visar att migranter ständigt väger för- och nackdelar med namnanvändning, väljer mellan rädsla för exponering och familjeband, och avväger de ekonomiska och sociala fördelar som ett mer lokalt klingande namn kan ge. Avslutningsvis föreslår avhandlingen sätt som företag och statliga institutioner kan tillämpa resultaten för att skapa mer inkluderande arbetspolicyer. Uppsatsen bidrar också till litteraturen om föredragna namn, namn i Skandinavien och i synnerhet migrantnamn. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9168528
- author
- Zhang, Meng LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- TKAM02 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- immigration, personal names, preferred names, Swedish bureaucracy, three-dimensional power, embodied named identity
- language
- English
- id
- 9168528
- date added to LUP
- 2024-06-27 10:00:12
- date last changed
- 2024-06-27 10:00:12
@misc{9168528,
abstract = {{Sweden’s population is becoming increasingly multicultural as evident from the foreign population reaching over 20% as of 2024, according to the National Statistics Agency Statistikmyndigheten. Yet even as the influx of migrants continues, changes in policies and norms do not necessarily change at the same pace. In particular, there is a difference between how migrants might prefer to use their names and how name use typically works in Sweden. In state-owned institutions such as universities, hospitals, and the postal service, the standard for staff and audiences alike is to display their full legal names on public domains such as digital platforms and email addresses. In this thesis, I use the political theorist Steven Lukes’ theory of three-dimensional power in combination with sociologist Jane Pilcher’s theory of embodied named identity to show the forces at play that shape migrant name use in Sweden. The aim is to reveal these underlying power dynamics and the personal cost on the migrants themselves of negotiating their name use. Data was collected from 16 one-on-one interviews with East Asian, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European migrants in Sweden who: go by multiple names, both legal and preferred, in everyday use; legally changed their first or last names to sound less ethnic; or have given Swedish or International names to their children. The ethnographic data is supplemented with data from current and previous Swedish naming laws, national name statistics in Sweden, and comparative studies from Scandinavian neighbors. The results show that migrants are constantly weighing the pros and cons of name use, deciding between fear of exposure and familial ties, against the economic and social advantages that a more local-sounding name can confer. Finally, the thesis offers ways that companies and state institutions can apply the findings to create more inclusive work policies. In addition, this thesis adds to the body of literature about preferred names, names in Scandinavia, and migrant names in particular.}},
author = {{Zhang, Meng}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{“But It’s an Easy Process”: Power, Identity, and the Hidden Costs of Preferred Name Use in Sweden}},
year = {{2024}},
}