The object of this investigation is KVINNSAM, a Swedish bibliographic gender research database. KVINNSAM is at once a counter archive – founded to make accessible previously marginalized research by/about women – and a sub-database of Libris, the Swedish national bibliography in which such research has historically been marginalized. Previous investigations into KVINNSAM and its subject headings have neglected the perspective of the end users. Based on an anonymous questionnaire completed by 73 respondents, I find that 1) today’s KVINNSAM-users are largely satisfied with the contents of the database, but 2) consist of a heterogeneous group with conflicting standpoints regarding integral aspects such as whether KVINNSAM should strive for feminism or political neutrality. Using Gayatri Spivak’s ideas about sanctioned ignorance and strategic essentialism, I analyze the quantitative and qualitative data provided by the respondents. I conclude that the principal problem of KVINNSAM today consists of the fact that the female perspective adopted by the list of subject headings adheres to a traditional binary view of gender. The gender binary is perceived by the users as reactionary, and as risking to further marginalize already structurally subordinate groups such as queer and non-binary subjects. Based on Hope A. Olson’s suggestions that feminist knowledge organization be based on flexibility, connectedness and inclusivity, I suggest that the problem might be ameliorated by rethinking gender, from norm to filter. I further conclude that the next logical evolutionary leap for KVINNSAM is a shift in format to linked open data.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:hb-27461 |
| Date | January 2022 |
| Creators | Åshede, Linnea |
| Publisher | Högskolan i Borås, Akademin för bibliotek, information, pedagogik och IT |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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