risk research by anna olofsson
Subjective feelings of risk are a central feature of everyday life, and evidence shows that peopl... more Subjective feelings of risk are a central feature of everyday life, and evidence shows that people who do not conform to contemporary normative notions are often more exposed to everyday risks than others. Despite this, normative notions are rarely acknowledged as risk objects. By drawing on the theory of ‘doing’ and ‘undoing’ risk, which combines intersectional and risk theory, this study contributes new perspectives on the everyday risks in contemporary society that face people who many would label as being ‘at risk’ – lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The study consists of five focus group interviews with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of different ages in Sweden. Findings pinpoint risks and how these are done and un-done in different spheres of interviewees’ lives: the emotional risks prevailing in their private lives; the risk of discrimination at work and in relations with other institutions; and the risk of violence and harassment in public places. These risks are all related to the heteronormative order in which the mere fact of being lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender is perceived as a risk.
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This paper develops the concepts of ‘doing’ and ‘undoing’ risk, a new approach to risk research t... more This paper develops the concepts of ‘doing’ and ‘undoing’ risk, a new approach to risk research that echoes the ‘doing gender’ of gender studies. In this way, we combine intersectional and risk theory and apply the new perspective to empirical material. To better explore the doing and undoing, or the performance, of risk, we will refer to practices that simultaneously (re)produce and hide socio-political norms and positions, played out in contemporary, hierarchical relations of power and knowledge. The aim is to develop a theoretical understanding of doing and undoing risk. The study makes use of transcripts from five focus group interviews with men and women, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of different ages living in Sweden to develop a theory of ‘doing risk’. The doing of risk of our informants takes place within the frame of a hegemonic heteronormativity. The way that risks are perceived and done in everyday life therefore always needs to be read within a frame of prevailing structures of power. This counts for all of us as we are all part of the hegemonic power structures and thereby are both subject to the intersecting doings of risk and performatively reproducing these power structures in practice.
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The aim is to investigate differences in risk perception and behaviour among different population... more The aim is to investigate differences in risk perception and behaviour among different population groups selected by gender, age, country of birth, disability, and sexual orientation in the light of general values and vulnerability. The analyses use data from two Swedish national surveys from 2005 and 2008. People with foreign background perceive controlled and dread risks as a greater threat than do native-born people, but there is no difference in behaviour when general values and vulnerability have been controlled for. Compared to women, men rate known and dread risks as lower, but controlled risks as higher. Further, men’s behaviour is more risk oriented and less risk-reducing, and homosexuals and bisexuals are more likely than heterosexuals to report risk behaviour. Compared to previous studies of the so called White Male Effect done in the United States, gender does not play a similar role in Sweden. On the contrary, it seems as if gender is of less importance and that the strength of the association varies depending on type of risk or risk behavior.
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Health, Risk & Society, Jul 24, 2014
In this article, we examine the conceptual importance of integrating risk and intersectionality t... more In this article, we examine the conceptual importance of integrating risk and intersectionality theory for the study of how risk and various forms of inequality intersect and are mutually constitutive. We argue that an intersectional perspective can advance risk research by incorporating more effectively the role of such social categories as gender and race into the analysis of ‘risk’ as an empirical phenomenon. In doing so, the intersectional perspective articulates more clearly the connection between the social construction of risk and, on the one hand, the reproduction of new and complex social inequalities and, on the other, intersections of social class, gender, ethnicity and other social categorisations. We trace the intellectual division between risk and feminist-inspired intersectionality research, showing how these approaches can be aligned to study, for example, risk-based welfare and social policy. We use a discussion of general directions within welfare policy to illustrate how an intersectional perspective can be used to show the ways in which new governance strategies create new divisions and reproduce existing forms of social inequality. We conclude the article with a call for a new research agenda to integrate intersectional frameworks with risk theory in order to provide a more nuanced analysis of the relationship between social inequality and risk.
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Risk Analysis, 2011
Previous research has shown that white males have a relatively low perception of risks, known as ... more Previous research has shown that white males have a relatively low perception of risks, known as the “white male effect” (WME). Many of the explanations of this effect refer to the privileged position of this particular demographic group in society, adducing white males’ socio-economic resources, sense of control, worldviews, etc. It can thus be argued that inequality leads women and ethnic minorities to have higher risk perception than men and the ethnic majority. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the WME in a gender-equal country, Sweden, to see if the pattern is similar to previous studies from the comparably less gender-equal United States. The empirical analyses are based on a national survey (n= 1,472) on the perception of risk conducted in Sweden in the winter of 2005. The results show that in Sweden there is no significant difference between men and women in risk perception, while people with foreign backgrounds perceive risks higher than native people. The chief finding is that there is no WME in Sweden, which we concluded results from the relative equality between the sexes in the country. On the other hand, ethnicity serves as a marker of inequality and discrimination in Sweden. Consequently, ethnicity, in terms of foreign background, mediates inequality, resulting in high risk perception. Equality therefore seems to be a fruitful concept with which to examine differences in risk perception between groups in society, and we propose that the “societal inequality effect” is a more proper description than the “WME.”
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Risk Analysis, 2009
In evaluating complex new technologies, people are usually dependent on information provided by o... more In evaluating complex new technologies, people are usually dependent on information provided by others, for example, experts or journalists, and have to determine whether they can trust these information sources. This article focuses on similarity as the basis for trust. The first experiment (N = 261) confirmed that a journalist writing about genetically modified (GM) food was trusted more when his attitude was congruent with that of his readers. In addition, the experiment showed that this effect was mediated by the perceived similarity of the journalist. The second experiment (N = 172) revealed that trust in a journalist writing about the focal domain of GM food was even influenced by him expressing a congruent attitude in an unrelated domain. This result supports a general similarity account of the congruence effect on trust, as opposed to a confirmatory bias account.
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Environment and Behavior, 2006
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Current Sociology, 2007
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Journal of Risk Research, 2007
Ulrich Beck's theory of risk society has been criticised because ... more Ulrich Beck's theory of risk society has been criticised because there is lack of empirical evidence. By comparing people with different life contexts and experiences, the aim of this study was to investigate how these people view risk, and if ‘new’ risks are perceived differently by different groups in society. Five focus‐group interviews were conducted in Sweden, in 2004/05, with
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European Societies, 2006
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Disaster Prevention and Management, 2011
This paper sets out to analyze how 'we' and 'they&#39... more This paper sets out to analyze how 'we' and 'they' are constructed by news media in Sweden the first nine days after the Indian Ocean tsunami. The paper particularly focuses on print news media's account of Sweden and Swedes during the nine eight days after the catastrophe. Based on a re-analyse of two earlier content analyses of newspaper articles from
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Young, 2008
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. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 2007
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Papers by anna olofsson
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Researching Risk and Uncertainty, 2018
This chapter summarises the implications of the four sections for the sociology of risk and uncer... more This chapter summarises the implications of the four sections for the sociology of risk and uncertainty. It analyses what these developments in methodology, methods, and research strategies have to offer for interdisciplinary risk research in general. The chapter will conclude with suggestions for further development and research.
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Critical Studies in Risk and Uncertainty, 2019
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Environmental Sociology, 2016
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risk research by anna olofsson
Papers by anna olofsson