I just looked over an ”adaption guide to Finland” for Russians that move to the Kymenlaakso region in the southeast of the country.
While these types of publications may have good intentions, they tend to generalize complex matters such as Finnish culture and personality. One of the matters that is surprising in the guide is how few – if any – social psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists were used. The guide states that Finland is a “feminist” country, although women still make about 20% less than men.
Under the part that attempts to show some traits on Finnish personality, I chose a few descriptions that caught my eye:
1. Statement: What is essential for the Finns? The most important matter that characterizes him/her is his/her patriotism. The Finns love their country.
(Mikä on olennaista suomalaisessa ihmisessä? Kaikkein olennaisinta on hänessä patriotismi. Suomalainen rakastaa omaa maataan.)
Comment: Is this something unique? Does it suggest that I should fear Finns and take special care not to offend Finland? Does it suggest that Finns may have difficulties accepting others because patriotism, or nationalism, gets in the way? Why is this attribute the most important for the authors?
How I would change the sentence: Finns, like other people in different nations, love their country. So? Are the authors suggesting that people in some countries are not patriotic?
2. Statement: Finnish culture can be described as individualistic.
(Suomalaista kulttuuria voidaan luonnehtia yksilökulttuuriksi.)
Comment: Is this a unique trait in a modern industrialized nation? How do we measure individualism?
3. Statement (this is one of my favorites): The Finns are bashful and quiet. He is not very social if he is around strangers.
(Suomalainen on ujo ja hiljainen. Hän ei ole seurallinen eikä hän ole kovin aloitteellinen juuri koskaan kanssakäymisissään, jos hän on tuntemattomien ihmisten seurassa.)
Comment: How do Finnish men and women meet at bars? How do they make friends? What study proves that Finns do not take the initiative when they are around strangers? These types of affirmations, which are not true, only help to reinforce stereotypes about Finns. There are quiet, loud and medium-loud Finns. Some will take the initiative while others will shy away from it. It depends on the person. It is ridiculous to claim that it is “Finnish personality.”
4. Statement: Finns are quite stubborn and in that character he/she is incredibly steadfast.
(Suomalainen on harvinaisen itsepäinen ja siinä piirteessä on hän uskomattoman luja.)
Comment: Like with the above-mentioned statement, are there any studies that prove this? What percentage of Finns are stubborn and which are not? I have never seen a study that measures stubbornness. Isn’t pigheadedness a personality trait as opposed to a national trait – if there ever was one.
5. Statement (this is a “gem”): Finns tend to react slowly…
(Suomalainen on hitaanpuoleinen.…)
Comment: This is the stereotype of the stereotypes mentioned by the guide. Again, I ask, what studies do the authors use to back such a statement? What percentage of the Finns are “slow?” What do they mean by “slow” and compared with whom?
CONCLUSION: These types of statements about Finnish culture are not useful because they only confuse perceptions of Finnish culture since they are not based on any empirical study. If anything, they are subjective perceptions that reveal more the stereotypes of the authors — at the best they show how the authors want foreigners to “see” us.
September 18, 2008 at 4:58 am
However, when you look at individuals (boastful, noisy, quiet and shy)… Do you think that these individuals represent population?
No, when dealing with population you use averages. Are Finns, overall as multitude of people, more likely to be introverted or shy?
In cultural sense, yes they are. Culture here places value on being modest, quiet and serious. So, to foreigner who doesn’t know jack s*** about this culture, it might be better to just say that Finns are quiet and shy, because it is most likely easier to get the message through that way.
Of course, it also has it’s downside. They do not learn Finnish cultural norms this way, so your criticism is very warranted.
As for patriotism… In Finland being patriot and showing it is not sin like it nearly is in some countries. There is unfortunate trait far too common in Germany for example that people almost get a stroke if they are suggested being patriotic.
So it might indeed be wise to warn immigrants of this. Insulting Finland is not going to score you much points in life.
By the way, there appear to be even studies that put Finns very high in patriotism, at least in sense of willingness to fight for their country.
http://www.herzliyaconference.org/Eng/_Uploads/1388Pat_e.pdf
“The willingness of Israelis to fight for their country if needed is the highest among other
developed countries where this question was presented. 85% of the adult population in Israel said
they would be willing to fight in a war to protect the country, compared to 75% who expressed this
willingness in 2001. This figure includes the Arab public, whose readiness to fight is significantly lower
(27%) than the Jewish public (94%). Citizens of Japan (16%) and Germany (32%) are very reluctant to
go to battle for their countries. Both of these countries bear a military history that does not at all
constitute a source of pride. Finland (83%) is at the top of the list (after Israel), and the United States is
far behind (63%).”
Issue about “feminist” country has certain points, but was delivered poorly.
Women are strong and independent in Finland compared to multitude of other nations. It is again product of conditions. Men would be away for extended periods of time to relatively recent days. Hunting, logging and so forth. (proper agrarian society where man would spend only day or few away at most came here relatively late)
During this time, wife of owner of the house was one who controlled everything. She held the keys to everything, not her husband. So while Finland is not matriarchal society, female position in it has been traditionally stronger than in many other areas.
September 18, 2008 at 7:04 am
Well if you look at the authors – they are Russians and are writing for Russians and reflecting to the “Russian way of thinking”. They are not writing the guide for some social scientist but for your average normal person on the street. And for your average person on the streets the comparisons can be best made to the “general consensus of the things we all know”. Keeping in mind it is also not made for a person widely travelled, but has lived most of his adult life in the same village.
What comes to a “femisnist” country – apart from having a women as a president that boggles the mind in many places, but then again so do the Irish – Finland really has the tradition of “strong women” – so if you come from a patriarchal society you might have some adjusting that you have a woman as a manager who bosses you around. See not everyone is as enlightened about gender equality.
1. Russians also are quite patriotic. However if you get a person say from the UK such thing as flag days and such – I’ve heard more than once that this is a sign of “nationalism” that is for some a curse word. So yes – from a Finnish point of view this person apparently is not “patriotic” as he thinks flying the Union Jack is something a skinhead would do and not his janitor.
2. Well yes, but for example popping over to a friends house unannounced with all your aunts and grannies – thats still normal in Russia. Not as much here.
3. Finnish men get liquid courage. But again you are being obtuse – if you go walk around Helsinki and are in public transport – you notice – nobody speaks to each other. For someone from a babbly culture where it is traditional to get to know how your neighbours third cousin is doing – this might seem a bit cold and distant. And the question is exactly how and when do you start a discussion – the “rules of engagement” are slightly different. Though for a comparison the people in Paris public transport seemed if possible more quiet.
4. & 5. Well, for the first one – you try and make a Finn change their opinion
And again we must compare to Russia. And then with the “slowness” lets say in Finland you don’t get things done with as much spontainety maybe as elsewhere.
I lost the link, but I’ll read it through better once I have time. I just wonder what kind of a result would it be if you wrote one with your social psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists. Would they measure our skulls?
September 18, 2008 at 7:22 am
Yes well I went ahead and read the part on the “Nature of Finns” and while the statements removed from their context sound somewhat peculiar – they are explained by examples, which make it clear what the author is after. Like the “individualism” bit of the survey that most Finns would wish to live in the city on a lake in their own house without neighbors.And the explanation on how the social interaction goes – this bit on how to break the ice and get to know Finns. I’ve read several bulletin board entries of “finns being patriotic because they always buy kotimainen tuote”. And the feminism bit is explained as well – I think Tiwaz and I wrote before reading through the article and for some odd reason we came up with the same explanations. A few bits there made me smirk like the old yarn about slash-burn farmers, but I wonder where did you get the idea of dismissing this guide as something not worthy? Before that bit was a few – written by social psychologists – bits on culture shock and the different options of assimilation and integration and whatnot.. And this bit is only 1/10 of the guide itself which explains in detail “how to do things”.
Maybe you should read the guide through yourself with a bit of thought – it might help you from being separated and marginalized.
September 18, 2008 at 9:14 am
Henrik Majander, I believe the hint you made yesterday is serious. You should offer an apology and from now on, make your comments with your real name. Maybe then you would be more careful about what you say.
Nobody has to tolerate threat hints and it is totally out of place.
September 18, 2008 at 10:00 am
Regarding this name issue.
Is Enrique your name? Is it REALLY your name?
We cannot tell actually. You might be Martti Möttönen from Ivalo, who pretends to be Enrique Inglesias or whatever.
Because of that, golden rule of Internet debate is to concentrate on content, not debater.
Person who does not use his/her name or name which might be real name is not any less right if their comment is true.
So stop whining about names. If you have nothing else left to refute the comments presented to you, it might be more graceful just admit your defeat and that you were wrong instead of trying to hide behind complaints about other people not presenting their names.
September 22, 2008 at 9:00 pm
and how is life treating you, sugar?
xoxo
February 14, 2009 at 10:25 am
I am finnish, however live in Arizona. A family member mentioned the other day how they can certainly tell im finish.. I dont know much about my heritage, so i decided to do some googling, its quite funny but every single “stereo type/characteristic” describes me almost to the t. I’d love to visit Finland someday.
February 14, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Hi MSeppala, thank you for your comment. Well, I hope you will be able to visit Finland one day and hear about your journey.
March 16, 2009 at 2:26 am
MSeppala,
That’s a very interesting comment. I think some aspects of our heritage might be “hard-wired” into our personalities and traits, despite living elsewhere. As another example, after years of research and genetic testing I finally proved my heritage is Finnish–despite my grandparents changing their name and hiding that from us (the came here during Finnish civil war). But I knew all this 20 years ago–it’s just intuition.
March 16, 2009 at 9:07 am
What exactly did they reveal? Were a few Finnish genes with a whole bunch of Western European ones?
March 16, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Well, I’m not going to elaborate on needless details to the point of a possible argument. Statistically, there are certain “markers” which are more specific to Finnish populations. That’s all–it’s simply a confirmation of my own “gut”, and personal research when my grandparents were so close-lipped about our heritage. It’s hardly a suggestion of “genetic purity” or anything of the sort…I hate that stuff. I just came here to comment on MSeppala–and not stir up your blog. Best!
March 16, 2009 at 6:41 pm
KS, you are not stirring up anything. Many thanks for sharing your comment. Why did you grandparents want to hide their Finnish heritage? Is it because they wanted their children to be USAmericans?
March 16, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Thanks Enrique,
In retrospect, I can only suspect they hid our heritage because they fled during the Finnish civil war, and settled among other Finns in Minnesota, US. There were two bitterly opposed factions at the time in Finland, and a deadly backlash against those who sided with social-democratic reform–the “White Terror”. This probably explains why my grandparents were so afraid of “people coming to get them, if they who we were”. So it’s sad they hid our heritage, but I managed to discover this with a little evidence…and determination.
March 16, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Good for you, KS. I am very happy that you have found your heritage. Now, you should make an effort to know more about Finland, the Finns and their culture. An important part of that culture are the immigrants and their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. That is probably a good place to start. I we can help you along that rich path, do not hesitate to ask.
March 16, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Thank you Enrique. It has been interesting to find some connections between the past and who I am now. In particular, I find the concept of “sisu” as personally inspiring during these difficult time. It’s one of those qualities which strike deeper than the usual cultural tribalism/stereotypes even present here in America. I’ve enjoyed your blog so far, and will certainly visit again.
March 16, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Thank you very much again for your comment. You are most welcome to join us whenever you please. We have a lot of readers and I am certain there would be many of us who would be interested in helping you to know more about Finland and its culture.