Gyða Margrét Pétursdóttir
Biographic Data
| ID | 272978 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gyða Margrét Pétursdóttir |
| GIVEN NAMES | Gyða Margrét |
| FAMILY NAME | Pétursdóttir |
| SIGNATURE | PÉTURSDÓTTIR G M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Iceland |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7678-2008 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 72 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2013 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Challenges and opportunities of interactive learning in addressing sexual harassment in policing
Sexual harassment is widespread within the police. In this article we explore the outcome of a research-informed training programme, an in-group forum incorporating interactive learning methods, developed to counter sexual harassment within the Icelandic police. We examine the challenges and opportunities the programme presents for addressing sexual harassment in man-dominated, masculinised organisations such as the police. Building on qualitativ…
Gender-based harassment in police organisations
For Some Reason, She Just Wasn’t Able to Have an Abortion”
Liberal abortion laws are crucial to the freedom of reproductive decision-making. However, even in countries like Iceland, which have high levels of gender equality and liberal abortion policies, women often feel constrained by socio-political rhetoric and traditional attitudes about motherhood. This paper examines the association between reproductive choice and potential regret in motherhood. Through in-depth interviews with 35 individuals in Ic…
Ready for whatever the day might bring
This article examines the performance of femininities and leadership in online work meetings and the discursive knowledge on which they draw. As women's confidence is portrayed as contingent upon their intense labour, we focused on self-body-care and mood work, highlighting their interaction with the construction of professional feminine identity and leadership within a neoliberal framework. Data was collected online using the story completion me…
Feminist solidarity and hopeful imaginings in the MeToo movement in Iceland
In this article, we build on feminist scholarship to narrate how the MeToo movement in Iceland was formed through collective reflexivity and resistance, ultimately connecting different groups of women in affective solidarity. In our exploration of how the movement unfolded, we draw on anonymous MeToo testimonies and media discussions. We argue that the feminist lexicon, particularly the notion of ‘returning the shame’, was instrumental in hailing…
It’ll be All Right, Everybody Has Children”
Social expectations of women as mothers significantly impact the reproductive decision-making process for those who have the potential for childbirth. This article focuses on women in Iceland who regret motherhood. It aims to understand how regretting motherhood is experienced and the consequences of living with a socially unacceptable emotion. Based on the results of in-depth interviews taken with sixteen heterosexual ciswomen who regret becomin…
We all have Regrets; it doesn't Mean we are Failures
A woman's choice to remain childfree is often met with disapproving comments. This article focuses on pronatalism and the social discourse that promotes and maintains motherhood as the preferred choice for women in a country that has achieved high levels of gender equality. Critical discourse analysis is applied to 30 qualitative interviews with women, trans, and non-binary people in Iceland, who are either childfree by choice or who regret mothe…
Capturing Dis/Comfort and Navigating Transformation in the Gender Studies Classroom
Creating a positive classroom experience for students can be a challenge, especially when teaching a contested topic such as gender studies. Teaching and learning gender is teaching and learning against the grain, which can lead to feelings of comfort and discomfort among students. The objective is to capture different manifestations of dis/comfort and transformation within the classroom by presenting a case based on gender studies. The study bui…
Feminist Academics Strategically Playing Offense/Defense in Pursue of Academic and Societal Change
In this intimate-insider study on feminist activists in Icelandic academia we build on Hark’s theoretical concept of the precarious precondition for change. We unpack the concept and apply it to our own research, revealing how feminist scholars dissent to the masculinized neoliberal academic game in pursue of creating change. The findings reveal how the women play their own offence/defence game within the established rules of the academic game. T…
When he turns his back to me, I give him the finger
In this article, we draw on 604 anonymous MeToo testimonies published in Iceland by women in different work sectors. Our main analytical focus is on women’s embodied experiences of sexual violations in the workplace, with an aim to explore how they tackle those violations. We use reflexive thematic analysis, and our first theme demonstrates how the women’s world and world-making capacities are perceived as shrinking as a result of harassment. Thi…
When Discourse is Hijacked
Following a qualitative analysis of interviews with 16 current and former social scientists at the University of Iceland, we argue for the existence of an individual and implicit form of resistance to gender equality that we call “hijacking the discourse.” In a neoliberal culture of higher education that favors individual emancipation in an academic marketplace, a collective understanding of inequality as rooted in larger systems of power is in d…
To protect and serve while protecting privileges and serving male interests
The police force and police work are gendered and male dominated. Progression towards gender equality is slow despite multiple efforts to enable change. Greater attention is needed regarding men’s perspectives on gender equality, including the preconceptions and prejudices that sustain this hegemonic masculine culture. Drawing on a survey of the whole population of the Icelandic police force, we find gender differences in attitudes towards gender…
Sisterly advice for feminists in academia when playing the game and working the cracks
This paper introduces a set of workarounds for early-career feminist academics. Successful senior women academics in feminist and other critical disciplines were asked about their experiences within the academic system, how they thrived in the neoliberal academy while practicing feminist scholarship and activism. They revealed how they paid the price for unmasking the rules of the game and working the cracks within the system. Based on their expe…
New managerialism in the academy
In the era of global competition, academic institutions are increasingly being managed as efficient organizations where early career academics are the most vulnerable group in the academic hierarchy. We use gender budgeting to deconstruct the financial and managerial processes and procedures in a selected academic institution in Iceland. Drawing on multiple data collection methods, we argue that new managerialism enhances the precarious position …
Testing the concept of academic housework in a European setting
In the labour market women’s jobs have frequently been conceptually and literally tied to housework and hence thought of as unskilled and therefore undervalued. Although academic institutions have undergone changes, the fact that women still carry the main responsibility for domestic and caring tasks continues to follow them into the academic work environment. In this explorative study we focus on the gendered aspects of undervalued work in acade…
Well-earned respectability or legitimation of masculinities? Powerful and publicly celebrated men in pre- and post-collapse Iceland
Fire-raising feminists
Sexual violence of various forms, be it sexual harassment or sexual abuse, perpetrated by male professors against their female students has gained societal visibility through media broadcasts. This article tells the tale of the 2013 recruitment to the University of Iceland of a former political party leader, minister and ambassador. He was publicly called out in 2012 for his alleged sexual offences, perpetrated some years earlier. The story is to…
A Feminist Theory of Corruption
Half a decade into a new global economic crisis, most policymakers, pundits, and scholars discuss the situation in nongendered ways, carting out long-standing criticisms of bloated states or of neoliberalism, despite powerful feminist critiques. At the same time, feminist scholars, particularly those within feminist political science (FPS) studying advanced democracies, have been struggling with a “central paradox . ... The widespread formal adop…
New managerialism in the academy
In the era of global competition, academic institutions are increasingly being managed as efficient organizations where early career academics are the most vulnerable group in the academic hierarchy. We use gender budgeting to deconstruct the financial and managerial processes and procedures in a selected academic institution in Iceland. Drawing on multiple data collection methods, we argue that new managerialism enhances the precarious position …
A Feminist Theory of Corruption
Half a decade into a new global economic crisis, most policymakers, pundits, and scholars discuss the situation in nongendered ways, carting out long-standing criticisms of bloated states or of neoliberalism, despite powerful feminist critiques. At the same time, feminist scholars, particularly those within feminist political science (FPS) studying advanced democracies, have been struggling with a “central paradox . ... The widespread formal adop…
To protect and serve while protecting privileges and serving male interests
The police force and police work are gendered and male dominated. Progression towards gender equality is slow despite multiple efforts to enable change. Greater attention is needed regarding men’s perspectives on gender equality, including the preconceptions and prejudices that sustain this hegemonic masculine culture. Drawing on a survey of the whole population of the Icelandic police force, we find gender differences in attitudes towards gender…
Sisterly advice for feminists in academia when playing the game and working the cracks
This paper introduces a set of workarounds for early-career feminist academics. Successful senior women academics in feminist and other critical disciplines were asked about their experiences within the academic system, how they thrived in the neoliberal academy while practicing feminist scholarship and activism. They revealed how they paid the price for unmasking the rules of the game and working the cracks within the system. Based on their expe…
Feminist Academics Strategically Playing Offense/Defense in Pursue of Academic and Societal Change
In this intimate-insider study on feminist activists in Icelandic academia we build on Hark’s theoretical concept of the precarious precondition for change. We unpack the concept and apply it to our own research, revealing how feminist scholars dissent to the masculinized neoliberal academic game in pursue of creating change. The findings reveal how the women play their own offence/defence game within the established rules of the academic game. T…
When Discourse is Hijacked
Following a qualitative analysis of interviews with 16 current and former social scientists at the University of Iceland, we argue for the existence of an individual and implicit form of resistance to gender equality that we call “hijacking the discourse.” In a neoliberal culture of higher education that favors individual emancipation in an academic marketplace, a collective understanding of inequality as rooted in larger systems of power is in d…
Fire-raising feminists
Sexual violence of various forms, be it sexual harassment or sexual abuse, perpetrated by male professors against their female students has gained societal visibility through media broadcasts. This article tells the tale of the 2013 recruitment to the University of Iceland of a former political party leader, minister and ambassador. He was publicly called out in 2012 for his alleged sexual offences, perpetrated some years earlier. The story is to…
It’ll be All Right, Everybody Has Children”
Social expectations of women as mothers significantly impact the reproductive decision-making process for those who have the potential for childbirth. This article focuses on women in Iceland who regret motherhood. It aims to understand how regretting motherhood is experienced and the consequences of living with a socially unacceptable emotion. Based on the results of in-depth interviews taken with sixteen heterosexual ciswomen who regret becomin…
Capturing Dis/Comfort and Navigating Transformation in the Gender Studies Classroom
Creating a positive classroom experience for students can be a challenge, especially when teaching a contested topic such as gender studies. Teaching and learning gender is teaching and learning against the grain, which can lead to feelings of comfort and discomfort among students. The objective is to capture different manifestations of dis/comfort and transformation within the classroom by presenting a case based on gender studies. The study bui…
Well-earned respectability or legitimation of masculinities? Powerful and publicly celebrated men in pre- and post-collapse Iceland
A Feminist Theory of Corruption
Half a decade into a new global economic crisis, most policymakers, pundits, and scholars discuss the situation in nongendered ways, carting out long-standing criticisms of bloated states or of neoliberalism, despite powerful feminist critiques. At the same time, feminist scholars, particularly those within feminist political science (FPS) studying advanced democracies, have been struggling with a “central paradox . ... The widespread formal adop…
Fire-raising feminists
Sexual violence of various forms, be it sexual harassment or sexual abuse, perpetrated by male professors against their female students has gained societal visibility through media broadcasts. This article tells the tale of the 2013 recruitment to the University of Iceland of a former political party leader, minister and ambassador. He was publicly called out in 2012 for his alleged sexual offences, perpetrated some years earlier. The story is to…
Testing the concept of academic housework in a European setting
In the labour market women’s jobs have frequently been conceptually and literally tied to housework and hence thought of as unskilled and therefore undervalued. Although academic institutions have undergone changes, the fact that women still carry the main responsibility for domestic and caring tasks continues to follow them into the academic work environment. In this explorative study we focus on the gendered aspects of undervalued work in acade…
Well-earned respectability or legitimation of masculinities? Powerful and publicly celebrated men in pre- and post-collapse Iceland
New managerialism in the academy
In the era of global competition, academic institutions are increasingly being managed as efficient organizations where early career academics are the most vulnerable group in the academic hierarchy. We use gender budgeting to deconstruct the financial and managerial processes and procedures in a selected academic institution in Iceland. Drawing on multiple data collection methods, we argue that new managerialism enhances the precarious position …
When Discourse is Hijacked
Following a qualitative analysis of interviews with 16 current and former social scientists at the University of Iceland, we argue for the existence of an individual and implicit form of resistance to gender equality that we call “hijacking the discourse.” In a neoliberal culture of higher education that favors individual emancipation in an academic marketplace, a collective understanding of inequality as rooted in larger systems of power is in d…
To protect and serve while protecting privileges and serving male interests
The police force and police work are gendered and male dominated. Progression towards gender equality is slow despite multiple efforts to enable change. Greater attention is needed regarding men’s perspectives on gender equality, including the preconceptions and prejudices that sustain this hegemonic masculine culture. Drawing on a survey of the whole population of the Icelandic police force, we find gender differences in attitudes towards gender…
Sisterly advice for feminists in academia when playing the game and working the cracks
This paper introduces a set of workarounds for early-career feminist academics. Successful senior women academics in feminist and other critical disciplines were asked about their experiences within the academic system, how they thrived in the neoliberal academy while practicing feminist scholarship and activism. They revealed how they paid the price for unmasking the rules of the game and working the cracks within the system. Based on their expe…
Feminist Academics Strategically Playing Offense/Defense in Pursue of Academic and Societal Change
In this intimate-insider study on feminist activists in Icelandic academia we build on Hark’s theoretical concept of the precarious precondition for change. We unpack the concept and apply it to our own research, revealing how feminist scholars dissent to the masculinized neoliberal academic game in pursue of creating change. The findings reveal how the women play their own offence/defence game within the established rules of the academic game. T…
When he turns his back to me, I give him the finger
In this article, we draw on 604 anonymous MeToo testimonies published in Iceland by women in different work sectors. Our main analytical focus is on women’s embodied experiences of sexual violations in the workplace, with an aim to explore how they tackle those violations. We use reflexive thematic analysis, and our first theme demonstrates how the women’s world and world-making capacities are perceived as shrinking as a result of harassment. Thi…
Capturing Dis/Comfort and Navigating Transformation in the Gender Studies Classroom
Creating a positive classroom experience for students can be a challenge, especially when teaching a contested topic such as gender studies. Teaching and learning gender is teaching and learning against the grain, which can lead to feelings of comfort and discomfort among students. The objective is to capture different manifestations of dis/comfort and transformation within the classroom by presenting a case based on gender studies. The study bui…
Feminist solidarity and hopeful imaginings in the MeToo movement in Iceland
In this article, we build on feminist scholarship to narrate how the MeToo movement in Iceland was formed through collective reflexivity and resistance, ultimately connecting different groups of women in affective solidarity. In our exploration of how the movement unfolded, we draw on anonymous MeToo testimonies and media discussions. We argue that the feminist lexicon, particularly the notion of ‘returning the shame’, was instrumental in hailing…
It’ll be All Right, Everybody Has Children”
Social expectations of women as mothers significantly impact the reproductive decision-making process for those who have the potential for childbirth. This article focuses on women in Iceland who regret motherhood. It aims to understand how regretting motherhood is experienced and the consequences of living with a socially unacceptable emotion. Based on the results of in-depth interviews taken with sixteen heterosexual ciswomen who regret becomin…
We all have Regrets; it doesn't Mean we are Failures
A woman's choice to remain childfree is often met with disapproving comments. This article focuses on pronatalism and the social discourse that promotes and maintains motherhood as the preferred choice for women in a country that has achieved high levels of gender equality. Critical discourse analysis is applied to 30 qualitative interviews with women, trans, and non-binary people in Iceland, who are either childfree by choice or who regret mothe…
Challenges and opportunities of interactive learning in addressing sexual harassment in policing
Sexual harassment is widespread within the police. In this article we explore the outcome of a research-informed training programme, an in-group forum incorporating interactive learning methods, developed to counter sexual harassment within the Icelandic police. We examine the challenges and opportunities the programme presents for addressing sexual harassment in man-dominated, masculinised organisations such as the police. Building on qualitativ…
Gender-based harassment in police organisations
For Some Reason, She Just Wasn’t Able to Have an Abortion”
Liberal abortion laws are crucial to the freedom of reproductive decision-making. However, even in countries like Iceland, which have high levels of gender equality and liberal abortion policies, women often feel constrained by socio-political rhetoric and traditional attitudes about motherhood. This paper examines the association between reproductive choice and potential regret in motherhood. Through in-depth interviews with 35 individuals in Ic…
Ready for whatever the day might bring
This article examines the performance of femininities and leadership in online work meetings and the discursive knowledge on which they draw. As women's confidence is portrayed as contingent upon their intense labour, we focused on self-body-care and mood work, highlighting their interaction with the construction of professional feminine identity and leadership within a neoliberal framework. Data was collected online using the story completion me…
Sociology (15 works) · Political science (13 works) · Gender Studies (12 works) · Law (10 works) · Gender Diversity and Inequality (9 works) · Gender Studies (9 works) · Psychology (9 works) · Law (8 works) · Social Psychology (8 works) · Politics (7 works)