Two girls from the 90s talk about family structures
In 1996, Heidi Marie Vestrheim and Brit Aksnes graduated from upper secondary school at Øystese Gymnas in Hardanger. Vestrheim had recently come out as a lesbian, while Aksnes had a boyfriend. What would the future hold for them when it came to family life?
The nuclear family – mother, father and children – has long been the dominant model. However, looking back through history, blended families and yours, mine and ours are nothing new. Choosing not to have children, on the other hand, is a relatively recent phenomenon, something Aksnes explores in her recently published book Barnfri – ei bok om å ikkje bli mor (Childfree – A Book About Not Becoming a Mother). The same applies to gay and lesbian people being able to become parents, or single women receiving state support to have children – something an increasing number are choosing to do.
What role models did Vestrheim and Aksnes have when they were growing up? Why have they written about not becoming a mother and about a twelve-year-old girl who falls in love with other girls? There were few books in literature for girls like Heidi Marie, something she is now addressing through her Jenny Fender series. The books Aksnes read, such as Anne of Green Gables and Heidi, tended to focus on children without parents rather than parents without children. As a young adult, there were few Norwegian books exploring the choice not to have children.
The evening offers both a look back and a look towards the present and the future. How did they imagine their adult lives would be? Was having a family part of the plan? Did things turn out as they expected? And what common ground have they found in the choices they have made along the way?
