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A Gilded Cage? Help and Control in Early Norwegian Social Policy

University of Oslo

Between 1902 and 1972, Norway was the only country in Western Europe in which cohabitation without marriage was forbidden by law ("the concubinage clause"). Thirteen years after this arguably repressive clause was written into the criminal code, the Children Acts were introduced, giving Norwegian children born out of wedlock stronger social rights than in any other country at the time. Norway thus granted strong protection for children born outside marriage while extramarital sex in itself—in some circumstances—was forbidden. How can this paradox be understood? It has been argued that the Children Acts presupposed the concubinage clause, that the silk glove of the welfare state was only made possible by the iron fist of criminal law. This article studies the political debates preceding the two provisions and argues that both grewout of a particular understanding of the relationship between men and women. Extramarital sex was seen as something men did to women; thus, it could be argued that strengthening women’s position in relation to that of men would lead to less immorality. Both the concubinage clause and the Children Acts were seen as means to this end.

Key Words: Norway • marriage • cohabitation • illegitimacy • Children Act • gender • sexuality

Journal of Family History, Vol. 29, No. 3, 211-224 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0363199004266848


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