Seawomen of Iceland: Survival on the Edge

by Margaret Willson

Overview

Finalist for the 2017 Washington State Book Award in General Nonfiction / History

The plaque said this was the winter fishing hut of Thurídur Einarsdóttir, one of Iceland's greatest fishing captains, and that she lived from 1777 to 1863.

"Wait," anthropologist and former seawoman Margaret Willson said. "She??"

So began a quest. Were there more Icelandic seawomen? Most Icelanders said no, and, after all, in most parts of the world fishing is considered a male profession. What could she expect in Iceland?

She found a surprise. This book is a glimpse into the lives of vibrant women who have braved the sea for centuries. Their accounts include the excitement, accidents, trials, and tribulations of fishing in Iceland from the historic times of small open rowboats to today's high-tech fisheries. Based on extensive historical and field research, Seawomen of Iceland allows the seawomen's voices to speak directly with strength, intelligence, and - above all - a knowledge of how to survive.

This engaging ethnographic narrative will intrigue both general and academic readers interested in maritime culture, the anthropology of work, Nordic life, and gender studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780295995502
Publisher:	University of Washington Press
Publication date:	04/01/2016
Series:	Naomi B. Pascal Editor's Endowment Series
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Margaret Willson is affiliate associate professor of anthropology and Canadian studies at the University of Washington. She is the author of Dance Lest We All Fall Down: Breaking Cycles of Poverty in Brazil and Beyond.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

A Note on Icelandic Language, Names, and Landscape xv

Maps xviii

Introduction: Fishing Expeditions 3

1 Survival on the Edge: A Hidden History 23

2 In Our Blood: A Lineage of Sea Knowledge 53

3 The Mysterious Case of the Disappearing Seawomen and the Rise of Hags, Trolls, and Whores 81

4 Endurance: Why Do These Women Still Go to Sea? 113

5 The Sea's Siren Call: And the Jobs Seawomen Take in Reply 139

6 A Balance of Being: Ship Society 165

7 Paying to See the Stars: A New Kind of Survival 203

Appendix A Historical Seawomen 235

Appendix B Age of Women Registered as Seafarers, 2007-11 242

Appendix C Number of Female Fishermen, 1998-2011 243

Notes 245

Bibliography 259

Index 267

What People are Saying About This

Kristin Loftsdóttir

Willson insightfully uses Iceland to reflect larger global social and economic transformations, showing with passion and respect how the story of Iceland’s seawomen is interwoven with the fabric of the nation’s history. Beautifully written and empirically rich, this ethnography sheds light on how processes of modernization and neoliberalization resulted in women’s systematic exclusion from production and power. Ultimately, however, Seawomen of Iceland reveals not only struggles of poverty and inequality, but also a newly told story of empowerment.

Kristin Loftsdóttir

"Willson insightfully uses Iceland to reflect larger global social and economic transformations, showing with passion and respect how the story of Iceland’s seawomen is interwoven with the fabric of the nation’s history. Beautifully written and empirically rich, this ethnography sheds light on how processes of modernization and neoliberalization resulted in women’s systematic exclusion from production and power. Ultimately, however, Seawomen of Iceland reveals not only struggles of poverty and inequality, but also a newly told story of empowerment."

Charles Menzies

"Seawomen of Iceland is a fabulous book, part memoir, part ethnography. Too often the presence of women at sea has been treated as an exception to be explained, but in this book the history and reality of seawomen is treated as fact and the stories follow from that. It’s about time!"

Niels Einarsson

"Contributes a new and fresh understanding of Icelandic fishing culture. This is a captivating read due to the breadth of knowledge the author conveys through her personal style."

Editorial Reviews

"A wonderfully detailed and lovingly crafted study of Icelandic women at sea through the ages. Willson . . . explore[s] not only why so many women fished and participated in maritime labour, especially in the past, but also to ask why this knowledge remains hidden and marginalized.NORA: Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research"

NORA: Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research - Elisabeth Lund Engebretsen

"[S]tudies concerning maritime women are still few and far between, which makes Seawomen of Iceland: Survival on the Edge by Margaret Willson a valuable contribution to the small but growing number of books in this category."

The International Journal of Maritime History

"Margaret Willson’s ethnographic research reveals that despite its claims of being a society that promotes gender equality, and despite centuries-old laws dictating equal pay for both genders, Iceland does, in fact, have a significant amount of gender inequality at its core. As an island nation with few agricultural resources inland, Iceland relies heavily on the fishing industry not only for its own economic stability, but also for the very survival of its people. Willson, a former fisherwoman herself, begins research for this book in an attempt to discover why, in a country surrounded by the ocean, females are almost completely unrepresented in the lore of the nation’s substantial seafaring tradition. What she uncovers is a rich but submerged oral history, laden with tales of successful, strong, brave, determined seawomen who have ultimately been “erased” from existence by their own society. Her objective is to write them back in."

International Journal on Women's Studies

"Sailing on the eloquent prose of Willson’s research on Icelandic seawomen is the definition of experiencing the pleasure of reading a good ethnography. The book shows how deep curiosity and small questions lead us to large-scale insights. . . . This is a book that everyone with an interest in ethnography should read regardless of the kind of anthropology or social science they are engaged with."

Younes Saramifar

"The seawomen’s tales are full of their love of the sea and pride in their strength and achievements, and Willson’s sense of humor and enthusiasm for the sea and the seawomen shine through her very accessible writing."

Hakai Magazine - Claire Eamer

"This book is an interesting read and difficult to put down. Willson’s writing and storytelling is engaging and stirring."

The Northern Mariner

this book is particularly valuable because it explains the specifically icelandic aspects of these seawomen's histories... it will be an exemplary text in the study of women's maritime pasts for decades to come... the book offers a voyage that many people, like me, will want to repeat just for the pleasure of traveling with Margaret Willson.

-- "Scandinavian Studies"

[A]n engaging, many-sided and well-written exploration of the seawomen of Iceland throughout the centuries. Willson truly has succeeded in her aim to rescue these women from national oblivion and the book is, therefore, an important contribution to the history of women in the maritime sector and maritime gender history in general.

-- "Journal of Maritime Research"

[S]tudies concerning maritime women are still few and far between, which makes Seawomen of Iceland: Survival on the Edge by Margaret Willson a valuable contribution to the small but growing number of books in this category.

-- "The International Journal of Maritime History"

A wonderfully detailed and lovingly crafted study of Icelandic women at sea through the ages. Willson . . . explore[s] not only why so many women fished and participated in maritime labour, especially in the past, but also to ask why this knowledge remains hidden and marginalized.NORA: Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research

--Elisabeth Lund Engebretsen "NORA: Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research"

Margaret Willson's ethnographic research reveals that despite its claims of being a society that promotes gender equality, and despite centuries-old laws dictating equal pay for both genders, Iceland does, in fact, have a significant amount of gender inequality at its core. As an island nation with few agricultural resources inland, Iceland relies heavily on the fishing industry not only for its own economic stability, but also for the very survival of its people. Willson, a former fisherwoman herself, begins research for this book in an attempt to discover why, in a country surrounded by the ocean, females are almost completely unrepresented in the lore of the nation's substantial seafaring tradition. What she uncovers is a rich but submerged oral history, laden with tales of successful, strong, brave, determined seawomen who have ultimately been "erased" from existence by their own society. Her objective is to write them back in.

-- "International Journal on Women's Studies"

Sailing on the eloquent prose of Willson's research on Icelandic seawomen is the definition of experiencing the pleasure of reading a good ethnography. The book shows how deep curiosity and small questions lead us to large-scale insights. . . . This is a book that everyone with an interest in ethnography should read regardless of the kind of anthropology or social science they are engaged with.

--Younes Saramifar "LSE Review of Books"

The seawomen's tales are full of their love of the sea and pride in their strength and achievements, and Willson's sense of humor and enthusiasm for the sea and the seawomen shine through her very accessible writing.

--Claire Eamer "Hakai Magazine"

This book is an interesting read and difficult to put down. Willson's writing and storytelling is engaging and stirring.

-- "The Northern Mariner"

What if a certain working demographic had disappeared from memory? . . . Willson is repeatedly told that women do not work at sea--except that archives and real lives attest that women actually do. . . . Seawomen of Iceland is about tough work and tougher weather, about fishing through changing socioeconomic currents, and about the subtle--and not-so-subtle--roles gender plays in working lives.

--Bryonny Goodwin-Hawkins "Anthropology of Work"

From the Publisher