Researchers at the University of Gothenburg and Malmö University have been awarded research funding to investigate how the transition to a fossil-free society can take place in dialogue with car enthusiasts.
“The transport sector accounts for a large share of Sweden's greenhouse gas emissions, while the car continues to play a central role in people's everyday lives. But the car is more than a means of transport. It is also closely associated with freedom, status, community and identity—values that shape how people perceive the transition to a fossil-free society,” says Anna Bohlin, social anthropologist and critical heritage studies scholar at the Department of Global Studies and the Centre for Critical Heritage Studies at the University of Gothenburg, and one of the project's three researchers.
Car cultures and masculinity
The project examines the relationship between masculinity and car culture, and how this shapes ideas about mobility, climate and the future. Previous research has shown that men are more likely than women to own and use cars, while women more often choose more sustainable modes of transport. To better understand the cultural and social factors influencing the transition to fossil-free mobility, the project therefore also investigates the car's role as a marker of identity.
The researchers draw on the concepts of petroculture and petro-masculinity. Petroculture refers to the ways in which society's dependence on fossil fuels shapes norms, values and everyday life. Petro-masculinity is used to analyse how ideals of masculinity can become intertwined with car culture, fossil fuels and attitudes towards climate change.
“The project investigates how these relationships play out in a Swedish context, where both the automotive industry and gender equality have played significant roles,” says Mikela Lundahl Hero, historian of ideas at the Department of Global Studies and the Centre for Critical Heritage Studies at the University of Gothenburg, who is also part of the research team.
Exploring Swedish car subcultures
The interdisciplinary study is based on qualitative methods, including interviews and participant observation. The researchers will study a range of car-based subcultures in which vehicles play an important role in creating community and identity, extending far beyond their practical function as means of transport. The project also examines how norms surrounding car culture are negotiated and reshaped by different groups, including young women, men and people with migrant backgrounds.
“We will conduct interviews and participant observation in settings where the car plays a central cultural role,” says Mona Lilja, Professor at Malmö University and the project's principal investigator. “We will also study the material culture associated with the car, from tools and decals to sensory dimensions such as sounds and smells.”
Car culture as heritage practice?
The project also adopts a heritage perspective. Car cultures are studied as living heritage practices, while the researchers explore how the legacy of the oil and petrol age continues to shape ideas about mobility, technology and the future.
“Critical heritage studies offer exciting ways of approaching this field,” says Anna Bohlin. “Cars themselves constitute an important form of cultural heritage and are often objects of great care and affection. At the same time, taking a long-term perspective—looking both backwards and forwards in time—can help us better understand what is required to create more sustainable forms of mobility.”
By bringing together research on climate, gender, heritage and mobility, the project aims to generate new knowledge about the cultural dimensions of the green transition—knowledge that can contribute to future research, public debate and climate policy.
"We look forward to exploring masculinity in relation to mobility. Masculinity has once again become a focus of public debate, often in negative ways. Our aim is to start from men's own perspectives on themselves and their place in the world. By doing so, we hope to contribute to a better understanding of how the conditions for the green transition can be negotiated," says Mikela Lundahl Hero.
