The presumed vulnerability of women seeking an abortion limits the Norwegian debate on abortion – in both directions.

Norway and Sweden are held up as shining examples when gender equality in academia is discussed in a European context. But even in these countries, political efforts to achieve the objectives of gender balance must continue. Key challenges are rigid structures and the men who dominate academia, according to researchers who recently attended a European conference in Stockholm.

Artists such as David Bowie, Morrissey and Robbie Williams have changed our ideas about what a man is and should be, according to Stan Hawkins, who has written a book on the phenomenon of pop dandyism.

Violence inflicted by an intimate partner lasts longer if the couple has children together, and the violence continues after the relationship ends. In addition, children are harmed more by witnessing violence between their parents than previously thought.

When children are placed in state custody, their gender is not irrelevant. Society must be protected against the boys, while the girls must be protected against society and themselves.

Ulla-Britt Lilleaas has been appointed the new leader of the Center for Gender and Equality at the University of Agder. One of the things she wants to focus on is why the Agder region, in the south of Norway, frequently scores low on gender equality indexes.

In kindergarten the boys make lots of noise and play with Lego, but they also like to spend time playing with dolls. The girls, on the other hand, stick to doing "girls’ stuff". A new report concludes that Norwegian kindergartens are failing to promote gender equality.

Marcia Inhorn, Professor II at the University of Bergen, gives her view on the situation for women in science in Norway and the U.S. She perceives Norway as a gender progressive country and is impressed by the “gender privilege” she finds Norwegian women researchers to have.

It is often said that transsexuals are “born in the wrong body”. But does “the right body” have to be either a woman’s or a man’s body?