Content
The story is located in the fictional land of Egalia, where the gender roles are topsy-turvy by completely switching the stereotypical gender roles. The protagonist of the novel is a young boy named Petronius. He is active in the fight against the current feminine norms in the society, wanting to reach an equal society and fulfill his dream of becoming a seawoman. Even though Petronius sometimes fantasizes about a quiet and peaceful life with a strong woman to take care of him, he continues his tough fight for a better future for men. In the novel a number of examples of the current matriarchy are offered, as poor Petronius is forced to use a “PH” ("penisholder," a humorous invented masculine equivalent to a women's bra for the penis; the German term for "bra" is BH for "Brusthalter," "breast holder"), experiences a violent sexual attack, and is introduced to birth control pills for men. The language in the novel is key: the English, German, and other translations do attempt to match the original Norwegian in effect. Language used in society today often reflects patriarchal norms; the novel turns this on its head by making the core of each word feminine, for instance (in the English translation) using “wim” as the root for "person" (instead of "man"), and “menwim" for "masculine person" (instead of "women"). The nomenclature in the book extends to many linguistic categories, for instance personal names, where short and rough or "nickname" sounding names are given to wim (Ba, Gro and Rut; compare Tom, Dick, Bob), while menwim are given longer and more melodious, unshortened names (Petronius, Mirabello and Baldrian; compare Rosalie, Victoria, Penelope). The word "human" becomes "huwim."References