The life and deeds of Swedish star reporter Barbro Alving.

1. Barbro “Bang” Alving
(1909-1983)
Let me tell you about
this wonderful woman
● Star reporter
● Defender of women's
rights
● Pacifist
● Bisexual
● Unwed mother
● The reason Sweden's
biggest feminist
magazine is called
“Bang”

2. ● She started off writing
fluffy mood pieces. Then
she got sent to do fluffy
mood pieces from the
1936 Berlin Olympics.
● Largely, she stuck to the
job description, though
no-one reading could
have escaped her low
opinion on Nazi
Germany.
● The readers loved her
pieces, which gave her
the leverage she needed
to get heavier
assignments.

3. ● She asked to be sent
to Spain next, to
cover the civil war.
● The newspaper told
her no, it was too
dangerous.
● So she went anyway,
freelance.
● The next year she
went again, only this
time she was six
months pregnant.
● Which she hadn't told
anyone, because she
didn't want to scare
them.

4. ● Oh yeah, the
pregnancy.
● She had a short fling
with cartoonist Birger
Lundquist and got
pregnant.
● I don't have to tell you
the attitude towards
single mothers in the
1930s.
● But Barbro decided to
be happy about her
baby.
● After she returned
from Spain, she
marched up to her
boss and asked for a
raise and a change of
title to “Mrs”. This was
granted.

5. ● Her daughter Ruffa
was born in early
1938.
● The public took it in
stride and didn't even
inquire about the
father.
● Barbro commented,
“It's like they think an
emancipated woman
like Bang can make a
baby all on her own.”
● Babies born out of
wedlock became
known as “Bang-
babies”.

6. ● Of course, caring for a
child as an
international reporter
isn't easy.
● Fortunately, Barbro met
Loyse Sjöcrona.
● She became Barbro's
life partner and Ruffa's
second mother.
● In the lighter
newspaper columns
Barbro wrote between
the heavy stuff, Loyse
is known as “Viran”.
● The columns are
completely open with
the fact that the family
consists of two women
and a child (and
sometimes a
housekeeper).

7. ● In the years that
followed, Barbro
wrote articles from
most of the world.
● Hiroshima after the
bomb.
● India, having an
interview with Gandhi
among other things.
● Hungary during the
Communist takeover.
● The Vietnam war.

8. ● Meanwhile, she was
also required to write
fluffy humour
columns.
● Most of the time, she
could juggle the two
duties.
● At one point, though,
she telegraphed
home from India:
● “Sorry, lost all sense
of humour.”

9. ● Her work in warzones
confirmed her belief
in pacifism.
● Her newspaper,
“Dagens Nyheter”,
advocated for a
Swedish atom bomb.
● Even though the
paper was like home
to her, this was more
than Barbro could
take, and she quit.
● At one point, she was
sent to prison for
refusing civil defence
duties.
● She made good
friends with some of
the inmates and kept
in touch afterwards.
● One of them referred
to her as “granny”.

10. A couple of quotes (in my poor translation):
(On experts talking about nuclear war) “He elegantly proved that a
person so and so far away from impact won't decease. The man
said decease. The audience got a calm and cozy feeling that the
person in question, who hadn't deceased, instead turned on their
heel and went home to read a good book.
I doubt that's what they did in Hiroshima.”
(On men who like children) “Of course the young fathers of our
time existed earlier, behind the beards. I don't think anyone
believes that masculine care, pride, and tenderness for small
children are some sudden natural development soming into
existence right now.
They speak of how horrible it used to be for women, locked in by
conventions that men had created, forbidden from becoming
bigwigs in society. And it's true, that was the case.
But I think it was even worse for the bigwigs. They were locked
out. By conventions they had created themselves.”