Tag: Netherlands

SPN – Polyamory foundation in the Netherlands

SPN (Stichting Polyamorie Nederland) is a foundation that provides resources and support for people in the practice of, or desire for, intimate relationships with more than one partner, with the knowledge of all partners. The work aims simultaneously to create more social acceptance in society for polyamory and to fight for better laws that don’t discriminate relationships that are different than the monogamous standard. People who identify as polyamorous reject the view that sexual and relational exclusivity are necessary for deep, committed, long-term loving relationships.

Review ‘White Innocence’

Now the days have become darker and shorter, Sinterklaas and his friends, the so-called Zwarte Pieten or ‘Black Petes’, have travelled to the Netherlands. Besides gifts and sweets, they bring something else that has become traditional over time: a passionate and vehement debate on the alleged racism of the very phenomenon of Black Pete. The book White Innocence. Paradoxes of Colonialism and Race, written by emeritus professor of Gender and Ethnicity Gloria Wekker, is a valuable companion in the many inevitable discussions on Dutch racism to come.

Why so many prostitutes in recent Dutch novels?

Which types of characters populate the fictional society of Dutch literature? When thinking about literature in terms of demographics, questions arise with regards to the literary representation of certain social groups. Why are certain professions for characters in recent Dutch novels so popular? And what does that say about the potential emancipatory and progressive powers of literature?