In 2000 the Icelandic parliament adopted unanimously a new and radical law on parental leave. The leave was extended from six months to nine; divided between the parents so that fathers were allotted three months, mothers three and the remaining three divided between the two. One reason given for this division was to try to ensure that children received care from both parents. From the results of a questionnaire answered by parents who had their first child in 1997, 2003 or 2009 it was estimated whether the intention of the law was put into practice. The results indicate that the division of care between parents, from birth until three years, has changed in the intended direction and that this is mainly due to the law. The results also showed that this is least common among parents that do not live together. However, even amongst these parents the division of care is more equal among those who had their first child in 2009 than those who had their first in 1997. Finally, the results show that there is a direct correlation between the length of leave taken by the father and his involvement in care afterwards. Overall, these results indicate that the law has had the intended effect of providing children with care from both parents.

The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the development of parental leave in the Nordic countries in the last decade or so and explain the different approaches taken by individual countries in this regard. Focusing on recent developments, though mainly on the provision of a father's quota, we discuss whether we are actually witnessing a paradigm shift in some of these countries, i.e. a movement away from an emphasis on the dual earner/dual carer model and a reverting back to a more traditional family model approach where the mother is seen as the main parent. This change is commonly presented under the guise of it respecting the 'free choice' of individual families. Furthermore, the article asks why the changes in question have taken place and examines the positions of different political parties towards the issue. The article shows that the Nordic countries are developing somewhat different policies and the intra-Nordic gap in both policies and politics seems to be increasing rather than narrowing.El objetivo de este artículo es el de proporcionar una panorámica sobre el desarrollo de los permisos parentales en los países nórdicos a lo largo de la última década, así como explicar los diferentes enfoques sobre esta materia adoptados por cada uno de ellos individualmente. Centrándonos en los desarrollos recientes, básicamente a través de la introducción de la cuota para el padre, analizamos en qué medida somos testigos en la actualidad de un desplazamiento del paradigma en algunos de estos países; es decir, un movimiento fuera del énfasis en el modelo de doble ingreso / cuidados compartidos, con un retroceso hacia un modelo de familia más tradicional en donde la madre es considerada como la progenitora principal. Este cambio se presenta con frecuencia bajo el disfraz de respetar la 'libre elección' de las familias. Asimismo el artículo se pregunta por qué se han producido estos cambios y examina los puntos de vista de los diferentes partidos políticos sobre esta cuestión. El artículo pone de manifiesto que los diversos países nórdicos están desarrollando unas políticas en cierta medida diferentes y que la brecha intra-nórdica, tanto en las políticas como en el ámbito de la política, parece estar acrecentándose más que estrechándose.

Iceland enjoys an international reputation as one of the most gender equal countries in the world. This article analyses how young men in Reykjavík, the country's capital, perceive masculinities as they orient themselves in surroundings where gender equality is regarded as a common goal and a behavioral norm. The analysis, based on qualitative interviews, shows that the men in the study are heavily influenced by gender equality discourse and welcome change and the ever narrowing gap between genders. At the same time, they express uncertainties as they describe both changes and stabilities in what is expected of them as men. There are clear indications that masculinity is more broadly defined than before, that nowadays more things are "permissible," and yet despite this liberalization, certain homophobic attitudes still linger on.

Dominant discourses on breastfeeding as the optimal feeding method for infants and a way for mother and child to develop a strong bond are widely promoted and the message of ‘breast is best’ has been internalized by mothers around the world. Breastfeeding rates in Iceland and the other Nordic countries are among the highest in the world and the cultural and societal expectations for women to successfully breastfeed are therefore very high, as breastfeeding represents a strong moral and social norm. Iceland is considered a model for gender equality and feminism and this article thus examines the experiences of women who have struggled with breastfeeding, in a context which strongly promotes both breastfeeding and gender equality. By analysing the narratives of 77 Icelandic women, this article extends theorizing about rhetorical agency and resistance by demonstrating how they oppose and challenge dominant discourses on breastfeeding and good mothering and what counter-discourses they draw upon in order to make sense of their experiences. The findings indicate that feminism and feminist rhetoric have been unsuccessful in addressing and providing women with counter-discourses that challenge the highly gendered and oppressive elements of infant feeding and its link to idealized versions of motherhood.

Iceland enjoys a reputation as one of the most gender equal countries in the world. It has also received much attention for an innovative approach to parental leave where fathers have three months of non-transferable leave, thereby encouraging active involvement of fathers in the caretaking of their children. This article focuses on the discrepancy between on the one hand the goals of the state of drawing men, particularly fathers, into traditional female dominated areas such as caregiving of infants and young children and on the other hand a discourse that equates motherhood with parenthood and promotes the ideology of intensive mothering.