Homes in Denmark, How Space is Used

When I first arrived in Denmark, I was completely surrounded by a new environment that I was very unfamiliar in. For me, the first thing I thought about after entering a new place was how different Denmark was visually and spatially. Throughout the whole trip, I continued to observe that the vast majority of houses (excluding the Queen’s summer home) were not huge and excessive like many of the houses in the United States, nor were they too small and uncomfortable to live in. There were no harsh divisions in wealth reflected through the residences in Denmark that I was so used to seeing. The use of space in Danish society reflects the egalitarian nature of Danish culture. For the most part, there were no major displays of wealth or success through the homes people lived in. This shows how space is being socially constructed. Space in this case is being shaped by cultural ideals that Danish society upholds.
The layout of the towns was also significant. In the neighborhood I stayed in, all of the homes were about the same size and were fairly close together, even though there were fields and other open space surrounding the neighborhood that the houses could have been put on. The neighborhoods appeared to be very homogenous-looking. The layout of the neighborhood and most of the neighborhoods in Denmark creates a very orderly environment where suburban living spaces share the same space as rural areas and farms. There were no distinct separations between the rural and the suburban. In hte center of many of the neighborhoods were playgrounds that could be used by neighborhood children. These two aspects reflect the value that Danish culture puts on a fair, level society.

Language and Culture

Sapir: “The fact of the matter is that the “real world” is to a large extent unconsciously built up on the habits of the group. No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels attached” (Delany, 2004:137)

In studying a society, I feel it is very important to discuss the language of the people and how it relates to that society’s realities and understandings. The above quote is by Edward Sapir, an American linguist. He explains that each language spoken expresses different social realities. Each language has a different reality. From this reading, it can be seen that because language constitutes culture and vise versa, reality is created through language and culture.
In Denmark, people speak Danish as their first language and most people I encountered on my trip also spoke English. Danish students that I talked to were proud of their language and proud that very few of the world’s population can speak Danish. In this way, the Danish language was a glue that held people together in a society. It creates common ground that people can understand one another on. Because Danish society has its own language, it can be surmised that the Danish language creates a different reality in which Danish culture exists. In Danish and all other languages, there is expression of different social realities that constitute that particular culture. A good example of this would be the fact that the Danish language employs gender-neutral words and does not distinguish masculine or feminine words grammatically. Language reflects and is reflected by the importance of egalitarianism in Danish society. The Danish language creates a reality in which gender is not of as much importance and does not create a gender hierarchy. This is a very different social reality from the reality of American culture where there still is a distinct gender hierarchy that is reflected and perpetuated in gendered language. Learning about Danish language in connection with Danish culture made me realize how language can dictate common views that people accept as the norm. Language is one way in which the idea of egalitarianism is rooted in Danish culture.


Kwintessential Cross Cultural Solutions
Denmark – Language, Culture, Customs, and Etiquette. Electronic document, http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/denmark-country-profile.html, accessed October 22, 2007.

The Jante Law

When I found out I was going to be hosting a Danish student, I wanted to do some research on Denmark to get a glimpse of what life was like in Denmark and common social practices. I was worried about not being able to relate to the student I was hosting and I wanted to get more of an understanding of her culture. While doing this research, I found that most of the information on Denmark referred to the Danes as generally reserved, modest people. It came across as confusing to me that there was a societal norm towards being modest and having an egalitarian ideology. After further research, I came across something that could be described as a social code of conduct. The Jante Law, a concept created by Danish author Askel Sandemose in the 1930’s gives a message that no one should believe they are superior to anyone else. According to the Jante Law, everyone is equal and neither intelligence nor wealth will make you a better person. Equality in Danish culture is of such importance that personal success can be seen as an attempt to distinguish oneself from the rest of society and should be frowned upon. Although this moral code was derived from a book about a fictional village, most Danes prescribe to the behavior and social conduct that the Jante Law calls for. Why does Danish society generally follow this model of correct behavior in society? How did the Jante Law become embedded in Danish culture? I knew that only upon experiencing Danish culture and talking to Danish people would I be able to begin to understand this phenomenon.


Ladies International Network Kobenhavn
2007 Jante Law. Electronic document,
http://www.linkdenmark.com/info/jante_law.htm, accessed October 20, 2007.

What is an Egalitarian Society?

Before analyzing the different parts of Danish culture, it is important to see what an egalitarian society is and what makes Danish society considered to be egalitarian. The definition of egalitarian is relating to or believing in the principle that all people are equal and should have equal rights and opportunities. In an egalitarian society, differences in wealth, power, and status are seldom recognized. In American society, although we would like to think that everyone has equal ability to succeed, certain groups have power over others and are thus better equipped to succeed in society. For example, there is a gender hierarchy that is institutionalized in American society where women still on average earn less than men and are expected to balance work and family with little support. Conversely, in Danish society, women are highly respected in the workplace and generally receive equal pay and have access to promotion to senior positions. Women are entitled to at least four months maternity leave after giving birth and working mothers are able to arrange flexible hours to easier balance work and family life.
It is impossible to have a completely egalitarian society. From lecture, we learned that power relations will always exist within a continuum (Antonio Gramsci). Every society has some kind of hegemonic system where a group of people in power creates ideas that others willingly prescribe and consent to. Danish culture could be different in that the hegemonic ideology influences people to prescribe to an egalitarian viewpoint. Danes are encouraged to be modest and to be concerned about group needs. Egalitarianism can be seen in many aspects in Danish culture that I will discuss in later posts. By examining this one part of Danish culture, an understanding can be made of the whole culture. In Anthropology this is called a part-to-whole approach; studying a single aspect of a culture to make an inference into the inner logic of that culture. I hope to obtain a greater understanding of Danish culture by studying how egalitarianism influences Danish society.


Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation
Work. Electronic document, http://www.workindenmark.dk/Maternity_leave/0/4/0, accessed October 16, 2007.

Kwintessential Cross Cultural Solutions
Denmark – Language, Culture, Customs, and Etiquette. Electronic document, http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/denmark-country-profile.html, accessed October 16, 2007.

Introduction: My Trip to Denmark

Several years ago, I agreed to go on an exchange trip with my high school to Denmark, a small country located in Northern Europe, bordering Germany. Before this trip I had no perception of what Denmark and the Danish culture were like nor had I studied Denmark in school or met anyone from Denmark. Needless to say I was nervous about putting myself into a situation where I would be surrounded by a culture that I knew nothing about but assumed would be very different from my own. In the fall of 2004, I had an exchange student from a Danish business school stay with my family and then in the spring I traveled with my school group to Denmark and stayed both with my host family and then in a hostel in Copenhagen. During the trip I was completely immersed in Danish culture and was able to observe parts of Danish culture that make it unique. I was able to experience Danish rituals, traditions, social practices, heritage, food, and visual expressions, among other things. What I remember most clearly is how surprised and fascinated I was at how different Danish culture is from American culture despite both being developed Western countries.
By using techniques in anthropology to analyze Danish culture I want to come to a greater understanding of how parts of Danish society influence their culture. More specifically, I want to analyze why Danish society is generally considered egalitarian, and how this aspect reflects and influences Danish culture. I want to examine how egalitarianism affects social values, government, the ways in which people interact, and gender roles in Danish society. By looking at the importance of egalitarianism in Danish society, I hope to get a better understanding of Danish culture as a whole. My methods for analyzing Danish culture include participant observation, unstructured personal interviews with Danes, and researching the facets of Danish culture that I could not observe.