From "(snow)flake" to "fighter".

The tanned body as an identity marker among Finnish UN soldiers

Authors

• Sonja Hagelstam University of Jyväskylä, orcid.org/0000-0001-9084-4837

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30666/elore.110638

Keywords:

FN-soldater, fotografier, fotoalbum, identitet, kropp

Abstract

Pictures of sunbathing UN soldiers is a distinctive motif in photographs taken by Finnish peacekeeping soldiers during their foreign service. The primary material of the article consists of two photo albums that were compiled in the mid-1980s in the Golan. The collection of photographs in the albums builds up a visual depiction of everyday life during the foreign service and of what it meant to be a peacekeeping soldier in a conflict area. Through an analysis of the photographs, the article examines how white skin, a tanned body and sunbathing were charged with cultural meaning among the UN soldiers and how this meaning-making was staged in the photographs. Special focus is placed on the body as an identity marker and as an arena for communication of belonging. Sunbathing is considered a ritual act, as a rite of passage, with which newcomers became fully recognized members within the peacekeeping community.