women

For several years, I researched the lives of marginalized women in rural Iceland, employing oral history and film methodologies to document and share their experiences.

housekeepers on farms


Documentary
Post-production
Independent mothers  | Sjálfstæðar mæður
The documentary explores the lives of single mothers who served as live-in housekeepers on farms across Iceland during the latter half of the twentieth century. The documentary received a documentary film grant from Jafnréttissjóður Íslandsin the year of 2025; & Hagþenkir; & Samfélagssjóður Landsvirkjunar.

A book based on my doctoral thesis, which examines live-in housekeepers on farms in the 20th century, received funding from the Salary Fund for Self-Employed Academics and is scheduled for publication by the Association of Icelandic Historians.

Vinnusaga_labor history_women´s history_Iceland_housekeepers_ráðskonur_feminist history

2024 – Independent mothers. Single mothers working as live-in housekeeperes. Ritið 1/2024, bls. 139-178. –See

2022. Hidden history of housekeepers: Lives and labor of housekeepers in rural Iceland in the second half of the 20th century. Doctoral dissertation, University of Iceland 2022. Huldufreyjur. Ráðskonur í sveit á síðari hluta 20. aldar.

Read here


The spoken #MeToo – Sexual violence against housekeepers employed on Icelandic farms in the second half of the 20th century. Fléttur V., 85-101. Reykjavík: Háskólaútgáfan, 2020. “#MeToo mælt af munni fram. Kynbundið ofbeldi gegn ráðskonum í sveit á síðari hluta 20. aldar”  – See

Documenting Tears. Oral History Review. – See


See also a review of the article; here

The documentary Rural #MeToo is based on an interview with Agusta Thorkelsdottir (b.1944), a farmer and prominent advocate for the rights of women in Iceland’s agricultural sector, shares her perspectives on the historical gender-based violence faced by rural women in Iceland, as well as her reflections on the significance of the #MeToo movement for women living in rural areas.

„Hvað ertu að gera, maður?“ Heimildir um kynferðisofbeldi gegn vinnukonum

“What are you doing, man?” Documentation about sexual violence against peasant maids


Housekeepers that worked for companies and organizations in Iceland. Radio lecture on the radio show Víðsjá. The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RÚV). 2.03.2022.Ráðskonur sem störfuðu utan heimila / munnleg saga.– See

female vagrants & hermits

The book Marginalized Women: Female Vagrants and Hermits in Iceland (published in 2020). Jaðarkvennasaga. Förukonur og einsetukonur á Ísland– Read book here


Jaðarkvennasaga Download

Marginalized women who fought for animal rights in the past. Radio lecture on the radio show Víðsjá. The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RÚV). Jaðarkonur fyrri tíma sem bættu hag dýra. – See


Drifting. Feminist oral history and the study of the last female drifters in Iceland, Feminist Research 2 (1) (2018). – See

An essay examining how nature influenced marginalized women who were closely connected to the wilderness, published in Heima er Bezt.


Oral history of marginalized women in the Icelandic rural society of the past. Hugrás – See


Against the Current | Andstreymi is a documentary about female vagrants who drifted from one farm to another, seeking food and shelter in the old Icelandic rural society. The film is based on my oral history interviews with people who met these vagrant women.

Home movie festival in cinema Bíó Paradís / Heimamyndadagurinn í Bíó Paradís. I spoke about the historical significance of a home movie made by Axel Helgason (1913-1959). I discussed the unique footage of a female drifter, Vigdís Ingvadóttir (1864-1957), featured in Axel´s home movie, a footage I used in my documentary, Against the Current | Andstreymi.

The freedom of women of the past in the Icelandic wild. Radio lecture on the radio show Víðsjá. The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RÚV). Frelsi fortíðarkvenna á heiðum og öræfum.– See

Icelandic hermits caught on film in the 20th century. Radio lecture on the radio show Víðsjá. The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RÚV). Einbúar í Stiklum Ómars Ragnarssonar: Einsetumenn og einsetukonur á Íslandi.



Female drifters and female expression Hugrás. – See

Female vagrants and female expression. Förukonur og fljóðatjáning.– See

Documentary. The last female vagrant in valley Mýrdalur. Síðasta förukonan í Mýrdalnum. 2015.

A Flow of Memories from Myrdalur County: A Study on Oral History, B.A.- thesis in History, University of Iceland 2015, 74 pp. Sytrur minninga úr Mýrdalnum: Rannsókn á munnlegri sögu– See

women’s 

expression

Skyggnar konur á Íslandi  

Psychic women in Iceland

A Musical Afternoon is a mini documentary based on my interview with Guðrún Tómasdóttir (1925-2022), a former opera singer who captivated audiences in Iceland with her stunning operatic performances of traditional Icelandic folk songs. The documentary centers on female folk songs and the ways women express themselves through singing.

Íslenskir svannasöngvar

The songs of Icelandic women

Nútímasagnadansinn #MeToo

#MeToo: a modern narrative dance

Kvennaborg á fyrstu hæð 

The city of ladies on the first floor: The Women´s History Archives collection of #MeToo testimonies

Polarity of the World is a mini documentary based on my oral history interview with Sigridur Jónsdóttir (born 1964), a poet and a farmer, about how women and men write and read differently.

Women on the Wathershed: On Feminist Oral history, Sagnir 32 (2018), pp. 42-57 „Konur á vatnaskilum. Hugvekja um femíníska munnlega sögu“  – See

The mini-doc Women´s Expression in the Past isbased on my oral history interview with the poet Asa Ketilsdottir (1935) about how women expressed themselves in the Icelandic agricultural society.

Það var ókvenlegt að yrkja

Poetic composition was not considered to be a feminine occupation

“My Mother is Kind”: Memories about Mothers from the 19th and early 20th century. Sagnir 32 (2018), pp. 74-95. „„Mamma mín er góð“. Minningar um mæður frá 19. öld og í byrjun 20. aldar”– See

Memories about Icelandic mothers in the 19th and 20th centuries. Radio lecture on the radio show Víðsjá. The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RÚV). 2022.Móðurminningar í bókunum Móðir mín og Móðir mín Húsfreyjan.

Getur þú ímyndað þér konur? Femínísk umfjöllun um vísindaskáldskap og apaplánetu

Can you imagine women? A feminist review on science fiction and the Planet of the Apes

Thesis

  • Women are Women´s Best Allies: A Contemporary Historical Study on the Influence of Women´s Organizations on the Social Position of Icelandic Women, M.A.-thesis in History, University of Iceland 2017, 104 pp. Konur eru konum bestar: Sagnfræðileg samtímarannsókn á áhrifum félagasamtaka kvenna á stöðu íslenskra kvenna. – See
  • The compassionate lady and the house. Film adaptation, B.A.-thesis in Film Studies, University of Iceland 2013, 26 pp. Ungfrúin góða og húsið. Kvikmyndaaðlögun. – See

selected lectures on feminist history

  • 2024. I gave a lecture about psychic women in Iceland at the Theosophical Society.  Erindi um íslenska kvenmiðla á uppgangstíma spíritismans hjá Lífspekifélaginu. 16. mars 2024.
  • 2023. A talk on the social status of housekeepers at the Women´s Book Lounge literary festival, Powerful Maidens. Erindi um félagslega stöðu ráðskvenna í sveit. Máttugar meyjar – bókmenntahátíð Konubókastofu.  2023. 
„Í kjölfar #MeToo“ er yfirskrift viðburðaraðar RIKK – Rannsóknastofnunar í jafnréttisfræðum og Jafnréttisskólans (GEST) vorið 2021 þar sem tveir sérfræðingar ræða saman um viðfangsefnið. #MeToo og sá árangur sem hreyfingin hefur náð verður til umfjöllunar og sjónum verður einnig beint að því sem er óunnið í baráttunni gegn kynbundinni og kynferðislegri áreitni, ofbeldi og einelti. Viðburðaröðin byggir á tveimur bókum sem RIKK hefur nýlega staðið að útgáfu á, annars vegar fimmta heftið í ritröð RIKK, Fléttur V. #MeToo, og hins vegar handbók um hreyfinguna, The Routledge Handbook of the Politics of the #MeToo Movement, sem er gefin út af Routlegde-útgáfunni í Bretlandi. Sigrún bendir á hvernig umfjöllunin í kringum #MeToo-hreyfinguna opinberaði vanþekkingu á þeim alvarlegu langtímaáhrifum sem kynferðisofbeldi getur haft. Afleiðingar ofbeldisins eru tilfinningaleg og líkamleg þjáning, aftenging sálar og líkama auk langvinnra líkamlegra og sálrænna einkenna. Dalrún vinnur nú að doktorsrannsókn á sögu ráðskvenna sem grundvallast á tugum viðtala hennar við fyrrum ráðskonur. Gögn Dalrúnar sýna að ráðskonur urðu fyrir kynferðislegu ofbeldi og áreitni á vinnuvettvangi sínum, sveitaheimilinu. Dalrún hefur greint áhrif #MeToo-byltingarinnar á munnlega geymd og tjáningu fyrrum ráðskvenna sem undirstrikar mikilvægi þess að skrásetja munnlegar #MeToo-sagnir eldri kvenna sem og sögulegt mikilvægi slíkra reynslusagna.
  • A lecture on the economic and social status of rural housekeepers was given in a seminar on Icelandic social and economic history. University of Iceland.   – See 
  • I gave a lecture about my book about female vagrants and hermits in the old Icelandic agricultural society in the library of the town of Garðabær. Fyrirlestur um bók mína Jaðarkvennasaga í Bókasafni Garðabæjar.