Study title

Sexual Autobiographies of Estonians 1996

Dataset ID Number

FSD2545

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2545
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd2545

Data Type

Qualitative

Authors

• Haavio-Mannila, Elina (University of Helsinki. Department of Sociology)
• Roos, J.P. (University of Helsinki. Department of Social Policy)

Other Identification/Acknowledgements

• (University of Tartu)

Abstract

This qualitative dataset contains Estonian autobiographies, received through a biography writing competition conducted by the research project "Mosaic life. Upbringing, gender and sexuality in Finland, the Baltic countries and St. Petersburg". The competition announcement was published in 17 newspapers in Estonia and in addition, leaflets were distributed in various academic institutions. In the announcement, the researchers specified what kind of issues they were interested in, and instructed participants to write authentically and honestly about their life, as if they were writing to a close friend. The dataset consists of 35 biographies translated from Estonian into English. Similar competitions were held in Finland and St. Petersburg (Russia) (see FSD2549).

The biographies describe people's concepts of love, Estonian family life, childhood and adulthood, whether sex was talked about at home and school, sexual experiences over the lifetime, importance of sex in the participants' lives, factors influencing their love and sexual life, marriages and other love relationships, experiences of loneliness, combining love and work, and unusual subcultures. The writing instructions also included a couple of questions related to pornography and prostitution.

The dataset is only available in English.

Keywords

family life; interpersonal attraction; interpersonal relations; life events; love; partnerships (personal); sexual awareness; sexual behaviour; subcultures

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Social behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Family life and marriage (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Haavio-Mannila, Elina (University of Helsinki. Department of Sociology)

Time Period Covered

1996

Collection Dates

1996

Nation

Estonia

Geographical Coverage

Estonia

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Media unit: Text

Universe

Estonian men and women

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Availability

Invitation to participate in the biography writing competition was published in newspapers and distributed via leaflets in various academic institutions.

Collection Mode

Self-administered writings and/or diaries

Research Instrument

Data collection guidelines: Self-administered writings guide

Data Files

35 RTF files, approximately 720 pages in total. In addition, HTML files based on the RTF files.

Data File Language

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: English.

Qualitative data are available in their original language only and are not translated.

Data Version

1.0

Related Datasets

FSD2549 Sexual Autobiographies from St. Petersburg 1996

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

The biographies were anonymised, and the contact information of the writers removed from the data.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Haavio-Mannila, Elina (University of Helsinki) & Roos, J.P. (University of Helsinki): Sexual Autobiographies of Estonians 1996 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2010-08-11). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2545

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Publications

Haavio-Mannila, Elina & Roos, J.P. & Rotkirch, Anna (1998). Types of Love and Male Infidelity in Finnish, Estonian and Russian Autobiographies. Paper presented at the 14th World Congress of International Sociological Association, Montreal, July 26 - August 1.

Haavio-Mannila, Elina & Roos, J.P. & Rotkirch, Anna (1999). Rakkaustyylit suomalaisissa, virolaisissa ja pietarilaisissa seksuaalielämäkerroissa. Teoksessa Juha Kinnunen, Pirkko Meriläinen, Katri Vehviläinen-Julkunen ja Tiina Nyberg (toim.) Terveystieteiden monialainen tutkimus ja yliopistokoulutus. Kuopion yliopiston julkaisuja E. Yhteiskuntatieteet 74, 143-157.

Haavio-Mannila, Elina & Roos, J.P. (1999). Love stories in sexual autobiographies. Teoksessa Ruthellen Josselson and Amia Lieblich (eds) Making Meaning of Narratives. Narrative Studies on Lives 6. Sage, 239-282.

Haavio-Mannila, Elina (1999). Kaukorakkaus intohimona ja riippuvuutena Virossa, Pietarissa ja Suomessa. Teoksessa Sari Näre (toim.) Tunteiden sosiologiaa I, Elämyksiä ja läheisyyttä. Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, Tietolipas 156, 66-103.

Taavetti, Riikka (2017). "A woman should not be so cheap" The Prostitute as a Constructed Other in Estonian Post-Soviet Life Stories. European Journal of Life Writing 6, 197-217. doi:10.5463/ejlw.6.199

Taavetti, Riikka (2018). Queer Politics of Memory: Undisciplined Sexualities as Glimpses and Fragments in Finnish and Estonian Pasts. Helsinki: University of Helsinki. Publications of the Faculty of Social Sciences 87. URN:ISBN:978-951-51-3330-4

Taavetti, Riikka (2019). Discovered Queer Desires: Rereading Same-Sex Sexuality from Finnish and Estonian Life Stories of the 1990s. Journal of the History of Sexuality 28(2), 205-234. doi:10.7560/JHS28202