Gender Contract and Localization in Early Women's Magazines in Finland since 1782

The publishers and editors of the early Finnish women's magazines were familiar with Central European, English and Swedish women's magazines. A women's magazine started the history of Finnish magazine publishing in 1782. However, it survived less than 6 months and the next 2 women's magazines appeared only 70 years later. The article asks how the publishers of the first four magazines chose, adopted and localized this particular international magazine genre. Successful localization needs the approval of the content by the readers. Only the fourth women's magazine Koti ja Yhteiskunta (Home and Society) published in 1889-1911 managed to create a permanent readership. The central theoretical concept used to analyze the localization is the gender contract, which defines the rights and duties of women in society and is renegotiated as women's situation is changing.