My son is in high school and is going to be an exchange student in Sweden next year.

Our family background is Swedish. His first name is a typical American name, but his middle name is Swedish, and our last name is Swedish.

For example, John Sture Andersson.

Nobody calls him Sture in the US; people can’t pronounce it. But he has been asking Swedish people who he’s met (so far, as part of the exchange program process) to call him Sture.

Is that weird; if he asks people in Sweden to call him Sture, will Swedes make fun of him or think that his request is bizarre, since he is called John in the US? And is the name “Sture” a nice name?

Thanks.

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The original was posted on /r/sweden by /u/CraftAccomplished784 at 2024-03-27 13:08:14+00:00.

  • Dannebot@leddit.danmark.partyOPMBSvenska
    1·
    8 months ago

    Obligatorium1 at 2024-03-27 16:16:11+00:00 ID: kwtfjd8

    What if you have double citizenship and only have it for convenience? Not really disagreeing per se, but it should at least be required that you identify as “Swedish”. You may be Polish and move here at 50, then after five years become a citizen while identifying entirely as Polish. That’s not “being Swedish” to me

    Why can’t you be both Swedish and Polish at the same time?

    I think it’s much more reasonable to separate personal identity from outside perception. No one but you get to decide your own personal identity, and you can pick that at random if that’s what you want. It just doesn’t mean other people have to view you the same way as you view yourself.

    • Dannebot@leddit.danmark.partyOPMBSvenska
      1·
      8 months ago

      Precioustooth at 2024-03-27 16:25:00+00:00 ID: kwth5zi

      He can be, but only if he considers himself to be that way. The basic requirements for group membership should at least be:

      1. that you consider yourself part of the group
      2. that others that are members of this group consider you a fellow member

      I will never be Swedish if I don’t see myself that way nor will I be if people that are Swedish don’t consider me to be. I would also not be an African-American simply because I choose to see myself that way because people that are actually African-American would never view me as a group member. Of course it’s arbitrary when you “get” to belong to a certain group but there is some degree of requirement