'Fru Gårman' gets ready to cross Swedish streets
The Swedish Road Administration (Vägverket) on Monday revealed the final design for its new, more gender-sensitive pedestrian crossing signs.
The signs, which feature a female figure dubbed Fru Gårman crossing over the street, will soon join the traditional crosswalk signs with her male counterpart Herr Gårman, a name that translates both as 'Mr. Walkman' and 'This is where you walk'.
The decision to come up with an official sign featuring a female pedestrian came after two local municipalities decided to create signs of their own.
In Mariestad in central Sweden, city officials attempted to gain permission for a female pedestrian road sign to honour the late local artist Karl-Gustaf Gustafson, who designed the original Herr Gårman figure back in 1955.
And in Hässleholm in southern Sweden, town officials sought to erect their own ‘Fru Gårman’ signs in the name of gender equity.
Both towns had their proposed signs rejected and the government then tasked the Roads Administration to come up with an official design.
Assuming the new design meets with the government’s approval, signs featuring Fru Gårman will start appearing on Swedish city streets shortly after the turn of the year, reports the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper.
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The signs, which feature a female figure dubbed Fru Gårman crossing over the street, will soon join the traditional crosswalk signs with her male counterpart Herr Gårman, a name that translates both as 'Mr. Walkman' and 'This is where you walk'.
The decision to come up with an official sign featuring a female pedestrian came after two local municipalities decided to create signs of their own.
In Mariestad in central Sweden, city officials attempted to gain permission for a female pedestrian road sign to honour the late local artist Karl-Gustaf Gustafson, who designed the original Herr Gårman figure back in 1955.
And in Hässleholm in southern Sweden, town officials sought to erect their own ‘Fru Gårman’ signs in the name of gender equity.
Both towns had their proposed signs rejected and the government then tasked the Roads Administration to come up with an official design.
Assuming the new design meets with the government’s approval, signs featuring Fru Gårman will start appearing on Swedish city streets shortly after the turn of the year, reports the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper.
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