Open forum Is there a non-socialist Swedish feminism? Irene Molina Institute for Housing and Urban Research, Uppsala University, Sweden Abstract Based on a narrative of the recent history of postcolonial feminism within and outside the Swedish academic world, this article discusses the controversial relationship between feminism and politics. Installing a socialist inspired perspective on inter- sectionality in Swedish feminist debates and in gender research has been a hard task for postcolonial feminists in a society whose self-imagination excludes the recognition of racism as a fundamental component of the national identity. Moreover, as the country moves rapidly towards a neoliberalization of the former Keynesian Swedish welfare state, racism and homo-nationalism spreads out and permeates the political sphere and state institutions. The author emphasizes the importance for postcolonial feminists to continuously highlight the chasm that exists between neoliberal understandings of gender equality, which are not meant to eradicate structural class, gender, racial or other social inequalities, and those emanating from socialist and anti-racist feministic ontologies. Keywords Anti-racism, feminism, intersectionality, socialism, Sweden Introduction Sweden is internationally renowned as a just welfare society in which gender equality permeates all spheres of life: a gender equality paradise according to many. International measurements have largely counted Sweden and the other Nordic countries as the best places in the world for women to live. 1 But is this an unequivocal truth? Even if Sweden is no longer first place in the rankings since 2007, it fell to number four in 2016, the answer should be yes regarding many aspects of everyday life and civil and sexual rights. However, these hard won rights should be carefully studied to avoid contributing to Corresponding author: Irene Molina, Institute for Housing and Urban Research, IBF, Uppsala University, Box 513 Uppsala, Sweden. Email: Irene.Molina@ibf.uu.se European Journal of Women’s Studies 1–9 ª The Author(s) 2020 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1350506820930671 journals.sagepub.com/home/ejw EJWS