Bedroom nation
A bedroom nation is a territorial micronation which's claimed territory consists solely of a single room, most often a bedroom. Micropatriologist Zabëlle Skye further extends the term to include micronations situated in apartment buildings. Generally considered to be a form of simulationism, the majority of bedroom nations are one man nations. According to the Micronational Dictionary, the term is first attested by Robert Ben Madison, then-king of the Kingdom of Talossa, in 2008. "Bedroom [micro]nation" is also used as an insult to describe micronations which operate or exist solely online.
Definition
A bedroom nation is a micronation which claims a single room as its territory, usually a bedroom.[1] The prevalence of claiming one's bedroom as a micronation's territory is due to the level of privacy and flexibility it offers. The bedroom, aside from being one's designated sleeping quarters, provides private space for personal items and other furniture, being able to serve as a private living room. During childhood, the bedroom acts as a safe space or place of refuge, which could be a secondary contributing factor as most bedroom nations are headed by micronationalists who are children. Micropatriologist Zabëlle Skye further extends the term to include micronations situated in apartment buildings. According to the Micronational Dictionary, the term is first attested by Robert Ben Madison, then-king of the Kingdom of Talossa, in 2008.[2]
History and examples
14-year-old Ben [Madison] spent two weeks planning his move. He decided to take his bedroom and declare it to be an independent, sovereign state. At first, he wanted to call it Seltsam ('silly', in German), but instead settled on the Kingdom of Talossa, "talossa" being Finnish for "inside the house," the perfect euphonic name for a bedroom nation.
Robert Ben Madison, Ár Päts: The Classic History of the Kingdom of Talossa 1979-2008 (2008)[3]
The earliest bedroom nation was probably the Kingdom of Talossa, founded on 26 December 1979 by then-14-year-old Robert Ben Madison of Milwaukee. However, by early 1980, Talossa's territorial claims expanded to encompass more than Madison's bedroom. The rise of micronationalism on the Internet beginning in 1995 resulted in micronationalism losing much of its traditionally eccentric anti-establishment sentiment in favour of more hobbyist perspectives. This new simulationist school of thought led to a number of bedroom nations being formed between 1996 and 2000. With the formation of the fictional universe of Micras in November 2000, many bedroom nations chose instead to engage in geofiction as opposed to true micronationalism. As a result, many secessionists began to hold hostile views toward bedroom nations, regarding them as unprofessional. This sentiment is still held by hardline secessionists as of 2023.
The Kingdom of Lovely, a micronation founded on 1 January 2005 by Danny Wallace for the BBC TV series How to Start Your Own Country, claimed Wallace's apartment room as its territory, leading Skye to consider it a bedroom nation. Nevertheless, bedroom nations remained unpopular throughout the late 2000s. The predecessor state to the Republic of Skovaji, the Nation of Bedroom, was a bedroom nation that existed between 14 October 2014 and February 2015. Similarly, the Empire of Vlasland, predecessor to the Vlasynian Despotate, was a bedroom nation between its foundation on 24 October 2016 and 27 April 2017. Saspearian started out as a bedroom nation when it was founded on 20 October 2017 but would later expand its territory the following year. The Kingdom of Logvaar, inspired by Talossa, is a bedroom nation founded on 24 June 2022. One Muhammad Luqman founded several bedroom nations between mid-December 2022 and early January 2023.
Association with unprofessionalism
Many micronationalists and non-micronationalists consider bedroom nations to be a symbol of unprofessionalism to the point where "bedroom [micro]nation" has been used as a derogatory epithet. Bedroom nations are also seen to be synonymous with micronations with exist or operate solely online, due to the stereotype of a micronationalist using their computer or laptop to operate their micronation while in their bedroom. George Cruickshank was quoted in May 2017 as stating that his Listofmicronations.com forums had attracted "bedroom kingdom kids."[4] This sentiment is held by macronationalists as well; in March 2018, photojournalist Matt Roth stated that many micronations were simply "teenage boys who claim sovereignty over their bedrooms."[5]
See also
References
- ↑ "bedroom nation" as Microtionary (Online). Institute of Micropatriological Research. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ↑ Skye, Zabëlle (18 October 2022). "bedroom nation". Micronational Dictionary. MicroLunarius Publications. Institute of Micropatriological Research. p. 6. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
- ↑ Madison, Robert Ben (2008). Ár Päts: The Classic History of the Kingdom of Talossa 1979-2008. Preßeu Støtanneu. p. 26. Retrieved 5 February 2023 – via TalossaWiki.
- ↑ Johanson, Mark (24 May 2017). "Masters of micronations: Meet people who started their own tiny countries". CNN. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ↑ Simon, Johnny (31 March 2018). "Meet the leaders of the world’s imaginary nations". QZ. Retrieved 5 February 2023.