This thesis examines the reproduction of gender norms and the resistance against them in the Swedish reality TV show Paradise Hotel, using Raewyn Connell's theories Hegemonic Masculinity and Gender Hierarchy together with the method multimodal critical discourse analysis. Previous research has shown a reproduction of traditional gender norms in Reality-TV, along with the presence of a power imbalance between the contestants and the production itself, where the production holds the power. Despite discourses of feminist character taking a greater place in western society after the #MeToo movement, Paradise Hotel is yet today a subject of discussion in Swedish media, accused of presenting a sexist discourse. Discourses of hegemonic gender norms and resistance against them has been the subject of study in eight episodes from season 11 of Paradise Hotel. Through the usage of a theoretical framework focusing on gender, culture making and representation, the results show that typical gender norms can be spotted through the contestants' practices of stereotypical traits connected to the traditional ideas of masculinity and femininity. The study also shows resistance against these norms, primarily by the female contestants and through their practice of typical masculine traits. The maintenance of the stereotypical gender norms is dominant by the production amplifying the contestant’s actions of resistance as comedy through special effects, reducing women to sexual objects intended for male pleasure and reinforcing the image of the man as the omnipotent gender role.

Destruktiv maskulinitet är en aktuell form av maskulinitet bland män idag som kort innebär att visa makt genom våldsbruk, utfrysning och exkludering. Därför syftar denna studie till att undersöka hur olika föreställningar om maskuliniteter påverkar vardagsvillkoren för unga män i ålder 21–24 år samt vilka olika maskuliniteter som unga män förhåller sig till. Studien utgår från fem kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med unga män från olika bakgrunder. Genus, hegemonisk maskulinitet och homosocialitet är begreppen som används för vidare analysering av det insamlade materialet. Det insamlade materialet analyserades och delades in i fem olika teman utifrån tematisk analysmetod. En del av intervjuguiden består av exponering av bilder som intervjupersonerna förhöll sig till. Utifrån dessa bilder kunde unga mäns föreställningar om manlighet blottläggas. Resultatet visar vilka maskuliniteter som unga män förhåller sig till samt att den dominerande formen är den traditionella maskuliniteten. Den traditionella maskuliniteten ställer krav på män som till exempel att försörja familjen. Resultatet visar även att intervjupersoner förknippar ordet manlig till kroppshets och fysik. Avgörande aspekter för unga mäns syn på maskulinitet är kultur, etnisk bakgrund, trosuppfattning samt samhällets förväntningar genom exempelvis sociala medier. Detta påverkar dem genom att de väljer att agera och se ut utifrån dessa aspekter till exempel att en vältränad man är manligare än en överviktig. / Destructive masculinity is a current form of masculinity among men today which in short means to show power through violence, freezing and exclusion. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how different conceptions of masculinities affect the living conditions of young men aged 21-24 and what different masculinities young men relate to. The study is based on five qualitative semi-structured interviews with young men from different backgrounds. Gender, hegemonic masculinity and homosociality are the terms used for further analysis of the collected material. The collected material was analyzed and divided into five different themes based on thematic analysis method. Part of the interview guide consists of exposure of pictures to which the interviewees related. From these images young men's conceptions of masculinity could be exposed. The result shows the masculinities that young men relate to and that the dominant form is the traditional masculinity. The traditional masculinity demands young men, such as providing for the family. The results also show that interviewers associate the word male with body image and physique. Crucial aspects for young men's view of masculinity are culture, ethnic background, beliefs and society's expectations through, for example, social media. This affects them by choosing to act and look from these aspects, for example that a well-trained man is more manly than an overweight man.

The aim of this study was to understand how masculinities are constructed in criminal contexts, and how men handle the changes in their identity during the exit process, to show how the Swedish Prison and Probation Service and other actors in social work can support men during their exit from criminal behavior. The study uses narrative analysis as a method, specifically the category-content method. Empirically the study is based on six autobiographies by six different authors who all identify as either criminals or ex-criminals. The results show that the authors’ masculinities are primarily constructed through the act of acquiring and exhibiting material and social resources, as well as displaying courage, capacity for violence, and recklessness, while simultaneously hiding emotions which they regard as weaknesses. The men handle their changing identities due to exit processes by receiving support from friends and family, and by not leaving the criminal context entirely. One identified strategy some of the authors use in order to manage identity conflicts that we have identified is the use of their life story, and knowledge regarding crime, as a means to change young potential offenders’ life trajectories.

En este artículo, se analizan los comentarios positivos y negativos que se visualizan en la plataforma digital YouTube a raíz del debate por el proyecto de la Ley de La Preservación, Uso y Difusión de las Lenguas: discusión entre las congresistas peruanas Martha Hildebrandt y María Sumire, que se suscitó el 6 de setiembre de 2007. Mediante el Análisis Crítico del Discurso (Fairclough, 1995, Van Dijk, 1999, Wodak y Meyer, 2003), se estudian cómo los comentaristas generan discursos de discriminación y racismo al usar estrategias lingüísticas. Los discursos se dividen en dos grupos: uno a favor y en defensa del actuar de Martha Hildebrandt y el otro en contra del mismo personaje, pero en defensa de la parte contraria: María Sumire. En base a ello, se demuestra cómo a través de los comentarios realizados virtualmente se reproducen relaciones jerárquicas y se legitiman prácticas sociales excluyentes en relación con ambas congresistas, quienes representan imágenes sociales distintas. / In this article, we analyze the positive and negative comments displayed on the digital platform YouTube as a result of the debate on the Law on the Preservation, Use and Dissemination of Languages: discussion between Peruvian congresswomen Martha Hildebrandt and María Sumire, which took place on September 6, 2007. Through the Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 1995, Van Dijk, 1999, Wodak and Meyer, 2003), we study how commentators generate discourses of discrimination and racism when using linguistic strategies. The discourses are divided into two groups: one in favor and in defense of Martha Hildebrandt's action and the other against the same character, but in defense of the opposite party: Maria Sumire. Based on this, it is demonstrated how through the comments made virtually, hierarchical relations are reproduced and excluding social practices are legitimized in relation to both congressmen, who represent different social images.

This study aims to investigate how young men experience the norms of masculinity in societywith a special focus on mental illness. Previous research in the field clarifies that there aremasculinity norms in society that men are expected to relate to. Consequences that can occurfrom masculinity norms are a stigmatization of men's mental illness, which can lead to menrefraining from seeking care. Research also shows that men who do not seek care for theirmental illness can develop self-harming behavior. This is a qualitative study with a resultbased on six semi-structured interviews with young men aged 18 to 25. The empiricalmaterial from the qualitative interviews has been analyzed on the basis of a theoreticalframework containing social constructivist perspectives on masculinity, hegemonicmasculinity and homosociality. The results show that young men experience that masculinitynorms affect the jargon between men and that the norms also affect how young men perceivethe difference between what is manly and unmanly. Young men also experience that there areexpectations regarding how they should behave.The results of the study also show that youngmen experience that men and women feel equally bad, but due to the stigma that men have todeal with, they refrain from seeking care for their mental illness. Finally, when men feel thatthey do not live up to the norms of masculinity, it leads to a feeling of exclusion. When theyinstead try to live up to the norms, they become someone they do not identify as. / Denna studie syftar till att undersöka hur unga män resonerar om rådandemaskulinitetsnormer i samhället med särskild fokus på psykisk ohälsa. Tidigare forskninginom ämnesområdet tydliggör att det existerar maskulinitetsnormer i samhället som mänförväntas förhålla sig till. Konsekvenser som kan förekomma av maskulinitetsnormer är enstigmatisering av mäns psykisk ohälsa, vilket kan leda till att män avstår från att söka vård.Forskning synliggör även att män som inte söker vård för sin psykiska ohälsa kan utveckla ettsjälvskadebeteende. Detta är en kvalitativ studie med ett resultat som är baserat på sexstycken semistrukturerade intervjuer med unga män i åldrarna 18 till 25. Det empiriskamaterialet från de kvalitativa intervjuerna har analyserats utifrån ett teoretiskt ramverkbestående av socialkonstruktivistiska perspektiv på maskulinitet, hegemoniska maskulinitetsamt homosocialitet. Resultatet visar att unga män upplever att maskulinitetsnormer påverkarjargongen män emellan och att normerna även påverkar hur unga män uppfattar skillnadenmellan vad som är manligt och “omanligt”. Unga män upplever även att det förekommerförväntningar gällande hur de ska bete sig. Studiens resultat synliggör även att unga mänupplever att män och kvinnor mår lika dåligt men på grund av den stigmatisering som mänfår bemöta, avstår de från att söka vård för sin psykiska ohälsa. Avslutningsvis när mänkänner att de inte lever upp till maskulinitetsnormerna leder det till en känsla av utanförskap.När de istället försöker leva upp till normerna, blir de någon som de själva inte identifierarsig som.

This thesis will analyze how masculinity is depicted in the French-Argentinean director Gaspar Noé’s movie Love (2015), and how it is orientating and disorientating through an intersectional lens. In his films, the filmmaker often uses haptic images and sound traversing to interrogate the existence and to express a clear and abject visuality to expose the flesh. On that notion, the study will use a psychanalytic theoretical framework with hegemonic masculinity, and a phenomenological methodology with Bertolt Brecht’s theories on theatre to examine the bodily performances of the cinematic body, the bodies of the characters on screen, and the spectator’s body to reflect on the film’s thematic, aesthetic, and ideological features. Additionally, this study will explore how the viewer embodies the self-images and memories of the characters on the screen, and how that affects the spectator.

This thesis studies how the incel culture is portrayed in the Swedish news media and which explanatory models that are depicted for the phenomenon’s emergence. The thesis is based on a thematic medial analysis and is guided by a social constructivist approach. Based on 78 news reports from six different news media sources, six themes have been distinguished and also analysed through the concept of hegemonic masculinity. The findings show that Swedish news media produce a description of incels as being mentally and socially challenged. Incels are further constructed to possess hatred; against themselves, women and society. The self-hatred among incels is constructed to have connections to a strong fixation on appearance which is characterized by an ideal of being white. Finally, the portrayal of a minority of incels as terrorists is constructed throughout the news media coverage, but the majority of incels are rather portrayed as opposed to such acts. It has been possible to expound different portrayed explanations to the rise of the incel phenomenon, such as societal changes; an altered male role and a societal alienation. Two other explanations are also constructed which are based on male appearance and subject positioning. / Denna studie utforskar hur incelkulturen porträtteras i svensk nyhetsmedia samt vilka skildrade förklaringsmodeller till fenomenet. Studien är baserad på en tematisk mediaanalys och har vägletts av en socialkonstruktivistisk ansats. Utifrån 78 nyhetsrapporteringar från sammantaget sex olika nyhetsmediala källor, har sex tematiseringar utarbetats och även analyserats genom konceptet om hegemonisk maskulinitet. Resultatet påvisar att det i svensk nyhetsmedia förekommer en konstruktion av incels som psykiskt och socialt utmanade. Incels konstrueras vidare besitta ett hat; mot självet, kvinnor och samhället. Självhatet bland incels skildras ha kopplingar till en stark utseendefixering som i sig är präglad av ett vithetsideal. Slutligen återses porträtteringen av en minoritet av incels som terrorister, där majoriteten av incels snarare skildras motsätta sig sådana dåd. Det går vidare att uttolka olika skildrade förklaringar till incelfenomenets uppkomst där samhälleliga förändringar; en förändrad mansroll och ett samhälleligt utanförskap i media framkommer ligga till grund för fenomenet. Det konstrueras även två andra förklaringar som grundas i manligt utseende samt subjektpositionering.

This study addresses the issue of how discourses around Artificial Intelligence have been presentedin national media. To explore this topic, I analyze news articles to identify narratives and imaginariesthat contribute to building the concept of AI from a North-South perspective. To attempt toanswer these questions, I have selected two different countries to gather the data from, one in theGlobal North (Sweden) and one in the Global South (Chile). However, both are located in thesame “Large/Medium” cluster when combining land area and population.Drawing on data collected from 103 news articles, I found that in both cases, AI is presented asa positive tool for the development of local and global economies. Furthermore, AI is seen asdriving the creation of exciting and disruptive businesses. However, my analysis shows that thereis uncertainty about the future of the current status quo, both regarding the labor market and thecurrent geopolitical power balance if China were to win the so-called ‘AI race.’The data was coded and analyzed using a combination of critical discourse analysis and a dataextractivism and the approach introduced by Sheila Jasanoff, the sociotechnical imaginaries. Theseperspectives can help to understand the relations between scientific and technological projects,and political institutions and power. Throughout the sample, the hegemonic (dominant) voice prevailedthrough discussions of the economy having a particular North-centric representation.This is important to explore as it can shed light on whether this new technology is to providereal opportunities or if it is replicating the power relations of the globalized world. In this sense,the study also criticizes the sociotechnological imaginaries since, despite the fact that they proposea local view of power relations, they confirm that technological developments are often subject toglobal, political and corporate planning, regardless of the particular reality of each country.

Music is a ubiquitous part of society and has some capacity for spurring social change by stirring emotions with people. The music genre of punk is overtly political and promotes different kinds of social change, and all this makes punk relevant to study for the social sciences and humanities. However, on one hand, research suggests that punk scenes are masculinist and partly excludes women. On the other hand, other studies point to possibilities for alternative constructions of gender to take form through punk. Furthermore, research on punk is comprehensive, but the Swedish subgenre of trallpunk seems to have been overlooked in studies. Therefore, this thesis aims to investigate how masculinity is constructed in trallpunk. Drawing on a discourse analytical approach, supplemented by the concepts of performativity and hegemonic masculinity, song lyrics and interview data are analyzed in order to discern constructions of gender in trallpunk. The main conclusion is that trallpunk carries a form of transformative potential pointing to the transformation of gender discourses. Such a potential suggests that restricting and oppressive discourses of gender and hegemonic masculinity could eventually be eradicated, which would be an important step towards a more open-minded and inclusive society.

Páradais de Fernanda Melchor aborda la masculinidad y la desigualdad social en el México dehoy. El objetivo de esta tesina ha sido analizar las distintas formas de masculinidad hegemónica e interseccionalidad presentes en el texto como factores que provocan desigualdad y discriminación. Para ello, nos hemos centrado en el personaje Polo, central en la novela, por ser el personaje aglutinador de la mayoría de los modelos de discriminación y sumisión ejercidos por los demás personajes en la novela. Como conclusión, se presenta a este personaje como víctima de una discriminación múltiple que tiene tanto que ver con la masculinidad hegemónica ejercida por hombres y mujeres como con la interseccionalidad. / Páradais by Fernanda Melchor addresses masculinity and social inequality in today’s Mexico. The objective of this thesis is to analyse the different forms of hegemonic masculinity and intersectionality present in the text as factors that cause inequality and discrimination. Focus is on the character Polo, central in the novel, as he embodies most of the patterns of discrimination and submission exercised by other characters in the story. In conclusion, this character is presented as a victim of multiple discrimination, influenced both by the hegemonic masculinity practised by both men and women, and by intersectionality.