The aim of this master’s thesis is to study how a group of people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder experience a visit to the library. By interviewing them I hoped to hear their thoughts on noise, lighting and the over all library environment. Did the informants get a fair treament by the library staff or did they feel stigmatized? The thesis is also aiming to expose how accessible the libraries’ websites are. Two librarians shared their insights about accessibility from the library in which they work. The interview showed there are still many aspects that need to improve until the library is autism friendly. The study shows that the informants prefer a silent library compared to a noisy one. They did not experience any stigmatization in the library. The informants use the digital services offered by the library in order to renew their books and to request new ones. However, the websites are not customized for people with Austism spectrum disorder. The informants main concern when visiting the library are loud noise and insufficient signs. This study is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.

<p>The aim of this study was to examine the possibilities to enter the regular labour market for pupils and young adults with intellectual disabilities. The method used is tape-recorded qualitative interviews with; Two pupils with intellectual disabilities, studying the last year at a special school. Two young adults with intellectual disabilities, former pupils at a special school and at the moment in search of work at a Public Employment Service office for young adults with disabilities. Furthermore were interviews made with two professionals, one student counsellor at a special school and one representative at a Public Employment Service office for young adults with disabilities. For analysing the empirical data, Iris Marion Young's theory about Five Faces of Oppression, Crip theory and Dalrymple and Burkes theory about empowerment was used. The results showed difficulties in enter the labour market for these young adults and wishes to be able to support themselves financially by a regular work. The aim of the welfare system is to help people with intellectual disabilities through for example special schools, vocational training and wages benefits. These efforts are not really helping but are rather increasing the disabilities and the following discrimination on the labour market.</p>

The aim of this study was to examine the possibilities to enter the regular labour market for pupils and young adults with intellectual disabilities. The method used is tape-recorded qualitative interviews with; Two pupils with intellectual disabilities, studying the last year at a special school. Two young adults with intellectual disabilities, former pupils at a special school and at the moment in search of work at a Public Employment Service office for young adults with disabilities. Furthermore were interviews made with two professionals, one student counsellor at a special school and one representative at a Public Employment Service office for young adults with disabilities. For analysing the empirical data, Iris Marion Young's theory about Five Faces of Oppression, Crip theory and Dalrymple and Burkes theory about empowerment was used. The results showed difficulties in enter the labour market for these young adults and wishes to be able to support themselves financially by a regular work. The aim of the welfare system is to help people with intellectual disabilities through for example special schools, vocational training and wages benefits. These efforts are not really helping but are rather increasing the disabilities and the following discrimination on the labour market.

Den genusvetenskapliga forskningen uppmärksammar idag flera olika maktordningar och intra-aktionen dem emellan. Aspekten ålder är emellertid relativt förbisedd, och vuxna och vuxenhet en omarkerad norm. I denna uppsats undersöker jag med utgångspunkt i queerteori, cripteori, intersektionalitet och kritisk åldersforskning föreställningar och antaganden i relation till kategorierna barn och vuxna i fem svenska tidningar/tidskrifter. Min uppsats visar att aspekten ålder intra-agerar med andra maktordningar i konstruktionen av både barn och vuxna. Vuxenperspektivet är i de undersökta tidningarna i princip ensidigt och synen på ålder är övervägande essentialistisk. Vuxna förstås som naturligt överordnade barn, vilka avhumaniseras och konstrueras som vuxnas rättighet eller egendom, eller som en förlängning av vuxenkroppen. Vuxenhet kopplas till reproduktion och yrkesarbete (på heltid) och vuxnas solidaritet bör enligt den hegemoniska diskursen ligga hos arbetsgivare och andra vuxna, inte hos barn. / Even though several researchers in gender studies of today are concerned with other central organizing aspects than gender, the social category age is disregarded. When it comes to age the naturalized norm in gender studies is the category the adult. In this thesis I investigate assumptions concerning the two age categories children and adults in five different newspapers and magazines, using an intersectional perspective and a queer theoretical framework. My investigation shows that the category age intra-act with other power structures in the construction of both children and adults. The adult perspective is more or less one-sided, and the view on age is primarily essentialistic. Adults are considered naturally superior, while children are dehumanized and constructed as the right and property of adults. Adultness is primarily linked to reproduction and (full-time) professional work, and adults should according to the hegemonic discourse be loyal to employers and other adults, not to children.

Being viewed as a sexual being is perhaps not something often considered by most able-bodied people. Yet, lacking that kind of consideration is not a luxury that people with physical impairments naturally get. The purpose of this study is to, by using the perspective of crip theory and the social model, examine how the societal view of physical impairment and sexuality affect people with physical impairments and their ability to express and act on their sexuality. Five interviews were transcribed from two podcasts wherein four interviewees, two cisgendered men and two cisgendered women, talk about their personal experiences with navigating a socially, and sometimes physically, inaccessible sexual marketplace. Results show that all four interviewees agree that a societal view of people with physical impairments as unattractive and asexual has affected their self-esteem and self-image by having internalized the societal ableist attitudes of what it means to have an attractive body and to be an attractive partner. Results also show how the female interviewees have experienced an increased need for affirmations of their physical attractiveness through sexual and romantic relationships and how they believe these needs to be grounded in their internalized ableism.  Furthermore, the results of this study reveal how the male interviewees believe their acts of having bought sexual services from sexual surrogates to be grounded in the sexual exclusion they experience from the sexual market because of their physical impairments.

Stadsplanering och arkitektur har traditionellt sett prioriterat visuella värden i staden över andra sinnliga upplevelser. Synen dominans tillsammans med normen able-bodiedness ”den friska kroppen” inom yrkesgruppen gör att personer med blindhets erfarenheter och upplevelser blir exkluderade från samtalet om stadens utformning. Det bidrar också till en exkludering i staden genom att den bebyggda miljön i många fall inte är utformad efter deras behov. Personer med blindhets behov hanteras istället som tillgänglighetsåtgärder i ett senare skede och på så sätt framställs som något som skiljer från ”normalt” yrkesutövande. Denna studie studerar problematiken från en annan synvinkel. Här undersöks hur kunskap från personer med grav synnedsättning som inte huvudsakligen använder synen för orientering eller upplevelser av staden kan komma till nytta för stadsutvecklingen i stort. Syftet är att undersöka möjligheten att ta fram metoder som kan hjälpa till att synliggöra sinnliga upplevelser i staden. Människor har olika kroppsliga förmågor som påverkar hur vi använder våra sinnen och därför kan städer med olika sinnliga upplevelser bli mer anpassade för fler. Metoderna kan bidra till en mer inkluderande stad men även en mer variationsrik upplevelse, för alla oavsett funktionsförmåga, detta med större valfrihet och fler alternativ. Studien är både utforskande och ifrågasättande av subjektiviteterna ability och disability. Slutsatsen ger inte något konkret svar/lösning utan undersökning syftar till att synliggöra problem inom stadsplanering för att sedan vända dessa till möjligheter. Studien bidrar med metoder som kan hjälpa stadsplaneringen att reflektera över sinnliga upplevelser i staden och på så vis arbeta mot en mer inkluderande stad. Bidrar även med ett öppnare samtal om staden och utmanar normen om vilka som får vara med i utformningen av staden. Det finns ett behov av vidare forskning för att kunna använda kunskapen på en mer strategisk nivå, och en stadsplaneringen som vågar ta sig an de nya kunskaperna.

As Richard Thomas writes, “there is nothing like Star Trek…Of all the universes of science fiction, the Star Trek universe is the most varied and extensive, and by all accounts the series is the most popular science fiction ever” (1). Ever growing (the latest Star Trek film will be released in Spring 2013) and embodied in hundreds of novels and slash fanfiction, decades of television and film, conventions, replicas, toys, and a complete Klingon language Star Trek is nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. As Harrison et al argue in Enterprise Zones: Critical Positions on Star Trek, the economic and cultural link embodied in the production of the Star Trek phenomena “more than anything else, perhaps, makes Star Trek a cultural production worth criticizing” (3). A utopian universe, Star Trek invites its audience to imagine a future of amicable human and alien life, often pictured without the ravages of racism, sexism, capitalism and poverty. However, beyond the pleasure of watching, I would ask what do the representations within Star Trek reveal about our popular culture? In essence, what are the values, meaning and beliefs about gender, race, sexuality and disability being communicated in the text? I will explore the ways that the Star Trek universe simultaneously encourages and discourages us from thinking about race, gender, sexuality and disability and their intersections. In other words, this work will examine the ways that representations of identity are challenged and reinforced by Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager. This work will situate Star Trek specifically within the science fiction genre and explore the importance of its utopian standpoint as a frame for representational politics. Following Inness, (1999), I argue that science fiction is particularly rich textual space to explore ideas of women and gender (104). As Sharona Ben-Tov suggests in The Artificial Paradise: Science Fiction and American Reality (1995) science fiction’s “position at a unique intersection of science and technology, mass media, popular culture, literature, and secular ritual” offers critical insight into social change (ctd. in Inness 104). I extend Inness and Ben-Tov here to assert that the ways in which science fiction’s rich and “synthetic language of metaphor” illustrate and re-envision contemporary gender roles also offers a re-imagination of assumptions regarding race, sexuality and disability (Inness 104). Extending current scholarship (Roberts 1999, Richards 1997, Gregory 2000, Bernardi 1998, Adare 2005, Greven 2009, Wagner and Lundeen 1998, Relke 2006, and Harrison et all 1996), I intend to break from traditions of dichotomous views of The Next Generation and Voyager as either essentially progressive or conservative. In this sense, I hope to complicate and question simplistic conclusions about Star Trek’s ideological centre. Moreover, as feminist media theorist Mia Consalvo notes, previous analyses of Star Trek have explored how the show constructs and comments on conceptions of gender and race as well as commenting on economic systems and political ideologies (2004). As such, my analysis intends to apply an intersectional approach as well as offer a ‘cripped’ (McRuer 2006) reading of Star Trek in order to provide a deeper understanding of how identities are represented both in science fiction and in popular culture. Both critical approaches – especially the emphasis on disability, sexuality and intersectional identities are largely ignored by past Trek readings. That is to say, while there is critical research on representations in Star Trek (Roberts 1999, Bernardi 1998) much of it is somewhat uni-dimensional in its analysis, focusing exclusively on gender or racialized representation and notably excluding dimensions of sexuality and ability. Moreover, as much of the writing on the Star Trek phenomena has focused on The Original Series (TOS) and The Next Generation this work will bring the same critical analysis to the Voyager series. To perform this research a feminist discourse analysis will be employed. While all seven seasons and 178 episodes of The Next Generation series as well as all seven seasons and 172 episodes of Voyager have been viewed particular episodes will be selected for their illustrative value.

As Richard Thomas writes, “there is nothing like Star Trek…Of all the universes of science fiction, the Star Trek universe is the most varied and extensive, and by all accounts the series is the most popular science fiction ever” (1). Ever growing (the latest Star Trek film will be released in Spring 2013) and embodied in hundreds of novels and slash fanfiction, decades of television and film, conventions, replicas, toys, and a complete Klingon language Star Trek is nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. As Harrison et al argue in Enterprise Zones: Critical Positions on Star Trek, the economic and cultural link embodied in the production of the Star Trek phenomena “more than anything else, perhaps, makes Star Trek a cultural production worth criticizing” (3). A utopian universe, Star Trek invites its audience to imagine a future of amicable human and alien life, often pictured without the ravages of racism, sexism, capitalism and poverty. However, beyond the pleasure of watching, I would ask what do the representations within Star Trek reveal about our popular culture? In essence, what are the values, meaning and beliefs about gender, race, sexuality and disability being communicated in the text? I will explore the ways that the Star Trek universe simultaneously encourages and discourages us from thinking about race, gender, sexuality and disability and their intersections. In other words, this work will examine the ways that representations of identity are challenged and reinforced by Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager. This work will situate Star Trek specifically within the science fiction genre and explore the importance of its utopian standpoint as a frame for representational politics. Following Inness, (1999), I argue that science fiction is particularly rich textual space to explore ideas of women and gender (104). As Sharona Ben-Tov suggests in The Artificial Paradise: Science Fiction and American Reality (1995) science fiction’s “position at a unique intersection of science and technology, mass media, popular culture, literature, and secular ritual” offers critical insight into social change (ctd. in Inness 104). I extend Inness and Ben-Tov here to assert that the ways in which science fiction’s rich and “synthetic language of metaphor” illustrate and re-envision contemporary gender roles also offers a re-imagination of assumptions regarding race, sexuality and disability (Inness 104). Extending current scholarship (Roberts 1999, Richards 1997, Gregory 2000, Bernardi 1998, Adare 2005, Greven 2009, Wagner and Lundeen 1998, Relke 2006, and Harrison et all 1996), I intend to break from traditions of dichotomous views of The Next Generation and Voyager as either essentially progressive or conservative. In this sense, I hope to complicate and question simplistic conclusions about Star Trek’s ideological centre. Moreover, as feminist media theorist Mia Consalvo notes, previous analyses of Star Trek have explored how the show constructs and comments on conceptions of gender and race as well as commenting on economic systems and political ideologies (2004). As such, my analysis intends to apply an intersectional approach as well as offer a ‘cripped’ (McRuer 2006) reading of Star Trek in order to provide a deeper understanding of how identities are represented both in science fiction and in popular culture. Both critical approaches – especially the emphasis on disability, sexuality and intersectional identities are largely ignored by past Trek readings. That is to say, while there is critical research on representations in Star Trek (Roberts 1999, Bernardi 1998) much of it is somewhat uni-dimensional in its analysis, focusing exclusively on gender or racialized representation and notably excluding dimensions of sexuality and ability. Moreover, as much of the writing on the Star Trek phenomena has focused on The Original Series (TOS) and The Next Generation this work will bring the same critical analysis to the Voyager series. To perform this research a feminist discourse analysis will be employed. While all seven seasons and 178 episodes of The Next Generation series as well as all seven seasons and 172 episodes of Voyager have been viewed particular episodes will be selected for their illustrative value.

Mémoire en recherche-création / Cette recherche-création s’articule autour de deux questions : - Selon le « circuit de la culture » (Du Gay et al. 1997), comment la survie dans le réel et la survie dans le fictionnel s’articulent-elles au handicap, et comment peuvent-elles être appréhendées comme un artefact culturel appartenant à l’imaginaire collectif cadrant le faisable et l’intelligible? - Plus spécifiquement, comment une méthodologie issue de la recherche-création, et des études critiques du handicap permettent-elles de « cripper » (Sandahl 2003; McRuer 2006; Kafer 2013) le concept de la survie dans un jeu vidéo post-apocalyptique, et ce afin de reconfigurer les sensibles (Rancière 2000)? La revue de littérature dresse le constat que la survie handicapée est un enjeu rarement traité; que mon travail se situe aux frontières de nombreuses recherches abordant la survie des handicapé-es en contexte de l’actuelle sixième extinction de masse, et de nombreuses créations sur la survie des handicapées en contexte post-apocalyptique. Le cadre théorique prend pour assises conceptuelles les études culturelles afin de penser au-delà de la distinction entre réel et fictionnel et de conceptions stéréotypées du handicap et des in/capacités; ainsi que dans le but de comprendre comment un artefact culturel est un aperçu de l’imaginaire collectif d’une culture. Il prend également pour assises les études critiques du handicap pour lier la notion de handicap avec des enjeux qui semblent de prime abord incompatibles -comme la survie-; pour être critique des futurs imaginés; et pour établir la catégorie du handicap comme politique. Les assises conceptuelles soulignent la nécessité de s’engager avec des théories pratiques ayant des effets sur le réel, en raison de l’urgence soulevées par les conditions de vie présentes et futures des personnes handicapées. De ce fait, la méthodologie de ce projet passe par un processus de recherche-création, qui dans le cas présent, permet de créer un mémoire écrit et un jeu vidéo desquels émergent des réflexions et des pratiques qui participent à reconfigurer les sensibles. / This research-creation explores two core questions : - Based on the « circuit of culture » (Du Gay et al. 1997), how do real survival and fictional survival relate to disability and how can they be understood as a cultural artefact belonging to the collective representations, framing the feasible and the intelligible? - More specifically, how does a methodology resulting from research-creation and critical disability studies enables to « crip » (Sandahl 2003; McRuer 2006; Kafer 2013) the concept of survival in a post-apocalyptic video game in order to reconfigure the sensible (Rancière 2000)? The literature review notes that the future survival of disabled people is an issue rarely discussed and that my research-creation is at the frontiers of numerous researches addressing disabled people’s survival during the actual sixth mass extinction, as well as of numerous creations on disabled people’s survival in a post-apocalyptic context. The theoretical framework takes the cultural studies as a conceptual foundation allowing to think beyond the distinction between a real and fictional world, beyond stereotypical ideas about disability and in/capacities, and with the goal of understanding how a cultural artefact is a glimpse in our collective representations. It also takes critical disability studies as a framework to link the notion of disability with issues whose seem incompatible, such as the notion of survival; to be critical of imagined futurities; and to establish disability as a political category. These conceptual foundations raise the need to engage with practical theories in order to have a real effect in the world, all the more so with the urgent needs of dealing with the present and future living conditions of disabled people. As a result, the methodology of this work involves research-creation, which allowed me to deploy a written dissertation and a video game from which has emerged reflections and practices that participate to reconfigure the sensible.

This thesis investigates the access to IVF-treatment for people with psychiatric disabilities who intend to carry the child themselves. It explores how the Swedish welfare state resonates around people with psychiatric disabilities wanting to become parents, and how their reproductive rights might differ from others seeking the same treatment. Therefore, different official reports from the Swedish government and documents from the National Board of Health and Welfare that deals with the legal framework and state-sanctioned guidelines for medical professionals regarding IVF has been examined in a qualitive discourse analysis. Two interviews with two medical professionals working with IVF has also been conducted. The focus has been on the psychosocial interviews every treatment-seeking individual has to go through to determine if they are fit as parents. The main body of theory consists of work surrounding feminist disability studies, crip theory, discourse analysis, repronormativity and critical studies of the welfare state. This thesis set out to investigate how the demand from the government to put the best interest of the child first when deciding over who gets access to IVF are used to resonate around if people with psychiatric disabilities can be seen as fit parents. It also seeks to understand what these state-sanctioned guidelines and the way medical professionals interacts with them can say about the reproductive politics of the Swedish welfare state regarding people with psychiatric disabilities. The general conclusion is that the welfare state has implemented tools for reproductive control over the group that has been studied (particularly women and trans people) since at least the 1930’s, and while there has been significant change, the gatekeeping practises surrounding IVF can be seen as another tool for reproductive control. It is evident that people with psychiatric disabilities have to prove themselves in order to be seen as fit parents, and it is assumed that there is a risk trying to combine their psychiatric disabilities with the best interest of the child. While there is no legal framework denying this group access to IVF outright, this thesis shows that they face challenges to gain that access that people without psychiatric disabilities does not.