This study intends to evaluate the extent to which gender inequality permeates representation in the media. By drawing on the literature of feminist phenomenology I define subjectivity as the tendency of characters to interact with the world around them rather than merely have that world act upon them. I use the themes of sexual spectacle, motivation, and violence and protection to evaluate the gender differences among superbeing characters from the DC and Marvel franchises. Through the use of a qualitative content analysis this study has shown that the dichotomous gender hierarchy actively subordinates female superbeing characters through their diminished subjectivity. A character's ability to act upon the world through act-break motivations, direct capacity for violence, and the protection of others defines them as subjects. Conversely, a character's inability to do those actions as well as their instances of sexual spectacle and unmotivated sexual displays in costuming and gender performance relegates them to the role of object. The subjectivity score is used to more clearly show a definitive ranking of these characters. Female superbeing characters often hold negative scores. This means that their total deductions from categories that diminish their subjectivity, such as instances of sexual spectacle or revealing costumes, outweigh any points they earn from categories that award them more subjectivity, such as protection/rescuing others. The male characters hold double or triple the scores of their female counterparts, which perfectly highlights the gendered division of the attributes that inform subjectivity. By allowing superbeing characters to transcend gender dichotomy and engage with the full human spectrum of emotion and wellbeing, we could celebrate people as fully human and disrupt the gender normativity that maintains inequality. / Master of Science / Marvel and DC Comics are two of the most popular comic book companies in the US. They are responsible or the creation of well-known characters such as Superman and Iron Man. Within the last few decades the comics because popular film franchises. Both companies release several films every year from their respective cinematic universes. These are highly grossing movies and popular enough to have character costumes produced for purchase. Popular cultural phenomenon such as these film franchises provides an opportunity to study social topics such as gender inequality and heteronormativity. This study focuses on the on-screen depictions of these superbeing characters in order to establish a connection between gender and subjectivity in these super-human bodies. Subjectivity, defined by Iris Marion Young’s conceptualization of a feminist phenomenology uses the themes of motivated action, violence and protection, and sexual spectacle to determine if there is a gendered difference in the ways these characters are able to be super and how that impacts their overall subjectivity level. The data supports the theory that male superbeing character are allowed to be full subjects who are able to act upon the world while female superbeing characters are still relegated to the sphere of objectification.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The experiences and perceptions of ICT access and usage by women in marginalised South African communities is sorely under researched. Where information from a gender-based perspective reflecting potential digital gender disparities exists, it is typically a statistical view of the ICT landscape (largely reflecting access). Exploration of the complex underlying socio-cultural factors affecting women’s ICT usage is under-represented. There is an urgent need to hear women’s own voices and perspectives on such intricate and often obscure subject matter. This research has aimed to bring traditionally overlooked perspectives to the fore by exploring the experiences and perceptions of women in marginalised South African communities regarding ICT access and usage. This qualitative study, guided by a feminist phenomenological perspective, focused on the individual lived experiences of twelve women living in three marginalised areas of the Western Cape of South Africa. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and analysed through the Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach. The findings showed that the women had strong attachments to ICT and had integrated it into their own individual contexts, to fit their needs and activities. ICT had been interwoven into various social, economic, educational, political, cultural, recreational and spiritual dimensions of life. A range of factors emerged as having influence on women’s digital participation. Some of the more significant barriers were digital skills and confidence, poor social support systems, affordability of ICT, awareness of personally beneficial opportunities, time constraints, resistance from a male partner and poor literacy. Additionally, the women lived in highly gendered environments, with sociallyconstructed gender norms, roles and identities, which had a strong influence on digital experiences and perceptions. This socio-cultural gender inequality was fundamental in the time constraints, and in the power dynamics and resistance women faced from male partners. Findings indicated that gender identities and traits disadvantage females in the digital context, for example ideas of femininity being viewed as conflicting with a perceived ‘dirty’ ICT field. Detrimental perceptions associating sophisticated ICT activity with males were reportedly prevalent in the communities and some of the women interviewed subscribed to the essentialist theory which considers men inherently better suited to technology. These findings have important implications for policies and practices in view of enhancing the digital inclusion of women in marginalised South African communities. Recommendations towards this end are outlined, specifically centred on gendersensitive approaches in the planning and implementation of digital inclusion initiatives.

This thesis is about meaning, expression and language in Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy, and their role in the phenomenological project as a whole. For Merleau-Ponty, expression is the taking up of a meaning given either in perception or in already acquired forms of expression, thereby repeating, transforming or congealing meaning into gestures, utterances, artworks, ideas or theories. Contrary to the predominant view in the literature, the relation of expression to meaning, and in particular the problem of expressing new meanings, was of fundamental importance to Merleau-Ponty from the very beginning, in that it was intrinsically related to the overcoming of what he termed “objective thought”. Admittedly, there is an evolution of his philosophy in this respect: from the early stance where the recasting of certain basic categories is taken as pivotal for the development of a new form of thinking, with arguments drawn also from various empirical and social sciences, to what appears to be an effort at an all-pervading reformulation of philosophical language during his last years. But the remoulding of categories was never for Merleau-Ponty a matter simply of finding a few, better adapted concepts, but from the outset an endeavour to think philosophical arguments through to a point where they reveal their inherent inconsistencies. Recasting philosophical expression is thus a risky enterprise, and this is a point I explore further in Essay 1, that focuses especially upon creative expression in painting and to some extent in literature. In Essay 2 I discuss the notion of Gestalt and how it serves this general project, whereas Essay 3 deals with verbal language, on the basis of Merleau-Ponty’s reading of Saussure’s linguistics. Essay 4 examines bodily expression from the point of view of feminist phenomenology and in particular Judith Butler’s early reading of Merleau-Ponty, and finally Essay 5 discusses expression in the art of dance. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Accepted. Paper 5: Accepted.</p>

The main purpose of this research was to address the possible emotional consequences that working in German workplaces, using the local language, may have on non-native men’s self-esteem and to see if the difficulties they went through could have modified their perception of the power structures at the workplace. Using a feminist phenomenological approach, I interviewed four white cisgender men and focused on their feelings throughout the journey of working in a language that was not their native one, surrounded by German native speakers.The results showed how controversial might be for men to accept to feel empathy and that showing vulnerability at the workplace is still seen as very negative.Drawing from Berggren’s theory of “Sticky Masculinity”, I will analyse and explain the results, shedding a light on the participants’ behaviour. Finally, I will posit some “good practices” to avoid the stigmatization of vulnerability in organizational settings and to change the power structures at the workplace.

This thesis examines obstetric violence in Greece through the lens of feminist phenomenology.It focuses on two key questions: how women as embodied subjects experience obstetricviolence and how this event impacts their relationship with their bodies and significant others.This study employs a qualitative methodology, distributing an online survey in six onlinecommunities and using voluntary response and snowball sampling to recruit participants. Itincludes 63 valid participations and utilizes thematic analysis for the analysis of the data. Theresults reveal the obstetric malpractices performed in Greece and their connection to thepatriarchal social construction of the birthing woman (and her body) as a disempoweredsubject. Many feelings have been described in the survey, both distressful and empowering.The role of the community is crucial in dealing with traumatic emotions, while a physical andemotional connection with the newborn and the husband, which is not always easy to beestablished, acts as an empowering factor in women’s lives.

Motherhood is stereotypically considered one of the main characteristics every woman has. It’s congenital, something that naturally belongs to women and that, because of that, represents one of the main and necessary ways to really complete the path of womanhood. You fulfill your being a woman by being a mother. Therefore, if you do not become a mother, you are also seen as only for half woman, pitied or judged as selfish and arid for that.The research has the purpose to analyze how this social conception of motherhood and non- motherhood affects women’s choice to become mothers in Italy. Through qualitative interviewing and a feminist phenomenological perspective, 6 women (both mothers and childless) who are currently living in Italy reported their experience.It was thus feasible to observe how the influence of social conception of motherhood and non- motherhood manifests itself (1), the role played by the so-called “natural instinct” in it (2) and the way in which a reflection on the choice of becoming or not mothers was developed (3). In conclusion, it was also possible to frame how social change can be promoted in this field and recognize the importance that education and learning have in it.

The welfare state is ideally about guaranteeing citizens welfare and social security. This thesis describes how the embodied experience of austerity politics and reforms of national health insurance in Sweden is lived along the links of what I call “the chain of precarity”. In 2008 the duration of the entitlement to sickness benefit was limited to 2.5 years. The majority of people on sick leave and passing the benefit limit were women. Using qualitative in-depth interviews and drawing on feminist phenomenology, theories of recognition and crip perspectives, the analysis shows that the chain of precarity orients women with long-term illness towards increased vulnerability and risk. This (dis)orientation is the result of a lack of recognition and respect within the fields of social insurance, health care, work life, discourse and politics as well as close relations.

This thesis aims to explore how identity takes shape within mixed race persons whom have Latin American background, in today’s Sweden, based on four individual in-depth interviews. The central characters in this paper were found through a convenience sample within my circle of acquaintances, due to the limited framework of this thesis. Six themes were found through coding and thematising: questioning Swedishness, invisible camouflage, it is positive to be mixed, internalized racism, to (en)counter racism and nothing to 100 %.  By means of a feminist phenomenological approach, this thesis has shown that being mixed race creates an ethnic insecurity and a contingency in one’s own identity formation, since the experience of being Swedish constantly is questioned based on physical appearance and/or name. However, all of the informants also experienced joy in having several backgrounds; it was seen as empowering, a possibility and a contribution to the generally white Swedishness. In that way the informants’ refusal to conform to the limiting norms of Swedishness, can be seen as a transcendency of the Swedish hegemony and an expansion of what it means to be Swedish. / Esta tesis trata de explorar como la identidad se crea dentro de personas de raza mixta, quienes tienen origen de América Latina, en Suecia hoy, basado en cuatro entrevistas profundas. Las personas centrales en este ensayo los encontré usando una muestra de conveniencia, ya que el esbozo era restringido. Yo conozco a lxs informantes. Seis temas se cristalizaron a través de codificar y tematizar: Suequidad que es dudoso, camuflaje invisible, ser mixto es positivo, racismo internalizado, enfrentar racismo y nada hasta 100 %. Por lo medio de un enfoque fenomenológico feminista, esta tesis ha encontrado que ser raza mixta crea una inseguridad étnica y contingencia en la formación de identidad en ellas, ya que la experiencia de ser suecx constantemente es dudosa basado en apariencia física y/o nombre. Sin embargo, todas lxs informantes también sintieron alegría en tener varios orígenes; era visto como un poder, una posibilidad y una contribución a la suequidad, que en general es blanca. De esa manera el rechazo de adaptarse a las normas de suequidad limitativas de lxs informantes, puede ser visto como una trascendencia de la hegemonía sueca y una expansión de lo que significa ser suecx.

This thesis explores the body as an agent of political change as well as embodied aspects of political resistance. It analyses the experience of activists of the extraparliamentary left through the lens of feminist theories on resistance and embodiment. The empirical material draws upon ethnographic field work carried out through a combination of five in-depth interviews and two focus group interviews. The material is analyzed through Barbara Sutton’s conceptualization of embodied resistance and Sara Ahmed’s queer phenomenology. This perspective is advanced by the collective dimension of resistance offered by Judith Butler’s performative theory of assembly and Mona Lilja’s combination this theory and Sara Ahmed’s affective economy. Except from developing phenomenology of resistance, the thesis offers a reading of extraparliamentary action as “queer politics” or an embodied way of questioning “politics as usual”. The motivation behind the respondents’ activism is construed in terms of longing for another potential future than the one offered by parliamentary politics. The study shows that the practice of showing up and appearing in the wrong place can be a powerful form of resistance. The experience of appearing together and of dealing with repression is reported to be a cohesive force uniting individual activists into a social movement or a “body of bodies”. This collective body needs continuous care in order to be resilient and in order to be able to embody the kind equality the activists wish to see in the future. / Den olydiga kroppens politik är en uppsats som bygger på en intervjustudie med tretton aktivister som är eller har varit engagerade i någon form av utomparlamentarisk vänsterrörelse. Studien bygger på en kombination av individuella intervjuer och gruppintervjuer där aktivisterna har fått möjlighet att berätta om sina erfarenheter av att göra politiskt motstånd med kroppen som redskap. Aktivisterna berättar om sina erfarenheter av att delta i demonstrationer, manifestationer och aktioner och om varför de tycker att det är viktigt att dyka upp på platser där det inte är meningen att de ska vara – till exempel på platser där djur slaktas, människor hålls inlåsta eller vapen tillverkas. De berättar också om hur de blir bemötta av polis när de dyker upp och flera av aktivisterna berättar att de blivit utsatta för polisvåld. Aktivisternas engagemang innebär stora fysiska, psykiska och emotionella uppoffringar men de berättar också om tacksamheten över att få arbeta för en mer jämlik och rättvis värld samt glädjen över att få vara en del av en rörelse tillsammans med andra aktivister. Aktivisternas berättelser analyseras i uppsatsen med hjälp av feministiska teorier om motstånd, kroppslighet och känslor samt i relation till tidigare forskning om sociala rörelser i allmänhet, feministiska rörelser i synnerhet samt om den feminism som praktiseras inom den utomparlamentariska vänstern. Denna analys visar att det ligger en stor motståndspotential i att ”dyka upp”, i synnerhet när många människor dyker upp tillsammans och återkommande. Det polisvåld som aktivisterna utsätts för när de dyker upp kan förstås som ett tecken på att det aktivisterna gör uppfattas som ett hot mot den rådande ordningen och därmed också som ett tecken på förändringspotentialen i detta motstånd. Att aktivisterna agerar och upplever svåra saker tillsammans skapar känslomässiga band mellan dem, vilka knyter dem samman till en motståndskraftig rörelse. Denna rörelse förstås i uppsatsen som en kollektiv kropp uppbyggd av enskilda kroppar och deras inbördes relationer. För att denna kropp ska må bra behöver dessa inbördes relationer tas omhand, och därför lyfts omsorg fram som en praktik som möjliggör rörelsens fortlevnad. Aktivisternas berättelser tyder på att det råder en arbetsdelning i många rörelser, och att denna arbetsdelning innebär att omsorgsarbete inte anses viktigt och inte praktiseras av alla aktivister. Uppsatsen avslutas därför med en påminnelse om att det krävs ett pågående arbete med att realisera de jämlikhetsideal som aktivisterna strävar efter på lång sikt även inom den egna gemenskapen.

The present thesis explores how masculinity is constructed and negotiated in relation to race, class and sexuality in hip hop in Sweden. Theoretically, the study contributes to the increasing use of contemporary feminist theory in men and masculinity research. In so doing, it brings into dialogue poststructuralist feminism, feminist phenomenology, intersectionality and queer theory. These theoretical perspectives are put to use in a discourse analysis of rap lyrics by 38 rap artists in Sweden from the period 1991-2011. The thesis is based on the following four articles: Sticky masculinity: Post-structuralism, phenomenology and subjectivity in critical studies on men explores how poststructuralist feminism and feminist phenomenology can advance the understanding of subjectivity within men and masculinity research. Drawing on Sara Ahmed, and offering re-readings of John Stoltenberg and Victor Seidler, the article develops the notion of “sticky masculinity”. Degrees of intersectionality: Male rap artists in Sweden negotiating class, race and gender analyzes how class, race, gender, and to some extent sexuality, intersect in rap lyrics by male artists. It shows how critiques of class and race inequalities in these lyrics intersect with normative notions of gender and sexuality. Drawing on this empirical analysis, the article suggests that the notion of “degrees of intersectionality” can be helpful in thinking about masculinity from an intersectional perspective. ‘No homo’: Straight inoculations and the queering of masculinity in Swedish hip hop explores the boundary work performed by male artists regarding sexuality categories. In particular, it analyzes how heterosexuality is sustained, given the affection expressed among male peers. To this end, the article develops the notion of “straight inoculations” to account for the rhetorical means by which heterosexual identities are sustained in a contested terrain. Hip hop feminism in Sweden: Intersectionality, feminist critique and female masculinity investigates lyrics by female artists in the male-dominated hip hop genre. The analysis shows how critique of gender inequality is a central theme in these lyrics, ranging from the hip hop scene to politics and men’s violence against women. The article also analyzes how female rappers both critique and perform masculinity.