This study aimed to find out whether or not gender related theories regarding the division between men and women can be applied to three novels written by Katrina von Bredow, Syskonkärlek (1991), Som jag vill vara (2007) and Flyga högt (2011). The theories used in this research were Yvonne Hirdman’s theory and R.W Connell’s theory. Hirdman claims that there are differences between men and women at different levels in the society while Connell believes that this is a myth because, according to the writer, men and women are psychologically similar. The intent with this research was to provide a gender analysis of Bredows novels, because these novels have not been studied previously. There was a deliberated focus on teenagers and these three novels were selected because they, for several years, were on Halmstad City Library’s top ten lists of most borrowed books. Another major reason why these novels were chosen is because Katarina von Bredow has received Children’s Novel Prize 2012 for her book Flyga högt and also because Bredow often visits schools to lecture which means that she is a part of today’s school community. In this study, a qualitative text analytic method was used to achieve the best results. The results corresponded, mostly, with the theories cited in this essay’s literature review on how men and women in teenage novels are narrated and how relationships between genders are formed. For instance, all characters go against the norm of what is considered typically male or female and no one possesses only male or female characteristics, this means that Connell’s theory can be applied on this result. However, one can also find out that there exists an implicit gender contract in all of the studied relationships between boys and girls in these three novels. One example, that is recurrent in all the novels, is the male character is expected to be the initiator which means that the man has the power over the relationship. Hirdman claims, that this phenomenon always occurs in relationships between men and women.

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The aim of this study was to discover if there has been any changes regarding the male ideal in YA literature over time based on the gender related changes that recently have taken place in the Swedish society. The investigation is completed through a comparative analysis of the male characters in Katarina von Bredow’s Syskonkärlek (1991) and Klättra Uppåt (2020) from the female protagonists’ perspective. This is done against the context based of the historic inequality rooted in gender norms together with patterns in romance literature. The female protagonists’ choice of man together with the use of moral characters are the main sources in validating who the ideal male is in each novel. Concepts such as R.W. Connells ‘hegemonic masculinity’ and Thomas Johansson’s theory about demasculinity detects hierarchies among the male characters which are later included in the conclusion. Through the analysis the discovery of some changes are made which states that the fear of femininity has reduced over time and that the use of dominance through anger and violence has become less desirable in men. This change in values could be an effect of the changes in the Swedish society regarding the fact that YA literature often has been put in the position of holding a moral responsibility and therefore is known for depicting contemporary norms and values.