This study aims at investigating differences in derogatory word use between heteronormative rap artists and rap artists identifying with LGBTQ norms. A list of six profane words to be content analysed was constructed. These words were divided into three subcategories: those generally related to men (dick and nigga), women (bitch and pussy), or language in general (fuck and shit). The study examines the frequency of these derogatory words in randomly selected rap music and investigates how these frequencies differ in mainstream and LGBTQ artists' song lyrics. A content analysis of four randomly selected songs each from ten randomly selected mainstream artists and ten randomly selected LGBTQ artists was conducted. Two hypotheses that were derived from the literature (Wilson, 2007; Monk-Turner & Sylvertooth, 2008) were tested. It was expected that (1) general profanity (the use of fuck and shit) would occur most frequently in the lyrics of both mainstream and LGBTQ artists and that (2) derogatory words directed at women would not be as frequent in the lyrics of LGBTQ artists as in mainstream rappers' lyrics. On the contrary, the data show that profanities aimed at women occur more frequently in LGBTQ artists' lyrics. The data also show that general profanity is most common in LGBTQ artists' lyrics but not in the lyrics of mainstream artists, where profanities aimed at men was most frequent. However, there were several factors which affected the validity of the study. The issue of whether profane words are always used in a derogatory way in the songs or not is a big methodological shortcoming of the study in terms of accuracy. Furthermore, the small sample size indicates that one should be cautious about stating generalisations based on tendencies seen in the data.

This thesis contains an analysis of transgender characters in games. The method for selecting the characters was based on the importance of the character in the game with the requirement that the game must have sold at least half a million units. The goal was to analyse well-known characters in gaming history to get an overview of how the game industry has represented transgender in games. Out of 102 characters only six of them met the requirements and have been analysed with the use of queer theory. Gender and how the characters break the norms of what is feminine and what is masculine is in focus. In the analysis, the characters are examined through their mannerism, design, personality and dialogue. The analysis is then summarized into identifiable patterns. The result of this thesis is a better understanding of how transgender characters are portrayed in the game industry.

At focus in this study are six professional ice hockey players experiences and thoughts on sexual norms in ice hockey and how these are expressed. The aim was to illuminate values and attitudes towards sexuality in Swedish ice hockey – a sport which characterized by a masculine label that affects it in terms of diversity and norms. Qualitative data was gathered by interviews with six professional ice hockeyplayers, women and men between 20-30 years old, which together had a wide background in the organisation of Swedish ice hockey. These informants reflected on their own views of the sport itself and how it has an impact on inclusiveness, norms and tolerance towards different sexualities. The results showed that the informants experienced a clear norm in Swedish ice hockey that incused womens icehockey to be more open to different sexualities rather than mens icehockey. The female informants testified that womens ice hockey players often were associated with stereotypes of being lesbians. The informants experiences also indicated how heterosexuality is normative in mens ice hockey. According to the informants, this norms may have an impact on the tendency of men, in terms of being open with their sexuality. In addition, this study also highlights the players attitudes towards future work with questions concerning values and inclusiveness in Swedish ice hockey. The informants in this study showed oppenness in ways of changing norms, so eventually, in the future, ice hockey players shouldn’t feel excluded in the organisation of ice hockey because of their sexuality.

Bakgrund: HBTQ är en samlingsbeteckning för homosexuell, bisexuell, transperson och queer och är idag ett aktuellt ämne. Synen på HBTQ-personer har förändrats genom historien där lagar har utvecklats och organisationer bildats i syfte att främja livsvillkor samt arbeta för lika rättigheter. HBTQ-personer är än idag föremål för hatbrott och diskriminering. Förekomsten av ohälsa, såsom somatiska sjukdomar, psykisk ohälsa samt olika former av substansmissbruk, är vanligare hos denna minoritetsgrupp än bland övriga befolkningen. Kommunikationen är en avgörande faktor för upplevelsen av bemötandet. Syfte: Att beskriva HBTQ-personers upplevelser kring bemötandet från vårdpersonal. Metod: För att besvara syftet utfördes en litteraturöversikt, där tio vetenskapliga artiklar granskades och analyserades utifrån likheter och skillnader. Resultat: Resultatet presenteras genom två teman och tre subteman: Vårdpersonalens skiftande kunskaper innefattar Att vara ett uppslagsverk och Vårdpersonalens attityder och förhållningssätt samt temat Att komma ut eller att inte komma ut innefattar Internaliserad stigma. Diskussion: Diskussionen framhäver vikten av ett öppet förhållningssätt och medvetenhet för att främja en jämlik vård där alla människor ska känna sig trygga och välkomna. Två fenomen diskuteras, Diskriminering till följd av avslöjandet av sexuell identitet och Heteronormativitet till följd av samhälleliga strukturer, i relation till Joyce Travelbees teori om mellanmänskliga relationer. / Background: LGBTQ is a collective term for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer and is a current issue in today’s society. The perception of LGBTQ-persons has changed through history, where laws have been developed and organizations have been formed in order to promote living conditions and are working for equal rights. LGBTQ-persons are still subject to hate crimes and discrimination. The occurrence of health issues, such as somatic disease, mental illness and various forms of substance abuse are more common in this minority group than among the rest of the population. Communication is a determining factor for the experience of the encounter. Aim: To describe LGBTQ-persons’ experiences of the encounters with healthcare professionals. Method: A literature review was conducted, where ten science articles were examined and analyzed based on similarities and differences, to answer the aim. Results: The result is presented through two themes and three subthemes: The varying knowledge of health care professionals includes Being a reference and The health care professionals’ attitudes and approach, as well as the theme To disclose or not to disclose includes Internalized stigma. Discussion: The discussion highlights the importance of an open approach and awareness to promote equal care in which all people will feel safe and welcome. Two phenomena are discussed, Discrimination as a result of the disclosure of sexual identity and Heteronormativity as a result of social structures, in relation to Joyce Travelbee's theory of interpersonal relationships.

Bakgrund: Sjuksköterskan har till uppgift att vårda och ta hand om patienter på lika villkor oavsett bakgrund och sjukdomstillstånd. HBTQ-patienter har exempelvis sämre psykisk hälsa jämfört med hetero- och cispersoner. Det beskrivs också att HBTQ-personer är en utsatt grupp i samhället och att detta orsakar HBTQ-personerna lidande. Den vårdande relationen som är avgörande för omvårdnaden kan därmed bli en trygghet för dessa personer. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att beskriva hur HBTQ-patienter upplever vården. Metod: För att besvara syftet användes en litteraturöversikt innehållande åtta analyserade artiklar. Resultat: Genom de meningsenheter som plockades ut ur artiklarna identifierades tre teman; att komma ut till vårdpersonalen, upplevelsen av heteronormativitet och homofobi i vården samt HBTQ-patientens upplevelse av vårdpersonalen. I temana beskrivs varför HBTQ-patienterna kommer ut till vårdpersonalen, att heteronormativiteten upplevdes vara hinder för god vård samt att vårdpersonalen behövde mer kunskap och ett annat förhållningssätt till HBTQ. Konklusion: HBTQ-patienterna upplevde att de var tvungna att komma ut till vårdpersonalen för att erhålla den vård de behövde, vården är baserad på heteronormer och att de blev utsatta för homofobi samt att vårdpersonalen inte hade tillräcklig kunskap för att kunna bemöta vårdbehovet och önskemålen hos HBTQpatienterna. / Background: The Nurse is responsible to care for patients on equal terms irrespective of background and state of illness. For example, LGBTQ patients have poorer mental health compared to heterosexual and cis persons. It is also described that LGBTQ people are a vulnerable group in society and this causes the suffering of LGBTQ people. The caring relationship that is crucial to nursing can thus be a security for these people. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to describe how LGBTQ patients experience the care. Method: To answer the purpose, a literature review containing eight analyzed articles was used. Result: Through the sentences picked out of the articles, three themes were identified; to get out to the healthcare staff, the experience of heteronormativity and homophobia in the care and the LGBTQ patient's experience of the healthcare staff. The themes describe why the LGBTQ patients come to healthcare professionals, that heteronormativity was perceived to be an obstacle to good care, and that healthcare professionals needed more knowledge and another approach to LGBTQ. Conclusion: The LGBTQ patients felt they had to come out to healthcare professionals to get the care they needed, care were based on heteronorms and they were exposed to homophobia and that the healthcare staff had insufficient knowledge to respond to the need for care and the wishes of LGBTQ patients.

The aim of this study is to examine how the history about LGBTQ-people is represented in archives, focusing on the websites, social media and projects of the archives. The study revolves around three themes, identity, accessibility and participation and seeks to examine how four selected archives work to highlight, gather and inform about the history, experiences and lives of the LGBTQ-community represented in their collections.  The study is based on the theoretical framework of the connection between archives and identity and the problem of silence in archives where marginalised groups are not heard, and therefore seeks to examine how archives can work towards breaking the silence. The search process consists of a netographic survey and is analysed and then discussed in a broader perspective using the three themes and the theoretical frameworks. Conclusions of the study shows that the chosen archives, depending on their respective starting points, skills and resuscitations, work in ways that together could form a basis for better understanding of how to create and highlight LGBTQ-history. There are e.g difficulties today in searching for documents about LGBTQ-history in traditional archives, due to the need to revise the subject words to create more accessibility. This is something traditional archives can learn from the more progressive LGBTQ-focused archives. This is a two years master’s thesis in Archival Science.

Psykisk ohälsa ökar för de flesta grupper i Sverige, men minoritetsgrupper är mer utsatta än andra. Syftet med vår studie var att ta reda på hur situationen ser ut för HBTQI-individer i Sverige och skapa underlag för att kunna underlätta för denna utsatta grupp. Utifrån Meyers minoritetsstressmodell och Neffs definition av självmedkänsla vill vi svara på frågan om det finns något samband mellan minoritetsstress och psykisk hälsa hos HBTQI-individer och om självmedkänsla i så fall medierar detta förhållande. Deltagarna bestod av svensktalande personer över 18 år som identifierar sig som HBTQI. Dessa rekryterades via Facebook och andra internetbaserade forum. Mätinstrumentet var en online-enkät där konstruktet psykisk hälsa definierades som grad av ångest- och nedstämdhetssymtomatologi och grad av livskvalitet. Enkäten mätte även konstrukten självmedkänsla och minoritetsstress. Resultaten visade att det finns ett signifikant positivt samband mellan graden av minoritetsstress och graden av ångest- och nedstämdhetssymtomatologi. Högre grader självmedkänsla var kopplat till lägre grader psykisk ohälsa och högre grader livskvalitet. Självmedkänsla var kopplat till proximal minoritetsstress men inte distal minoritetsstress. En mediationsanalys visade att självmedkänsla har en signifikant medierande effekt på förhållandet mellan minoritetsstress och psykisk ohälsa. Sammanfattningsvis visade sig självmedkänsla vara en viktig faktor för att förstå förhållandet mellan minoritetsstress och psykisk ohälsa och är därmed något som framtida interventioner mot psykisk ohälsa hos HBTQI-individer bör fokusera på. / Mental illness is increasing in Sweden, and minority groups are more at risk than others. The purpose of our study was to determine what the situation is for LGBTQ-individuals in Sweden and create a basis to aid this group. Based on Meyer's minority stress model and Neff’s definition of self-compassion, we want to answer the question regarding if there is a connection between minority stress and mental health in LGBTQ-individuals, and if self-compassion mediates this relationship. The participants consisted of Swedish-speaking people over the age of 18 that self-identify as LGBTQ. These were recruited via Facebook and other internet-based forums. The measurement was an online-survey where the construct mental health was defined as degree of anxiety- and depression symptomatology as well as quality of life. The survey also measured the constructs self-compassion and minority stress. The results showed a significant positive relationship between minority stress and degree of anxiety- and depression symptomatology. Higher degrees of self-compassion were related to lower degrees of mental illness and higher degrees of quality of life. Self-compassion was related to proximal minority stress but not distal minority stress. A mediation analysis showed that self-compassion has a significant mediating effect on the relationship between minority stress and mental illness. In conclusion, self-compassion was proven to be an important factor in understanding the relationship between minority stress and mental illness and is therefore something future interventions targeting mental health in the LGBTQ community should focus on.

This research looks at how local television news framed the efforts in Iowa in 2010 and 2012 to unseat Iowa Supreme Court Justices whose 2009 ruling in the case Varnum v. Brien made Iowa the third state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage. By looking at relevant news packages and interviewing journalists, news directors, and spokespersons, I traced the way the traditionally ignored judicial retention votes became a top political story, and how particular frames entered the news. I found that despite a well-meaning intention to cover the story in a professionally acceptable fashion, these same news values and reporting rituals blinded journalists to how their attempts to provide “balance” ultimately accomplished the opposite. Evidence studied here suggested that morality politics was the dominant frame throughout most of the coverage, with the civil rights aspects of the issue mostly relegated to the day after each election rather than in the weeks prior. Political science literature defines morality politics as a campaign strategy that relies upon arguments based on “morality,” “values,” or even “sin” to motivate supporters. In the Iowa case, this concept gets modified because while the conservative campaign engaged the logics of morality politics, they also felt the need to couch their campaign in issues like “judicial activism.” I conclude the ability to get news coverage of the anti-retention campaign and get this modified morality politics framing as dominant in that coverage reveals the exercise of political and social power in defense of the hegemonic heteronormative cultural matrix.

This dissertation examines the contested terrain of family through qualitative analysis of child custody decisions. Legal parenthood was historically based on the heteronormative family ideal of a legally married monogamous heterosexual couple and their biogenetically related children. In the context of diverse family forms of the twenty-first century, however, courts struggle to draw the boundary lines of legal parenthood. Although previous research has examined the role of parental gender or sexual identity on child custody decisions, my research fills an important gap, as I analyze variations in gender, sexual identity, and path to parenthood for heterosexual, gay, lesbian, and bisexual mothers and fathers. Using the universe of state-level child custody decisions from 2003 to 2009, I created a unique data set in which I matched court cases involving gay and lesbian parents to cases in the same court and time period that involved heterosexual parents, resulting in 254 court decisions. This research design enabled me to illuminate how courts construct families and parents in the context of variations in parental gender, sexual identity, and path to parenthood. In addition, qualitative textual analysis demonstrates how the courts struggled to conceptualize family forms outside of heterosexual marriage and biogenetically related children. Indeed, biogenetics continue to remain central to legal constructions of parenthood. This research also reveals the continued legal regulation of family forms that deviate from the heteronormative ideal. Overall, this research elucidates larger questions about inequality, gender, sexuality, and family in the United States.

Democracies are argued to be imperative for the advancement of LGBTQ human rights. In the last two decades, however, the picture regarding LGBTQ rights has been extremely contradictory with countries adopting ‘LGBTQ friendly’ policies such as same-sex marriage or adoption while other democratic nation-states have constrained or not developed the rights of sexual minorities. Flaws in the democratic political system and the international human right regime are believed to be responsible for that. The aim of this paper is to investigate the significance of democracy in relation to sexual and gender minority human rights. This is done by (a) framing the study through previous studies related to the topic, the use of Queer IR and democratic theory, and (b) conducting a small-N comparison with content analysis where Brazil, Bulgaria and Namibia are analysed to answer the research question. Democracy is demonstrated to be a necessary factor in the process of LGBTQ right advancement, but not essential. Other factors are believed to influence the process, especially social movements and their effect in norm internalisation processes.