This essay looks at the discourses on lgbtq topics in English language teaching aimed at upper secondary schools in Sweden. The purpose is to find out how the discourses are created by analyzing a set of textbooks as well as interviewing teachers. The method employed in this study is critical discourse analysis supported by queer theoretical perspectives. Together these frameworks help to show how the social relationships that affect lgbtq people are affecting the educational setting in English. The study finds that a separate set of discourses appear to affect textbooks and teachers. The textbooks in this study appear to be affected by discourses that favor non-lgbtq people while the teachers in this study appear to be affected by discourses that favor lgbtq people.

This thesis uncovers and historicizes an overlooked aspect of America’s transgender history. The heterosexual male cross-dressers, or transvestites, of mid-century America constituted a group of individuals that espoused a particular discourse of respectability in their cross-gender practices, conceptualized unique bi-gender identities, and cultivated a community. Heterosexual male cross-dressers, under the leadership of Virginia Prince and Ariadne Kane worked to separate themselves from broader, and more recognizable, identities such as gay transvestites, drag queens, and homosexuals in an effort to define themselves as respectable. A critical historical analysis of Fantasia Fair indicates that Prince and Kane were not alone in their desire for a community of their peers, with whom to share ideas about sexological theories, personal stories, and tactics for self-preservation. As a direct response to the pervasive nature of transsexual narratives in the field of transgender history, this project demonstrates the important advances made by heterosexual male cross-dressers to our modern understanding of trans diversity. These cross-dressing narratives prompt historians of transgender phenomena to think critically about the diversity of identity categories that are encompassed in our present understanding of the term ‘transgender’. / Graduate / 2019-07-30

abstract: LGBTQI people are often victimized by law enforcement and these victimizations often are related to victimizations of domestic violence and hate violence. Because reporting a victimization to the police leads to contact with police, a part of the research question involved herein looked at whether or not reporting a victimization to the police also increases the rate of police violence. Through secondary data analysis, this study investigated the correlation between reporting domestic violence and hate violence to the police, and subsequent victimizations by the police in the form of police violence. Additionally through secondary data analysis, this study investigated whether or not this correlation is stronger with transgender women and people of color. All data analyzed in this study was collected in Tucson, Arizona through the Wingspan Anti-Violence Project (WAVP). All data was analyzed with the permission of the data owner, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) (see Appendix IV), and with IRB approval from the Arizona State University Office of Research Integrity and Assurance (see Appendix III). The findings demonstrated a positive correlation between the rate of LGBTQI people reporting violent crimes to the police and the rate of police violence against LGBTQI survivors of domestic violence and hate violence. The results further demonstrated the rate of police violence associated with reporting domestic violence or hate violence is greatest for transgender women and people of color. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Social Work 2016

The past few decades have seen a surge in awareness of issues related to both gender and sexual identity, which has shaped our understanding and use of these terms. However, there is a lag between awareness and practical changes, which can also be seen within education; teaching materials and practices change slowly, and the social and linguistic changes that are currently taking place are only partially visible in education. In the present study, gender and sexuality are approached from two perspectives: by analysing two EFL textbooks for upper secondary school and examining inclusive language use and representation of non-heteronormative identities, as well as by identifying attitudes and ideas expressed in interviews with three EFL teachers. The results show that LGBTQ+ representation is still scarce in these two textbooks; even though heterosexuality is not overtly reinforced in lexical choices, non-heteronormative relationships are not included. In addition, gender is still mostly portrayed as a binary, and gender issues are largely linked to male-female equality. In terms of the interviews, a general finding is that the participants are all aware of the importance of including and giving a voice to different gender and sexual identities when planning their teaching. However, deeply rooted traditions and the gender binary still play a role in how LGBTQ+ topics are perceived and addressed. Overall, it appears that teachers display more awareness and active inclusion of non-binary and non-heteronormative identities than what can be found in the textbooks.

An inspection carried out by the Swedish Schools Inspectorate shows that sex and cohabitation education in Swedish schools lack when it comes to content regarding norms and LGBTQ. Statistics from the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society also show that young LGBTQ people suffer to a greater extent from mental illness in comparison with other young people. Since educational materials have a predominant role in teaching, this study aims to investigate the way in which gender and sexual orientation are presented in three digital biology educational materials for grades 4-6. Furthermore, the study aims to analyze which types of presentations are given the most space and thus can be considered to represent norms in the educational materials. This study intends to answer the following questions: In what way is gender and sexual orientation presented in three biology teaching materials for grades 4-6? Which presentations are given the most space and can therefore be considered normative? From an overall queer theoretical perspective but also with help from a number of definitions, an educational material analysis combined with a discourse analysis has been performed on three biology teaching materials for pupils in year 4-6. In the analysis, a number of discourse questions were used as support to be able to select examples from the text which were then categorized into different analysis categories. The results of the study show that gender was most often linked to bodily aspects such as genitals and hormones. The sexes were also mostly divided into the categories woman and man. The three sexual orientations that are included in the Swedish discrimination law were explicitly presented. With the help of the discourse analysis, however, it could be stated that a heteronormative approach permeates the educational materials, mainly in the parts that deal with conception and intercourse. Altogether, man and woman could be interpreted as the normative gender and heterosexuality to be the normative sexuality

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abstract: The secret Facebook group ////sads only/// was formed in October 2015 to provide a safe space for women and trans and nonbinary people to express their emotions, a sort of digital support group. Members can post individually about things happening in their lives, comment on other members’ posts with advice or support, and contribute to discussion threads. Common subject matters include mental health, relationships, sexuality, gender identity, friendships, careers, family, art, education, and body image. The group’s location on Facebook adds to its utility – it can be an alternative site of community-making and communication, away from the often toxic, triggering, or just plain negative posts that clog up social media news feeds and the unsolicited comments that get appended. The group is informed by principles of affect theory, and in particular, sad girl theory, which was developed by the artist Audrey Wollen. She suggests that femme sadness is a site of power and not just vulnerability. In her view, sadness isn’t passive existence, but instead, an act of resistance. Specifically, it uses the body in a way that is crucial to many definitions of activism, incorporating the violence of revolution, protest, and struggle that has historically been gendered as male. This thesis examines the history and future directions of the ///sads only/// group as well as its theoretical underpinnings and the implications of its intervention, considering such perspectives as cultural studies, gender performance, identity formation, digital citizenship, mental health, and feminist activism. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Women and Gender Studies 2019

It is common knowledge that LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) communities experience disparate rates of mental health concerns, including greater levels of self-reported depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicidal behavior (Bränström, Hatzenbuehler, & Pachankis, 2016). As an example, gay and bisexual men are four times as likely and lesbian and bisexual women are 2 times as likely, to attempt suicide compared to heterosexual counterparts (King et al., 2008). Between 25-43% of transgender persons have a lifetime history of suicide attempts, compared to 5% of the general US population (Nock & Kessler, 2006). Such poor mental health outcomes may be due, in part, to a lack of acceptance by society in the form of discrimination and unequal rights, and to rejection by family, friends and the self, including internalized homophobia, concealment and shame (Skerrett, Kõlves, & De Leo, 2016). LGBTQ persons are also more likely to have experienced trauma, including physical and sexual abuse, as well as interpersonal violence by intimate partners, family and strangers (LangenderferMagruder, Whitfeld, Walls, Kattari, & Ramos, 2016). LGBTQ communities, therefore, constitute a vulnerable and marginalized population, who are already at risk for rejection and abuse with consequent deleterious effects on physical and mental health, including risk for suicide.

Syftet med denna uppsats var att genom en innehållsanalys ta reda på hur läroböcker i samhällskunskap framställer HBTQ-personer och könsidentitet. I uppsatsen beskrivs en bakgrund till både genusteori och queerteori för att kunna få en förståelse för de teoretiska begreppen som ligger till grund för uppsatsen. Kodschemat i uppsatsen är konstruerat utifrån olika teoretiska begrepp. Denna uppsats ger en bakgrund till tidigare forskning inom området och materialet som studien genomförs på är totalt sex läroböcker i olika kurser för samhällskunskap på gymnasiet. Resultatet av analysen visar att HBTQ-personer och könsidentitet framställs olika i läroböckerna och genom fyra identifierade teman. Dessa teman är sexualitet och kärlek, lagstiftning och rättigheter, kön och könstillhörighet samt HBTQ som paraplybegrepp.  Resultatet visar att läroböckerna har ett heteronormativt perspektiv samt innehållet få normkritiska reflektioner. Resultatet visar även att i några läroböcker framställs inte HBTQ-personer eller könsidentitet alls. Resultatet visar även att läroböckerna inte definierar begreppen och att det i vissa fall inte stämmer överens med de vetenskapliga teoretiska begreppen. Uppsatsens resultat indikerar på konsekvenser för både lärare och elever. En avsaknad av HBTQ-personer och könsidentitet i läroböcker kan få konsekvenser för elevers utbildning. Slutsatsen är att lärare kan behöva komplettera läroböckerna i sin undervisning och ta ansvar för att ha kunskap om HBTQ-personer och könsidentitet för att inkludera och genomföra normkritiska reflektioner i sin undervisning. Förslag på vidare forskning kan vara att intervjua bokförlag om processen och innehållet i läroböckerna.