The purpose of this study was to find out how gender roles are described in two popular children’s detective stories, one of them written in 2002 and the other in 1946, to be able to compare the two. In order to do this, I used a qualitative research method in which I read and analyzed the text and illustrations of the books out of a gender perspective.I used gender theories describing how stereotypical gender roles are displayed, and these theories were later associated with the books I studied. I also used previous research concerning gender roles in other children's books in order to compare those results with my own.After having read, analyzed and compared the two books, I found vast resemblances between them, but also certain differences. However, it is obvious that the gender roles in both books for the most part are traditional. It is mainly the girls (although not the adult women) that diverge from the stereotypical gender roles, but this is also what is most common and most acceptable in today's society.

The purpose of this thesis is to find out how gender roles are described in musical lyrics written for children. I used gender theories that describe how stereotypical gender roles are displayed in music and these theories were later compared with the songbooks I studied. The thesis is a qualitative study to detect masculine and feminine related differences in the texts. After having read, analyzed and compared over 200 songs I found that the stereotype notions of masculinity and femininity is reflected in songs. Society has transferred in this way normative values on to the children through the songs that teachers choose to sing in schools. / Syftet med denna studie var att ta reda på hur könsroller beskrivs i musiken och visorna för barn. Jag använde genusteorier som beskriver hur stereotypa genusroller uppstår och genom att pröva dessa teorier i relation med sångböckerna, försöka finna svar på mina frågor. Studien är en kvalitativ studie för att upptäcka skillnader mellan maskulinitet och femininitet i text. Efter att ha läst, analyserat och jämfört över 200 sånger fann jag att stereotypa föreställningar om vad som är manligt och kvinnligt återspeglas i visorna. De normativa värderingar som samhället har idag överföras på detta sätt vidare till barn genom de sånger vi väljer att sjunga i skolan.