Cette thèse s’attache à questionner l’utilisation de la pornographie dans la « broderie subversive » par les plasticiennes. Cette démarche semble a priori paradoxale. Pourquoi, les plasticiennes brodent-elles des images de femmes objectivées ? Pourquoi utiliser la broderie alors que cette pratique est considérée comme un passe-temps féminin ? Pourquoi s’emparer de la pornographie, faite par les hommes pour les hommes ? L’analyse d’un large corpus d’œuvres brodées, au prisme des « gender studies » et des « porn studies », permet de saisir les enjeux de cette démarche singulière. Les plasticiennes utilisent un médium caractérisé comme essentialiste pour déconstruire de « l'intérieur » les valeurs patriarcales transmises par la tradition du tissu, posture basée sur une succession de paradoxes. Ainsi, par la représentation brodée du sexuel, voir même de leur sexualité, les plasticiennes sont amenées à questionner leur propre identité de genre. Le sexuel brodé permet de se réapproprier son corps et son imaginaire, de s'interroger personnellement sur son identité (par l'utilisation d'un médium a priori genré). Cette construction du « moi » est soumise à un double paradoxe, tout d'abord celui de l'utilisation d'un médium féminin, subverti par le détournement artistique, et d'images objectivant les corps des femmes alors qu'il s'agit de se les réapproprier. Dans l'exploration de ces deux paradoxes, dans leur confrontation, dans cet espace, peut alors se penser l'identité (de femme et d'artiste) dans une société androcentrée. / This thesis aims to interrogate how women artists use pornography in the subversiv stitch. This reflection might seem paradoxical. Why do women artists embroider pictures of objectified women ? Why use embroidery ? And why appropriate pornography that is made by men for men ? The analysis of a large corpus of embroiedered works, though the lens of gender studies and porn studies, allows to seize the issues of this peculiar approach. Women artists use a medium defined as essentialist to decompose – from the inside – the patriarchal values inherited from the textile tradition. Through the embroidered representation of the sexual – even of their own sexuality – women artist are led to question their own gender identity. The Embroidered sexual allows one to reappropriate their body and imaginary – and to interrogate themself about their identity (through a medium primarily perceived as gendered). This construction of the self is submitted to a double paradox, hich is the use of a feminine medium – subverted by artistic hijacking – and pictures of objectified female bodies, whereas the whole purpose is actually to reappropriate those bodies. Somewhere between those paradoxes might emerge and be thought the identity – of woman and artist – in a androcentric society.

Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur genus representeras i tidningen Cosmopolitan genom att analysera tidningsomslagen i en kvalitativ studie. Vi diskuterar även bakomliggande stereotyper och myter som finns kring män och kvinnor i vårt samhälle, och hur de förmedlas på tidningens omslag. Metoden som används i denna studie är en semiotisk analys. Vi har valt ut femton omslag från respektive utgåva där de kvinnliga och manliga modellerna bär liknande klädkod som kostym, kavaj och skjorta. Anledningen till att vi valde en mer formell klädkod är för att kunna observera likheterna mellan de två könen – och även analysera varför skillnaderna är så omfattande trots samma typ av klädkod. I studien analyseras omslagen genom att ett teoretiskt perspektiv baserat på R.W. Connells och Judith Butlers genusteorier som hegemonisk maskulinitet och performativitet. Vi undersökte också representationen mellan de två könen i omslagen utifrån Stuart Halls representationsteori. Detta för att få en bättre bild av stereotyper som visas på omslag. Med tanke på att Cosmopolitan är en industri, är denna studiens teoretiska ram också baserad på David Hesmondhalghs teorier om kulturindustrierna. Det huvudsakliga resultatet i denna studie visar att män och kvinnor skildras olika i tidningar baserat på deras kön. Studien visar att media, särskilt reklam, spelar en stor roll i konstruktionen och reproduktionen av normativa stereotyper. / This study aims to examine how gender roles are represented in the magazine Cosmopolitan by analyzing the covers in a qualitative study. Additionally, we discuss underlying stereotypes and myths that exist around men and women in our society, and how they are expressed through the magazine covers.  The methodology used in this study is a semiotic analysis. We have selected fifteen covers from each magazine, where the female and male models are wearing similar dress codes such as suits, blazers, and shirts. The reason we chose a more formal dress code is to be able to observe the similarities between the two genders – and also to analyze why the differences are so significant despite the same type of clothing.  In the study the covers are analyzed by using a perspective based on R.W. Connell's and Judith Butler’s gender theories including hegemonic masculinity and performativity. We also examined the representation between the two genders in the covers based on Stuart Hall’s representation theory. This to get a better view on the stereotypes that displays on covers. Considering that Cosmopolitan is an industry, this study’s theoretical framework is also based on David Hesmondhalgh’s theories about the cultural industries.  The main findings in this study depicts that men and women are portrayed differently in magazines based on their gender. The study shows that media, particularly advertisements, manage a huge role in the construction and reproduction of normative stereotypes.

ABSTRACT Today our physical appearance is more important than before. The way we physically present ourselves is how many of us would like to be seen. By acting a certain way, dressing a certain way or spend time with a certain social group we identify ourselves. A certain style that an individual presents can say something about what that individual are interested in and how the person spends his or her time. Today many complement their physical appearance with a physical attribute like a beard. Beard is seen as something that is trendy and masculine. Many men identify themselves with their beard, even thou it is only a part of the male physical appearance. In Sweden there is a beard contest called “En Karl Med Skägg” this is an event with an audience that nominates Sweden’s best beard of ten final contestants. Men all over the country apply for the contest. A jury then selects ten men that will be the final contestants for the best beard of Sweden.   This thesis is going to analyze the social meeting that the participants create while participating in the contest and the importance of that meeting to them. While participating in the event, participants give the place of the event a meaning and the place of the event also got a meaning to the participants both socially and geographically. These men create a social place that is time-stretched with an importance to them. This thesis is also going to examine how this type of event symbolizes modern culture and how the male gaze is of higher importance than before historically. The thesis is going to analyze the connection between the male self-identification and participating in a social meeting between others, by appearance similar individuals.

This project chronicles an in-depth character study on the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope in film. The term was coined in 2007 by a film critic about a very specific kind of female character—one who exists “solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures.” The MPDG has often been written off as nothing more than a stereotype or sexist characterization of a woman, but I argue that the MPDG can be much more than a flat character, as evidenced by the increasingly complex characterization of the MPDG in independent film. Based on case studies of several films, I discuss how the MPDG has grown from a supporting archetype into a well-rounded and multi-dimensional character. Based on a history of female depiction in film, a discussion of the critical interpretations of the MPDG, and these case studies, I argue that the MPDG has the potential to exist as a complex and realistic character rather than just an archetype.

In this thesis, I claim that the gaze is central to the courtship process in Austen’s novels. I also propose that an analysis of the gaze is crucial to understanding the gendered power dynamics that are central to these relationships. We tend to think of male gazers as having all the power, but one of Austen’s subversive arguments is that women can also be subjects of the gaze and transform through it. However, limits exist to their power. As I will argue, while men are able to simply project their transformative gaze, women must first use their gaze to perceive their societal position before successfully having a transformative effect.

In her article “Visual pleasure and narrative cinema” (1975) Laura Mulvey explains how film portrays the female characters as passive sexualised objects, on display for the male (erotic) gaze. Although, Mulvey did make amendments to the original article after it was criticised, her original article is still influential and referenced in academic writing on film. This dissertation investigates how the three selected mainstream American films, namely, Alice in Wonderland, Monster and Transamerica, have female protagonists who deviate from Mulvey’s initial standpoint and enact a new dynamic, whereby the female characters possess active bodies. In order to explain this new dynamic, the dissertation provides an overview of relevant theory in order to establish the necessary analytical tools to investigate the representation of the female body. These tools are taken from feminist notions of the body, most importantly Mulvey’s notions, in order to establish what constitutes an active female body that subverts the male gaze. This subversion is most notable when examining the iconography of the active female body. The dissertation also draws from the overview the importance of place and space, the embodiment of the characters’ inner workings in specific locations, and their relationship with the locations in which they are depicted. Since all three films include a physical journey on which the respective protagonists embark the examination of borders and border crossings is included. The dissertation shows that journeys bring with them the opportunity for the body to be active, as each female protagonist is on a journey to self-discovery. The changing settings in which the protagonists find themselves are an embodiment of their inner workings. Topographical borders mark the entering of new locations. However, concomitant symbolic and epistemological borders are also crossed. The female protagonists need to make choices concerning their lives and as a consequence alter the representations to reflect bodies that subvert the male gaze. These female bodies are active. However, they are active in different ways. Alice, from Alice in Wonderland, delves into her psyche to emerge a changed and independent Victorian woman. Bree, from Transamerica, heals the relationships with her family and is able to have her gender reconstructive surgery to become a physical woman. These two female protagonists have positive representations of the active female body. The protagonist from Monster, Aileen, is represented in a constant state of abjection and her active body is portrayed in a negative light. Whether represented in a positive or egative light, these chosen films all portray an active female body that does subvert the male gaze, and hence represent a new dynamic different from the one Mulvey described. / MA (Language Practice), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

<p>Denna uppsats syftar till att kvalitativt undersöka hur kvinnor porträtteras i fem</p><p>utvalda avsnitt av The Hills (MTV), med fokus på deras beteende och uppträdande i</p><p>frågor som karriär, utseende och relationer till män. Detta undersöks med hjälp av ett</p><p>analysschema som har utformats utifrån Keith Selbys och Ron Cowderys</p><p>analysmodell för att studera television.</p><p> </p><p>Undersökningen vilar på en genusteoretisk grund och teorier som används är bland</p><p>annat R.W. Connells hegemoniska maskulinitet, Yvonne Hirdmans genuskontrakt,</p><p>Laura Mulveys ”the male gaze” och en vidare utveckling av Foucaults teori om ”the</p><p>panopticon”. Detta kompletteras med forskning av bland annat Rosalind Gill, Angela</p><p>McRobbie och Hillevi Ganetz.</p><p> </p><p>I min analys framkommer att det förekommer väldigt få skildringar av kvinnor vars</p><p>beteende utmanar en traditionell syn på kvinnligt uppförande. Vidare betonas</p><p>kvinnors utseende starkt och karaktärerna visar ett flertal gånger fokus på äktenskap.</p><p>Sammantaget leder analysen fram till en slutsats att kvinnor i The Hills inom samtliga</p><p>undersökta områden till stor del skildras på ett sätt som befäster en stereotyp</p><p>genusstruktur.</p>

Denna uppsats syftar till att kvalitativt undersöka hur kvinnor porträtteras i fem utvalda avsnitt av The Hills (MTV), med fokus på deras beteende och uppträdande i frågor som karriär, utseende och relationer till män. Detta undersöks med hjälp av ett analysschema som har utformats utifrån Keith Selbys och Ron Cowderys analysmodell för att studera television.   Undersökningen vilar på en genusteoretisk grund och teorier som används är bland annat R.W. Connells hegemoniska maskulinitet, Yvonne Hirdmans genuskontrakt, Laura Mulveys ”the male gaze” och en vidare utveckling av Foucaults teori om ”the panopticon”. Detta kompletteras med forskning av bland annat Rosalind Gill, Angela McRobbie och Hillevi Ganetz.   I min analys framkommer att det förekommer väldigt få skildringar av kvinnor vars beteende utmanar en traditionell syn på kvinnligt uppförande. Vidare betonas kvinnors utseende starkt och karaktärerna visar ett flertal gånger fokus på äktenskap. Sammantaget leder analysen fram till en slutsats att kvinnor i The Hills inom samtliga undersökta områden till stor del skildras på ett sätt som befäster en stereotyp genusstruktur.

In her article “Visual pleasure and narrative cinema” (1975) Laura Mulvey explains how film portrays the female characters as passive sexualised objects, on display for the male (erotic) gaze. Although, Mulvey did make amendments to the original article after it was criticised, her original article is still influential and referenced in academic writing on film. This dissertation investigates how the three selected mainstream American films, namely, Alice in Wonderland, Monster and Transamerica, have female protagonists who deviate from Mulvey’s initial standpoint and enact a new dynamic, whereby the female characters possess active bodies. In order to explain this new dynamic, the dissertation provides an overview of relevant theory in order to establish the necessary analytical tools to investigate the representation of the female body. These tools are taken from feminist notions of the body, most importantly Mulvey’s notions, in order to establish what constitutes an active female body that subverts the male gaze. This subversion is most notable when examining the iconography of the active female body. The dissertation also draws from the overview the importance of place and space, the embodiment of the characters’ inner workings in specific locations, and their relationship with the locations in which they are depicted. Since all three films include a physical journey on which the respective protagonists embark the examination of borders and border crossings is included. The dissertation shows that journeys bring with them the opportunity for the body to be active, as each female protagonist is on a journey to self-discovery. The changing settings in which the protagonists find themselves are an embodiment of their inner workings. Topographical borders mark the entering of new locations. However, concomitant symbolic and epistemological borders are also crossed. The female protagonists need to make choices concerning their lives and as a consequence alter the representations to reflect bodies that subvert the male gaze. These female bodies are active. However, they are active in different ways. Alice, from Alice in Wonderland, delves into her psyche to emerge a changed and independent Victorian woman. Bree, from Transamerica, heals the relationships with her family and is able to have her gender reconstructive surgery to become a physical woman. These two female protagonists have positive representations of the active female body. The protagonist from Monster, Aileen, is represented in a constant state of abjection and her active body is portrayed in a negative light. Whether represented in a positive or egative light, these chosen films all portray an active female body that does subvert the male gaze, and hence represent a new dynamic different from the one Mulvey described. / MA (Language Practice), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

With this study, the authors wish to highlight the way artificial intelligence, as a new form of media technology, seems to be ascribed gender, both in fiction and reality. These, by humans artificially developed beings, would not need to be gendered, but still are. Given these beings are human made and new phenomenas, an opportunity of preventing boundaries considering gender, class and etnicity to be reproduced would be possible and in favour. By analysing the Alex Garland 2015 film Ex Machina, the authors wish to discuss how and why the artificial intelligence becomes gendered, particularly feminised, and what this means from a wider perspective concerning the way we look at this new technlology not yet fully introduced in real life. By using post- and transhuman theory mixed with feminist theories such as Judith Butlers theory of perfomativity, Donna Haraways posthuman feminist theory and Laura Mulveys theory of The Male Gaze, this study results in a qualitative text analysis. The methodic tools used in this study contains elements from visual text methods and therefor also semiotics.   The authors reach to the conclusion that the depiction of artificial intelligence in the film Ex Machina (2015) reproduces stereotypic feminine gender acts and even intensifies these. When these ways of presenting new and futuristic technology seems to appear in ficiton, an assumption can be made that they origin from existing and deep gender acts in the western society. Researchers, such as Donna Haraway, wishes for these strong boundaries in gender, class and etnicity to not be reproduced in new technology, but in the fictional case of the film Ex Machina (2015), this wish has unfortunately not been fullfilled. If society would be able to rethink the sharp boundaries between nature and technology and succeed with this ontological change in the way we look at humanity, it would hopefully be easier to approach the new technology with an open mind. Perhaps then the reproduction of gender stereotypes in this new technology would cease in fiction, but also in reality.