A carnival can not be stopped! A design pedagogical study of children and norms   In Basel, the only Protestant carnival in Europe takes place. The carnival is called Fasnacht. For three days, there is a wild and uninhibited play with tradition, crossing borders and social criticism. The aim of this thesis is to expand the understanding of the concept of the carnival, and how to use it for an educational purpose. Three children from Basel have been involved in an workshop where they designed and talked about norms and power structures through the carnivalesque principle. The study is based on the questions: How can you use the carnival as a starting point for designing and talking about norms and power structures together with children? And; How can the design process support such a project? To spot this, I made arrangements for a design educational project. Based on the carnival and through the design educational project, the three children got the opportunity to let Barbie dolls go on their own carnival. The methods underlying the project is transforming design and a concept the pedagogue Paulo Friere called a Visual Voice. The workshop with the Barbie dolls became the children's visual voice - a designed figure that the children could talk about, and reflect about how they for example create their gender identity, and why the colour pink is a girl colour. During the project, the empirical material was collected in the form of field notes, log books, photographs and the children's self-designed Barbie dolls. The empirical data were then analysed and interpreted through a queer theory and by Mikhail Bakhtin's carnivalesque concepts. The study also opinions that children's play is an important factor for children's learning, and the children's play is later discussed through the carnevalesque principle. The study is portrayed at Konstfack, in the room Biblioteksgången, between 2014-01-13 and 2014 - 01-17. The artistic representation tries to highlight the children's experience of the carnival, my experience of Switzerland, and show something I found in the study, namely that the colour pink is loaded with various notions that can be linked to girls' identity..

The purpose of this study is to examine discourses about norms and norm criticism regarding sex/gender and sexuality in preschool teachers’ and nursery nurses’ speech using a post-structuralist perspective. My two research questions are: How do the educators describe norms in general and norms about sex/gender and sexuality in relation to their work? How do the educators describe their work with norm criticism in relation to norms about sex/gender and sexuality? The theoretical base of this thesis is feminist post-structuralism and queer theory. Qualitative interviews were used as method to gather material and then a form of discourse analysis was made based on the transcribed interviews. Five preschool teachers and one nursery nurse participated in this study. Four of these educators work in two different open preschools, which are lgbtq-certified by RFSL, The Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights, and two educators work in a preschool that explicitly say that they work with a norm criticism perspective.   In this study I found that the main discourses about norms were that they can be both positive and negative, but controlling and often invisible. Norms concerning sex/gender and sexuality were mainly described as limiting and narrow. The main discourses found about norm criticism were that it is a work without specific methods but that there are still norms concerning it. That norm criticism is about broadening the meanings of different norms and also, that how teachers talk and respond to children and parents affects them and how they understand and create themselves and others. The conclusions are that many discourses contradict each other in ways that are necessary. That the discourses mainly focused on educator’s and adult’s impact on children, and that norms which are perceived by the educators as dominant in society affect the educators discourses.

The purpose of this study is to examine how genders are made within the gender neutral discourse in the preschools equality treatment area. The study is based on critcal literature studies influed by discourse analysis and hermeneuitcs. It also relies on intervjues with two preschool teachers.  The study will examine and answer the following questions: How are genders made within the gender neutral discourse? How is the feminine and masculine problematized in preschool and how is the discourse within gender neutrality linked to norms, power and gender? The theoretical starting point of this study is gender. This starting point also includes norms, power and masculinity, to get a complete understanding of the problem area. The result of the study shows that the ambition to develope a gender natural policy in pre school is a problematic issue because the understanding of the concept neutrality excludes the feminine. Finally with critical eyes against the gender neutral concept my interpretation is that we need to concider the norms to be able to reach equal treatment and gender equality. These unwritten laws that norms produce creates  unbalance, power structure and exclusion between genders and individuals.     Keywords: Gender, Norm criticism, equal treatment, gender equality, gender neutrality. Nyckelord: Genus, normkritik, likabehandling, jämställdhetsarbete och könsneutralitet.

Bakgrund: Unga hbtq-personer upplever mer diskriminering och sämre hälsa än andra unga. Skolan utgör en viktig arena för att skapa en inkluderande och hälsofrämjande miljö. Enligt skollagen och diskrimineringslagen ska alla behandlas lika oavsett kön eller sexuell läggning. För att förhindra att elever utsätts för kränkningar behöver normkritiskt hbtq-arbete genomföras under ledning av rektor och i samverkan med samtlig skolpersonal. Skolsköterskan kan arbeta med hbtq-relaterade frågor för att stärka skyddsfaktorer och förebygga ohälsa hos hbtq-personer. Flera skolor i Sverige har genomfört hbtq-certifieringsutbildning men forskning saknas om skolsköterskors erfarenheter av utbildningen. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka skolsköterskors erfarenheter av hbtq-certifiering. Metod: Datainsamling genomfördes genom intervjuer med sju skolsköterskor. I studien användes en kvalitativ metod med induktiv ansats, data analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Tre kategorier framkom; Organisatoriska faktorer, Skolsköterskans hbtq-arbete samt Betydelsen av värdegrundsarbete i skolan. Slutsats: Studiens resultat påvisar att organisatoriska hinder föreligger för implementering av hbtq-arbete. En förutsättning för framgångsrika effekter av hbtq-certifiering är att samtlig skolpersonal under ledning av rektor är insatta i hbtq-arbete. Vidare framkommer utmaningar med hbtq-arbete med vårdnadshavare och elever i mångkulturella miljöer. / Background: Young LGBTQ persons experience more discrimination and poorer health than other young people. The school offers an important arena for an including and health-promoting setting. According to The Swedish Education act and The Swedish Discrimination act everybody should be treated equally regardless of gender and sexual orientation. To prevent that students get subjected to degrading treatment LGBTQ-affirming work with a norm-critical perspective can be organized by the head teacher and the rest of the school staff. School nurses can work with LGBTQ issues to promote protective factors and prevent illness in LGBTQ individuals. Several schools in Sweden are LGBTQ-certified but there is a lack of research about school nurses´ experiences of the education. Aim: The purpose of the study was to investigate school nurses´ experiences of LGBTQ certification. Method: Datacollection was conducted using interviews with seven school nurses. In the study a qualitative method with an inductive approach was used, the data was analyzed with qualitative content analysis. Results: The analysis resulted in three categories; Organizational factors, School nurses´ LGBTQ work and The importance of fundamental values in schools. Conclusion: The result of the study shows that organizational obstacles counteracts the implementation of LGBTQ work. A prerequisite for successful effects of LGBTQ certification is that all school staff lead by the head teacher are well informed about LGBTQ issues. Furthermore, the result reveals challenges with LGBTQ work with legal guardians and students in multicultural settings.

Studiens syfte är att belysa hur Muminböckernas karaktärer representeras och hur deras relationer till varandra representeras utifrån ett normkritiskt perspektiv. Detta för att ta reda på om Muminböckerna skulle kunna bidra till det normkritiska arbetet inom förskolans verksamhet. Studien utgår från en kvalitativ litteraturanalys utifrån den narratologiska litteraturanalysmodell av Nikolajeva (2017). I urvalet av litteratur valdes originalutgåvorna av Muminböckerna ut för att få en djupare beskrivning av karaktärerna. För att utföra analysen utifrån ett normkritiskt perspektiv har de teoretiska begreppen, normer, genus, genussystemet och genuskontraktet använts.  Resultatet visar att Muminböckerna belyser en mångfald av karaktärer som anses som normbrytande på olika sätt. Det normkritiska perspektivet synliggjorde karaktärer som avviker från normer när det gäller levnadssätt, genus, egenskaper, utseenden samt familjekonstellationer. Studien visar även hur accepterande Mumindalens samhälle är då alla karaktärer får leva och vara på sitt eget sätt och ändå inkluderas i samhället. Inom förskolans verksamhet kan böckerna bidra till barnens identitetsutveckling då karaktärerna kan skapa igenkänning hos barnen. De kan också bidra med att barnen blir mer öppna för allas olikheter och våga utforska sig själva då böckerna belyser karaktärer där genus inte spelar någon roll. En slutsats som är viktig att ta upp av denna studie är vikten av pedagogernas medvetenhet när det gäller val av litteratur. Pedagoger behöver reflektera över vad litteraturen sänder ut för budskap, samt hur man kan arbeta kring böckernas innehåll tillsammans med barnen. / The aim of the study is to find out how the Moomin books' characters are represented and how their relationships to each other are represented based on a norm-critical perspective. This is to find out whether the Moomin books could contribute to the norm-critical work within the preschool's operation. The study is based on a qualitative literature analysis based on Nikolajeva's narratological literature analysis. In the selection of literature, the original editions of the Moomin books were selected to get a deeper description of the characters. In order to carry out the analysis based on a norm-critical perspective, the theoretical concepts, norms, gender, the gendersystem and the gendercontract have been used.  The results show that the Moomin books highlight a diversity of characters who are considered to be breaking the norms in different ways. The norm-critical perspective made visible characters who deviate from norms in terms of lifestyle, gender, characteristics, appearances and family constellations. The study also shows how accepting the Moominvaley's society is as all characters are allowed to live and be in their own way and still be included in society. Within the activities of the preschool, the books can contribute to children's identity development as the characters can create recognition for the children. They can also contribute to the children becoming more open to everyone's differences and dare to explore themselves as the books highlight characters where gender does not matter. An important conclusion to draw from this study is the importance of preschool teachers' awareness when it comes to choosing literature. Preschool teachers need to reflect on what message the literature sends out, as well as how to work with the content of the books together with the children.

The purpose of this study is to examine how Åhléns challenge existing gender norms and stereotypes in their campaign Bryt klädmaktsordningen. The study also wish to highlight the reactions that the campaign has received on Åhléns Facebook-page. The theoretical starting point is based on theories concerning representation and stereotypes and specifically how these theories can be seen in the context of advertising campaigns. The concepts of norms and norms criticism has been established and the concept of sex and gender has been discussed within the theoretical framework. Theories of semiotics has also been presented to provide a basis to the two qualitative methods in the study. First, a semiotic picture analysis is used to analyze the visual elements of the material. Then, a thematic text analysis is used to analyze the textual material consisted of comments from the Facebook-page. The result of the semiotic analysis shows that Åhléns challenge gender norms and stereotypes by presenting women and men in contrary to what is expected of them. A part of the result that was found a bit surprising is that the analysis also shows that the presentation is not entirely equitable between the men and women. The result of the thematic text analysis is first categorised into five different themes: “shouts of encouragement”, “keep politics away!”, “threats of boycott”, “great, but…” and “campaign defender”. The result shows that the reactions largely stands for or against Åhléns, this campaign or norm critical advertising. A surprising result was those who both praised and condemned Åhléns or campaign in the same comment. Based on the result, the conclusion is that Åhléns can participate and highlight social problems through their marketing communication and that they have done so by challenging the previling norms in the camaign. The fact that Åhléns has chosen to take a stand on gender norms through this campaign also shows that a norm critical advertising campaign can lead to a community discussion regarding prevailing gender norms.

The thesis is intending to answer the question: Do tools and objects have the ability to support capacities for imagining alternative ways of living the present and through that also the future? How do we imagine our future? What is necessary for us and how do we want to live our everyday? It is important to rest for a moment and have a conversation about this questions in order to adapt old concepts of the world towards drastically changing conditions. Most of us, mainly in the modern western society, know that we can no longer maintain this lifestyle in the future. We know that we have to react as soon as possible and find alternative ways of living together. Yet it seems that we are paralysed to initiate action towards new ways of thinking. Where does this inactivity come from? It is hard to find new ways of thinking, especially when conventional norms, rules and structures of the current system do not provide any room for new forms of development. Is it possible that we are trapped in this system and the web of stories that hold it together? Is it possible that we are so used to the structures of the everyday, that we see them as set truths and do not question them anymore? The work investigates where these conditions come from and how non-human stakeholders in form of our everyday objects impact human culture and core beliefs. Through designing a disobedient tool that supports the capacity for alternative thinking towards more playful, imaginative presents and futures I want to try to questioning established systems embedded in our everyday tools, tools which embody our relations to each other and to the living and non-living inhabitants of our surroundings.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how career listings are interpreted from a recipient perspective. We intend to investigate if Gästrike Räddningstjänst’s job advertisements create ideas about the firefighter. The study aims to answer the following questions: How are gender, norm and sexes conveyed in two job ads from Gästrike Räddningstjänst? What conceptions about the firefighter does the recipient who reads the job ads create? How do women in the ages of 20–25 years, who are living in Gävle interpret job ads from Gästrike Räddningstjänst, in relation to a norm breaking employment advertisement? Theoretical introduction: This case study has been based on several theories about gender, norms and the biological gender. Material and method: Barthes semiotic model for denotation and connotation are being used for image analysis. The study is based on two employment advertisements from Gästrike Räddningstjänst and reception analysis with semi structured interviews. The interviews have been conducted with six informants. Stuart Halls reception model are being used for analysing the interviews. Result: Through image and text analysis we were able to identify that the job ads from Gästrike Räddningstjänst conveys gender and norm throughout image and text, and both combined. This case study has demonstrated that Gästrike Räddningstjänst's employment advertisements create conceptions about whom the firefighter is. By creating a job ad that challenges the standard of communicating the firefighter the informants did not only negotiate about who can become a firefighter but also about gender equality and diversity.

Den här studien undersöker hur pojkar i klänning gestaltas i barnlitteratur. Syftet är att ur ett normkritiskt perspektiv synliggöra hur genusnormer bryts och upprätthålls. Studiens datainsamling består av kvalitativ text- och bildanalys av tre stycken barnböcker som riktar sig till barn i åldern 3–6 år.  Tidigare forskning redogör för att traditionella genusnormer gestaltas i berättelser för unga läsare, ett perspektiv som kan påverka barns möjligheter till att uttrycka sin könsidentitet. Enligt resultatet i den här studien bidrar karaktärer och innehåll till att både upprätthålla och bryta normer. Den traditionella genusordningen, som bland annat innebär att det maskulina värderas högre än det feminina, framträder i två av tre böcker. Samtidigt är pojkars handlingsutrymmen för att uttrycka sin könsidentitet snävare än flickors. / This study examines the portrayal of boys in dresses in children's literature. The purpose is to make visible from a norm-critical perspective how gender norms are broken and maintained. The study's data collection consists of qualitative text and image analysis of three children's books for children aged 3–6 years. Previous research reports that traditional gender norms are represented in literature for young readers, a perspective that may affect children's opportunities to make gender. The findings in this study show that characters and content contribute to both maintaining and breaking norms. The traditional gender order, meaning masculine is valued higher than feminine, appears in two out of the analyzed books. At the same time, masculine characters seem to have less possibilities of expressing their gender identity than the feminine ones.

Studiens intention är att bidra med föreställningar om förskolan som den kan utgå från för att förbättra sin verksamhet och undervisning. Syftet är därför att synliggöra de föreställningar som finns hos några hemmaföräldrar om förskolan som arena för barns sociala utveckling i relation till deras hemmaomsorg. Utifrån syftet har två frågeställningar formulerats och dessa är följande: Vilka möjligheter och hinder föreställer sig hemmaföräldrar med förskolan som arena för barns sociala utveckling? Hur föreställer sig hemmaföräldrar att förskolan skiljer sig från hemmaomsorg i relation till barns sociala utveckling? Studiens resultat har analyserats med hjälp av det teoretiska perspektivet normkritik. Undersökningen byggs på en kvalitativ metod med gruppintervjuer som tillvägagångssätt. Resultatet utgår från tre kategorier som beskriver de huvudsakliga faktorerna som hemmaföräldrarna menar påverkar att förskolan ska kunna fungera som en arena för social utveckling. Dessa faktorer är relationsskapande och trygga anknytningar, barngruppens påverkan på barnet och förskolans styrning i relation till barnets frihet. Slutsatsen är att hemmaföräldrarna anser att det finns flera faktorer som kan hindra den sociala utvecklingen på förskolan men det finns också en förståelse för att förskolan kan vara en bra plats för de familjer som har behov av den.