The Swedish author Birgitta Stenberg (1932-2014) is primarily known for her subversive autobiographical novels based on her travelling and adventures in Europe, mainly Kärlek i Europa. Her work is characterized by subjects as sex, drugs, crime and breaking free from the limiting demands of everyday life. The book Eldar och is (2010) creates an autobiographical narrative around her grandmother Alma, her mother Ingeborg, and Birgitta herself. In the turn towards her own history the novel can be seen as a break from Stenberg’s earlier authorship. To analyze how motherhood is depicted in the novel I use Sara Ahmed and Judith Halberstam theorization of queer orientations and life lines, and motherhood studies based primarily on Jenny Björklunds queer reading of mothers who leave. In the analysis of the text two major themes emerged: Motherhood and class, and Motherhood, sexuality, and blood ties. The class theme shows how motherhood is shaped through class position and also how different class positions makes certain life lines within reach. Motherhood was also directly tied to changing class positions making motherhood both a sacrifice and possibility. The mothers also shaped their daughter’s orientation in the world in a profound way. The theme on sexuality and blood ties shows how sexuality posed both as a threat and a possibility to negotiate positions tied to motherhood. The result shows how heteronormative life scripts circumference motherhood but also how slips and slides on the straight line forms a resistance against these norms. By exposing the fantasy of the family motherhood as a construction, as balancing along a straight line, including slips, and uncertain blood ties, different realities come within reach.

This essay aims to explain the attraction toward the main character Stavrogin that the other characters experience in Dostoevsky's The Possessed, his great novel from 1871. I will mainly employ the terms “orientation” and “disorientation” in my analysis of Stavrogin's power of attraction. The theory used for this reading is principally inspired by Sara Ahmed's Queer Phenomenology – Orientation, Objects, Others (2006), and the meaning I attach to the terms “orientation” and “disorientation” is derived from Ahmed's use of them. Ahmed's queer phenomenology helps us to reflect upon how Stavrogin functions as a point of orientation in the novel. This makes him a demonic influence on the other characters, in the sense that he disorientates them. The Possessed asks us what happens when we “lose our way”, and confusion as well as disorientation is a general theme of the novel. This topic has been raised before, but few have connected the demonic disorientation with the underlying unconventional desires, such as Peter Verchovensky's desire for Stavrogin. In this essay I attempt to show how Stavrogin can be thought of as a “new” orientation for the other characters, and how their following him causes them to follow lines that lead to destruction.

Ljud har en förmåga att påverka våra känslor. Begreppet ljudwebb är framtaget till denna undersökning och syftar på de ljudlagda applikationer som, i och med den tekniska utvecklingen, har börjat dyka upp inom webben. Ljudwebben har fått sitt namn från ljudfilmen, de filmer som började experimentera med ljud under filmindustrins tekniska revolution runt 1930-talet. Syftet med denna undersökning är att utforska vad ljudets känslopåverkande egenskaper kan bidra med inom webben. Genom att utgå från fysiker-filosofen Karen Barads tankar om det ständigt rekonstruerande fenomenet samt filosofen Sarah Ahmeds kritik mot den fenomenologiska orienteringen lyder undersökningens frågeställning. “Hur kan fenomenet ljudwebb gestalta tillstånden orientering och desorientering? De insikter som uppkom under undersökningens teoretiska fördjupning har resulterat i den webb-baserade ljudinstallationen Fenomenofonen. Utöver ljudatmosfärer gestaltar Fenomenofonen intra-aktion, orientering och desorientering. Undersökningen bevisar att ljud kan användas som verktyg inom webbproduktion för att påverka användarens känslor. I och med marknadens efterfrågan på sinnesupplevelser inom webben kommer ljudwebben med stor sannolikhet att fortsätta expandera. Det kommer att leda till ett ännu mer påfrestat ljudlandskap, men även en rikare kultur och många arbetsmöjligheter för ljud-designers, programmerare och kompositörer. / Sound has a strong potential to influence our feelings. The concept of sound-web is developed for this study and refers to the sound-designed applications which have started to appear at the web due to new technological possibilities. Its name is inspired by the concept of sound film, the category of movies that began experimenting with sound, due to their technical film revolution back around the 1930´s. The purpose of this study is to explore what sound, with its possiblility to affect human emotions, can contribute within the web. This investigations survey question was produced by applying theories from physicist-philosophist Karen Barad's thoughts about the constantly reconstructive phenomenon and from the philosopher Sarah Ahmed's criticism of the phenomenological orientation and is as follows: How can the phenomenon of sound-web produce orientation and disorientation?. The insights that arose during the theoretical investigation resulted in a web-based sound installation named the Phenomenophone. In addition to generate sound atmospheres, the Phenomenophone, produces intra-action, orientation and disorientation in a way that make these specific subjects more understandable in a psycological way. The survey proves that the sound can be used as a tool in web production to affect the users feelings. The sound-web will most probably expand even more in the future. It will lead to a more contaminated soundscape but a richer cultural environment and many job opportunities for sound-designers, programmers and composers.

Syftet med studien var att belysa erfarenheter av att använda en sexdocka, så som de framkom i ett svenskt internetforum. Debatten som förs i media kring sexdockor tenderar att återuppliva polariserade ståndpunkter som handlar om genus, sexualitet, pornografi och kommersialism. Samtidigt är sexdockor inget nytt fenomen utan användandet går långt tillbaka i historien och erotiska avbildningar som används sexuellt är införlivade i konsten och mytologin. Forskning som fokuserar på användare av sexdockor saknas dock. Det empiriska materialet består av inlägg från ett svenskt internetforum, där inläggsförfattarna sinsemellan diskuterade ämnet sexdockor. För att få en djupare förståelse för användandet av sexdockor har en hermeneutisk ansats använts. Materialet har sedan analyserats med hjälp av queerfenomenologisk teori. Resultatet visar att flera, vitt skilda erfarenheter och motiv finns hos personer som använder sexdockor. En del av användandet är kopplat till svårigheter med relationer och sexdockor används i dessa fall som substitut till relationer. Erfarenheter av dåliga relationer beskrevs samt erfarenheter av ett ofrivilligt singelskap. Studien bekräftar även tidigare forskning kring att sexdockor används för andra ändamål än för samlag. Ett slags omvårdnad av sexdockan beskrevs i termer av handhavande, hygien, samt att göra dockan fin och tilldragande för ögat. Även det stigma och tabu som omger användandet av sexdockor togs upp och diskuterades i forumet. Avslutningsvis diskuteras att en sexdockeberättelse är en berättelse om lust och åtrå men också om de normer och livsvägar som omgärdar relationer och sexualitet. / The aim of the study was to shed light on experiences of using a sex doll, as they appeared in a Swedish internet forum. The debate that is taking place in the media about sex dolls tends to revive polarized standpoints which surround gender, sexuality, pornography and commercialism. At the same time, sex dolls are not a new phenomenon since the use goes a long way back in history and erotic images for sexual purpose are incorporated into the art and mythology. However, research that focuses on the users of sex dolls is lacking. The empirical material is based on posts from a Swedish internet forum, where the authors of the posts discussed the topic of sex dolls with each other. To gain a deeper understanding of the use of sex dolls, a hermeneutic approach was used. The material was then analyzed with queer phenomenological theory.  The results show that there are several, widely different experiences and motives of persons using sex dolls. A part of the use is linked to difficulties with relationships and sex dolls are in these cases used to substitute relationships. Experiences of poor relationships were described, as well as experiences of involuntary being single. The study also confirms previous research regarding the use of sex dolls for purposes other than intercourse. A kind of care-taking of the sex doll was described in terms of handling, hygiene and making the doll pretty and attractive to the eye. The stigma and taboo surrounding the use of sex dolls is also addressed and discussed in the forum. Finally, there is a discussion about a story of a sex doll being a story about lust and desires but also about the norms and life paths which surround relationships and sexuality.

Heteronormativity and norms concerning gender and sexuality are present in the entirety of Sweden, and their expressions are often wide and varied. This thesis studies the experiences of two upper secondary school teachers employed in Malmö through a case study in regards to work with gender and sexuality norms in religious studies. Additionally, how the pandemic COVID-19 and transit to digital teaching has affected work with gender and sexuality norms are explored. Using select parts of queer theory and thematic analysis, key components presented by the interviewees relating to work with gender and sexuality norms are identified and analyzed against the backdrop of previous research.

This thesis aims at analysing the novel History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera using a queer phenomenological lens in order to reveal to what extent it depicts aspects of sexuality, consent and relationships in a non-heteronormative way. Furthermore, the thesis discusses different ways of making visible the effects of normativity on student’s learning and development through the proposed queer phenomenological pedagogy.  The literary analysis is conducted by implementing queer theory, queer phenomenology and reader-response to reveal and convey the above-mentioned aspects in a way that enables critical thinking from a non-heteronormative perspective. The pedagogical implications show how the different aspects of sex/sexuality, consent and relationships can be put in juxtaposition and evaluated to broaden the pupils’ understanding and perception. The thesis concludes that the novel History Is All You Left Me contain several examples of sexuality, consent and relationships, amongst others, in a non-heteronormative way, which can be put in juxtaposition in the classroom to further enable critical thinking regarding the topics. Furthermore, the thesis concludes that a queer phenomenological pedagogy can work against normalisation and for pupils finding or expressing their identity and uniqueness.

This essay analyses Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman and Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski through a phenomenological lens. Through the theoretical framework, mainly consisting of Sara Ahmed’s The Cultural Politics of Emotion and Queer Phenomenology, I discuss how feelings such as desire and shame work through the subject and influence its relationship with their surroundings. The analysis concludes that the emotion of shame is an isolating feeling, causing the subject to shield themselves from their surroundings. At the same time shame is forgotten in its own temporality, whereas the emotion itself is mistaken as permanent by the subject in the feeling state. On the other hand, the forbidden desire feels temporary and like something that could be expelled from the body. Furthermore, I discuss how desire affects the relationship between subject and object, especially through the ways that desire complicates the hierarchal division between the two. I further posit how desire affects boundaries between bodies and how the forbidden desire creates the will to penetrate boundaries while at the same time maintaining them. Through the combination of shame and desire the subject is limited in their worldview, where the desire can feel impossible to navigate through the “life-lines” that Ahmed theorizes because of the shame that follows. The essay concludes that the relationship between shame and desire affects the relationship between subject and object mainly through the internalization of societal norms.

This thesis addresses the complexity of digitalization and humanities research practices, with a specific focus on digital archives and film history research. I propose the term “Frankenstein Complex” to highlight and contextualize the epistemological collision and empirical challenges humanities scholars encounter when utilizing digital resources with digital methods. A particular aim of this thesis is to scrutinize digital archiving practices when using the Media History Digital Library (MHDL) as a case for a themed meta-inquiry on the preservation of and access to classic horror cinema in this particular digital venue. The project found conventional research methods, such as the close reading of classical cinema history, to be limiting. Instead, the project tried out a distant reading technique throughout the meta-inquiry to better interrogate with the massive volume of data generated by MHDL. Besides a general reassessment of debates in the digital humanities and themes relating to horror film culture, this thesis strives for a reflection on classic horror spectatorship through the lens of sexual identity, inspired by Sara Ahmed’s perspective on queer phenomenology. This original reading of horror history is facilitated by an empirical study of the digital corpus at hand, which in turn gives insights into the entangled relation between subjective identities and the appointed research contexts.

In this thesis, the author explores what trans joy can be, and how it manifests in trans people’s everyday lives. Sara Ahmed’s theoretical framework Queer Phenomenology (2006) along with B Lee Aultman’s Trans Phenomenology (2018) directs the analysis towards an epistemological understanding of transness and trans joy. The limits and possibilities of trans joy are understood through its interaction with, and deviation from hegemonic binary gender norms that marginalize trans folks. Together with Jack Halberstam’s concept of The Queer Art of Failure (2011) and Ace Lehner’s trans-focused concept Trans Failure (2022), the study shows how failing to accomplish the cisnormative script is in fact something positive. Embracing one's true gender identity becomes a liberating experience.

Denna studie utgår från transpersoners och icke-binära personers erfarenheter av lajvande i Sverige under 2000-talet. Lajv är en typ av performance, liknande improviserad teater utan publik, där deltagarna gestaltar och förkroppsligar olika karaktärer, en roll eller alternativ identitet. Även om lajvs potential att förändra har tidigare studerats har ingen forskning gjorts om transpersoners erfarenheter av hur lajv och karaktärer har förändrat dem. Denna studie undersöker därför hur lajv och erfarenheter av att förkroppsliga karaktärer har påverkat hur de ser på sin könsidentitet och använder sig av könsuttryck i vardagen. I fokus står deltagarnas aha-upplevelser om sitt kön före, under, kring och efter lajv. Med intervjuer och queer fenomenologi visar studien att lajvande och karaktärer har hjälpt dem att hitta, utforska, testa och orientera sig mot nya könslinjer, könsidentiteter och könsuttryck samt gett dem verktyg att börja följa dessa könslinjer i vardagen. Studien visar även hur de har hindrats och hjälpts av andra lajvare, samt hur gränsen mellan lajv och vardag läcker och transformerar. Studiens resultat bidrar till en ökad kunskap om hur lajvande kan ha en förmåga att förändra och hur svenska lajvkulturen har utvecklats under 2000-talet. / This thesis concerns trans and non-binary persons’ experiences of live action role-playing (larp) in Sweden during the last 20 years. Larp is a form of performance, similar to improvised theater without any external audience, where the participants (larpers) play and embody characters. The characters are similar to theater characters, but are also a form of persona or alternative identity for the larpers. Although earlier research has shown that larp has a potential to transform and change larpers, little research has been done on transpersons’ experiences of how larping and characters have changed them. The purpose of this thesis is to analyse how larping and experiences of embodying characters have affected how they understand their own gendersex and use gendered expressions, clothes, and behaviors in everyday life. A central part of the analysis is the participants' feeling of wonder over their gendersex before, during, around, and after larping. By using interviews, queer phenomenology, and the concept of bleed, the study shows how larping and characters have helped them to find, explore, try, and orient themselves toward new gender lines, gendersexes and gendered expressions and also given them tools to help them following these new gender lines and embody their gendersex in everyday life. Furthermore, the study shows how they have been hindered and helped by other larpers, and how the borders between the larp worlds and the world of everyday life are porous and transformative. The findings of the study gives new insights of transpersons’ experiences of larping. Furthermore, the results deepen our knowledge of larping’s transformative potential, how role-playing can be used in identity processes, and how the Swedish larping community has evolved during the 21th century.