Människor formar kärleksrelationer på många olika sätt. I dagens samhälle är seriellmonogami normen och det ansedda idealet. Idealiseringen av monogama relationermedför en nedvärdering av icke-monogama relationer och de personer som praktiserar dessa,däribland polyamorösa. Trots detta finns många fördelar med polyamorösa relationerdokumenterade. Våra huvudsakliga syften med den här studien var att få en förståelse förpolyamorösas upplevelser av mononormen samt undersöka vilka relationsfrämjande aspektersom finns i polyamorösa relationer. Vi genomförde tio semistrukturerade telefonintervjuer medpersoner som identifierade sig som polyamorösa. Utifrån denna datainsamling genomförde vitematisk analys. Analysen resulterade i tre större huvudteman: ”minoritetsupplevelser”,”relationsfrämjande aspekter” och ”polypositiva upplevelser”, samt några mindre teman. Vidrog slutsatsen att polyamorösa kan mötas av fördomar och praktiska begränsningar och attmononormen kan bidra till minoritetsstress som hanteras med eller tar sig uttryck iinternaliserade fördomar, skyddsbeteenden och pro-aktiva polynormaliserande handlingar. Vikunde också konstatera att polyrelationer präglas av öppen kommunikation, aktiva uttryck avkärlek och omsorg, villighet till anpassning, polypositiva attityder och en syn på obehagligakänslor som hanterbara. Polyamorösa upplever sina relationer som allmänt positiva medhänsyn till personlig utveckling, livsbejakande och positiva upplevelser avparamourer. Samhället, och speciellt de som arbetar inom människovårdande yrken, bör ta tillsig denna kunskap för att kunna säkerställa ett inkluderande bemötande av polyamorösa. / People form romantic relationships in various ways. In today’s society, serialmonogamy is the norm and the considered ideal relational form. The idealization ofmonogamous relationships implies a disparagement of non-monogamous relationships andthose who practice these, for example polyamorous people. In spite of this, many benefits ofpolyamorous relationships have been documented. Our main aims of this study was to gaininsight of how polyamorous people experience the mononorm, and to examine relationshippromoting aspects of polyamorous relationships. We conducted ten semi-structured telephoneinterviews with people who identified as polyamorous. Based on this collection of data weconducted a thematic analysis. The analysis resulted in three main themes: “minorityexperiences”, “relationship promoting aspects” and “poly-positive experiences”, and someminor themes. We concluded that polyamorous people can face prejudices and practicallimitations and that the mononorm can contribute to minority stress which is coped with orexpressed in internalized prejudices, safeguarding behaviors and poly normalizing actions. Wecould also state that polyamorous relationships are characterized by open communication,active expressions of love and care, willingness to make adjustments, poly-positive attitudesand a view of uncomfortable emotions as manageable. Polyamorous people experience theirrelationships as positive in general, taking into account personal development, life affirmationand positive experiences of paramours. Society, and especially human care professionals,should take this knowledge into consideration to be able to ensure an inclusive treatment ofpolyamorous people.

The aim of the study was to investigate the social service's approach and handling of cases related to honor-related violence and oppression. Furthermore, we wanted to map the boundary the social service makes between honor-related violence and oppression and violence in close relationships. In order to provide a detailed analysis of the aspects and questions that shall follow, a qualitative thematic analysis method has been used by conducting four semi-structured interviews with social secretaries from a social office in Sweden. The results showed that social secretaries define and manage honor-related violence and oppression in different ways. There is also no clear boundary between the phenomena, however, there are certain factors / motives in the respondents' responses that are of great importance to the social workers when they define honor-related violence and oppression. Some common underlying factors / motives are the collective or the nuclear family, culture or sexuality. It was also found that respondents often associate problems of honor with people of foreign origin. Another interesting observation worth highlighting was that several of the respondents did not really have any direct action plan or special guidelines to follow. In addition, the interviews showed that the most common intervention is family therapy and thus it is the first intervention offered.

The aim of this thesis is to provide new insights and add to existing knowledge regarding how news media represents female politicians. Previous studies across the world have shown that throughout decades and still today, women tend to be underrepresented in political news or be heard only in regard to ‘feminine’ issues like education or family. Additionally, when it comes to female politicians, the focus is more often on their physical appearance, than it is with their male colleagues. In this thesis the focus is turned to Finland and the election of the country’s current Prime Minister, 34-year-old Sanna Marin. By conducting a thematic analysis, informed by the perspective of framing and representation theory, of news articles published around Marin’s election, this thesis explores the re-occurring themes regarding her representation in these articles and places these themes in a wider context of the media representation of female politicians. Framing theory helps to highlight the role media has in constructing reality whereas representation theory adds to the understanding of how people interpret the world, in this case the news, and helps to further argue why these presented representations matter. The analysis shows that the performance of a young female politician might seem accepted at first glance and doubtfulness is only found after one takes a look under the surface. Even though Finland can be considered a fairly gender equal country, gender stereotypes are still subtly reinforced by the media. Ultimately, it is not about how someone is represented, but rather what is left out. All this indicates that gender representations continue to be a salient issue and that female politicians like Sanna Marin still need to constantly prove their ability and competence as political subjects.

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In this study I qualitatively explore how women who choose not to have children account for this choice in the South African context. I consider the reasons for women to remain childfree and the changing discourses of femininity that enable women to make the choice not to have children. I am also concerned with the possible implications of this choice for women’s interpersonal relationships. This study is conducted from a feminist social constructionist framework. Dominant discourses of femininity revolve around motherhood, which is considered to be the most important role. Motherhood is believed to be a “natural” identity. Mothers are highly regarded in most societies; they are perceived to be devoted to the care of others and to be self-sacrificing. Although most societies consider motherhood to be an essential feature of femininity, it can also cause ambivalent feelings and not all women wish to take on the role of motherhood. The number of women who choose to remain childfree is growing in various societies. Women increasingly have the power to choose whether they want to remain childfree. Through resisting discourses that meld femininity with motherhood, childfree women create alternative discourses that have the potential to change constructions of femininity. I used feminist social constructionism to endeavour to understand the ways in which women’s realities inform their decision not to have children. I also explore how society serves to either problematise or promote this decision. Finally, I attempt to gain a deeper understanding of how being female and childfree impacts on women’s beliefs about themselves. Interview data from semi-structured interviews conducted with women who choose to remain childfree are analysed using thematic analysis. The women interviewed were white and middle class and were found via convenience and snowball sampling. The women participating in the study report various reasons for remaining childfree. Freedom from childcare responsibility and the resulting greater opportunity for self3 fulfilment is shown to be one of the strongest reasons for remaining childfree. Other important reasons include unequal labour division in the family, concerns about the physical aspects of childbirth and recovery, life partners’ acceptance of the choice to remain childfree as well as early socialising experiences. Other reasons cited less frequently include the negative impact of childrearing on women’s emotional well-being, concerns regarding the overpopulation of the planet and a general dislike of children. Two of the themes identified in the text are not evident in the existing literature. The first of these relates to the fact that the women participating in the study do not regard motherhood as the central feature of femininity. Instead, they tend to associate femininity with the act of nurturing, rather than with the act of mothering. These women are able to strongly identify with the female role, as they do not believe that choosing to remain childfree conflicts with their female gender role. The second theme relates to the belief that the world is an evil or unsafe place and that it is therefore better to remain childfree. This belief appears to be context dependent and is based on the women’s perceptions of the crime situation in South Africa. This study contributes to the expansion of the existing literature concerning childfree women, specifically within the South African context. The findings of the research support the findings of previous studies and offer a fresh perspective through the identification of new themes. By exploring reasons women cite for remaining childfree, I argue that some women refute motherhood. The challenging of the dominant discourse that “all women are mothers” is aimed at changing the dialogue about women and thus altering existing dominant discourses. Copyright / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Psychology / unrestricted

Violating social norms often elicits a negative public response aimed at punishing norm violators and dissuading others from following their lead. One way to understand reactions to norm violations is through the moral panic framework. This framework identifies the reactions that an emergent norm-violating social group is likely to experience. These reactions are characterized as overexaggerated, often blaming the group for the consequences of their norm violation and suggesting that the public should fear the group. I hypothesized that social attitudes towards female breadwinner relationships (FBRs), which violate heteronormative gender norms, would reflect these, and other, moral panic characteristics. However, I expected that these characteristics would be less extreme, and thus I proposed that social reactions to FBRs would reflect a kind of moral anxiety. To test this hypothesis, I conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of 94 magazine and newspaper articles concerning FBRs, and five themes emerged. First, the articles emphasized the social change that these relationships represent. Second, gender role expectations were often discussed, with many more articles reinforcing traditional gender role expectations than non-traditional gender role expectations. Third, most articles described costs of FBRs while only a minority described benefits, and most costs concerned the couple as a whole instead of either partner individually. Fourth, societal reactions to this change were often described, and most reactions were negative. And fifth, many articles offered tips for FBRs, often focused on overcoming the costs associated with such bonds. This pattern of reactions to FBRs ultimately demonstrated many of the characteristics of moral anxiety. Overall, these media articles portrayed FBRs as undesirable relationships involving stressed women and emasculated men: a stigmatizing portrayal that could dissuade others from pursuing such relationships. / Graduate / 2021-04-08

This dissertation analyzes narratives (written and mediated) about widows’ post-loss experiences—specifically the ways in which these women embody and adjust/adhere to their post-loss widow identities—and whether or not the canonical/formula stories about widows reflect current experiences of widowhood. I look at older widowed women—both those in well-read widow memoirs and also in media portrayals of widows on film. The canonical view of widows as not attractive, not useful, and not interesting needs to be reexamined in light of changing ideas about gender roles and increased longevity. Surely older women have experiences, desires, and goals that encompass more than being socially invisible and caring for grandchildren. Given that 80% of women outlive their husbands (Mastekaasa, 1994; Peters & Liefbroer, 1997) and are an understudied and often overlooked population (Lopata, 1996), this heartfelt research is important.

Although research has described mentoring programs to have positive effects with youth, there are few studies that describe how mentors build relationships with homeless youth. In this study, I sought to explore how mentors of a community-based organization, Starting Right Now, built relationships with homeless youth. Starting Right Now is a multi-faceted, community-based intervention developed in 2009 in Tampa, FL. They provide services to homeless adolescents who are no longer living in the custody of a parent or guardian. The program provides residential, educational, recreational, and professional development services, as well as mental and physical health care. Additionally each youth in the program receives a trained mentor. A qualitative approach allowed mentors to share what strategies they used to connect with their mentee and overcome challenges within the relationship. Five female adults were recruited from Starting Right Now to participate in individual semi-structured interviews. Results showed that for some mentor-mentee pairs, the relationship developed easily if they found similar commonalities (e.g. outgoing personalities). Further, mentors discussed the strategies and activities that created a closer relationship and how they overcame challenges with the relationship. Finally mentors discussed the advice they would give to someone else looking to mentor a homeless youth. Overall mentors in this study reported that commitment and patience are major components to being a successful mentor to a homeless youth.

At the moment, the largest amount of tissue paper products are consumed in East Asia (which includes China and Japan), Europe and North America, and between 2010 and 2023, consumption of tissue paper products is expected to grow by 3% with the largest growth rate in China. Meanwhile, toilet paper, kitchen towels and facial tissues, combined make up 85.2% of all tissue paper products consumed in 2018. While different factors can be named as responsible for this growth in consumption, it is quite difficult to isolate the product-related factors that contribute to the growth of consumption of tissue paper in different countries due to the fact that tissue products have limited uniform specifications between different suppliers. This means, tissue suppliers and tissue machine manufacturers, like Valmet, are left with the challenge of understanding customers’ motivations behind demand of different tissue paper products. This is the motivation behind this study, which is to investigate what qualities of toilet paper, facial tissues and kitchen towels, are customers in the US, China and Japan satisfied or dissatisfied with. This is compared with measurements of the qualities of these products, like softness, strength, thickness, to determine the ranges of values of the products’ qualities that customers are satisfied with. Online reviews of 34 different brands of tissue paper products are collected ethically from online retailer websites (Amazon US, Amazon Japan, Walmart, JD.com), and analysed using the thematic analysis methodology to identify the list of qualities of tissue products that customers are satisfied or dissatisfied with. Then, the Pareto rule was used to identify the top 20% most important qualities to customers. These 34 brands were also purchased from these online retailers and their different qualities were measured. The results and conclusion from the study revealed different insights, among which is that softness is a must-be quality for toilet papers in all countries studied, while water absorption is a must-be quality for kitchen towels. The study also revealed ranges of the numerical values of these qualities that are acceptable to end consumers. Valmet intends to use the conclusions from the study in engagements with tissue paper suppliers in the three countries regarding product strategies and choice of technology.

In 2018 the app TikTok was bought by the Chinese technology company ByteDance. Two years later the app had over 800 million users across the world, with over 100 million of them living in America. In 2020 a conflict emerged between America and China when the U.S. government started accusing the app of collecting American user data and sharing it with the Chinese Communist Party. The purpose of our study is to examine how the U.S. and China are framed in articles about TikTok in the American newspaper The New York Times and the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter. In our study we examine a total of 20 articles between the 1 August 2020 and the 1 October 2020. We chose 10 news- or debate articles from each newspaper to analyse.    Our study is implemented through a qualitative case study and a thematic analysis. The case in our study is the debate around TikTok, which is a small part of the larger conflict that has been going on between the U.S. and China for several years. Our study is based on two theories. The first theory we used in our study is the framing theory and the second theory is the othering theory which is derived from the post colonial theory.  Through examining the articles in our study we draw the conclusion that the U.S. is described as the “Self” whilst China is often described as the “Other”. This is framed by showing how the U.S. and its userdata needed to be protected from China and the Chinese government. Throughout our analysis of the newspapers, China is framed as an enemy and a threat to the U.S. national security. In turn the U.S. is framed by being on top of the hierarchy between the countries and as though against China.