This study seeks to understand ways in which members’ experience a sense of belonging within Sephora’s own commodified community: Beauty Insider. Three research questions are presented, the final one being of highest importance: in which way do members of Beauty Insider experience a sense of belonging? To be able to understand the members, previous research is presented where Muniz & O’Guinn’s (2001) study on Brand Communities is essential, as well as the study conducted by Dholakia et al. (2004) on participation within communities. To better understand what activities members engage in within communities, a theoretical framework based on fan cultures, consumer culture and participatory culture is presented to gain a better understanding of the aspects of a community. This study will approach the research questions mainly using focus group interviews, as well as a necessary description of the discourse content of the platform to better understand the context of the study. The study concludes by presenting a result and an analysis that is, mostly, in line with previous research as well as discovering new aspects of members attitudes towards Beauty Insider and which meaning members experience as a result of participating in different activities within the community.

This study focuses on Black Metal and Death Metal music as complimentary forms of commodified evil, which, in contrast to most other forms of commodified evil, provide an alternative form of modern escapism. In particular, it demonstrates that in glorifying evil their respective natures and essences effectively suggest to us that the ability to overcome our problems, and cope with the world's atrocities, lies not in the vain hope that justice will prevail, but rather, in embracing evil and actively cultivating a desensitizing ethos of utter indifference to the plight and suffering of others. In addition, because Black Metal and Death Metal have both generated their own distinct sub-cultures, which are predominantly populated by marginalized youths, this study simultaneous begs the question: What is it that motivates them to produce and/or endorse forms of music, and thereby become members of sub-cultures, which ostensibly promote such a negative world view? Consequently, it also demonstrates some of the important ways in which they can serve to help their proponents regain a sense of power and control over their lives. It then concludes by looking at Black Metal and Death Metal's (potential) social effects - both negative and positive.

Inom marknadskommunikation har det genom åren blivit allt viktigare för företag att engagera sig i sociala frågor i syfte att bygga upp sitt varumärke (Dahlén, Lange & Rosengren2017). Genom samhällsutvecklingen har synen på könsstereotyper och ideal förändrats vilket har bidragit till att feministiska budskap inom reklam har tagit en väsentlig roll. Genomfeministisk manifestation kan varumärken uppmärksamma och förmedla budskap tillframförallt kvinnor och samtidigt bidra till en positiv och stärkande bild av varumärket (Windels, Champlin, Shelton, Sterbenk & Poteet 2019). Syftet med studien är att skapa kunskap om hur feministiska budskap används för att byggaett varumärke. För att besvara syftet har en tematisk analys med stöd av semiotisk analysundersökt bilder, reklamfilm och skriftlig kommunikation publicerade på Estrids egna kontrollerade kanaler. Studien har sin utgångspunkt i teorierna kulturell branding, kommodifierad feminism, femvertising samt semiotik och analyserar hur feministiska budskap kommer till uttryck i Estrids marknadskommunikation. Genom analysen framgår fyra huvudteman som ligger till grund för Estrids kommunikation i form av mångfald, bestäm över din egen kropp, utmana normerna och att sälja feminism. Dessa utgörande teman påvisaratt självständighet, självsäkerhet och befriande av kvinnans kropp är de huvudsakligafeministiska tecken som kommer till uttryck och som fäster betydelse till produkterna. De visar även att feministiska budskap används i syfte att bygga upp sin varumärkesidentitettillsammans med ett kommersiellt intresse, vilket är fördelaktigt för Estrid men kan vara problematiskt då det kan förminska feminismens kraft och betydelse. Studiens resultat visar att ett varumärke kan bygga sin identitet och skapa en plats på marknaden genom feministiska budskap som utmanar kulturellt skapade samhällsnormer. Estrid påvisar med användning av kommodifierad feminism i kombination med kulturell branding att deras kommunikation tar utgångspunkt i feministiska budskap som byggt deras varumärke och skapat en tydlig plats på marknaden. De tar ställning till kulturellt konstruerade samhällsnormer och har även ett bakomliggande kommersiellt intresse. Studien är skriven på svenska. / Over the years it has become increasingly important for companies regarding marketing communication to get involved in social issues in order to build their brand (Dahlén, Lange &Rosengren 2017). Due to changes in society, the view of gender stereotypes and body norms has changed which have contributed to the fact that feminist messages in advertising have taken on a significant role. Through feminist manifestation, brands can draw attention to and present messages to particularly women, and at the same time contribute to a positive and strengthening image of the brand (Windels, Champlin, Shelton, Sterbenk & Poteet 2019).The purpose of the study is to gain knowledge about how feminism in marketing communication is used to build a brand. To answer the purpose, a thematic analysis based on a semiotic analysis has been used to examine images, commercials and texts published on Estrid's own controlled marketing channels. The study is based on the theories of cultural branding, commodified feminism, femvertising and semiotics which support the analysis of how feminist messages are expressed in Estrid's marketing communication. In the analysis four main themes appear in Estrid's communication which are diversity, determined over your own body, challenging the norms and selling feminism. These defining themes reveal that independence, self-confidence and the liberation of the woman's body are the main feminist signs that are expressed and attached to the products. They also indicate that feminist messages are used in order to build their brand identity together with a commercial interest, which is beneficial for Estrid but can be problematic as it can diminish the power and significance of feminism. The results of the study show that a brand can build its identity and create a market position through feminist messages that challenge culturally created societal norms. Estrid demonstrates that their communication is based on feminist messages by using commodified feminism in combination with cultural branding, which have helped built their brand and create a distinct market position. Through their marketing communication they engage in culturally constructed societal norms while having an underlying commercial interest. The study is written in Swedish.

The purpose of this study is to examine, based on a qualitative semiotic image analysis, how feminist aspects are used by companies for commercial purposes. The starting point for the study is a critical feminist perspective with a theoretical background in the complex discussions about postfeminism, commodified feminism, femwashing and femvertising. Of which an in-depth study of postfeminist discussions of individualism, girl power and empowerment. The study will examine the razor blade company Estrid's two campaigns: Shave and misbehave (2019) and Save. Shave. Whatever (2020). The aim of the study is that in a tripartite analysis consisting of; body hair, shaving and the environment show how today's neoliberal society often uses political and social issues for a capitalist and commercial purpose. Based on the campaigns, analyze how Estrid portrays women, body hair and feminism in relation to their products. The result that emerged from the analysis showed that Estrid strives to break stereotypes and express feminist values within its brand strategy. This is because it repeatedly shows normalization around body hair. The conclusion also showed that as a brand, it is difficult to produce a genuine brand strategy, with feminsit values. Estrid's focus on feminist statements in their campaigns is influenced by postfeminist discussions, with messages such as individualism and empowerment, where new expectations of women are created instead of focusing on criticizing gender structural inequalities.

This paper analyzes how the Lego Group discourse portrays children, education, play, themselves and attempts to reveal corresponding ideologies surrounding the brick. The LEGO Group claim equality, honesty and transparency in their communications, and within their business ecosystem, at their core are their traditional family values, creating an intriguing and multi-layered discourse. This thesis explores the construction of representations, from a constructionist approach using discourse analysis and language coding, aiming to uncover what is revealed and ignored. The Lego Group positions themselves as one of the future solutions to the widening gap between current educational systems and the needs of future young adults in the workforce of our rapidly changing society. They continuously portray the ‘other’ actors as bad - whether in education, technology or activities. They define every subject they cover in their own terms, creating a LEGO language and microworld philosophy. There is an imbalance between their time promoting children’s agency and time spent discussing 21st century education; the latter concerns appear to far outweigh their portrayal of children, leading to conclusions that marketing logic and aspired educational market share has a stronger influence on LEGO discourse. Children are constructed as agentic, competent and commodified when selling them new products and services, as adults-in-training when discussing education and as vulnerable or innocent when highlighting child safety concerns online. Education is viewed in terms of failure, power and change, and their versions of play and creativity as the solution to all of society's ills. Their discourse reflects The LEGO Group’s position and hegemony as one of the most powerful and influential toy companies in the world. This study contributes towards the current gap in research surrounding The LEGO Group discourse, and attempts to reveal the competing ideologies of neoliberal business values versus social good and incorporates concerns of childhood studies exploring whether this company rather represents or uses children within the context of its educational - business ecosystem.

Syftet med föreliggande alster var att undersöka huruvida utvecklingen av hur kvinnor exponeras i kommersiella sammanhang går hand i hand med postfeminism eller inte, och om det i sådana fall bidrar till att det fortfarande skapas kommersiellt innehåll utifrån den manliga blicken. Materialet som låg till grund för detta arbete var en av flera bilder från Bianca Ingrossos företag, CAIA Cosmetics, läppstifts reklamkampanj från år 2019. Metoden utgjordes, i grunden, av en semiotisk bildanalys, men med en sociosemiotisk dito som spets. Båda metoderna har likheter och har komponenter som går in i varandra, varpå båda, med utgångspunkt i en kvalitativ analys, spelade roller för mitt resultat. Analysen utfördes med följande forskningsfråga som grund: Hur förhåller sig postfeministisk teori och kommodifierad feminism till aktuell bild ur ett sociosemiotiskt perspektiv? Genom detta arbetes huvudteorier postfeminism, kommodifierad feminism och the male gaze – den manliga blicken – analyserades det valda materialet med kopplingar till pornografiskt bildspråk. Utfallet blev dubbeltydigt då kvinnan i bilden, utifrån applicering utav presenterad teori, både kunde ses som ett passivt objekt men även som ett aktivt subjekt. Makten i vald bild kunde alltså ses både som en kraft utifrån den postfeministiska individualismen samtidigt som det också kan tolkas som ännu ett fall av objektifiering av kvinnor i reklam. / The purpose with this essay was to examine whether or not the development of the exposure of women in commercial contexts correlates with postfeminism, and in such case, whether it contributes to the ongoing production of commercial content based on the theory of the male gaze. The fundamental material of this work was one of several images from Bianca Ingrosso's company, CAIA Cosmetics, lipstick advertising campaign from 2019. The method was, basically, a semiotic image analysis, but with an extending, socio-semiotic ditto as a complement. Both methods have similarities and have components that go into each other, which made both of them, based on a qualitative analysis, play important roles for the final results. The analysis was carried out based on the following research question: How does postfeministic theory and commodified feminism relate to the chosen image from a socio-semiotic perspective? Through the main theories of postfeminism, commodified feminism and the theory of the male gaze, the chosen material was analyzed with links to, and in comparison, with, pornographic imagery. The outcome was ambiguous as the woman in the image, based on the application of presented theories, could be seen both as a passive object but also as an active subject. The power in the chosen image could thus be seen both as a feminin force based on postfeminist individualism, while it, at the same time, also can be interpreted as yet another case of objectification of women in commercial advertising.