The fiction book series After for young adult has had a big impact and spread among young people, this was also made possible based on the book series being filmed. The book's descriptions have been debated based on the book's content, the discussion has been based on whether the book portrays a young relationship as a destructive or a fantastic love story. The purpose of this study is to examine the fiction book series After with a focus on domestic violence. In order to achieve the purpose of the study, a qualitative thematic analysis has been applied, to examine the content of the book series and investigate the existence of domestic violence. To interpret and understand the study material, the normalization process has been used. The results show that various forms of violence are described in the books, psychological violence is most common but also other forms such as material, economic, physical and sexual violence occur. Response from the social network and the victim is made visible in the results. The results also indicated that violence and control can be made possible by digital platforms, and it is a prominent form in young relationships. The study highlights the importance of having a discussion with young people about the depictions of violence presented in the media and fiction books. / Den skönlitterära bokserien After har haft stort genomslag och spridning hos unga, detta möjliggjordes även utifrån att bokserien filmatiserades. Bokens skildringar har varit omdiskuterade utifrån bokens innehåll, diskussionen har grundats i om boken porträtterar en ung relation som destruktiv eller en fantastisk kärlekshistoria. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka den skönlitterära bokserien After med fokus på våld i nära relationer. För att uppnå studiens syfte har en kvalitativ tematisk analys tillämpats, för att granska bokseriens innehåll och undersöka förekomsten av våld. För att tolka och förstå studiens material har normaliseringsprocessen använts. Resultatet visar att olika former av våld skildras i böckerna, psykiskt våld är mest förekommande men även andra former som materiellt, ekonomiskt, fysiskt och sexuellt våld förekommer. Respons från det sociala nätverket och från den utsatte synliggörs i resultatet. Resultatet indikerade även att våld och kontroll kan möjliggöras och effektiviseras av digitala plattformar, då det är en framträdande form av våld i unga nära relationer. Studienlyfter vikten av att föra en diskussion med ungdomar kring de våldsskildringar som presenteras i media och skönlitterära böcker.

The purpose of this study is to investigate social workers' experience in meeting men who are victims of domestic violence by women. Through this study we want to acquire an in-depth understanding of how social norms of gender and masculinity have an impact on domestic violence by women as well as its impact on social workers in their treatment of the abused men. The methodological starting point of this study is based on a hermeneutic qualitative approach where empirical data have been obtained through semi-structured interviews. The interviews were conducted with six social workers who all come in contact with domestic violence through their work. Results from this study show that the norms of gender and masculinity which exist in our society do affect the view of men and manhood and it affects the view on women’s violence and violence in general. It also affects how the social workers treat men who are victims of domestic abuse by women. The result of this is that men feel a lot of shame about being victims of domestic abuse hence making it hard to reach them in efforts to help. Our conclusion is that social workers need to learn more about how norms of gender and masculinity affect what the men are feeling and hence find ways to treat these men without shame interfering in that treatment.

Social media analysis, in feminist critical military studies, is a highly underrepresented field. Although, the world is evolving faster than ever and, within the digitalised world, different methods of representation are used to (re-)produce ideologies, signify meanings, and interpellate individuals accordingly. Militaries are making use of social media accounts as representational tools to justify their informal and formal structures. Nonetheless, these organisations are challenged to become more inclusive, more democratic, and more diverse. The Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) is considered a highly heteronormative, masculine connotated, white organisation and is in the midst of transformation, too. On social media, the Bundeswehr tends to represent itself as a more inclusive, tolerant, and diverse organisation. Nonetheless, the public eyes are watching and valuing the reaction of this highly symbolic organisation when their heteronormative settings are under pressure. Opinions are shared, communities are formed, voices are being raised and simultaneously silenced. Thus, questions emerge, such as how are glimpses of inclusivity regarding gender norms and gender relations (re-)presented on the Bundeswehr’s Facebook account? How does the public engage with the posts? Who is included? Who remains hidden? Therefore, I have developed a case study in which I shall employ a mix of the methods and apply an intersectional lens to analyse glimpses of inclusivity on the Bundeswehr’s Facebook account. I argue glimpses of inclusivity have to be analysed from two perspectives. The Bundeswehr’s perspective needs to be analysed in relation to how they represent glimpses of inclusivity and how they negotiate possible tensions of inclusivity. At the same time, engagements with the posts by users in relation to glimpses of inclusivity and tensions of inclusivity are crucial to analyse, too.

In this study the purpose is to explore how female and male characters are depicted in two tv-shows named “Scenes from a marriage¨ with a qualitative content analysis as a method. These two tv-shows are made with a gap of 48 years, the first tv-show was made and televised 1973 by Ingmar Bergman and a remake of the tv-show was made and televised 2021. The three questions asked to the study was; “How are the female and male characters portrayed?”, “What are the differences or similarities between the versions in the portrayal of male and female characters?” and “What gender norms and gender roles are seen or absent in the tv series?”. The theories used in this research was gender system and gender contract from Yvonne Hirdman but also the male gaze from Laura Mulvey in order to analyze the chosen scenes. To help analyze the terms gender norms and gender roles have been used. The results shows that the portrayal of the female and male characters in the older version of  “Scenes from a marriage” from 1973 was more traditional in its depictions of gender and norm-conforming but with some social interactions that shows norm-breaking, while the portrayal of the female and male characters in the new version from 2021 was more norm-breaking when the gender roles was reversed and gender norms were not followed by the characters but with some social interactions that shows norm-conforming.

Title: Road to success: A critical discourse analysis of Bossbabe's web communication  The aim of the study was to investigate and problematize how companies involved in coaching of women's entrepreneurship relate to and construct the discourse of success. The theoretical areas covered are individualisation and reintegration, the expert society, gender theory and gender roles, and relationship-building marketing. The study used critical discourse analysis and semiotics as a method to analyze screenshots from the Bossbabe company's website. From the analysis, findings emerged that Bossbabe challenges and reproduces norms of success. Visibility work was found to be mainly used as an additional source of income. Success was personified by Bossbabe both by showing experts as concrete symbols of success and by advocating a certain type of lifestyle. Bossbabe also uses relationship-building marketing such as pink marketing and word-of-mouth (WOM). From the analysis we see a pattern of reproduction and challenge of gender norms within the discourse of success.

The films of Hayao Miyazaki have been praised world-wide for their strong female characters and their wide range of gender representation. While most of previous research has been focusing on narrative, in particular, characters’ social behaviour therein, or their visual appearance, this thesis aims to understand whether these praised films do challenge the usual gender stereotypes associated with contemporary Japanese society and popular fiction also linguistically. Specifically, it focuses on questions, compliments, and interruptions in a quantitative analysis examining the frequency of tagged language behaviour in female and male main characters. The results show that language behaviour associated with gender stereotypes – not only with regard to the Japanese society but the whole world – can be seen in the analysed films Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro (1979), Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), Spirited Away (2001) and Howl’s Moving Castle (2004). For a more complex understanding of the linguistic stereotypes in the films, this thesis argues that further research on the Japanese language and Japanese gender norms would be required. / 宮崎駿の映画は、強い女性の登場人物と幅広いジェンダーの象徴として、世界中で称賛されている。 先行研究の多くは、物語、特に登場人物の社会的行動や容姿に焦点を当てているが、本論文の目的は、 これらの映画が、現代日本社会と人気フィクション作品に関連する通常のジェンダー・ステレオタイ プに、言語面においてどのような関連性があるかを理解することにある。具体的には、相手に質問し たり、相手を褒めたり、相手の会話を遮る時における言葉の選択の仕方に焦点を当て、男女の主人公 における「言葉の選び方の違い」と「その言語選択がどのような状況で頻発に使用されるか」といっ た言語行動の頻発性の違いについて適量分析を用いて調べる。結果は、ジェンダーのステレオタイプ に関連する言語行動は、日本社会に特有のものではなく全世界に共通することが、分析対象とした映 画: 『ルパン三世 カリオストロの城(1979)』、『魔女の宅急便(1989)』、『千と千尋の神隠し (2001)』、『ハウルの動く城(2004)』から確認できた。本論文では、これらの映画における言 語的ステレオタイプをより理解するためには、日本語と日本のジェンダー規範をより深く研究すべき であるとの見解に至った。 / Hayao Miyazaki’s filmer har hyllats världen över för deras starka kvinnliga karaktärer och breda inkludering av könsrepresentation. Medan majoriteten av tidigare forskning har fokuserat på narrativet, i synnerlighet karaktärernas sociala beteende, eller deras utseende, syftar den här kandidatuppsatsen till att förstå huruvida dessa hyllade filmer utmanar de vanliga könsstereotyper associerade med nutida Japan och genrelitteratur även lingvistiskt. Specifikt så fokuserar den på frågor, komplimanger, och avbrytande genom en kvantitativ analys som undersöker frekvensen av utvalda språkliga beteenden hos kvinnliga och manliga huvudkaraktärer. Resultatet visar att språkligt beteende associerat med könsstereotyper – inte endast avgränsat till Japan men för hela världen – kan ses i de analyserade filmerna Slottet i Cagliostro (1979), Kikis expressbud (1989), Spirited Away (2001) och Det levande slottet (2004). För en mer komplex förståelse av de lingvistiska stereotyperna i filmerna, menar den här uppsatsen att det japanska språket och japanska könsnormer bör undersökas vidare.

This paper examines how femininity is portrayed in the Harry Potter-series. Many female characters display certain feminine traits which are deemed as negative in the novels, and they are treated as less than because of it. Specifically Dolores Umbridge, Fleur Delacour and Luna Lovegood are disliked or ridiculed because of their feminine expressions. With help from theories about gender performativity, femininity as a scapegoat and texts about feminity this essay is demonstrating how the characters' characteristics and actions of three characters contributes to a misogynistic portrayal of women. It argues that female characters are unable to succeed unless they conform to the series' established norms for women. Keywords: Harry Potter, femininity, performativity, gender norms, gender critical, Dolores Umbridge, Fleur Delacour, Luna Lovegood

This study aims to explore gender norms within the romance genre when they are no longer applied on a romantic relationship between a man and a woman. Through a close reading of the novel Power Plays & Straight A’s by Eden Finley and Saxon James, the study examines the main characters, Foster Grant and Zach Sawyer, to observe how they fit into the roles of a traditional romance hero and heroine. The main source for this observation comes from Janice Radway’s study Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Popular Literature (1991) which exemplifies the differences between the genders with the use of contrasting traits. The characters are also analysed in a societal context to observe how they abide by traditional masculinity and how their sexuality plays a part in it. There is also an overview of the novel through the perspective of both a traditional romance as well as a queer romance novel, in which terms like escapism, happy endings and coming outs are explored. Finally, there is a section specifically focused on desire and how it has changed within the genre, which is applied because the novel in question is an erotic novel as well as a romance novel. The conclusion showcases how the characters cannot be assigned to a typical female nor male role, as they both possess the traits traditionally assigned to both genders. As for their role in society, traditional masculinity is questioned, seeing as the character of Foster specifically embodies the rules of masculinity through his athletic pursuits and place within the jock culture – but would still get shunned because of his bisexuality. Furthermore, the novel possesses several traits of a traditional romance novel, most importantly the happy ending, while also including typical queer romance traits – such as a coming out scene. Desire also takes a prominent role since both main characters have an equal craving for the other. The overall conclusion of this study showcases the changing tides of the romance genre and how, despite its formulaic layout, it doesn’t render the ability for change of a genre that once seemed predictable. / Denna uppsats utforskar könsnormer i romancegenren när det inte längre tillämpas på en romantisk relation mellan en man och en kvinna. Genom en närläsning av romanen Power Plays & Straight A’s av Eden Finley och Saxon James, undersöker studien huvudkaraktärerna, Foster Grant och Zach Sawyer, för att observera hur de passar in i rollen som hjälte och hjältinna utifrån en traditionell romance-roman. Den primära forskning som uppsatsen bygger på är Janice Radways studie Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Popular Literature (1991) som exemplifierar skillnaderna mellan könen med användning av motsatta egenskaper. Karaktärerna analyseras också i ett samhälleligt sammanhang för att observera hur de förhåller sig till traditionell maskulinitet och den påverkan som karaktärernas sexualitet har i förhållande till den maskulina kulturen. I uppsatsen görs även en översiktlig studie av romanen genom perspektivet av både en traditionell romance och en queer romance, där jag utforskar begrepp som eskapism, lyckliga slut och att komma ut. Slutligen finns det ett avsnitt som fokuserar på begär och hur det har förändrats inom genren, vilket tillämpas eftersom romanen i fråga är en erotisk roman såväl som en romance-roman. Slutsatsen visar hur karaktärerna inte kan tilldelas en typisk kvinnlig eller manlig roll, eftersom de båda har egenskaper som traditionellt tilldelas båda könen. När det gäller deras roll i samhället ifrågasätts traditionell maskulinitet, eftersom karaktären av Foster specifikt förkroppsligar maskulinitetens regler genom hans plats inom sportkulturen - men ändå skulle bli avvisad från machokulturen på grund av sin bisexualitet. Romanen innehåller flera drag av en traditionell romance-roman, viktigast av allt det lyckliga slutet, samtidigt som den innehåller typiska queerromance drag – som en komma ut-scen. Begär tar också en framträdande roll eftersom båda huvudkaraktärerna likgiltigt får sukta efter den andre. Den övergripande slutsatsen av den här studien visar romancegenrens föränderliga tidvatten och hur den, trots dess typiska formler, inte hindrar möjligheten till förändring av en genre som en gång framstått som förutsägbar.

Denna studie är kvalitativ och har genomförts med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Studien ämnar undersöka unga singelkvinnors upplevelser av att vara singel i dagens Sverige. Uppsatsen undersöker orsakerna bakom kvinnornas singelskap, hur singelskapet påverkar singelkvinnornas identitet samt hur tvåsamhetsnormen i samhället påverkar hur de ser på sitt eget singelskap. Studiens teoretiska ramverk utgår från begreppen stigma och individualisering samt teorin om performativitet. Resultaten tyder på att singelkvinnor upplever singelskapet som en frihet, men även som en ensamhet. Analysen visar även på att det finns flera olika orsaker bakom singelskapet, exempelvis att kvinnorna inte hittat den rätta eller har erfarenheter från tidigare destruktiva parrelationer. Vidare pekar studiens resultat på att det finns både positiva och negativa identiteter som skapas av singelskapet. Resultatet tyder också på att tvåsamhetsnormen i samhället påverkar hur kvinnorna ser på sitt eget singelskap, bland annat genom negativa föreställningar om singlar och förväntningar om att kvinnor ska ingå i en parrelation. Detta gör att singelkvinnor upplever att de är avvikande gentemot tvåsamhetsnormen. Det framkommer även i studien att tvåsamhetsnormen är fortsatt stark trots att det svenska samhället präglas av individualism. / This study is qualitative and has been conducted using semi-structured interviews. The study aims to investigate how young single women experience being single in Sweden today. The essay examines the reasons behind singlehood, how singleness affects single women's identity, and how the couplenorm in society affects how women perceive their own singlehood. The theoretical framework consists of the concepts of stigma, individualization, and the theory of performativity. The results indicate that single women experience singlehood as freedom, but also as loneliness. The study also shows that there are several different reasons behind singlehood, for example that the women have not found the right person or because of previous couple relationships that have been destructive. Moreover, the study indicates that there are both positive and negative identities that are created by singlehood. Findings suggest that the couplenorm affects how women perceive their own singleness in generating negative ideas about singlehood and expectations that women should be in a couple relationship. This means that single women feel different from the couplenorm. Accordingly, it appears that the couplenorm is still strong despite the fact that Swedish society is characterized by individualism.

L’image positive du sugar dating sur les médias sociaux suscite des inquiétudes : plusieurs femmes pourraient y adhérer avec des attentes qui ne reflètent pas la réalité. Néanmoins, la stigmatisation associée à cette pratique les incite ensuite à cacher leurs activités, augmentant leur vulnérabilité face à la victimisation et compliquant l’étude de cette population. Devant ce défi, des chercheurs se sont penchés sur l’analyse des sites de rencontre. Or, leurs approches restent souvent superficielles, se limitant à l’étude de profil ou la classification des arrangements. En dépit de quelques recherches exploratoires, l’expérience des sugar babies reste peu étudiée et plusieurs aspects demeurent méconnus. Dans ce contexte, ce mémoire vise approfondir la compréhension de l’expérience des sugar babies dans le monde du sugar dating. Guidée par une perspective de criminologie féministe, cette étude présuppose l’influence du système de genre sur le choix de partenaire et sur la dynamique de ces relations. Par une approche qualitative, nous cherchons à comprendre leurs motivations, le déroulement de leurs relations et leurs victimisations. Afin de pallier les difficultés de recrutement, une analyse de contenu de 381 fils de discussion et leurs 3 978 commentaires issus d’un forum populaire a été menée avec la méthode systématique de Krippendorff. En effet, face à la stigmatisation, les forums en ligne sont devenus des espaces où les sugar babies échangent sur leurs expériences, partagent des conseils et trouvent du soutien. Ainsi, nous avons pu accéder à leurs expériences subjectives, offrant ainsi une exploration approfondie et nuancée de leurs réalités. Leurs témoignages révèlent des motivations variées : financières, mentorales, relationnelles, et la quête de sensations fortes. Elles décrivent également la progression de leurs relations, qui débute par une recherche de partenaires en ligne, suivi d’une première rencontre où l’arrangement est négocié. Le deuxième rendez-vous est consacré à vérifier leur compatibilité sexuelle. Si celle-ci est concluante, l’arrangement se poursuit. Leur expérience est ponctuée de divers risques de victimisation : sexuels, économiques, psychologiques, physiques et secondaires. Afin de mieux cerner la complexité du sugar dating, nous proposons une réflexion qui s’articule autour de quatre axes : interdépendances, dynamique de pouvoir, normes et authenticité. / The positive portrayal of sugar dating on social media raises concerns: many women might be drawn to it with expectations that don’t align with reality. Nonetheless, the stigma attached to this practice often prompts them to conceal their activities, heightening their vulnerability to victimization and making the study of this population challenging. Faced with this challenge, researchers have delved into the analysis of dating websites. Yet, their approaches are frequently superficial, limited to profiling or categorizing arrangements. Despite a few exploratory studies, the experience of sugar babies remains under-researched, and many facets are still unknown. In this context, this thesis seeks to deepen the understanding of sugar babies’ experiences in the world of sugar dating. Guided by a feminist criminology perspective, this study assumes that the gender system influences partner choice and the dynamics of these relationships. Employing a qualitative approach, we aim to understand their motivations, the evolution of their relationships, and their experiences with victimization. To circumvent recruitment challenges, we conducted a content analysis of 381 discussion threads and their 3,978 comments from a popular forum using Krippendorff’s systematic method. Indeed, given the stigma, online forums have emerged as spaces where sugar babies discuss their experiences, share advice, and seek support. This allowed us to tap into their subjective experiences, offering a comprehensive and nuanced exploration of their realities. Their testimonies reveal a range of motivations: financial, mentoring, relational, and thrills. They also describe the progression of their relationships, starting with an online partner search, followed by an initial meeting where the arrangement is negotiated. The second meeting is dedicated to verifying sexual compatibility. If so, the arrangement continues. Their experience is marked by various victimization risks: sexual, economic, psychological, physical, and secondary. To better grasp the subtleties of sugar dating, we propose a reflection centred around four axes: interdependencies, power dynamics, norms, and authenticity.