In the nineteen-eighties a host of female detectives appeared in crime fiction authored by women. Ostensibly these detectives challenged hegemonic norms, but the consensus of opinion was that their appropriation of male values and adherence to conventional generic closures colluded with a gender system of male privilege. Academic interest in the work of female authors featuring male detectives was limited. Yet it can be argued that these texts could have the potential to disrupt the hegemonic order through the introduction, whether deliberately, or inadvertently, of a female counterpoint to the hegemony. The hypothesis I am advancing claims that the reconfiguration of male detectives in works authored by women avoids the visible contradictions of gender and genre that are characteristic of works featuring female detectives. However, through their use of disruptive performatives, these works allow scope for challenging normal gender practices—without damage to the genre. This hypothesis is tested by applying the performative theories of Judith Butler to a close reading of selected crime novels. Influenced by the theories of Austin, Lacan and Althusser, Butler’s concept of performativity claims that hegemonic notions of gender are a fiction. This discussion also uses Wayne Booth’s concept of the implied author as a means of distinguishing the performative agency of the text from that of the characters. Agatha Christie, P.D. James, and Donna Leon, each with their male detective heroes, come from different generations. A Butlerian reading illustrates their potential for disrupting gender norms. Of the three, however, only Donna Leon avoids the return to hegemonic control that is a feature of the genre. Christie’s women who have agency are inevitably eliminated, while conformist women are rewarded. James’s lead female character is never fully at ease in her professional role. When thrust into a leadership she proves herself to be competent, but not ready or desirous of the senior position. Instead her role is to mediate the transition of her junior, a male, to that position. Donna Leon is different. The moral and emotional content of her narratives suggests an implied author committed to ideological change. Her characters simultaneously renounce and collude with illusions of patriarchal authority, and could lay claim to be models for Butler’s notion of performative resistance.

Nonverbal communication such as body language is a vital component of our communication, and since scholars agree that there are some notable differences in the way men and women use body language, the study of gendered nonverbal communication as a social construction is vital to our understanding of how we create gendered identities. The aim of this paper is to investigate how social gender norms concerning body language appear in constructed communication. By studying the body language of the characters in the American sitcom Friends, and with focus on leg postures, I examine how the show Friends enacts and represents stereotyped sex differences in body language. The study encompasses both the distribution of leg positions between the genders, and what these postures seem to accomplish in interaction. As for the relationship between gender and leg postures, I observed the sitting positions of the characters Chandler, Ross, Joey, Monica and Rachel in six episodes from the 1999/2000 season of Friends for the first study. For the analysis of leg postures in relation to the communicative situation, the entire corpus of ten episode recordings was used. Based on repeated inspection of scenes where leg positions could be studied in relation to gender and communication, systematic patterns were identified. The results of the study are consistent with the findings of scholars like Vrugt and Luyerink (2000); women tend to sit in closed postures or with their legs crossed, which is regarded feminine, while men sit in wide positions with their legs spread, which is regarded masculine. Furthermore, the characters/actors in Friends seem to perform their gender roles partly by using different leg positions and wideness of postures. However, leg positions alone were not found to be decisive in the messages communicated, and emotions and stance were communicated using verbal and other non-verbal channels and cues. Instead, leg positions remained gender-stereotypical regardless of the message communicated, and men and women seem to communicate the same message using different leg positions. It is therefore concluded that leg positions are an inherent part of “doing gender”, but that leg positions as such are not necessarily related to the type of message or emotional stance that is communicated.

Master of Public Health - MPH / This research aimed to explore why the Imbizo Men's Health Project is successful in encouraging men to participate in an HIV focused intervention by exploring what the respondents perceived to be the essential elements required for the constructive involvement of men in health related HIV prevention programmes. It used the qualitative research method of six focus group discussions to gather data. The study population was participants from the Imbizo Men's Health Project. A purposive sample of 40 men aged 18- 35 years old living in Soweto were selected from this study population. The content of the focus group discussions was analysed to identify recurring themes and perceptions, and the key suggestions made by the respondents. / South Africa

Ändamålet med denna studie är att få en ökad förståelse för hur förskolepedagoger bemöter flickor och pojkar i Thailand samt att bidra med kunskap om genus och könsnormer i den thailändska förskolan. I avsikt att få en ökad förståelse för konstruktioner kring könsnormer i den thailändska förskolan har jag rest till norra Thailand för att besöka två förskolor. På plats använde jag mig av en kvalitativ datainsamling för att samla information från pedagoger, och därefter sammanställt dem med observationer för att jämföra teori och praktik. Jag genomförde även intervjuer med thailändska modersmålslärare för att utöka materialinsamlingen. I resultatet framkommer det att utbildning på senare tid har fått en ökad betydelse i Thailand, vilket har gett både flickor och pojkar samma möjlighet att gå i skolan. Resultatet tyder även på en ökad kunskap inom genus och jämställdhet hos thailändska pedagoger vilket visas i deras tankesätt och hur de förhåller sig till flickor och pojkar. Trots detta visar resultatet att gamla normer än idag är ett fortsatt problem när det kommer till hur man behandlar flickor och pojkar. / The purpose of this study is to increase the knowledge of how pedagogues treat girls and boys differently in Thailand and also to contribute to the knowledge about gender and gender norms in the preschools in Thailand. To answer my research questions, I travelled to the north of Thailand to visit two pre-schools. I have been using a qualitative study to collect information from teachers and have compiled my observations to compare theory with real practice. I also interviewed some Thai native language teachers in Sweden to expand the research material. The results show that the importance of education has increased for children in Thailand, which has given both girls and boys the same opportunity to attend school. The research also tells that pedagogues in Thailand are educated about gender and equality which shows in their reasoning about how to approach girls and boys with gender awareness. However, despite the gender sensitive reasoning it has through observation been disclosed that old norms are still a present issue when it comes to approaching girls and boys differently.

“Can even boys paint their nails?”, is a scientific essay on the importance of gender awareness in the after school activities planning. The purpose of this text is to increase self awareness of gender norms, to reach enough knowledge and get supportive tools for effective action against discriminating gender norms in the after school center. This essay based on dilemma that I have experienced from, by describing it in a story. By studying this dilemma from different angles and different perspectives, to get the comprehension about how my gender identity can influence my work and the activities I plan. I will also check to make sure if a gender awareness can be an effective and useful method to be used in my work and actions. I study all these aspects from a hermeneutic perspective, in other words, by interpreted of scientific literariness, that Fanny Ambjörnsson’s theories and the Government’s investigation (SOU) 2006:75 is considered as a basis in the reflection part in this essay.  The results show that I have been approximately acted and planned my activities like a neutral norm’s bearer. Instead, I should act as a norm’s breaker and insert a gender awareness into in my behavior and into in my work. The best way that can be used to reach this extensive change is that my colleagues and I highlight and discuss these traditional gender norms. To implement this kind of procedure will not be easy, by the commitment at all levels and working cooperatively with the care centers management and the principal, we can together successfully reach this goal. / ”Får ens killar måla sina naglar?”, är en vetenskaplig essä om vikten av genusmedvetenhet i fritidsverksamhetens planering. Syftet med denna essä är att öka självmedvetenhet om genusnormer, nå kunskap och få stödjande verktyg för effektivt agerande mot könsnormer på fritidshemmet. Denna essä utgår ifrån ett egenupplevt dilemma som jag gestaltar i en berättelse. Genom att studera dilemmat ur olika perspektiv får jag inblick i hur min könsidentitet kanpåverka min verksamhet. Jag kommer även undersöka om ett genusmedvetenhetförhållningssätt kan vara ett motverkande sätt att främja verksamheten och mitt agerande ifrågor kring genus. Detta utforskar jag ur ett hermeneutiskt perspektiv, det vill säga tolkning avlitterära texter, där Fanny Ambjörnssons teorier och regeringens utredning (SOU) 2006:75 utgör grunden i reflektionsdelen av denna essä. Resultatet visar att jag i mitt agerande och i min verksamhetsplanering har i princip agerat som neutral normbärare. Jag bör istället verka som normbrytare och föra in genusmedvetenhet i min attityd och i min verksamhet. Ett sätt för att förverkliga en så här omfattande förändring och invanda traditionella genusnormer är att, jag och mina kollegor synliggör och problematiserar dessa normer. Detta arbetssätt är inte lätt att bedriva, men med engagemang på alla nivåer och med stöd av skolledningen kan vi tillsammans lyckas med det målet.

The main aim of this Degree Project was to investigate the role of social media for women’s rights movements in Ethiopia, specifically for the #MeTooEthiopia movement, and whether utilising social media in their operations and mobilisations has enhanced the movements’ ability to raise awareness and challenge traditional gender norms. The research was investigated through the lens of digital activism and via the logic of connective action, by utilising in-depth semi-structured interviews with women’s rights activists in Ethiopia and overseas and undertaking a review of the #MeTooEthiopia movement social media platforms. Through the interviews, it was possible to identify numerous benefits and challenges relating to the country-specific cultural, social and economic context that women’s rights movements in Ethiopia have to operate in. For the #MeTooEthiopia movement specifically, operating an international movement within this context has been challenging, however due to its ability to diversify and adopt to both new and traditional communication technologies, the movement has been able to sustain its momentum and remain active in their attempt to raise awareness and challenge traditional gender norms. The findings also demonstrate that for contemporary women’s rights movements in Ethiopia, raising awareness and bringing along attitudinal change cannot be accomplished by only utilising new technologies. Rather, it is necessary to combine activism via social media with traditional forms of communication, including face-to-face meetings, to be able to have a reach across the wider society.

This essay argues that while the main character in The Outsiders challenges the norms of toxic masculinity on a surface level, his decision to continue fighting for his gang, the greasers, actually reinforces the stereotypical view that violence is connected to masculinity. Furthermore, it is argued that studying The Outsiders in a Swedish EFL classroom can promote critical thinking and knowledge of issues connected to gender through using empathetic reading.  Empathetic reading is a way to read carefully to gain new perspectives in order to discuss and criticize the text. Even though the term toxic masculinity assumes a healthy/harmful binary, it is needed since the power dynamics that sustain gender inequality remain. Recent events in the Western world, such as the #Metoo movement and Trumpism, are just a couple of examples of how power dynamics are showing through gender discrimination and sexual harassment. However, gender can be a sensitive subject in lower secondary EFL classrooms, and by focusing on being empathetic towards how others express gender may lessen the pressure of speaking about gender subjectively.

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Datum: 2020-06-08 Nivå: Kandidatuppsats i företagsekonomi, 15 hp Institution: Akademin för Ekonomi, Samhälle och Teknik, Mälardalens högskola Författare: Allerborg Elin (96/04/03), Holmlund Felicia (96/12/18), Weber Pedersen Stephanie (95/02/11). Titel: Gendertelling Handledare: Andreas Pajuvirta Nyckelord: Employer Branding, Könsnormer, Könssegregering, Attityder, Extern kommunikation Frågeställning: Vad influerar arbetsföras attityder mot könsdominerade företags externa employer branding? Syfte: Syfte med studien är att könsdominerade företag ska kunna anpassa sin externa employer branding för att öka möjligheten att attrahera det motsatta könet. Detta genom bidragande förståelse kring vad som influerar arbetsföras attityder mot könsdominerade företags externa employers branding. Metod: Studiens undersökning tillämpade en kvalitativ studie. Empiri samlades in genom fokusgrupper som genomfördes utifrån en semistrukturerad                          intervjuguide. Slutsats: Arbetsföra har en positiv attityd till en jämnt könsfördelad arbetsplats. Undersökningen tyder på att könsdominerade företag kan influera arbetsföras attityder positivt genom att anpassa sin externa kommunikation. Detta kan göras genom att anpassa tillämpningen av bild och text då det anses vara viktigt att inkludera både män och kvinnor i den externa kommunikationen, men även vara mer könsneutral i texterna. / Date: 2020-06-08 Level: Bachelor thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors: Allerborg Elin (96/04/03), Holmlund Felicia (96/12/18), Weber Pedersen Stephanie (95/02/11). Title: Gendertelling Tutor:                       Andreas Pajuvirta Keywords: Employer Branding, Gender norms, Gender segregation, Attitudes, External communication Research question: What influences the attitudes of potential employees towards gender-dominated corporations external employer branding? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of how gender-dominated corporations can adapt their external employer branding to increase the possibility of attracting the opposite gender. This can be done by a contributing understanding regarding what influences the attitudes of potential employees towards gender-dominated corporations externa employer branding. Method: The study applied a qualitative research approach. The empirical data were collected via focus groups based on a semistructured interview guide. Conclusion: Potential employees have a positive attitude toward an equal gender distribution in the workplace. The research suggests that gender dominated corporations can positively influence potential employees by adjusting their external communication. This can be done by the application of pictures and text to include both men and women in the external communication, and also aim for gender neutrality in the written communication.

The essay attempts to analys the film Alien directed by Ridley Scott and released in 1979 to see if the film’s themes and iconography can be interpretedas metaphors forsexual violence and gender norms. investigates if the film can be used in a Swedish upper secondary EFL classroom as a basis for discussing the societal problems of sexual violence and oppressive gender norms. Methods for film analysis by Barker and Austin is applied along with the gender theories of Moi and Connell among others.