In this essay, Hanya Yanagihara’s main characters from the novel A Little Life (2015) are analyzed, with the basis of gender stereotypes and with the help of Raewyn Connell’s theory of hegemonic masculinity. It argues that the characters in question challenge the typical gender roles in the way that they are lacking in comparison to Connell’s theory of hegemonic masculinity and are portrayed with feminine attributes. Yanagihara’s portrayal of masculinity creates a depth to the characters in questions and a more complex view of masculinity. / I denna uppsatsen analyseras Hanya Yanagiharas fyra huvudkaraktärer i boken Ett Litet Liv (2015) utifrån könsstereotyper samt med hjälp av Raewyn Connells teori om hegemonisk maskulinitet. Den argumenterar för att karaktärerna utmanar de typiska könsrollerna genom att de inte når upp till den hegemoniska maskuliniteten och visas med feminina attribut. Sättet Yanagihara visar upp maskulinitet skapar ett djup om karaktärerna och en mer komplex syn på maskulinitet.

In this interview study we have investigated how masculinity is created in young, heterosexual males, and how the relationship between their sexuality and identity is perceived. We have studied this in relation to the use of the social media Instagram. Through a thematic analysis we have found that (1) the informants view being emotional and considerate as more desirable attributes, and distance themselves from traditionally masculine attributes, which becomes the foundation for creating a new form of masculinity. (2) There’s a discrepancy between the attributes that informants find desirable and the practices that they take part in, as they aren’t able to completely avoid masculine norms. (3) The same awareness about the gender regime results in different approaches, as some informants take part in sexual content on social media in an effort to approve women’s sexuality, whereas some informants actively abstain from sexual content to not sexualise women. Both of these approaches result in sustaining the gender hierarchies, where the informants are positioned at the top. (4) The awareness about their privileges as heterosexual men becomes a form of masculinity creation in itself, as it gives them the ability to distance themselves from other men. (5) The informant has previously not reflected on the relation between sexuality and identity, as their identities are in accordance with social norms. Our conclusion is that issues concerning gender equality and upheaving the patriarchal system are not solved by focusing on individuals. While awareness of gender regimes might improve men's attitudes towards feminist ideology, it also becomes part of reinforcing the system of hegemonic masculinity, and thus consolidating the patriarchal system. The aim should rather be to focus on structural solutions, to reconstruct societal views on gender, which in the long run would benefit both men and women as equals.

<p>This is a qualitative study about how young men in the age of 16-18 years can construct their masculinity. How do these young men describe a “real man”? What are their thoughts about themselves as adults? The purpose of this study includes a gender perspective in surroundings that cope with the sport football. To answer this study, six young men in the age of 16-18 years, whom are active football players in different levels, have been interviewed. The findings showed that the young men seemed to construct their masculinity in cooperation with the surroundings and the nearest family members seemed to have a very strong influence of the boy’s development to become a man. The results even indicated that the young men construct their masculinity by distancing themselves from what seems not to be masculine, for example male homosexuals.</p>

This is a qualitative study about how young men in the age of 16-18 years can construct their masculinity. How do these young men describe a “real man”? What are their thoughts about themselves as adults? The purpose of this study includes a gender perspective in surroundings that cope with the sport football. To answer this study, six young men in the age of 16-18 years, whom are active football players in different levels, have been interviewed. The findings showed that the young men seemed to construct their masculinity in cooperation with the surroundings and the nearest family members seemed to have a very strong influence of the boy’s development to become a man. The results even indicated that the young men construct their masculinity by distancing themselves from what seems not to be masculine, for example male homosexuals.

After sixteen intensive months, I quit my employed position as a security guard at a local hospital. By drawing on my autoethnographic experiences in the form of “ethnographic fiction writing”, as well as eight interviews with my former male colleagues, I explore how the guards’ constructions of masculinity intersect with their security assessment and subsequent application of force, chemical incarceration, and other coercive security tactics on involuntarily-committed mental health patients. The narratives are framed by the available literature on gender and masculinity within the security, police, prison and military institutions, as well as the theoretical notions of gendered institutions (Acker), hegemonic masculinity (Connell & Messerschmidt), doing gender (West & Zimmerman), and Dave Holmes’s application of Foucauldian biopolitical power to forensic healthcare settings. These concepts are used in tandem with a creative methodological tool to reveal the “messy”, “bloody” and “gendered” ways in which hospital life unfolds between the guard, the nurse, and the patient prisoner. By escaping more traditional forms of academic writing, I am able to weave raw, sensitive and reflexive thoughts and emotions into the research design and analysis. The analysis is divided into two narratives: “Us” and “Them”. “Us” emphasizes the gendered ways in which the hospital guard learns, reproduces, resists, lives up, or fails to live up to the masculine codes of the profession. Here, the guard must confront cultural demands to demonstrate physical prowess, authority and heroism during a patient battle. “Them” explores how hegemonic masculinity shapes the hierarchical and coercive relations between the guard, the nurse, and the patient, and reinforces psychiatrized discourses that promote punishment, pain, bureaucracy and control. Overall, these findings call for the abolition of physical restraint, chemical incarceration and other coercive security measures within our healthcare institutions, and encourage future research to give voice to the lived experiences of women guards and security management teams.

Du är ingen riktig man - En kvalitativ studie om hur socialarbetare arbetar med män som utsatts för våld i nära relationer och hur de hanterar föreställningar som finns i samhället om män Författare: Camilla Andersson Bonnevier och Helena Norström Örebro universitet Institutionen för juridik, psykologi och socialt arbete. Socionomprogrammet Socialt arbete 30-60 hp C-uppsats, 15 hp Vt 2012                                                     Sammanfattning Studien handlar om våld mot män i nära relationer och syftet är att undersöka hur föreställningar om män som finns i samhället påverkar socialarbetares tankar och agerande i mötet med våldsutsatta män. En kvalitativ metod har använts och sex intervjuer har utförts. De teoretiska utgångspunkterna är genus, maskulinitet och det hegemoniska perspektivet. Resultatet framhäver att respondenterna är medvetna om de föreställningar som finns i samhället. Detta är något som de måste förhålla sig till i mötet med de utsatta männen. De föreställningar som finns angående män som blir utsatta för våld i nära relationer är även något som kan påverka män, exempelvis genom att skamkänslor uppstår i samband med att männen ska söka professionell hjälp. Vi har även valt att titta på hur socialarbetarna arbetar och vad det är som primärt styr deras arbete. Nyckelord: genus, hegemonisk maskulinitet, offerrollen, socialt arbete, utsatta män och våld i nära relationer / You're not a real man - A qualitative study of how social workers working with men who are victims of violence in intimate relationship and how they deal with beliefs that exist in society about men Author: Camilla Andersson Bonnevier och Helena Norström Örebro University School of Law, Psychology and Social Work Social Work Program Social Work 30-60 points C-essay, 15 points Spring term 2012                                                                               Abstract This study is about violence against men in intimate relationships and the purpose of this essay is to examine how conceptions of men which exists in society affects social workers thoughts and behaviors in the meetings with men who are victims of domestic violence. A qualitative method was used and six interviews were conducted. The theoretical perspectives are gender, masculinity and the hegemonic perspective. The results demonstrate that the respondents are aware of the conceptions that exist in society. This is something that they must relate to in the meeting with exposed men. The conceptions about men, who become a victim of domestic violence in close relationships is also something that can affect men, for example shame can occur when men seek professional help. We have also chosen to look at how social workers work and what it is that primarily govern their work. Key words: gender, hegemonic masculinity, victimization, social work, abused men and intimate partner

Societies are surrounded by unaware attitudes and views about what is masculine and what is feminine and this can contribute to people being raced differently. Boys and girls are shaped to think and act in different ways from an early age because of their gender. According to the curriculum in the Swedish school system, the school has an important task to prevent such perceptions young people have about sex and gender. Reading books are still a central source where students gather information in the Swedish school. Therefore, I find it interesting to examine how gender is produced in three Swedish reading books from three different periods (1950s, 1970s and 2000s) to see what similarities and differences there are between the texts and the study has been based on three questions: How are men/boys and women/girls described in the reading books based on their characteristics, interests and pursuits? How much space in the texts are represented by men/boys and by women/girls? What masculinities and femininities can be found in the texts and which ones are the most desirable? I have used a text analysis in my research to analyse the three reading books and based my theory on that gender is a social construction. My results show that the three reading books produce male and female structures based on the fact that men and women, boys and girls are opposites and are kept apart by qualities, pursuits and interests. Notions of what is masculine and feminine are also reflected in the texts by constructions of hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininity. Further constructions concerning gender in the reading books are that men and boys have more space than women and girls and also that the personalities of men and boys grow at the expense of women and girls.

L’augmentation grandissante de l’attention portée dans les études sur la masculinité tant à la littérature féminine qu’à ses auteurs incite les chercheurs à se pencher de nouveau sur l’icône qu’est le gentilhomme, sur la réponse qu’offre la littérature du XVIIIe siècle face à cette idéalisation de la masculinité, et comment ces standards ont contribué à façonner nos propres perceptions des différenciations des rôles sexuels. Ce mémoire présente une analyse des personnages masculins des romans de Jane Austen, Emma, Persuasion et Mansfield Park, à travers le concept de « masculinité hégémonique » de R.W. Connell, concept qui a eu un impact certain dans les recherches retraçant comment l’histoire et l’hégémonie ont fabriqué les attentes sociales et nationales envers l’homme anglais. Les livres expliquant la conduite à avoir pour être un gentilhomme viril ont sans aucun doute perpétué ces idéaux. À travers l’étude de la politesse, de la sincérité et de l’héroïsme, perpétuellement renouvelés afin de correspondre aux nouveaux idéaux de la masculinité, cette thèse étudie les livres éducatifs influents, notamment de Locke, Knox et Secker, afin de comprendre de quelle façon la masculinité hégémonique est devenue une partie intégrante du discours et de l’éducation à l’époque de la Régence anglaise. Les œuvres d’Austen ne cesse de rappeler la vulnérabilité de l’hégémonie en rappelant constamment au lecteur l’importance des expériences et de la croissance personnelle, et ce, peu importe le sexe. Néanmoins, ses romans correspondent tout de même à ce que devrait être une éducation appropriée reposant sur les règle de conduite, l’autonomie, le travail et la sincérité; lesquels, tel que l’histoire analysée dans ce mémoire le démontrera, appartiennent également aux idéaux du nationalisme anglais et de la masculinité. / The increasing amount of attention to literature and female novelists in masculinity studies invites academics to revisit iconic figures like the gentleman in order to explore how literature responds to idealizations of manliness in eighteenth-century society and how these standards contribute to our own view of gender differentiation. This thesis analyses male characters in Jane Austen’s Emma, Persuasion and Mansfield Park under the scope of R.W. Connell’s concept of “Hegemonic Masculinity,” a concept that has been influential in the study of how history and hegemony influence social and national expectations of English masculine character. Conduct books that instructed genteel men how to be a manly gentleman perpetuated these ideals. Through the study of how politeness, sincerity, and heroism were continuously transformed to incorporate new ideals of manhood, this thesis examines influential conduct books by Locke, Knox, and Secker in order to understand how hegemonic masculinity became an essential part of Regency masculine education and discourse. Austen’s works highlight the vulnerability of hegemony by reminding the reader about the importance of human experience and growth regardless of gender. Nevertheless, her novels respond to appropriate education that instructs on principle, self-governance, industry, and sincerity, all of which, as the history addressed in this thesis demonstrates, also belonged to ideals of English nationalism and masculinity.

The purpose of this study was to illuminate the everyday work of school counsellors in the City of Stockholm with a gender perspective by studying the school counsellors ́ talk about masculinity and femininity. The aim was to reach an understanding of how parts of the counsellors everyday work are influenced by gender through the perspective of the school counsellor. The study was conducted using qualitative methods. Six school counsellors, five woman and one man, were interviewed. An interview method called thematically open interview was used to identify themes regarding aspects of gender in the school counsellors ́ everyday work. The theoretical perspectives that were applied during analysis were Judith Butlers ́ theory on gender performativity and Mimi Shippers ́ theory on gender hegemony. A qualitative data analysis was conducted using hermeneutic principles for interpretation. The results show that the school counsellors gave femininity and masculinity three different meanings, that gender influenced varying aspects of the counsellors work including the interaction with teachers, pupils, parents and principal and that indications of gender hegemony could be found in the stories told by four of the school counsellors. Further some school counsellors experienced gender as an obstacle to a larger extent than others. / Syftet med denna studie var att belysa skolkuratorer i Stockholm stads vardagliga arbete ur ett genusperspektiv genom att studera hur skolkuratorer talar om maskulinitet och femininitet. Målet var att nå kunskap om hur delar av skolkuratorernas vardagliga arbete influeras av genus ur skolkuratorns perspektiv. För att genomföra studien användes kvalitativa metoder. Sex kuratorer intervjuades, fem kvinnor och en man. En Intervjumetod kallad tematiskt öppen intervju användes för att identifiera teman beträffande olika aspekter av genus i skolkuratorernas vardagliga arbete. Under analysen tillämpades Judith Butlers ́ teori om genusperformativitet och Mimi Schippers ́ teori om könshegemoni. En kvalitativ dataanalys genomfördes med hjälp av hermeneutiska tolkningsprinciper. Studiens resultat visar att skolkuratorerna gav femininitet och maskulinitet tre skilda betydelser, att genus influerade olika aspekter av skolkuratorernas arbete inklusive deras interaktion med elever, lärare, föräldrar och rektorer och att det är går att se tecken som tyder på förekomsten av könshegemoni i fyra kuratorers berättelser. Vidare upplevde vissa kuratorer i högre grad än andra kuratorer att genus utgjorde ett hinder i det vardagliga arbetet.

After sixteen intensive months, I quit my employed position as a security guard at a local hospital. By drawing on my autoethnographic experiences in the form of “ethnographic fiction writing”, as well as eight interviews with my former male colleagues, I explore how the guards’ constructions of masculinity intersect with their security assessment and subsequent application of force, chemical incarceration, and other coercive security tactics on involuntarily-committed mental health patients. The narratives are framed by the available literature on gender and masculinity within the security, police, prison and military institutions, as well as the theoretical notions of gendered institutions (Acker), hegemonic masculinity (Connell & Messerschmidt), doing gender (West & Zimmerman), and Dave Holmes’s application of Foucauldian biopolitical power to forensic healthcare settings. These concepts are used in tandem with a creative methodological tool to reveal the “messy”, “bloody” and “gendered” ways in which hospital life unfolds between the guard, the nurse, and the patient prisoner. By escaping more traditional forms of academic writing, I am able to weave raw, sensitive and reflexive thoughts and emotions into the research design and analysis. The analysis is divided into two narratives: “Us” and “Them”. “Us” emphasizes the gendered ways in which the hospital guard learns, reproduces, resists, lives up, or fails to live up to the masculine codes of the profession. Here, the guard must confront cultural demands to demonstrate physical prowess, authority and heroism during a patient battle. “Them” explores how hegemonic masculinity shapes the hierarchical and coercive relations between the guard, the nurse, and the patient, and reinforces psychiatrized discourses that promote punishment, pain, bureaucracy and control. Overall, these findings call for the abolition of physical restraint, chemical incarceration and other coercive security measures within our healthcare institutions, and encourage future research to give voice to the lived experiences of women guards and security management teams.