In this bachelor’s thesis we intend to investigate how masculine stereotypes are presented in four commercials before versus after #metoo. The purpose is to examine whether and in what way the masculine stereotypes have changed in our selected commercials presentation in accordance with cultural change. We intend to examine how representations relate to the context of social changes, the changing view of masculinity and masculine normative stereotypes.The analysis is performed with a multimodal analysis. The focus is on semiotics and its constituents. Since the thesis uses qualitative analysis, we have chosen to focus on those parts of the material that can be interpreted semiotically in order to gain a deeper understanding of its connection to social change in accordance with our theories. The studys results show that the four commercials we examined show a change before versus after #metoo. This change is in accordance with cultural studies. Hegemonic masculinity theory further explains how the new masculinity is presented in the later commercials. Furthermore, we ask ourselves whether the changes is made out of goodwill or to surf on a wave of political correctness.

This thesis aimed to analyze how men and masculinity were portrayed in The Hunger Games. I intended to investigate the most salient masculine characters. I also wanted to analyse the one-on-one interactions between men as well as their group interactions. I sought to investigate if one could see any power relations between the male characters and if they were traditionally masculine or not in this interaction, and also if this book could be used for discussions in the work with the core values of the Swedish national curriculum. The questions used in the thesis were: ”How are the men portrayed, and how do they act, compared against a traditional masculinity norm?”, ”What happens in the homosocial interaction between the men?”, and ”How do the men treat Katniss, seen from a masculinity perspective?” The theories used in the analysis were found within the field of masculinity studies. Hegemonic masculinity theory was the first one, and the second theory was the theoretical framework of traditional masculinity ideologies by Mahalik et al., specifically the measurement tool of CMNI – Conformity to Masculinity Norm Inventory. The method used to collect the data for the analysis was Close Reading. In the analysis I compared the men to a set of masculinity norms. The measurement tool was the norm inventory of CMNI. The results of the analysis found that at all the men in the study lived in accordance with at least some of the traditional masculinity norms. Out of the four men analysed, three of them had a gender equal relationship with the female lead character. Some men in the book were shown to act based on a patriarchal power structure. It was found that the men who acted in accordance with this structure were conforming more to the traditional masculity norms in their interaction with other men than in their interaction with women.