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.

The study explores the phenomenon of girl trends on TikTok, specifically focusing on the Clean girl and Rat girl communities. It aims to understand how these communities influence self-representation and femininity, highlighting the significant role TikTok has in creating ones identity. The paper specifically researches how modern femininity is represented and which discursive strategies are leveraged to construct identity on the platform.  By implementing a multimodal critical discourse analysis, the study dissects visual, textual, and auditory elements from videos tagged with either #cleangirl or #ratgirl on TikTok. By utilizing a framework that combines Sensemaking theory with concepts of Respectability and Performativity, this study analyses the material within a Postfeministic context. The findings show that Clean girls align with more traditional notions of femininity, emphasizing an aesthetic lifestyle deemed respectable and desirable. Meanwhile, Rat girls subvert these ideals by promoting authenticity and non-conformity by distancing themselves from stereotypical norms. The analysis emphasizes the interplay between autonomy and gender expectations in shaping identity on TikTok. The results of the study contribute to the understanding of femininity, suggesting that TikTok both influences user engagement and reinforces stereotypical norms upon its users, thereby affecting the shaping of self-representation. Despite the surge of new and alternative expressions existing within the concept of girl trends, all interpretations still fall within the same context and expectations of femininity. This complex interplay negotiates femininity through a paradox where TikTok offers both freedom of expression and upholds societal norms when allowing its users to construct their identity.

Denna uppsats inrymmer en kvalitativ forskningsmetod som utreder, genom en socialsemiotisk stillbildsanalys av montaget i filmen Marie Antoinette (2006), hur montaget förhåller sig till varufeminism i ett postfeministiskt sammanhang, med perspektiv inom genusperformativitet. Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka vad produkterna i montaget speglar, samt vilken slags kvinnlig identitet de skapar, där uppsatsen argumenterar för hur montaget performativt upprätthåller en flickig identitet. Studien gör också hänvisningar till källor som resonerar för att filmens genre, samt föremålen i montaget (med färger och texturer), aktivt vänder sig till en kvinnlig målgrupp. I analysen beskrivs det utvalda materialet först på en denotativ nivå, där bildernas innehåll sedan sorteras inom tre valda kategorier. Därefter tolkas innehållet utifrån presenterade teorier. Resultatet visar att det förekommer varufierad feminism i montaget, men resultatet är däremot motsägelsefullt eftersom det finns en diskrepans mellan det genusperformativa perspektivet och det postfeministiska perspektivet.

This essay aims to examine how RFSL (the swedish national association for sexual orientations) is constructing sexsellers by looking at how sexsellers are described in one of RFSL’s texts. The method used in this paper is Fairclough's discourse analysis which will be applied on one text from the website of RFSL. With this method it is possible to study the textual, the discursive and the social practices of the chosen text. The theoretical framework will be Foucault's power theory, the normalization principle and Gayle Rubin’s charmed circle. The result of this study shows that RFSL is forming discourses which construct sexsellers as either voluntary or involuntary. A voluntary sexseller includes sexsellers who see themselves as sexworkers or people who sell sexual services. By speaking of sexsellers as voluntary, RFSL is forming both a liberal feminist point of view but also a postfeminist point of view, and by speaking of sexsellers as involuntary a radical feminist point of view is formed. Therefore RFSL allows three kinds of sexsellers to be heard in their text: a working, a voluntary and an exposed sexseller.

In the aftermath of #MeToo, Amber Heard chose to share her experiences of sexual abuse and violence in the relationship with Johnny Depp in an article. Depp denied the allegations and claimed that the accusations were fabricated and therefore chose to sue Heard for defamation. The defamation trial between the ex-spouses began in 2022 and received much attention since it was broadcast live to the public. The lawsuit quickly went viral on social media where Depp's fans constructed and spread favorable narratives on Depp's behalf in order to restore his reputation. The purpose of the study is to examine, from a gender perspective, how fans of a public figure crisis communicated on social media during an ongoing trial following accusations of intimate partner violence. This is achieved by a qualitative content analysis where posts published by Depp's fans during the trial are analyzed based on the theories of postfeminism and Image Repair Theory. The study concluded that both Depp and Heard are portrayed based on male and female attributes to relate to the roles of victim and perpetrator more clearly. Heard is blamed and mocked, while Depp is celebrated and respected. Furthermore, there are also narratives that connect to misogynistic ideas that are hidden by, for example, discussions about equality and can be seen as a backlash against feminist successes. / I efterdyningarna av #MeToo valde Amber Heard att dela med sig av sina erfarenheter av sexuella övergrepp och våld i förhållandet med Johnny Depp i en debattartikel. Depp förnekade anklagelserna och menade att de var fabricerade och valde därför att stämma Heard för förtal. Förtalsrättegången mellan de forna makarna inleddes 2022 och fick stor uppmärksamhet eftersom den livesändes inför allmänheten. Rättegången blev snabbt viral på sociala medier där Depps fans konstruerade och spred fördelaktiga narrativ å Depps vägnar i syfte att återupprätta hans rykte. Syftet med studien är att utifrån ett genusperspektiv undersöka hur fans till en offentlig person kriskommunicerat på sociala medier under en pågående rättegång efter anklagelser om våld i nära relation. Detta genomförs med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys där inlägg publicerade av Depps fans under tiden för rättegången analyseras utifrån teorierna postfeminism och Image Repair Theory. Studiens resultat visade att både Depp och Heard porträtteras utifrån manliga och kvinnliga attribut för att tydligare anknyta till rollerna som offer och förövare. Heard blir skuldbelagd och hånad, medan Depp blir hyllad och respekterad. Vidare förekommer också narrativ som anknyter till kvinnofientliga idéer som döljs av exempelvis diskussioner om jämställdhet och kan ses som en motreaktion på feministiska framgångar.

Denna undersökning granskar hur representationen av de kvinnliga karaktärerna sker i Barbiefilmen Barbie Princess Adventure (2020). Granskningen genomfördes genom två separata analyser, en narrativ analys av filmen och en semiotisk visuell analys av de kvinnliga karaktärerna. Undersökningen visade på att filmen representerar en motsägelsefull femininitet. Majoriteten av den narrativa analysen visade på att de kvinnliga karaktärerna var bemyndigande, självsäkra och självständiga karaktärer med både maskulina och feminina egenskaper. I den visuella analysen och i delar av den narrativa analysen framstår karaktärerna som stereotypiskt gestaltade. De sex karaktärerna som granskades konstruerade alla en identitet av hyperfemininitet. Filmen visar på en representerad femininitet med möjligheter till jämställd individualism men i en begränsning av att de kvinnliga karaktärerna har ett hyperfeminitetisk utseende. I slutet av uppsatsen öppnar jag upp till vidare forskning och diskuterar framtiden för Barbiefilmerna. / This thesis will analyze how the female characters in the Barbie movie Barbie Princess Adventure (2020) are represented. The movie was analyzed by conducting two separate analyses. One narrative analysis of the movie and one semiotic visual analysis of six female characters. The analysis showed that the movie represented a contradictory femininity. The overall narrative analysis showed that the female characters were empowered, confident, independent and had both masculine and feminine skills and interests. The visual analysis and some conclusions from the narrative analysis showed that all the six female characters have a stereotypical image. They all show a hyperfeminine identity. The movie shows a femininity with possibilities but with the limitation of a hyperfemininen appearance. In the end of the thesis, I open up for further research on the subject and discuss the future for Barbie movies.

This thesis looks at how a contemporary notion of successful girlhood is negotiated in the social text of Seventeen magazine. Moreover, it demonstrates the ways in which Seventeen’s representations of successful and ideal girls reflect and mediate timely values of postfeminism and neoliberalism. This thesis will also make visible how race, class, ability, and sexuality are negotiated within Seventeen’s “success” framework, in order to illuminate intersectional issues implicit in conceptualizing ideal girlhood. The method for this research is a semiotic discourse analysis, looking at the visual and linguistic signs within the text in order to connect them with broader ideologies and themes surrounding contemporary ideal girlhood. Drawing on girls’ studies and feminist cultural studies literature, the discourse of ideal girlhood is situated in a so-called “postfeminist” moment, in which girls, as popular, highly visible subjects in contemporary society, are perceived to be poised for achievement and social ascension, all while being closely surveilled. These expectations of postfeminism intersect with current neoliberal principles of individualized success; analysis is therefore connected with and contextualized by discussion of late modern principles of neoliberalism and its economic, social, and political logic.

This thesis looks at how a contemporary notion of successful girlhood is negotiated in the social text of Seventeen magazine. Moreover, it demonstrates the ways in which Seventeen’s representations of successful and ideal girls reflect and mediate timely values of postfeminism and neoliberalism. This thesis will also make visible how race, class, ability, and sexuality are negotiated within Seventeen’s “success” framework, in order to illuminate intersectional issues implicit in conceptualizing ideal girlhood. The method for this research is a semiotic discourse analysis, looking at the visual and linguistic signs within the text in order to connect them with broader ideologies and themes surrounding contemporary ideal girlhood. Drawing on girls’ studies and feminist cultural studies literature, the discourse of ideal girlhood is situated in a so-called “postfeminist” moment, in which girls, as popular, highly visible subjects in contemporary society, are perceived to be poised for achievement and social ascension, all while being closely surveilled. These expectations of postfeminism intersect with current neoliberal principles of individualized success; analysis is therefore connected with and contextualized by discussion of late modern principles of neoliberalism and its economic, social, and political logic.

Romance reality programming has become a major player in the television field, with the most successful shows garnering huge ratings and massive audiences over the course of numerous seasons. But while the concept of finding love in a competitive environment on the national stage is new, romance reality TV programs seem to regenerate outdated stereotypes which work in a retrograde fashion to envisage love in traditional, pre-feminist heteronormative and patriarchal structures. Combining a background of literature on reality TV which gives insight to the manipulative tendencies of the industry; feminist scholarship on the acculturating and indoctrinating nature of classic fairy tales; and writings on the prevalence of postfeminist ideology that emphasizes self-surveillance/subjectification, the rhetoric of self-empowerment, and natural differences between the sexes, this thesis examines one of the most ubiquitous romance reality shows, The bachelor. Through the lens of nine tropes--beauty, passivity, marriage, victimization, vilification, romance rhetoric, gender roles, consumerism, and the male gaze--I analyze a full season of episodes, tallying the occurrences in each category. Using these tally numbers as general indicators and providing examples of each theme, I argue that the lessons conveyed to audiences by The bachelor and other romance reality programs bear a striking resemblance to classic fairy tales morals in which positive outcomes for heroines directly correlate to their perceived femininity, including conventionally feminine virtues like physical beauty, moral turpitude, and adherence to normative gender roles. The presence of postfeminism in the media contributes to making these outdated fairy tales themes seem congruent with female agency and empowerment by uncritically casting the failure to find love as a personal one. At the same time, men are placed in advantageous positions of authority and power, affirming the inevitability and desirability of patriarchal relationship arrangements. / text

Det huvudsakliga syftet med denna uppsats är att belysa pågående förhandlingar om feminism och sexualitet i det samtida medielandskapet, med avstamp i Beyoncés senaste produktioner samt den omgärdande debatt som dessa genererat. För att genomföra detta har jag, genom en diskursanalys, läst sex stycken utvalda låttexter samt videor från Beyoncés självbetitlade skiva (2013) utifrån ett antal feministiska teorier. Fokus ligger på de olika feministiska diskursernas tolkning utav kropp, sexualitet, struktur, agens och etnicitet i dessa verk. Resultatet av uppsatsen visar att de olika feministiska diskurserna har, både historiskt och samtida, olika uppfattning om hur en kvinna får vara sexuell i dagens medielandskap. Samtidigt som Beyoncé reproducerar många av de strukturer som en stor del av feminismen motsätter sig, kan hennes verk, utifrån min analys, samtidigt tolkas som sexuellt frigörande i en tid där kvinnlig sexualitet ofta beskylls och ifrågasätts.