This paper examines critical perspectives on Body Mass Index (BMI) in ongoing societaldiscussions, focusing on poststructuralism, gender, consumer society, and race. Using fatstudies, intersectionality theory, and poststructuralism, the research integrates Foucault'spower theories. Analyzing six scholarly articles, the study categorizes BMI criticisms,emphasizing Foucault's biopower concepts as key to understanding societal regulation. Theparadox of power is evident as the slim body signifies self-discipline in a consumer-drivenculture valuing control. The paper also highlights BMI's critique for disregarding gender andrace, originating from the white male body, and immerses into historical associations. Thefindings of this paper uncovers how the discourse on BMI is connected to commercialinterests, politics, and economics, influencing power dynamics. In conclusion, the studyunderscores the link between BMI discourse, poststructuralism, and self-discipline, whilerevealing its limitations in a diversity context, with gender and race influencing criticism.Power, commercial interests, and societal politics emerge as crucial within this discourse.

Syfte och frågeställningar: Det övergripande syftet handlar om att undersöka hur villkoren för killars och mäns deltagande i ridsportverksamheter gestaltas i berättelser om ridsport. Annorlunda uttryckt är jag intresserad av hur kön konstrueras, eller ”görs”, i killars och mäns ridsportberättelser. Centrala frågeställningar är: Hur hanteras killarnas och männens könsgränsöverskridande i berättelserna? Vilka normer och föreställningar kring kön och sexualitet blir synliga i berättelserna? Hur positionerar sig killarna och männen i förhållande till rådande köns- och sexualitetsnormer? Metodologi: Studien bygger på kvalitativa intervjuer med 19 killar och män, 13 till 55 år gamla, aktiva på såväl bredd som tävlingsnivå i verksamheter knutna till Svenska Ridsportförbundet. I ett första analyssteg genomfördes en narrativ analys, där fem berättelser – eller narrativ – konstruerades. Dessa illustrerar på olika sätt centrala teman, erfarenheter och problematiker i intervjupersonernas berättelser. I ett andra analyssteg gjordes en feministisk poststrukturell läsning av de fem narrativen. Resultat och diskussion: Sammanfattningsvis verkar det som att deltagandet i en kvinnligt kodad idrott som ridsporten kan öppna upp för andra, och mindre stereotypa, sätt att vara kille än traditionellt manligt kodade idrotter. Eftersom den vardagliga verksamheten innehåller både sådant som (i vår kultur) brukar definieras som kvinnligt, exempelvis omsorg, kommunikation och lyhördhet, och sådant som brukar definieras som manligt, exempelvis handlingskraft, styrka och mod, får man som kille (och tjej) möjlighet att inta såväl feminint som maskulint kodade positioner. På detta sätt utmanas dominerande diskurser om hur tjejer och killar, män och kvinnor ”är”. Samtidigt måste man som kille inom ridsporten förhålla sig till det omgivande samhällets syn på ridning som en ”tjejsport” liksom till en heteronormativ särartsdiskurs enligt vilken killar inom ridsporten är tävlings-, prestations- och målinriktade, inte gillar att pyssla med hästarna och tycker att det bästa med ridsporten är tjejerna. Det verkar göra att det kan bli extra viktigt att betona maskulinitet – och framförallt heterosexualitet – för att visa att man trots allt är en ”normal” kille. Bögen blir här en form av ”gränsvakt”, en stereotyp som både möjliggör och begränsar, men som framförallt synliggör en heteronormativ ordning. / Aim: The overall aim is to investigate how conditions of boys and men’s participation in equestrian sports activities are framed in stories about equestrian sports. In other words I´m interested in the construction of gender, or the ‘doing of gender’, in boys and men´s stories about equestrian sports. Research questions are: How is the gender bending of the boys and men treated in the stories– both inside and outside equestrian sports? Which norms and representations about gender and sexuality are visible in the stories? How do the boys and men position themselves in relation to prevailing gender- and sexuality norms? Methodology: 19 boys and men, between the ages of 13 and 55, active on different levels in the Swedish Equestrian Sports Federation, were interviewed in the study. In a first step, a narrative analysis was conducted. Five narratives, illustrating central themes and experiences in the informants´ stories were constructed. In a second step a feminist post-structuralist reading of the five narratives was carried out. Results and discussion: The results indicate that participation in female-coded sports, like equestrian sports, can open up to other and less stereotypical ways of being a boy or man than participation in sports traditionally seen as masculine. Since the everyday activities contains both elements that we usually (in our culture) define as female, for example care, communication and sensitivity and elements we usually define as male, for example initiative, strength and courage, boys get the opportunity to practice assumed feminine as well as assumed masculine positions. In this way dominant discourses about boys and girls and men and women – how they “are” and what they like – are challenged. At the same time the stories make visible that boys and men in equestrian sports have to relate to the surrounding society’s view of horse riding as a “girl sport” and to heteronormative gender discourses in which men in equestrian sports are competitive and goal oriented, don’t like to cuddle with horses and think that the best thing with horse riding is the girls. It seems as if one strategy for handling this is to emphasize masculinity – and especially heterosexuality – to show that you in spite of everything are a “normal” guy. In this way the “fag” becomes a sort of “border agent” – a stereotype that both allows and restricts, but above all makes visible a heteronormative order. / <p>Uppsatsen tilldelades stipendiemedel ur Överste och Fru Adolf Johnssons fond för VT 2014.</p>

<p>This dissertation explores ten teachers´ approaches to managing conflicts with/between pupils. The relevance of gender is analysed according to the strategies and representations chosen by the teachers. The methods used for data collection include ´rounds´, role-plays and ongoing reflexivity, mainly in single-sex groups. Three main strategies were identified in managing conflicts with/between pupils: challenging, confirming and physically touching. The strategy of challenging reveals that teachers have high expectations of how competent pupils ought to be. It is no longer enough to be competent and independent as a pupil (in Sweden); he or she is also expected to have an integrated ethic of caring. Values such as an ethic of caring are conventionally associated with femininity, and are usually invisible and/or low status; though they have now become the dominant norm for both female and male teachers. The strategy of confirming is used to give support to the pupil but there is a risk of confirming one individual “too much” which can lead to relational problems with other pupils. Physical touching as a strategy relates to dilemmas arising from gendered expectations of physicality in teacher-pupil interaction. Overall, difficulties were found in getting male teachers to discuss and ‘role-play’ conflicts with girls, which did not arise with female teachers concerning conflicts with boys. Also criticized were the demands on teachers’ workloads as a result of their social responsibility for pupils’ welfare, and also lack of institutional support. When the teachers had time to reflect together on their experiences, they seemed willing to criticize norms and representations. Four phases in the mode of talking were identified: (1) the telling of an experience; (2) interpretation of experience as a form of difference, either as deviance or according to gender; (3) narration of experience that contradicts the above dichotomy of difference; and (4) ongoing reflexivity resulting in motivation to change strategy or strengthen former strategies based on a wider awareness of work context.</p>

Within the field of cinema studies, the question of visual representation is a fundamental pillar. An immense volume of theoretical work has been written on the subject, with various academic approaches such as feministic, postcolonial and gay/lesbian. Yet there is a large social group that seems to have been overlooked within the representational discourse: the elderly. This group of people appears to be a blind spot on the multicultural retina, too often neglected within the area of cultural studies. But as the baby boomer generation, who has always redefined the different stages of life (youth, adulthood, middle age), is entering old age, things are slowly changing. Utilizing a post-structural framework, this essay investigates the visual representation of elderly within the cinematic landscape of the western world. Since the subject is somewhat uncharted territory, a broad interdisciplinary approach is necessary where modern social gerontology meets the field of cinema studies. In a cultural context, social grouping based on age implies a distinct position versus the normative, compare to other types of minorities. Changes of sex, skin colour or sexual preference are uncommon, whereas changing age is the fate of every human being. The elderly as the “the Other” is thus every man’s future destiny. This rather unique position carries an immanent paradox since the only way to avoid the periphery in question is death. As a philosophical counterpoint to this rather dystopian outlook, Gilles Deleuze’s theory of becoming is brought into the discussion. The theoretical part of the essay ends with the ontology of age, a historical review of the field of gerontology and the concept of ageism. After a descriptive section, where contemporary examples of film and other media with old age as a main theme are identified, the analytical part of the essay ensues. With the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu as a theoretical frame of reference, a close reading of the films Avalon (Axel Petersén, 2011), About Schmidt (Alexander Payne, 2002) and RED (Robert Schwentke, 2010) are performed, emphasising aging identity and imposed age-normative behaviour. The semiotics of the aged body is discussed through Jacques Lacans mirror stage and Julia Kristevas abject theory, exemplified by the works of Donigan Cumming. The final part of the essay concerns the great eternal questions within film philosophy: life, death, time and memory, which for the elderly are not merely philosophical concerns but rather notable existential realities. Using Deleuze as a philosophical toolbox, these grand topics are illuminated with examples from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher, 2008), Amour (Michael Haneke, 2012) and Ingmar Bergmans classical works, such as Smultronstället (1957), Saraband (2003) and Gycklarnas afton (1953).

This dissertation explores ten teachers' approaches to managing conflicts with/between pupils. The relevance of gender is analysed according to the strategies and representations chosen by the teachers. The methods used for data collection include 'rounds', role-plays and ongoing reflexivity, mainly in single-sex groups. Three main strategies were identified in managing conflicts with/between pupils: challenging, confirming and physically touching. The strategy of challenging reveals that teachers have high expectations of how competent pupils ought to be. It is no longer enough to be competent and independent as a pupil (in Sweden); he or she is also expected to have an integrated ethic of caring. Values such as an ethic of caring are conventionally associated with femininity, and are usually invisible and/or low status; though they have now become the dominant norm for both female and male teachers. The strategy of confirming is used to give support to the pupil but there is a risk of confirming one individual "too much" which can lead to relational problems with other pupils. Physical touching as a strategy relates to dilemmas arising from gendered expectations of physicality in teacher-pupil interaction. Overall, difficulties were found in getting male teachers to discuss and 'role-play' conflicts with girls, which did not arise with female teachers concerning conflicts with boys. Also criticized were the demands on teachers' workloads as a result of their social responsibility for pupils' welfare, and also lack of institutional support. When the teachers had time to reflect together on their experiences, they seemed willing to criticize norms and representations. Four phases in the mode of talking were identified: (1) the telling of an experience; (2) interpretation of experience as a form of difference, either as deviance or according to gender; (3) narration of experience that contradicts the above dichotomy of difference; and (4) ongoing reflexivity resulting in motivation to change strategy or strengthen former strategies based on a wider awareness of work context.

This study aims to investigate the representation of the region Tornedalen and tornedalians, a Swedish minority, in national news media through a critical discourse analysis. Despite being recognized as a national minority, tornedalians have reported a lack of media coverage, which can lead to feelings of invisibility and discrimination. News media has a significant impact on what we discuss and think about, and they have the responsibility to provide a broad representation of society, including its diversity. However, historically, minority groups have been overlooked or devalued in news media, which can have consequences for marginalized groups lacking significant power, including minorities. Therefore, this study seeks to deepen the understanding of the media’s impact on society’s perception of the minority. The study analyzes how power structures and ideologies shape their representation, interpreted from a post-structuralist perspective, using concepts such as producers/consumers, positioning, otherness, subaltern, and cultural identity. The study’s findings suggest that Tornedalen is often represented as a peripheral and exoticized place, reinforcing the idea of a homogeneous Swedish identity. Tornedalians are often positioned as “the other” with their cultural practices and language being portrayed as inferior or irrelevant. Journalistic practices play a crucial role in shaping knowledge and understanding of minority groups such as tornedalians, and the study highlights the need for news media to provide a more diverse and accurate representation of society. The study also suggests areas for further research, such as investigating how different audiences interpret and react to news articles, and how Tornedalen and tornedalians are represented in public service media. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of how news media shapes society’s perception of minorities and highlights the importance of providing a diverse and accurate representation of society.

I denna uppsats genomförs en diskursanalys av materialet Orten bortom våldet med hjälp av Ernesto Laclau och Chantal Mouffes hegemonikritiska diskursteori. Materialet Orten bortom våldet är centralt för Eskilstuna kommuns sociala förebyggande arbete mot våld och kriminalitet. Med hjälp av Laclau och Mouffes diskursanalys dekonstrueras i denna studie resonemangen bakom Orten bortom våldet. Syftet är att synliggöra dess hegemoniska och ideologiska antaganden rörande individ, samhälle och sociala fenomen. Analysen använder centrala begrepp utifrån Laclau och Mouffes diskursteori för att synliggöra och identifiera hegemoniska och dominanta diskursiva ställningstaganden. Studien visar hur analysmaterialet vilar på en dikotomisk och dogmatisk social differentieringsdiskurs och en individcentrerad liberalistisk determinism rörande det förebyggande sociala arbetet och dess interventioner och problematiserar dessa aspekter utifrån ett vi och de-kritiskt perspektiv samt ett ideologikritiskt perspektiv. / In this essay, a discourse analysis of the material Orten bortom våldet is carried out with the help of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe's hegemonic-critical discourse theory. The material Orten bortom våldet is central to Eskilstuna municipality's social prevention work against violence and crime. With the help of Laclau and Mouffe's discourse analysis, this study deconstructs the reasoning behind Orten bortom våldet. The aim is to make visible its hegemonic and ideological assumptions concerning the individual, society and social phenomena. The analysis uses central concepts based on Laclau and Mouffe's discourse theory to make visible and identify hegemonic and dominant discursive positions. The study shows that the analysis material rests on a dichotomous and dogmatic social differentiation discourse and an individual-centered liberal determinism regarding preventive social work and its interventions and problematizes these aspects from a we and them-critical perspective as well as an ideology-critical perspective.