<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">My thesis deals with the novel </span><span>Ladies</span><span lang="EN-GB">,</span><span lang="EN-GB"> written in 2007 by the Swedish author Mara Lee. When published, it was received as a book belonging to the chick lit genre but still got good reviews. This combination is really unusual and awoke my interest in the novel. My thesis is therefore an analysis whether </span><span lang="EN-GB">Ladies</span><span lang="EN-GB"> can be considered a chick lit novel or not, and in what way it is similar to or differs from the genre.</span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I start my thesis with an overview of former research of chick lit and what earlier was called trivial literature. Here Lisbeth Larsson’s En annan historia, </span><span lang="EN-GB"><span>[</span></span><span lang="EN-GB">Another Story</span><span lang="EN-GB"><span>]</span></span><span lang="EN-GB">,</span><span lang="EN-GB"> Janice Radway’s Reading the Romance and Suzanne Ferriss’ and Mallory Young’s anthology Chick Lit The New Woman’s Fiction were necessary to understand the background of the genre.</span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">After the research overview I continue with a narratological analysis, using the concepts of Maria Nikolajeva’s Barnbokens byggklossar </span><span lang="EN-GB"><span>[</span></span><span lang="EN-GB">The Bricks of the Children Book</span><span lang="EN-GB"><span>]</span></span><span lang="EN-GB"> to look at the structure of a chick lit story. After finishing my chick lit genre analysis I try to complete my own definition of the genre.</span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I find the themes love, sexuality and body focus in </span><span lang="EN-GB">Ladies</span><span lang="EN-GB"> especially interesting and therefore choose to look closer into how these areas are represented in the book. By using Judith Butler’s concepts the heterosexual matrix, the represented gender and Tiina Rosenberg’s hetero normativity I analyse the representation of the themes. </span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">In the final discussion I compare my different analyses and my conclusion shows that </span><span lang="EN-GB">Ladies</span><span lang="EN-GB"> can’t be considered belonging to the chick lit genre. The biggest difference lies in how love and sexuality are represented in the book compared to chick lit novels. Whereas chick lit in many cases confirms gender stereotypes and conservative norms, </span><span lang="EN-GB">Ladies</span><span lang="EN-GB"> actually, according to my analysis, questions them.</span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">In the end I am finally doing a short reflection about the novel and the author using Pierre Bourdieus concepts about symbolic resources and ”habitus”. </span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span> <!--EndFragment-->

The purpose of this thesis has been to explore in what ways Franz Kafka’s ”The Metamorphosis” can be read as a story of gender. By bringing together Judith Butler’s theory of materialization and Lennard J. Davis’s crip theory I have spoken of Dismodernity as the domain of abject bodies that have been repudiated by (post)modern societies as untintelligible and dysfunctional. From this vantage point ”The Metamorphosis” can be seen as an allegory of Dismodernity and the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, can be seen as a political figure of Dismodernity. Therefore, I have tried to draw a feminist insect politics out of his metamorphosis from (hu)man into insect. By doing a close reading, through the theoretical lenses of Judith Butler, Lennard J. Davis and Donna Haraway, Gregor Samsa can be read as an abject non-masculinity which is both produced and made impossible by a heterosexual matrix’s need of intelligible genders and a capitalist system’s need of functional workers. As an abject non-masculinity Gregor Samsa works as a queer (unintelligible) and dismodern (dysfunctional) trickster that both disturbs and makes visible the established gendered norms of (un)intelligibility and (dis)ability through a blurring of the boundaries between human/animal, public/private and masculinity/femininity. As an involuntary trickster he also challenges gender studies and its seeking for ultimate representations for oppositional consciousness pure in their radical potential.

This dissertation concerns live action role-playing (larp). Larp may be described as improvised theater without an audience, as participants simultaneously embody both audience and actor in their constant interaction with one another.  Hence, larp can be seen as a participatory culture.  The study is based on participant observation, interviews and online ethnography in Denmark, Latvia, Sweden and Norway. The aim of the thesis is to analyze how bodies materialize, take and are given space in larps. At the heart of the study lie questions on how processes of embodiment are enacted before, during and after the game. Two central concepts - larp chronotope and matrix of interpretation – shape the analysis. The first denotes the specific timespace in which a larp takes place, e.g a Soviet military camp or a fantasy world. The second concept stands for a general matrix of norms that informs participants on how to enact their characters in the larp chronotope. The thesis shows that participants strive to act in ways that are intelligible according to the matrix of interpretation that reigns during the game days. In addition, although game and everyday matrixes of interpretations are always inseparable, while attending a larp the participant’s ordinary lives are temporarily allowed to fade into the background. Thus, larps are complex combinations of objects, spaces and bodies that are given new relations and new meanings. Furthermore, the thesis shows that larp embodiment is conditioned by normative ideas of what it means to be an intelligible live action role player. White male bodies are more likely to access the sphere of larp intelligibility than others, which is evident in many of the stories and made up worlds portrayed in the study. Yet, the collaborative narration of game worlds that take place before larps can include all sorts of bodies. Consequently, larps provide an opportunity for alternative forms of embodiment and experiences.

The aim of this thesis was to analyze how the discourse between the two main characters in Richard Yates’s novel Revolutionary Road implies complex power dynamics concerning identity formation. The analysis has been conducted by the use of positioning theory as well as the critical lens of the Heterosexual Matrix in order to discuss positioning findings in relation to gender formation. The results show that the positionings in discourse between Frank and April reveal great and detrimental power dynamics entrenched in social and cultural practices as well as predetermined ideas of gender identity. This thesis has also addressed how the knowledge of such complexity in discourse can be analyzed in the Swedish EFL classroom. This has been argued for by demonstrating the use of the discursive tool of positionings and the gender critical lens of the Heterosexual Matrix in the classroom to validate the use of Revolutionary Road as a source to raise awareness of gender consciousness and encourage students to become conscious gender actors in their social life.

<p>The purpose of this paper is to investigate how gender and sexuality are made in the videogames <em>Prince of Persia</em> and <em>Fable II</em>, and more specifically to look at possibilities and limitations for the construction of gender and sexuality in these games. I understand videogames as an interactive media form that differs from other types of media like film and literature. It is a media form that depends on a player to be played. At the same time it is constituted by rules of how it can be played. I have analyzed my material by a method called close-playing. I ask questions about the conditions for play in terms of avatar design, ways of acting in and moving through the game by using Judith Butler’s notion of the heterosexual matrix and Gayle Rubin’s sex value system. I have found that <em>Prince of Persia</em> does not offer the player any possibilities to contribute to the making of gender and sexuality of the avatar. <em>Fable II</em> on the other hand provides a range of options that shape gender and sexuality. But at the same time the game rewards the player if he or she shapes the gender and sexuality of the avatar in a way that fits the heterosexual matrix. I argue that <em>Prince of Persia</em> carries rules for how you <em>can </em>shape gender and sexuality, and <em>Fable II</em>, carries rules for how you <em>should </em>shape it.</p>

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how gender and sexuality are made in the videogames Prince of Persia and Fable II, and more specifically to look at possibilities and limitations for the construction of gender and sexuality in these games. I understand videogames as an interactive media form that differs from other types of media like film and literature. It is a media form that depends on a player to be played. At the same time it is constituted by rules of how it can be played. I have analyzed my material by a method called close-playing. I ask questions about the conditions for play in terms of avatar design, ways of acting in and moving through the game by using Judith Butler’s notion of the heterosexual matrix and Gayle Rubin’s sex value system. I have found that Prince of Persia does not offer the player any possibilities to contribute to the making of gender and sexuality of the avatar. Fable II on the other hand provides a range of options that shape gender and sexuality. But at the same time the game rewards the player if he or she shapes the gender and sexuality of the avatar in a way that fits the heterosexual matrix. I argue that Prince of Persia carries rules for how you can shape gender and sexuality, and Fable II, carries rules for how you should shape it.

This essay examines how trans people experience Swedish public libraries, as well as how the library can be an integral part of their trans identity work. The data sample was collected through semi-structured phenomenological interviews with five trans and non-binary library users. The analysis of the interview data was done using the method of thematic analysis (TA), following an inductive approach. The theoretical framework focuses on five different, but connecting, concepts. Mainly, theories about intersectionality; whiteness; the heterosexual matrix; orientation; and categorization. The results of this study show that trans people use and experience the library in a myriad of different ways. It is clear, however, that all the informants look to libraries to provide them with material that they can see themselves represented in, to get a sense of validation for their gender identity. Even though the library provides this in some ways, other aspects connected to libraries function to hinder trans people in their identity work. There are several ways that libraries can improve on their services toward trans patrons, and one of these are to better facilitate meetings between different trans people through more activities catering towards this group. In short, libraries need to be mindful about this specific group both when it comes to the services they offer, as well as the physical layout of the library space. These are all aspects which affect and influence trans people and their ability to construct and express their gender identity. / Den här uppsatsen undersöker hur transpersoner upplever Svenska folkbibliotek, och dessutom hur biblioteken kan fungera som en viktig faktor i deras identitetsarbete. Dataansatsen samlades in via semi-strukturerade fenomenologiska intervjuer med fem trans- och icke-binära biblioteksanvändare. Analysen denna intervjudata gjordes med hjälp av metoden tematisk analys (TA), utifrån en induktiv ansats. Det teoretiska ramverket fokuserar på fem olika, men integrerade, koncept. Detta baserat på teorier kring intersektionalitet; vithet; den heterosexuella matrisen; orientering; och kategorisering.  Resultatet av denna studie visar att transpersoner använder och upplever bibliotek på en rad olika sätt. Det framgår dock tydligt att informanterna alla ser till biblioteken för att erhålla material de kan se sig själva representerade i för att få en känsla av erkännande av deras genusidentitet. Även om biblioteken lyckas erbjuda detta i vissa fall lyckas andra apsekter av biblioteken fungera för att hindra dem i deras identitetsarbete som transpersoner. Det finns flera sätt som biblioteken kan förbättra deras tjänster gentemot sina användare som är trans, ett av sätten vilket relaterar till att arbeta mer mot att skapa mötesrum för transpersoner genom att erbjuda mer aktiviteter som riktar sig mot denna grupp. I korthet kan man säga att bibliotek måste vara medvetna kring hur de vänder sig mot den här användargruppen, både när det kommer till vilka tjänster de erbjuder samt hur biblioteket som fysisk plats utformas. Dessa är alla aspekter som påverkar och har en inverkan på transpersoners möjlighet att konstruera och uttrycka sin genusidentitet.

This bachelor thesis examines gender related jokes in Swedish outhouse books (dassböcker), and howwomen and men are constructed and portrayed in text and image between 2003-2020. Outhouse bookstypically consist of jokes based on stereotypes of women, men and other groups and are intended toamuse readers during visits to the outhouse or private toilet. I used critical analysis and queer theoryto examine assumptions regarding gender visible in the material. The analysis shows how Swedishouthouse books employ genusslentrianer, (unreflected and repeated gender stereotypes) in theirportrayal of women and men, constructing women as ’naturally’ responsible for unpaid labour in thehome, and reproductive work such as caring for children. Further, women and men are in the materialdepicted as opposites based on binary and essentialist assumptions about gender and gender roles, andthe material adopts a male gaze which portrays men as simple and women as (unnecessarily)complicated. The analysis makes visible normative assumptions about woman and men as cis,heterosexual, and aspiring to live in nuclear families. However, it also shows taken for granteddifferences between assumed male and female heterosexuality, constructing women as ’naturally’monogamous, while men are presumed to aspire to have multiple sex partners. Finally, in theirportrayal of gender and heteronormative gender roles, Swedish outhouse books establish men’sdiscrimination, objectification, and sexual abuse of women as not only normative gendered practices –but also as humorous.

This paper examines in what way the heterosexual matrix is challenged by Stephenie Meyer in Breaking dawn (Så länge vi båda andas). By doing a thematic study on the various family constellations appearing in the novel, I search for the queer elements in it. I discuss incest, family building and motherhood, and find that there are numerous queer elements associated with the themes I have chosen. I conclude that the Cullen family challenges the heterosexual matrix, despite not being typical queer vampire characters. I also find that building a successful family is not based on gender or constellation otherwise, but is instead dependant on democracy and equality. Bella has a desire to taste the blood of both her daughter and her father, interpreted as an incestuous desire. I find similarities between Bella’s extreme motherhood behaviors and how drag show artists parody gender. / Denna uppsats undersöker på vilka sätt Stephenie Meyer utmanar den heterosexuella matrisen i Så länge vi båda andas. Genom att göra en queerteoretisk temastudie utifrån temat familj undersöker jag de queera elementen i texten. Jag behandlar incest, familjebildning och moderskap och kommer fram till att det finns många queera inslag i mina valda teman. I min analys drar jag slutsatsen att familjen Cullen, trots att de inte är klassiska queera vampyrkaraktärer ändå utmanar den heterosexuella matrisen. Jag kommer även fram till att framgången i en familjebildning inte ligger i kön, eller konstruktion, utan i demokrati och jämställdhet. När Bella åtrår sin faders och dotterns blod tolkar jag detta i sin kontext som ett incestuöst begär. Jag jämför extremismen i Bellas moderskap med hur dragshowartisten parodierar genus.

The purpose of this essey is to investigate whether and if so how women's separatist music rooms can create an extended acting space for female musicians. To do this, I have conducted an interview study of organizers and former music participants at the organizations Popkollo and Femtastic. The analytical discussions is held with the theoretical approach of Judith Butler's "heterosexual matrix" and Cecilia Björck's interpretation of Michel Foucault's "The gender disciplinary gaze". The results show that the main reason to choose women's separatist music room has been a longing to ”take place” and to ”get to the be yourself". Furthermore, the results show that the room enabled a liberation from outsiders ideal images of the "mild" and "fragile" female musician, whereupon more expressive positions was made possible. The study also reveald a dilemma in a balance to be liberated, but at the same time adapt to popular music gender-coded ideals. Furthermore the results show that in this context it is sometimes perceived as disfavouring to be coded as both a female artist and a feminist. This is because of the tendency to be seen and treated as a homogenous group with a common political agenda. Finally, I note, however, that women's separatist music room at least can create possibilities for an extended acting space as the informants has expressed a development both personally and musically.