The aim of this master thesis is to contribute to a more profound knowledge of women's magazine reading by giving insights into the readerships’ interpretations of magazine texts. Three different dimensions of interpretation were thereby identified: the relation to the audiences’ own situations in life, the audiences’ reflections on their prior experiences, and the emerging emotions in the interpretation process. Audience and reception theory, as well as feminist media theory, form the theoretical framework of my research. As audience reception concerns the dynamic interaction between text and the audiences’ reception of it, I decided to concentrate on both text analysis and qualitative interviews. With my qualitative, methodological approach – comprising an analysis of three articles concerning texting advice and interviews with six regular readers, I was able to explore nuances and depths of the phenomenon. I identified four interpretative repertoires which the women used for making meaning of the texts: pleasure, rejection, self-reflection, and practical relevance. Pleasure and rejection were found to be the women’s predominant emotions in the interpretation process. Moreover, my research illustrates that women are interpreting the texting advice in a practical as well as in a self-reflexive way. Their own circumstances and prior experiences are thereby variables, which influence the reception. My work strengthens the perspective of readers as being empowered to understand, evaluate, and critique the media content they consume. This is an important finding influencing society at large. As my research outlines, critical readings were found to be superior to possible ideological influences of women’s magazines. Future research should focus on a further in-depth analysis of individual influencing variables in relation to the audiences’ interpretations as I was only able to evaluate some in my study.

Background: Myocardial infarction affects people around the world. Proportionally more women than men die from the condition and those women who have the greatest risk are the ones who live an unhealthy lifestyle. This includes individuals with poor dietary habits and low levels of physical activity as well as those with additional medical diagnoses such as hypertension, diabetes and psychological disorders. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe women's experiences after undergoing a myocardial infarction. Method: A method to contribute to evidencebased practise based on analysis of qualitative research was performed. Ten articles were analysed and resulted in four themes and ten subthemes. Result: Findings were: Women experience atypical symptoms before a myocardial infarction occurs. Women also need more support as they may be worried about leaving their everyday lives and letting go of everything around them. The results also highlight the recovery being difficult for the women who prioritize the family before their own health. Conclusion: It is important that all women obtain a permanent health care contact, as most of the women find that recovery is difficult. Relapsing is a possibility making it imperative that women become aware of the symptoms of myocardial infarction and how they appear.

Previous research on framing has proved its strong effects on the social perception and political preferences of individuals. Therefore, the aim of this research is to explore how Saudi women's issues have been framed in a sample of United States and Saudi newspapers. Saudi Vision 2030 is the post-oil plan for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that was announced on April 25, 2016. The sample of this thesis was 300 news stories from eight newspapers. The U.S. newspapers were the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times. The Saudi newspapers were Al Riyadh, Okaz, Al Jazirah, and Al Watan. This thesis explores how these issues have been covered before and after Saudi Vision 2030 by answering five basic questions. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyze the news stories. For the quantitative analysis, five pre-defined generic frames from Semetko and Valkenburg were adopted: conflict frame, human interest frame, morality frame, economic consequences frame, and responsibility frame. An inductive approach to find the new frames was used for the qualitative analysis. Moreover, this thesis looked at how U.S. and Saudi newspapers have visually framed Saudi women through an analysis of the types of images used in the news stories related to Saudi women's issues. The main finding suggests that within the used frames in the newspapers, the U.S. newspapers focused more on the human-interest frame, while the Saudi newspapers mostly used the economic frame. Furthermore, the types of issues covered are discussed.

This study explores the possibility of designing an empowering community on a hormone-tracking application. I hereby draw inspiration from the ethos of the radical consciousness-raising groups of the 1970s to move away from the traditional individualistic approach to hormonal health. The study adopts a research-through-design approach that integrates a combination of sensitizing user engagement, somaesthetics and speculative design. By conducting interviews centred on individuals’ lived experiences surrounding hormonal health and a design workshop that emphasises collaboration and inclusion in the design process, I discuss the potential for creating a digital community that promotes a holistic and collectivist perspective for hormone-tracking applications. The aim is not to make users reliant on the community to give them knowledge. Rather, the community should enable users to collectively create a consciousness around their hormonal health and use this to empower them to better understand their hormones. The findings highlight that the design should be guided by the principles of connecting only a few people that share similar experiences and have different levels of knowledge to establish genuine human connections and collectively construct hormonal consciousness. Lastly, our study concludes that akin to the women’s health movement, the act of bringing together a group of people to discuss their health and bodies is in itself an empowering and inspiring act that fosters a sense of community. / Den här studien undersöker möjligheten att utforma en stärkande gemenskap för en hormonspårningsapplikation. Jag hämtar härmed inspiration från de radikala medvetandehöjande gruppernas etos på 1970-talet för att gå bort från det traditionella individualistiska förhållningssättet till hormonell hälsa. Studien anammar en forskning-genom-design-metod som integrerar en kombination av sensibiliserande användarengagemang, somestetik och spekulativ design. Genom att genomföra intervjuer centrerade på individers upplevelser kring hormonell hälsa och en designworkshop som betonar samarbete och inkludering i designprocessen, diskuterar jag möjligheten för att skapa en digital gemenskap som främjar ett holistiskt och kollektivistiskt perspektiv för hormonspårningstillämpningar. Syftet här är inte att göra användarna beroende av samhället för att ge dem kunskap, utan att ge dem möjlighet att starta en konversation om hormonell hälsa och koppla ihop dem för att få stöd i sina upplevelser. Resultaten visar att designen bör vägledas av principerna om att koppla samman endast ett fåtal personer som delar liknande erfarenheter och har olika kunskapsnivåer för att etablera äkta mänskliga kopplingar och kollektivt skapa kunnighet och kompetens inom hormonell hälsa. Slutligen drar studien slutsatsen att i likhet med kvinnohälsorörelsen är handlingen att sammanföra en grupp människor för att diskutera deras hälsa och kroppar i sig en förstärkande och inspirerande handling som främjar en känsla av gemenskap.

Våld i nära relationer är ett vanligt förekommande problem i samhället som drabbar familjer, individer och andra närstående på ett omfattande sätt. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur kvinnojourens samverkan kring våldsutsatta kvinnor fungerar i praktiken. Sex kvalitativa intervjuer har genomförts med olika kvinnojourer runt om i Sverige och intervjuerna analyserades genom en tematisk analys. Denna studie visar att kvinnojourer upplever samverkan som komplex och att det finns stora hinder men också möjligheter som medföljer samverkan. Studien visar även att anställda och ideellt arbetande på kvinnojourer upplever både svårigheter och möjligheter men även ett stort behov av samverkan. Ytterligare visar den här studien att det behövs mer forskning kring detta område. Resultatet i studien presenteras och diskuteras utifrån samverkansteori, tidigare forskning och respondenternas svar. / Intimate partner violence is a common problem in society that affects families, individuals and other relatives in a profound way. The purpose of this study is to investigate how women’s shelters collaborate collaborative work on women who are victims of violence works in practice. Six qualitative interviews were conducted with people that work in different women’s shelters in Sweden and the interviews were analyzed through a thematic analysis. This study shows that people that work in women’s shelters experience collaboration as complex and that there are major obstacles but also opportunities that come with collaboration. The study also shows that the people that work in women’s shelters perceive both difficulties and opportunities, but also a great need for collaboration. Furthermore, this study shows that more research is needed in this area. The results of the study are presented and discussed in conjunction with collaboration theory, previous research and the respondents’ answers.

Det finns en ojämn fördelning företagsägare i Sverige där andelen är 70% män och 30% kvinnor. Syftet med denna studie är att få en ökad förståelse för kvinnor som är företagsägare. Delvis genom att undersöka faktorer som påverkade kvinnorna att bli företagsägare, och delvis vilka karriärmöjligheter och utmaningar kvinnorna upplevde vid starten av företaget, upplever nu och ser i framtiden. Teoretiska begrepp som används är brytpunkter och livsdesign. Brytpunkter är ett begrepp inom Careership-teorin om karriärbeslut från Hodkinson och Sparkes och livsdesign är ett begrepp från Savickas et al. och innehåller delar av karriärkonstruktion, självkonstruktion och livslång själv-konstruktion. Det finns ett socialkonstruktivistiskt perspektiv i studien och metoden som har använts är kvalitativ genom narrativa intervjuer. I resultatet kommer fyra teman att presenteras; faktorer som påverkade att bli företagsägare, utmaningar då och nu, karriärmöjligheter då och nu, och utmaningar och karriärmöjligheter i framtiden. Resultatet visar att det finns påtvingande brytpunkter, självinitierande brytpunkter och ibland en kombination av båda inför karriärvalet att bli företagsägare. Vidare visar resultatet att personer oavsett ålder behöver göra övergångar inom arbetslivet och en livsdesign är en förutsättning för att klara sig i en ständigt föränderlig och turbulent arbetsmarknad. Resultatet visar att de flesta kvinnorna har en förälder som är företagsägare och några har även andra personer inom sitt nätverk. Det framkommer även att intervjupersonerna har fått lära sig hantera olika utmaningar och nya aktiviteter inom sitt företagande vilken har stärkt deras självförtroende och har lett till ett ökat självledarskap. De har också behövt hantera att själva skapa arbetstillfällen för att kunna försörja sig, något som är annorlunda från en löneanställning. De lyfter vidare nätverkets betydelse där andra företagsägare ger en kompetenshöjande och stöttande funktion. Samtliga vill fortsätta vara företagsägare trots olika framtidsutmaningar inom klimatomställning och pågående inflation. De ser fortfarande karriärmöjligheter och har olika mål inom sitt företagande i framtiden. / There is an uneven level of business owners in Sweden where the proportion is 70% men and 30% women. The purpose of this study is to gain an increased understanding of women who are business owners. Partly by examining factors that influenced the women to become business owners, and partly what career opportunities and challenges the women experienced at the start of the company, experiencing now and thoughts about the future. Theoretical concepts that are used are turning-points and life-design. Turning-points is a concept within the Careership theory of career decision from Hodkinson and Sparkes and life-design is a concept from Savickas et al. and includes elements of career construction, self-construction, and lifelong self-construction. There is a social constructivist perspective in the study and the method that has been used is qualitative through narrative interviews. In the result four themes will be presented; factors that influenced becoming a business owner, challenges then and now, career opportunities then and now, and challenges and career opportunities in the future. The result shows that there are forced turning-points, self-initiating turning-points and sometimes a combination of both before the career choice of becoming a business owner. Furthermore, the results show that people regardless of age need to do transitions in working life and a life-design is a necessity for coping in a constant changing and turbulent labor market. The result shows that most of the women have a parent who are business owners and some also have other people within their network. It also appears that the women have learned to deal with different challenges and new activities within their business, which has strengthened their self-confidence and has led to increased self-leadership. They have also had to deal with creating job opportunities to make a living, which is different from a salaried employment. They further highlight the importance of the network where other business owners provide an enhancing in competence and supportive function. Everyone wants to continue being business owners despite various future challenges in climate change and ongoing inflation. They still see career opportunities and have different goals in their business in the future.

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This thesis investigates the potential relationship between support for radical right-wing parties and the increased employment rates of women in member states of the European Union. While previous research has predominantly focused on immigration, by virtue of grievances, as a driver of radical right-wing support, this study explores whether increases in the employment ratio of women can also be perceived as a threat and contribute to this support. The rationale for examining this assumption is rooted in the understanding of radical right-wing parties as Männerparteien, being primarily supported and led by men. By analyzing time-series cross-sectional data from thirteen EU member states over twenty time periods, this study reveals a positive correlation between the employment rates of women and support for radical right-wing parties. This finding aligns with the concept of group threat theory, suggesting that increases in the employment ratio of women can indeed be perceived as a threat. The finding highlights the complex dynamics and potential resistance that arise when traditional power dynamics are challenged, emphasizing the need for comprehensive approaches to address these barriers and promote gender equality. The study also reveals a positive correlation between support for radical right-wing parties and the attainment of advanced education for men, as well as a negative correlation between radical right-wing support and increased GDP. The findings offer valuable insights to previous research and lay the groundwork for future studies in various research fields by yielding further insights into the group dynamics between men and women and by proposing the use of additional explanatory variables in explaining radical right-wing support.

Bakgrund: Endometrios är en långvarig inflammatorisk sjukdom vars definition är att livmoderslemhinna förekommer utanför livmodern. Vanliga symtom är bäckensmärta, dysmenorré, dyspareuni, dyschezi, dysuri och ländryggssmärta. Syfte: Att beskriva kvinnors upplevelser av smärta vid endometrios. Metod: Studien genomfördes som en allmän litteraturstudie och baserades på åtta vetenskapliga artiklar. Resultatartiklarna lästes flertalet gånger och kategorier skapades genom att identifiera likheter och skillnader mellan meningsbärande enheter. Resultat: Analysen identifierade tre kategorier: Upplevelser av smärtans karaktär, Upplevelser av smärtans konsekvenser och Upplevelser av smärthantering. Smärtans karaktär varierade med olika mönster och intensitet, vanligtvis upplevdes en konstellation av flera typer av smärta. Kvinnor upplevde att smärta vid endometrios skapade begränsningar i livet med konsekvenser relaterat till både fysiska, psykiska, sociala och intima aspekter. Förmedlingen av smärtan upplevdes komplicerad, vilket minskade förståelsen från omgivningen. Genom ökad kunskap om endometrios kunde kvinnorna utveckla copingstrategier. Konklusion: Smärta vid endometrios är livspåverkande. Sjuksköterskan behöver förståelse kring smärtans påverkan på kvinnornas liv för att bygga en förtroenderelation och genomföra en korrekt smärtbedömning. Ökad kunskap kan bidra till att förbättra sjuksköterskans förutsättningar till att lindra kvinnors lidande. / Background: Endometriosis is a prolonged inflammatory disease whose definition is that endometrium occurs outside the uterus. Common symptoms are pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, dyschezia, dysuria and low back pain. Aim: To describe women’s experiences of pain in endometriosis. Method: The study was conducted as a general literature review and was based on eight scientific articles. The result articles were read multiple times and categories were created by identifying similarities and differences between meaningful units. Results: The analysis identified three categories: The experiences of the pains characteristics, The experiences of the pains consequences and The experiences of pain management. Pain characteristics varied with different patterns and intensity, usually a constellation of several types of pain was experienced. Women experienced that pain in endometriosis created limitations in life with consequences related to both physical, psychological, social and intimate aspects. Communicating the pain was experienced as complicated, which reduced the understanding from the environment. Through increased knowledge about endometriosis, the women were able to develop coping strategies. Conclusion: Pain related to endometriosis is affecting life. The nurse needs an understanding of the pain’s impact on the women’s lives in order to build a relationship of trust and carry out a correct pain assessment. Increased knowledge can contribute to improving the nurse’s abilities to alleviate women’s suffering.

As the number of cases of the COVID-19 virus spread across the world in the beginning of 2020, governments decided to take measures to stop the spread of the virus. These measures limited individual’s freedom of movement and soon thereafter, the number of domestic violence cases increased. While the increase in domestic violence has almost interchangeably been linked to the enforcement of lockdowns, statistics have indicated an increase in domestic violence in Sweden as well whereas they never enforced any lockdowns. The aim of this thesis is thus to explore this issue further by interviewing staff at women’s shelters and support services in Sweden to examine how they perceive how the pandemic has impacted the situation of men’s violence against women (as most cases of domestic violence is a matter of a man abusing a woman), their organizations, and their relationship with the women. The theoretical lens of shared trauma has been used to explore how the relationship between the organizations and the women have been affected as they navigate through the shared traumatic reality of the pandemic. The analytical tool used in this study is by a thematic analysis, whereas 7 themes were located: (1) Change in the level of support, (2) Change in the level of violence, (3) The role of the media and public perception, (4) Economic uncertainty and vulnerability, (5) Governmental directives, (6) Sharing a traumatic experience, and (7) Posttraumatic growth. The study concludes that the pandemic has impacted the women’s shelters and support services in this study quite a lot, both in negative and positive terms. Whilst the study indicates an increased level of men’s violence against women, the organizations have on the other hand been forced by the pandemic to develop their organizational structure to reach the women who have been isolated in their homes, and thus improved a lot of tools to support these women in the future.