The erasure of queer identities in EFL textbooks has been well documented, both in Swedish and international contexts. However, not much has been studied regarding queer representation is Sweden’s other L2 subject, Swedish as a second language (SVA). The present study aimed to examine queer representation and ideologies on gender and sexuality within Swedish upper secondary EFL and SVA textbooks, as well as to examine teachers’ perceptions on queer-inclusive education. Two textbooks per subject were analysed (N=4), and two teachers per subject (N=4) were interviewed; The data was analysed using both qualitative content analysis and critical discourse analysis. The results showed that all textbooks constructed gender as binary, actively erasing non-binary identities. In all textbooks, the construction of sexuality was mostly influenced by heteronormativity. There was also a tendency to have the queer representations be famous people (e.g., Oscar Wilde). Additionally, queer characters (unlike heterosexual ones) were not allowed to be portrayed partaking in explicit sexual or romantic activities, creating a distance to the queer characters where they passively exist “over there”. Regarding the interviews, all teachers reported that queer-inclusive teaching was important, but their reports also indicated to a discourse of tolerance where only explicit discriminatory practices are engaged with (allowing underlying discriminatory ideologies perpetuate). They reported of challenges in implementing queer-inclusive education such as: students challenging queer topics, cultural differences, and a disconnect between the schools’ values and the values at students’ homes. A striking difference between the EFL and SVA teachers were that the SVA teachers displayed difficulties in explicitly using queer-related vocabulary (such as gay and LGBTQ+), and instead relied of referential pronouns. Overall, the findings showed that the textbooks displayed ideologies of heteronormativity and gender binarism, and the interviewed teachers perceived queer-inclusive education as desirable, but with difficulties in addressing. Generally, there were no differences between the subjects, with the exception of the SVA teachers’ difficulties in using queer vocabulary.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:su-230326 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Eriksson, Rasmus |
| Publisher | Stockholms universitet, Engelska institutionen |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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