The purpose of this study is to compare students (both male and female), from the Linnaeus University in Kalmar, about their perceptions with a particular focus on identity and self-esteem. In regards to the current societal problem concerning obesity and beauty ideals, this paper aimed to study the student?s opinions concerning health and diets in order to fully answer the purpose of the study. The theory used in this paper is in particular regards to identity and self-esteem. In order to answer the study questions, a qualitative approach was conducted in the form of various focus groups.

The essence of literature ? it?s voice, it?s meaning? has always been scrutinized of interest to readers and theorists. The language in itself has the power to revolt against and undermine current and dominant hierarchies. This language can also be of a passive nature, accepting existing norms and dichotomies. This paper has the ambition to examine the language, the voice, of Clarice Lispector in her novel A Hora da Estrela (The Hour of the Star).The theoretical horizon from which I will read The Hour of the Star is that of Hélène Cixous, which can be expressed through the term écriture féminine.

Title: Hymns - a way to simplicity and beauty. The purpose of this paper is to study what makes hymns appreciated. In a questionnaire, 42 individuals responded to questions concerning lyrics, music, the hymn as a whole, their personal relationship to hymns and their church commitment. They also stated their gender and age. My aim has been to discover whether there are similarities and differences in the given responses and to study the influence of church connections and gender.

In this essay I examine how identity is created in William S. Burroughs two early novels Junky andQueer. The theoretic starting points are Lacans psychoanlytic concepts ?ideal ego?, ?egoideal? and the ?superego? and also queertheory as presented by Tiina Rosenberg in her book Queerfeministisk agenda.The examination contains an analysis of how Burroughs creates identity in both Junky and Queer with main focus on the second novel. I look at how the desire in the maincharacter Lee is described and what the desire is aimed at.

This is a project in Entrepreneurship and Creativity on masters? degree. The purpose was to verify whether the Swedish retail trade within the beauty care business was ready for an in-troduction of colour cosmetics. Through the qualitative research grounded theory, I made several phone interviews with independence retail traders within the Swedish beauty care business. The selection of respondents is based on statistical facts and geographic coverage of Swedish beauty care shops.

The purpose of this paper is to make a feminist textual analysis of three female protagonists incontemporary novels in order to demonstrate representations of ?skeva? female bodies, deviantfrom beauty-, slender and age norms. The analysis is based on an intersectional perspective whichdemonstrates the interaction between body, sex, gender, class, sexuality and age. The theoreticalmaterial used are class theories by Bourdieu and Skeggs, performative theories by Butler, theoriesof grotesque realism by Bachtin and the female grotesque by Russo and Lundberg. The charactersall belong to the genre of the female grotesque which manifests a feminist protest and a free zonewithin patriarchal power structures.

The purpose of this thesis is to find out how young girls reason about norms and attitudes towards female sexuality. Through a qualitative research approach ten girls in grade 9 has discussed in two focus-groups on what is typically female, the ideal images of the ultimate woman as well as what is considered to be characteristic of female sexuality. The results were analyzed using Tina Mattson's theory of intersectionality, Beverly Skeggs theory of respectability and Göran Burenhults thoughts about biology and sexuality. Some of the main findings are that the girls in the study associate femininity primarily with external attributes and beauty and the ideal image of the woman is beautiful, yet independent. Further they describe different conditions for boys and girls to explore their own sexuality, and also that for girls the risk of being branded a "whore" is ever present.

Nordström är J, Waldesten, S. En studie om äldre kvinnor och hur de påverkas av samhällets ideal skönhet. Examensarbete i socialt arbete 15 poäng. Malmö högskola. Hälsa och samhälle 2011. ABSTRAKT Syftet med denna uppsats är att utforska och fördjupa förståelsen av äldre kvinnors relationer till kroppsliga utseende.

Gendered reading has a history of intense debate and negotiation. In this essay I will examine how feminine and masculine reading was construed in the early 19th century through three Swedish texts that all give a didactic, moral and instructive opinion about gendered reading. They consist of an advice manual, a collection of letters and a periodical featuring an assortment of suitable reading material, all published between the years of 1808-1815 and directed to a female audience. As the male sex was generally considered the invisible, desirable norm and the female sex tended to be viewed as deviant and problematic, gendered discussions are inclined to focus on the latter. I will argue that female reading is largely construed in relation to the bourgeois marriage while the male is construed in terms of citizenship.

I slutet av 90-talet sköljde en våg med asiatisk skräckfilm in över västvärlden. Filmerna handlade om kvinnor som dött en våldsam eller orättvis död och nu var tillbaka för att hämnas.Takashi Miike är en av de mest kända japanska regissörerna som har bidragit till den japanska skräckfilmsgenren som fick så stor spridning i väst.Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att undersöka vilka kvinnoroller som finns representerade i fyra utav Miikes skräckfilmer och hur de framställs.Uppsatsen utgår från klassisk feministisk filmteori och undersöker om Barbara Creeds ?the monstrous feminine? och Carol Clovers ?the final girl? finns representerade i Miikes filmer.Bland uppsatsens slutsatser går det att finna att ?the final girl? delvis finns representerad i Miikes filmer, dock inte i samma utsträckning som i amerikansk skräckfilm, samt att man kan stöta på en viss problematik när man applicerar Creeds och Clovers teorier på filmer som inte följer ett västerländskt berättande.  .

The overall purpose of this study has its starting point in theories about the consuming society and its advertising. I have examined what kinds of methods that are being used in TV-commercials for beauty products, to influence the consumers. To study advertising, a semiotic method, symbolic interactionism and other theories which discuss symbols and influences, have been used. Six different TV-commercials for beauty products have been examined.The results from this study indicate that the advertiser apply to feelings such as, happiness, a sense of satisfaction, status and success, to affect the consumers behaviour. The findings in this research are discussed in the light of different theories which deal with the significance and the meaning of symbols..

The purpose of this study is to analyze picture books from a gender perspective. The books are found in a book box that the libraries send out to preschools. This study is based on the following questions:How are boys and girls portrayed in picture books?Do the picture books encourage or discourage the principles of equality found in the Curriculum for the Pre-School and the equality work conducted in the preschools?I performed a qualitative text and picture analysis of 12 picture books. I used Maria Nikolajeva and Kajsa Wahlströms schedule of typical masculine and feminine qualities and activities when analysing the picture books.

The main purpose of this essay is to identify opinions of masculine and feminine language in a written text. The aim is to examine whether the reader of a text can define the anonymous author?s sex, judging only by elements such as choice of words or sentence structure. Are there any differences between the sexes as they appear in written language, and is the common man able to make this distinction? The essay is based on several studies on people?s ideas on masculine and feminine language, as well as studies on actual differences.

Within the journalistic profession lays a commonly accepted normative view stating that objectivity is an ideal to seek. The aim of this bachelor is to study Swedish sportswriters on local newspaper and their views of journalistic objectivity, and themselves in comparison to the traditional ideals. We want to study how local sportswriter work against their ideal and if factors like age and education affect their view of themselves and ther ideal.We have done eight semistructured deepinterviews that all build on theories and studies of the traditional ideal of journalists. The interviewed are all sportreporters, at four different newspapers. We have done active selection of participants based on age and education.

The society in which we live is controlled by various kinds of rules, both written and unwritten. These rules tell us not only how we should act as humans but also how we should act as women and men. Adults teach their children the rules of the society in various ways, but they also act as model figures. Children are influenced by conscious and unconscious actions and also by activities performed by the adults. Furthermore, adults write children?s books which bring the essential content into children?s lives.