Under ungdomsåren sker stora förändringar, både fysiskt och psykiskt. Utforskandet av sexualiteten blir mer aktuell och den sexuella identiteten och den sexuella läggningen kan genomgå förändringar. Viktiga aspekter för att identifiera sig med den sexuella läggningen anses av vissa forskare vara självkänsla, nära socialt stöd och ifrågasättande. Syftet med denna studie är att finna svar på hur mönster av dessa faktorer kan påverka den sexuella identiteten bland gymnasieungdomar. Studien genomfördes med en kvantitativ ansats.

AbstraktDenna studie handlar om förhållanden mellan femininitet/maskulinitet och lesbisk identitet med bakgrund av den heteronormativa genusordningen, vilken grundar sig i ett dualistiskt tänkande där kvinnor som feminina respektive män som maskulina attraherar och kompletterar varandra. Studien bygger på berättelseanalys av personliga berättelser skrivna av lesbiska kvinnor ur antologierna Tjejerna mot strömmen och Såna som oss, vilka tolkas utifrån en konstruktivistisk ansats och ett queerteoretiskt perspektiv. På detta sätt synliggör och problematiserar jag konstruktioner av lesbiska självrepresentationer och identitetsskapanden samt de möjligheter och begränsningar som dessa identiteter omringas av med bakgrund av den heteronormativa genusordningen. Utifrån detta kommer jag fram till hur de lesbiska subjektpositionerna öppnar upp för alternativa identiteskonstruktioner och begärskonstruktioner i relation till aspekter av femininitet och maskulinitet. Vidare resulterar analysen i ett framhållande av den osynliggörande tolkningen av lesbisk femininitet i termer av heterosexualitet samt den osynliggörande förståelsen av lesbisk maskulinitet som ett kopierande av manlighet och manlig maskulinitet.

There is a settled stereotype for women and men which give them different possibilities in our society. The schools, which are one of the most important sources of knowledge, have a great possibility to influence. This is the reason why we are interested in how the schools are working with a project, which we will call X henceforth. What was the purpose with the project and what does it contain? What is missing in the former education, since the project was started? Are there any obstacles or prerequisite in the design of the project or in the school teaching on the basis of X? We have done interviews in the gathering of empirical material to find out all the answers to our questions.

I have critically examined heteronormativity as it permeates our society and questioned ?identities? as designed and constructed, leading to certain identities being seen as normal, while others are regarded as abnormal.I have had a discussion with my informants about love, monogamy, amicable and relationships. Every couple has basically isolated themselves after they became a couple and they feel secure with one another. The partnership is very important for my informants, partly because they see the partnership as a legal and economical security. However, these aspects are not crucial to the decision that they chose to marry, for the main reason is love and the desire to take the relationship one step further.

The purpose of this thesis is to study how homosexuals and homosexuality were represented in the press during the trials against the Pentecostal pastor Åke Green, and to what kind of social representations and narratives these representations can be related.Using critical discourse analysis and theories about the differentiation between in- and outgroups I try to unveil implicit meanings and attitudes towards gay people mainly at the local text level. The material consists of articles in Ölandsbladet and Dagens Nyheter that were produced before, during and after the trials.The analysis suggests that homosexuals are construed as a deviant outgroup and that the majority, the ingroup, is presented as an essentially heterosexual, tolerant community. Homosexuality is wrong and heterosexuality is the right way of living. Homosexuals, in terms of group lobbyism, are construed as an enemy, a threat, against Western ideals such as family values and freedom of speech. They indirectly become a threat to Swedish democracy.

The purpose of this study is to understand how the school manages to question norms, and in doing so might prevent its students from being subjected to discrimination and other degrading treatment. This has been done with a focus on how gender related norms are represented, reproduced and questioned in children?s fictional literature. Two methods have been used; a survey and an literary analysis. The survey was conducted on primary school teachers with the intent to collect information related to their thoughts when choosing books to use in their classrooms, and also to source commonly used fiction.

This master thesis aims to examine the process of indexing fiction when it comes to area of sexuality and gender identity. The empiric work that forms the basis of the thesis are three investigations:(a) examining the current status of indexing fiction within the catalogues of six Swedish medium-sized libraries;(b) interviewing librarians who allocate the subject headings; and(c) an analysis of the Swedish subject heading system Att indexera skönlitteratur.This will be concluded with an analysis of the gathered material through queer theoretic standpoint with the help of critical classification and its inclusion through separation, and marginalization where subjects that differs from the norm is included but only by being separated from the norm, or ignored totally. This will show that there are similarities with how different groups get treated within the classification systems and how they are treated in subject heading indexing. An example of this in Att indexera skönlitteratur is that heterosexuality never is mentioned in the subject heading but is always present as the silent norm, while gender identity is marginalized through exclusion of the subject heading, and related words are instead being included under sexual identity..

The aim of this essay is to answer the question of how, and in what ways Martina Bigert?s and Maria Thulin?s picture Allt om min buske (literally, All about my bush) is queer. Inspired by Judith Butler?s idea of the heterosexual matrix, and Michel Foucault?s discourse I attempt to investigate how sex and sexuality are described in relation to heteronormativity, and if Allt om min buske is either norm-breaking or norm-creating in a wider perspective. This study concludes that antinormativity and queerness are evident within the framework of the picture.

The purpose of this study is to understand how the school manages to question norms, and in doing so might prevent its students from being subjected to discrimination and other degrading treatment. This has been done with a focus on how gender related norms are represented, reproduced and questioned in children?s fictional literature. Two methods have been used; a survey and an literary analysis. The survey was conducted on primary school teachers with the intent to collect information related to their thoughts when choosing books to use in their classrooms, and also to source commonly used fiction.

The aim of our study was to examine how homosexual and heterosexual men and women are represented in the Swedish magazine QX, a magazine for gay, bisexual and transgender people. We wanted to find out what kind of roles the persons in QX appears in, and inquire the relationships that exist between them.We analyzed the texts in twelve magazines, from December 2008 to November 2009, in order to get the most current results as possible. We used a discourse analysis, with focus on identities, relationships and the representation of the world. Representations, gender, hegemonic masculinity and stereotypes have been significant theories to analyze our results.The results showed that the successful gay man is the most important person in QX. He is the perfect masculine macho fagot, who is highest in rank.

It could be argued that theories about gender are something that should be a part of every upper secondary school teachers agenda (knowledge base), because the Swedish curriculum specifically says that schools must encourage and work for equal rights between men and women.The students are supposed tobe encouraged to develop their interest, without judgment, about what femininity and masculinity is.This essay is aiming to find out how gender is used in the teacher program at Södertörns Högskola. The main focus of the essay is to see the possible differences between the curriculum of 2010 and 2013. Using quantitative and qualitative content analysis this essay is aiming to examine how gender words are used in the syllabus, study manuals and literature lists for Educational science A (2010) and Educational science I (2013). In what way are gendered terms, like boy, girl heterosexuality and man, part of the text material? Who is represented in the material? And are there any differences between 2010 and 2013?The results show that there is a difference.

The aim of this essay is to answer the question of how, and in what ways Martina Bigert?s and Maria Thulin?s picture Allt om min buske (literally, All about my bush) is queer. Inspired by Judith Butler?s idea of the heterosexual matrix, and Michel Foucault?s discourse I attempt to investigate how sex and sexuality are described in relation to heteronormativity, and if Allt om min buske is either norm-breaking or norm-creating in a wider perspective. This study concludes that antinormativity and queerness are evident within the framework of the picture.

The aim of the study is to analyse the stories of four homosexual women with Muslim backgrounds about coming out as homosexuals, from an intersectional perspective. The experience of coming out as lesbian and the intersectionality are related to different social contexts. The homosexuality becomes a problem in connection to family and countrymen while the Muslim background becomes more of a problem in relationships. Heteronormativity and gender system appear to be cooperating systems of oppression.These women don?t describe themselves as oppressed, but potential oppression is still something that influences their lives.

This study focuses on an analysis of three text books in English, Prime Time, Second Time, and Third Time, written for Swedish pupils between grade seven and nine. The main focus of the study is to investigate to what extent the books may be considered to follow the steering principles of the Swedish education system. The theoretical backbone of the essay is centred on the construction and maintenance of stereotypes, and is written from a social constructivist point of view. In this context, I also reason around power relations and norms in the Western society ? arguments which I, in the main analysis, apply to the books in question.

The aim of this essay is to study constructions of femininity and sexuality in Sara Stridsberg?s novel Darling River (2010). The analysis is based on queer theory and the term ?skev? ? a variation of ?queer? that allows one to focus on additional forms of normativity apart from sexual desire ? and examines how the characters of the novel are challenging the heteronormative framework by performing gender and sexuality in non-normative, subversive ways. In short, I discuss how the relationship between femininity, body and destiny is being portrayed, how the characters question heteronormativity by overdoing femininity, and by being unable (unwilling) to perform adult femininity.