AbstractHomosexuality is surely accepted in today´s society - or isn´t it? Many things have changed, for instance laws, which are in favour for homosexuals, have been introduced, in Sweden that is. As we although know, many things are not only dependent on what laws tell us to do. The society also contains values and norms and they furthermore exist in individuals. Regarding sexuality, the norm is heterosexuality.How much does the norm affect our way of living? In what way is it encouraged? What happens to people who don´t live up to the norm? How is it to be homosexual in today´s society? These are some of the questions that we look upon in this paper.

Den här studien använder sig av en queerteoretisk utgångspunkt för att försöka reda ut vad som kan sägas om genuskonstruktionen i två välkända religiösa berättelser: den hinduiska Ramayana samt Ruts bok som återfinns i den hebreiska bibeln. Studien använder en hermeneutisk metod och en queerteori med teoretiska modeller av Judith Butler och Yvonne Hirdman. Det kan ses i båda berättelserna att genuset hos både manliga och kvinnliga karaktärer ändrar sig under berättelsens gång, flera gånger och i relation till varandra. Slutligen diskuteras resultaten och det visar sig att den teori som används i uppsatsen, queerteori, saknar en förståelse för det slags dynamiska genus som finns att se vid en läsning av Ruts bok och Ramayana..

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.

In 2008 USA was the one country that had the most people behind bars, both in numbers andpercentage, 2,3 million people. Of all the male convicts that were being held in custody aroundthe country's different detention facilities, thousands of them were being exposed to sexualabuse, such as rape. This essay will try to understand why there hasn?t been a bigger public outcryin the American community concerning this. It does so by studying the view of rape as a crime ofgender, by examining religion in USA and the Christian view on Homosexuality, looking into thepublics thoughts on prisons and the penalty's purpose plus studying theory's of the publics viewon the prisoner.

I have used a discourse analysis as a method and queertheori for the theoretical. In this paper I have analyzed how different wedding magazines write about partnerships, gender-neutral marriage and wedding between homosexuals. I have for some time been interested in the beliefs wedding magazines have about Homosexuality and how newspapers maintain heteronormativity implicitly and explicitly. Bridal magazines are anxious to have the marriage as a design and standard when they write about partnership. When they write about the two different forms of marriage, they glorify the religious marriage and pay no attention to civil marriage.

The purpose of this study is to identify and make attitudes among social workers towards homosexual and bisexual people visible, examine how these attitudes relate to their actions in their professional role and how these attitudes and actions can be understood by theories of heteronormativity and power. The study is a cross-sectional quantitative survey in the form of a questionnaire completed by social workers. The result shows that there are two groups among the social workers. One larger group that reproduces a norm of acceptance toward homosexual and bisexual people and one smaller that reproduces a heterosexual norm. This reproduction of heteronormativity increases the risk for homosexual and bisexual people to be made invisible and treated more negatively in contact with social workers, which in turn can lead to worse health among the clients..

The purpose of this study is to explore how different discourses about risk linked to HIV prevention is likely to affect the decisions on the distribution of state funding for preventive activities aimed at 'men who have sex with men' (MSM). This by making qualitative interviews with principals that have an impact on this decision. Using a discourse analytic approach, based on both theoretical and methodological foundations, I investigate the discursive constructions of risk of HIV linked to certain groups and behaviors. MSM is found in the material placed into two different formations of groups, on one hand by the behavior on the other hand on the basis of identity. The identity position is organized discursively from a ?victim? position while MSM provides an "operator" position.

Background:Several studies have shown there has been significant lack of knowledge about women who have sex with women cross infect each other with STIs. It has been less likely that women who have sex with women visit health care than heterosexuals, they often felt badly treated, invisible and did not always know where to turn in case of an STI. Objective: The objective was to examine if STI information from Kalmar and Växjö county websites and GCK-summit, targeted women who have sex with women. Method: With a queer theoretical perspective a critical discourse analysis was made by STI information on the internet. Results: Women who have sex with women have been excluded in the STI information currently available through Kalmar and Växjö county websites.

The purpose of this essay is to examine the relationship between visual communication and female Homosexuality within the field of magazine design. As the creative part of the project I have chosen to make a redesign of Lotus magazine, the very first Swedish magazine with lesbian and bisexual girls as the target audience. The questions of which the project is based on are: Which stereotypes, differences and similarities can be found in visual communication addressed to a heterosexual versus a homosexual target audience? What kind of design attracts non-heterosexual girls and how can I create a design for Lotus magazine that is appealing to lesbian and bisexual girls and yet still makes it possible to compete with traditional girls? magazines? In order to examine my research questions I have done literature studies within the field of gender and sexual identity in relation to visual communication. Additionally, I have analysed the design of competing magazines on the market and conducted a survey among representatives of the target audience of Lotus magazine..

The story of Jonathan and David is a part of the deuteronomical view of Israels history from the occupation of the holy land all the way to the exile in Babylon. I am aware of that this is not true history, but it is nevertheless interesting to ask oneself: Why are those people a part of the deuteronomical history? What was the meaning in telling the story in this way?Exegetes and researchers are trying to give the relationship between Jonathan and David a place in the political realm, but here I have used several sources to show that it is not only a political story, but a loveaffair, where Jonathan is pictured as a submissive woman and thereby excludes himself from the throne of Israel. David on the other hand, acts as the perfect man, who is in command in spite of his youth. He does not break the rules of the patriarchal society, where the relation between two men was accepted as long as the older one did not play the womans role.

Uppsatsens syfte var att nå en större teoretisk förståelse av samkönat partnervåld, genom att analysera olika forskningsartiklars narrativa konstruktioner av våldet. De två frågeställningarna var: 1. Hur diskuterar forskningslitteraturen samkönat partnervåld med fokus på temana relationsdynamik, karaktär hos parterna, kön, genus och sexualitet samt betydelsen av social kontext? 2. Hur diskuterar forskningslitteraturen det professionella bemötandet av samkönat partnervåld? De 21 valda primärdokumenten som analyserats är artiklar som granskats vetenskapligt via peer-review och författats av forskare och professionella terapeuter och behandlare.

Historiskt sett har det frekvent förekommit olika former av diskriminering utav homosexuella såsom kriminalisering och sjukdomsstämpel. Forskning har visat att homosexuella individer får otillfredsställande hälsoinformation och sämre vård. Syftet med litteraturstudien var att belysa om sjukvårdspersonal har ett diskriminerande förhållningssätt  gentemot homosexuella individer och hur detta i så fall tar sig till uttryck. Resultatet visar på att diskriminering av homosexuella män och kvinnor förekommer inom hälso- och sjukvården men kommer till uttryck på olika sätt. Ett diskriminerande förhållningssätt, såsom till exempel ignorans och nedvärderande kommentarer, attityder och handlingar är några exempel på hur vårdmöten kan se ut vilket kan leda till att homosexuella individer upplever känslor av ensamhet och utanförskap.

Detta arbete undersöker hur homosexuella killar skildras i ungdomslitteraturen. Syftet problematiserar dikotomin maskulint/feminint och män/kvinnor. Målet är att införa ett icke heteronormativt perspektiv i ungdomslitteraturforskningen kring genus och queer. Detta görs utifrån teorier av Judith Butler, Tiina Rosenberg och R. W.

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.

Our society is based on a heterosexual norm. This may lead to the fact that LGBT-persons have a poorer health status than the heterosexual population. The nurse education lacks information and courses that highlights sexual identity. This is defective since healthcare staff needs knowledge on the subject to be able to treat patients in a professional and respectful manner. The purpose of this study was to illustrate how heteronormativity influences the treatment of patients within a healthcare context.