The purpose with this thesis is to examine how four novels with a trait of confession written between 1996 and 2001 have been received in the Swedish daily press. This is done from a feministic perspective. The study is based on 36 reviews and the method which is used consists of a close-reading of the reviews, where the following questions are asked to the texts: Are there examples of reception in sexual analogies?; Are the novels ascribed a status of universality or are they considered to be something private?; How does the reviewers comment the exposure of the authors themselves and persons close to them?; What does the positive versus negative criticism concentrate on?; How does the reviewers comment the sexual element in the novels? The theoretical framework focuses on how womens literature has been treated in literary criticism and the treatment of the confession novels in the 1970s. The analysis of the reviews has, among many other things, showed that the novels mostly are regarded as something private; that the reviewers for different reasons question the publishing of the novels and that there are things concerning women and sexuality that is not accepted to write about.

This thesis consists of a discourse and queer theoretical text and image analysis of school books in English used in the Swedish upper secondary school.  The whole content of two school books have been analysed from a norm critical perspective but one chapter in each of them has been analysed more thoroughly than the rest. These two chapters form the major part of the analysis.The thesis? problem formulation and objective derive from a personal experience of being a teacher student and part time teacher in Swedish schools. This experience shows the prevalence of a strong heteronormativity both in the schools? every day life and in the used school books.

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..

This study was conducted in the red-light area of Pune city, India. The target group of the study is sex workers that are victims of human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The purpose of this study was to examine the initial and continuing trauma and its effects, and the coping strategies that these women develop in order to survive. The initial trauma occurs during the trafficking and seasoning process in the brothel. The term continuing trauma refers to violence and psychological trauma that are part of sex workers lives.

The present paper is part of a project carried on by the Swedish Section of the International Commission of Jurists. Sweden has ratified several major international human rights instruments. Most of the rights are covered by national law, and only in exception is there a discrepancy between national and international law. Such a discrepancy is found in the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination, in which the State parties agree on penalizing and prohibiting the founding of and participation in racist organizations. Sweden is not complying with this statute, despite the fact that the government has ratified the convention.

The aim with the project was to portray something to step on. Its purpose has been to experiment and explore the interaction between pattern, structure, material and colour for something to be applied on a floor. Focus has been on esthetic expression and not the creation of some¬thing for a specific environment or audience. My goal was also that this project would illustrate the importance of the floor to create a certain atmosphere in a room.The project was divided into three phases. The first one was the experimenting and exploring phase, where the goal was to find an expression.

Folkhälsovetenskapligt program.

The character of a pattern carries through to the context in which it is placed. Each pattern tells a story. By interpreting our surroundingenvironments we become inspired, and the patterns in turn can become part of our own narratives. This project was fuelled by my fascination and desire to explore patterns. My method of exploration was based on prior knowledge of patterns and interior design.The question became how can I apply my knowledge of interior design to pattern design and how could I best translate the brief intoa language of colour and shapes? The aim was to develop my knowledge of pattern design as well as to use this opportunity to combine my design methods with those of a professional designer.

Background: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of deliberate self-harm in a Swedish University population.Method: A random sample of first year students at University of Kalmar was invited to participate in an Internet-based survey in the autumn of 2007. A total of 139 (53,1 %) completed the anonymous survey.Results: The results showed that 25,2 % (n=35) of the students reported having engaged in some kind of deliberate self-harm at least once, and deliberate self-harm was endorsed by 7,9 % within the past year. The most frequently procedures to self-harm were to tear, carve or pinch self, cutting skin and hitting self on purpose. 37,1 % reported that they had told no one about their self-injurious behaviors and 36,4 % significantly reported that they had no one they trusted and who they could talk to if they were concerned about something. Students with self-injurious behavior were also more likely to report a history of emotional, sexual and/or physical abuse, alcohol and drug use, cut classes and questioning their sexual orientation.Conclusions: Findings suggest that self-harm is associated with risk factors and that self-injury is not only associated with adolescence but also with adulthood.

The purpose of this study is to examine a preschool's work to counteract traditional gender roles, which strategies are used and how norms about gender roles are produced and treated. The study also examines whether the preschool has an intersectional perspective in it's gender work, which analyzes how they relate to other categories such as ethnicity, race, class, age and sexuality in their work. I have been observing and conducting four interviews with teachers at a preschool with a gender profile. In my analysis I have used Foucault's theories about discourse and power. The results show that the informants had a high awareness of gender and that the main strategies used were: an individual perspective, seeing the individual and not the sex, and a gender-neutral strategy, removing everything that is gendered, for example, in language and environment.

Folkhälsovetenskapligt program.

This thesis is based on qualitative text analyses of four works of fiction, used as teaching materials in the school subject of Swedish, from a queer theoretic perspective. The purpose of the study is to examine how sexual identities and expressions are being presented, as well as what positions are offered a reader, in relation to the heterosexual norm. Basis for this thesis are the schools fundamental values, which highlights the importance that intolerance be confronted through both knowledge and active measures, and the syllabus, which states that fiction should be viewed as a tool for identity development as well as an understanding of the outside world.The analyses reveals a distinct connection between the generally accepted heterosexual norm and a professed (or taken for granted) heterosexuality which is being carried out by the characters or the books as a whole. Out of the four titles only one disputes this norm, by offering a wide range of sexual identities and expressions. These expressions, however, are being invalidated ? through insufficient ability to relate to the norm ? or made invisible ? through an imagined heterosexuality which, by superiority over other expressions, excludes them..

AbstractThe author Selma Lagerlöf was born in 1858 at Mårbacka, in Värmland and died in 1940. Fifty years after Selma´s death were her correspondence released and ten thousand of letters were found in the collection. But it was just the correspondence between Selma and Sofie Elkan who interested people because they wanted to know if Selma and Sofie have had a sexual relationship. Later, in time for Christmas 2008 the Swedish Television shows a film about Selma. "Selma Lagerlöf Society" was critical to the movie and thougt that the movie focused too much on Selma`s sexual orientation.

The aim of this study is to shed light on the phenomenon of destructive sexual behavior among youth from the perspective of professionals working at nonprofit organizations. To examine this, we used a qualitative method; we interviewed professionals working at nonprofit organizations. To analyze our results we used gender theory and empowerment theory. Our main results are that the professionals view this behavior as deliberate self-harm, such as cutting, as they do it to achieve relief from anxiety. Also, the professionals think that gender norms affect young people with destructive sexual behavior in that it imposes guilt and shame, which inflicts their already low self-esteem and makes them feel inferior.

Ryggmärgsbråck är en form av funktionshinder, och personer med ryggmärgsbråck är en patientgrupp som sjuksköterskor mest troligt kommer att möta någon gång under sitt yrkesverksamma liv. Syftet med litteraturstudien var att beskriva upplevelsen av sexualitet hos personer med ryggmärgsbråck. Sexton vetenskapliga artiklar analyserades med manifest kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultatet av analysen blev fem kategorier: att känna hinder att inleda en intim relation: att känna rädsla och skam och ha fysiska problem vid sex: att känna brist på kunskap: att känna tillfredsställelse med sin sexualitet samt att känna förhoppningar inför framtiden. Sexualitet hos personer med ryggmärgsbråck bestod ofta av problem, rädslor och skam, missnöje över kontrollen av sin kropp och framför allt tarminkontinens.