The background to this thesis is that we know very little about lesbian and bisexual women's sexual health in Sweden, particularly in relation to sexually transmitted infections (STI) and their transmissions. An internet-based questionnaire with self-selected participants targeted to the group WSW (Women who have Sex with Women) has been implemented. An international survey on the subject shows that the WSW has sexually transmitted infections. This is also in line with the results in this study. The most common sexually transmitted infection in the survey is chlamydia which 12.3 percent have had.

The failure of Structural Adjustment Programs and its neoliberal policies to effectively reduce poverty have led to the creation of Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) by The World Bank and International Monetary Fund. PRSP, connected to both the Comprehensive Development Strategy and the HIPC initiative, are built on the notion of national ownership and stakeholder participation and thereby expand potential conditionality to include matters of governance. This thesis examines the evolution of PRSP and how the process of participation affects national governance structures. By analyzing the role of rules and norms within the World Bank and IMF from a historical point of view the thesis explains why the participation process has developed the way it has. It concludes that neoliberal norms, still at heart within the World Bank and IMF, have an impact on the process of participation within nation states and thereby its governance structure.

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.

I have with this thesis sought to understand how chick lit could be useful in the classroom in the teaching of Swedish B-course in high school. Based on the model of critical literacy I am arguing that this genre would help to meet the objectives of the policy documents which, among other things, are to critically examine and analyze various types of texts.I have found that some of these texts could be used for analyzing and critically examine the ideological dimensions of texts and cultural heritage by the model of critical literacy, and also as a counterweight to the more traditional teaching of the canonical literature as a literary historical stuff that students should learn. I have also wanted to create a basis for discussions about literature in the classroom based on the chick lit genre. To do this I have, based on three themes and questions from the model of critical literacy, tried to focus on issues that might emerge from the ideological analysis and critical review. The model aims to deconstruct norms of society, and in the work of chick lit, I wanted to show how you could deconstruct norms around gender..

Through a critical discourse analysis this study explores the gender norms that students on Kvinnofolkh?gskolan produce, reproduce and experience. Kvinnofolkh?gskolan is built on the understanding that the world discriminates against women politically, culturally, economically and socially, and thus intends to give women, non-binaries and trans people an education with a feminist alignment. Despite studies being made on gender segregated schools as identity forming, I argue that there is a lack of studies that show how gender discourse and theory is produced in contexts where men are excluded.

The purpose of this study is to find out which attitudes, norms and values exists about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) families in preschools. Based on five qualitative interviews with teachers that work at a LGBT-certified preschool and one that is active in their work with norm critical pedagogy. To be able to fulfil my purpose of this study I concentrated on why these teachers believed that it was of importance to counter society?s heteronormativity, to prevent discrimination and mistreatments towards children and their LGBT parents in preschool. I wanted to find out what the teachers thoughts were on the concept of what a family is and how the diversity of families is shown in the preschools material and pedagogy.When I analysed the results of my qualitative interviews I used queer theories that include heteronormativity and norm critical pedagogy.

This paper discusses some concerns about Japanese gender identity as a construct and the subversive means to overthrow it. In my paper I claim that the eastern influences on Japan has created a gap between old and new gender- traditions and norms. This interspace is what the philosopher Judith Butler claims as the site for a possible gender transformation. As Butler claims gender identity to be a construct, I use her methods of understanding and subsequently queertheory, to investigate the construct of Japanese gender identity and also the norms that constitute a national identity. As I elaborate on this theory I use specific artworks from Morimura Yasumasa, Yoshiko Shimada and Bubu de la Madeleine and also the all-male theatre kabuki vs.

Music has always been an important form of communication and it can be found in many different contexts including aesthetical, cultural and emotional forms. In the globalized society of today music can be distributed fast through radio, TV, CD: s and the Internet. For many people consumption of music is an important part of the daily life and it can contribute to shape an individual?s attitudes and personality.The main purpose of this study is to find out whether there are any differences between men and women?s musical preferences. I will apply an explorative approach using qualitative interviews to describe what causes the differences.

The aim of the study is to examine which present conceptions of sexuality there are in treatment of substance abuse for men. The intention is to examine how staff members in these environments perceive clients? sex and sexuality as well as studying if and in that case how they work with sexuality in treatment. A qualitative method formed the methodological approach and semistructured interviews were carried out for the collection of data. Four staff members from two different treatment institutions for substance abuse were interviewed.

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which the Swedish lifestyle magazine VeckoRevyn construct the sex and love relations of bi- and homosexuals. We analyzed 22 unique texts in magazines, from 2009 to 2014, in order to get a result as current as possible.To represent the magazine overall we have selected texts from various parts of the magazine. With a critical discourse analysis and through relevant and significant theories and perspectives such as social constructionism and heteronormativity, we found that VeckoRevyn represent sex and love relations of bi- and homosexuals through four discourses.The outcome of our study shows that VeckoRevyn only represent a limited part of bi- and homosexuals sex and love relations. In the analysed texts bi- and homosexuals are forced to ?come out of the closet? repeatedly and their sexual relations are rarely represented.

We, the authors of this essay are both students at the Bachelor Programme in Social Work at Malmö Högskola. During our education we have been reflecting on the gender perspective that is suppose to permeate the education. This essay aim to examine how some students at the Bachelor Programme in Social Work at Malmö Högskola, who identify themselves as GLBT , experience how questions regarding sex/gender and sexuality are spoken about during their education. We have a discursive perspective on how we understand norms and power of words and language. From a queerteorethic point of view we explain sex/gender and sexuality.

By the same time as the recent enlargement of the European Union, where Poland became a member, it was officially stated that the gender mainstreaming-policy was to be integrated into every area of EU. NGO:s working as entrepreneurs for the gender mainstreaming norm in Poland supported the accession largely because they believed it would help spreading the norm also on a national level. Qualitatively analyzing the Polish case and the difficulties gender mainstreaming as a norm candidate meets with I contrast expectations with what could actually be EU:s role in this matter.Arguing that EU is a context with room for spreading norms by both bargaining and socialization, this paper takes a social constructivist approach. Gender mainstreaming as a norm is difficult for EU to apply on their members, and thus was not widely discussed during accession negotiations. In the same time.

The topic of homosexuality was until recently a taboo in Russian public discussion, but has during the last years become a hotly debated issue. Analyzing what I call the new homophobic narrative I isolate and examine two ways of ?othering? homosexuals, constructing them as strangers, when sexual minorities are discussed in today´s Russia. Sexual deviants are portrayed as threats to the nation and are connected to the West and its influence. Using analytical tools from queer theory, security studies and postcolonial approaches I discuss different ways of configuring the relation between nation and sexuality, identities that are interwoven in the homophobic narrative.

In this essay I analyze Karin Boye?s first novel, Astarte, focusing on her views concerning norms,ideals and female liberation. The novel is written in a tone of irony, allowing for many of thecharacters to be viewed as caricatures. The theories and methods I use are drawn from genderstudies and queer theory. Queer theorist Judith Butler, and the concepts of performativity, interpellation, genealogy and the heterosexual matrix, are of central importance for my analysis.

The purpose of this thesis is to, based on interviews and document studies, critically discuss how the introduction of kickboxing in Physical Education (PE) could affect gender equality in society. Based on a queer feminist and norm critical perspective on the prevailing teaching of PE, which, despite official efforts to challenge and modernize PE, persists in reproducing gender norms by e.g. spending 75% of class time on ball games. The hypothesis is that girls accessing violence (empowerment) through a bodily awareness in the form of kickboxing, positively would challenge the power imbalance that gender norms create. Girls are brought up, even today, in accordance with gender norms arguing against girls/women wanting to use their bodies as powerful tools to set limits.