The purpose of this Master's Thesis is to explore the influence of fiction on the identity and self-esteem of young women. The purpose is also to investigate if there are any books that they consider to be of importance for their identity. Furthermore, I investigate what appeals to young women generally in fiction and if it is difficult for them to find books that appeal to them. The primary question posed in this thesis is: How does fiction influence the identity development of young women? The data collection is based on literature on the subject and on interviews with eight young women between 15 and 20 years old.

This thesis focuses on politically active women within The Swedish Social Democratic Women?s Association, also known as S-women. By applying discourse analysis to interviews with active s-women and to meeting conversations between the association?s members, the study approaches ideas of feminism, feminist politics and political commitment. ?Solidarity? ? the central concept of the labour movement ? serves as the point of departure for a feminist discussion about class, gender, ethnicity and age/generation.

The differences between the sexes when it comes to land and property ownership are enormous. This paper deals with issues concerning women's land and property rights. The aim of the study is to investigate what general factors are effecting women's access to and control of land. In addition, this paper aims to explore the effects of liberal formalism in relation to gender equality and the distribution of land. Formalism and formalization of women's land rights alone won't lead to equality in land distribution or women's emancipation.

AbstractRelationships between white women and black men have become a topic of interest in various discussion forums. By examining different arguments within certain discourses, it becomes clear that discourses that have a distinct autocrat outline, i.e. a closed and declaring nature which excludes alternative discursive arguments, also define these relationships as different and deviant in comparison to relationships that does not encompass and include the constellation white women and black men. As a result of the use of autocrat discourses the white women and black men who enter into relationships are displaced and positioned as subaltern. A position which, on the one hand, allows for uninhibited criticism, but, on the other hand, and most importantly, it is a position from where they can be defined by others.

Abstract? Background: ?Breast?cancer is the?most?common cancer for?women,?with?over 8000?of?cancer?cases?per?year.?Surgery?is the?most?common form?of?treatment. Basis?of?illness?and?the?loss?of?a?breast?can?be a?big?trauma for the?individual?and?affect?many?aspects.?Aim: The?aim?of?this?study?was?to?investigate?health-related?quality?of?life?and?psychosocial?situation and the?need?for support and?care?for?women?who?undergone?a?mastectomy?with?or?without?reconstruction.?Method: The?study?design?was?a?descriptive?study?with?qualitative?approach.?The?selection?was?strategically?consisting?of?the?eight?women?from?five?cities?which?had?undergone?mastectomy?with?or?without?reconstruction. The?interviews?were?semi-structured?individual?that?analyzed?using? content?analysis.?Results:All?of?the?women?felt?that?the?body?changed?after?the?mastectomy.? Feelings?of?insecurity?and?discomfort?were?common.?Among?those?who?underwent?reconstruction?were?all?dissatisfied?with?the?results.

Background: Fibromyalgia is a psychosomatic disease that emerges without any known cause. For a long time, it has been believed to be a part of the menopause. Between 0,7 and 4,8 % of the women in Scandinavia are diagnosed. The most obvious symptom is pain. Aim: The aim with the literature review was to describe how women with fibromyalgia experience their lifesituation.

For almost a century the debate about women as ordained servants in the Church of Sweden has raged on and on. The decision to open up the priesthood for both genders in 1958 was a milestone in the women?s liberation movement as well as it marks an important time in the church history. The debate has mainly been about how to interpret scripture, who has the right to do so, and so on. Feminist theology has become one way in recent decades to paint a wider and more nuanced picture of history and how to interpret the texts often used to repress women.This essay surveys some of the steps towards that decision, as well as it paints a rough picture of what leadership among women in the church could involve before ordination became an option.

ABSTRACTOverweight and obesity is an increasing problem worldwide although high-income countries take a leed. High BMI during pregnancy and delivery constitute to many risks for both the mother and her outcome. Intervention programmes with the purpose to get the pregnant women to eat healthier and to excercise more are now working out in many different shapes. The effect of these activities varies. The aim of this study was to investigate if interventions during pregnancy, with women who?s BMI are 25 or more, affects health of the mother and her expected child, delivery outcome and self estimated health.

This essay discusses the issue of the role of women and also whether they could obtain a strong social position during the Viking Age. Moreover, it does discuss the question of how frequent women were present in Viking Age scriptures, art and archaeological artefacts in comparison to our view of women and her position in the modern society. The archaeological material used is in majority that found in Birka, such as burial and habitational findings. These objects, as well as other comparable and similar findings from other places, when put together with written sources, show that women had different roles in the society. She was able to have a strong social role during the Viking Age not only becauseof the status her family had but also because of her own merit depending of her skills and ability.The archaeological findings found in female graves and other findings in the area, suggest a specializing within both textile production and trade for the women.

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore which inner conceptions about the abused older women the professional social workers had and how they experienced the enconter of an abused old woman in an intimate partner relation. The theoretical background is social construction by Berger and Luckmann. This theory was uset to analyze the transcribed interviews. This study is based on nine interviews with five professionals in social services, three volunteers from the voluntary sector and one social worker who worked in a community based support group for abused older women. The result of this study shows that older women were often abused, by a relative they were dependent on, in their home.

The purpose of this essay is to examine how gender rolls influences the culture of substance abuse among women and their social situation. To demonstrate this we have concentrated our research to relate how scientists and the media describe problems of abuse among women. The method we used in our research was qualitative and we gathered information through literature, reports and articles.Our main questions are:Do the social attitude toward women and men differ and how does it affect problems of abuse among women? Do women use alcohol in a different way than men? How do social reactions and restrictions influence women? We also want to examine what position women substance abusers have in society. What similarities or differences are there between the image of women in general and women with substance abuse?The main result of the study is that we found discursive connections that show a rectification among scientists concerning substance abuse among women.

This thesis deals with cross-country ski clothing for non-competitive women. Women in this category look for different clothing features in comfort and aesthetics than male top athletes, for whom cross-country skiwear today often seems to be designed. In this thesis the demands of these women have been mapped out by an interview with a reference group of users. The ergonomics of exercising in the winter outdoors are naturally a base for the collection. The collection consists of three functional layers of garments.

The Swedish labour market seems to be more gender equal today than what it has been before. A gender equality intervention as the practice of an equality plan is one of the strategies that have been used in the workplace to achieve equality. This study aims to examine women?s work experiences in purpose to identify gender patterns in working life in a comparison between the trading industry and the academy. Central aspects in this paper concerns opportunities for development, space in the workplace and expectations associated to gender.

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore which inner conceptions about the abused older women the professional social workers had and how they experienced the enconter of an abused old woman in an intimate partner relation. The theoretical background is social construction by Berger and Luckmann. This theory was uset to analyze the transcribed interviews. This study is based on nine interviews with five professionals in social services, three volunteers from the voluntary sector and one social worker who worked in a community based support group for abused older women. The result of this study shows that older women were often abused, by a relative they were dependent on, in their home.

BackgroundMigraine is a comprehensive endemic disease who is affecting both women and men, but with higher prevalence among women because of hormonal factors. Risk factors for the disease are female gender, hereditariness, depression and socio-economic factors. Migraine can be triggered by factors like stress, menstruation, irregular routines for sleep and unbalanced meals and diet. Migraine is a condition that causes a big suffering for the affected individuals.AimThe aim of this study was to describe individuals' experiences of how migraine is affecting the daily life, out of the aspects like working life, family life and social life.MethodA literature overview was maintained, and eight qualitative studies and two quantitative studies between the years 2003- 2014 were analyzed.ResultsThe analysis of the articles lead to one main theme; "Guilt, compensating and restrictions" and seven subthemes "Not being able to perform their best", "Met with incomprehension", "Not being able to take care of home and children", "Not enough", "Avoiding activities", "Always be prepared" and "Living with restrictions".ConclusionMigraine is affecting the daily life among these individuals in a great extent. The disease makes it hard to perform well at work.