Män har superkrafter & kvinnor har sexappeal : En kvalitativ, jämförande studie ur genusperspektiv

• Main Authors: Almnäs, Lii, Johansson, Stina
• Format: Others
• Language: Swedish
• Published: Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för medier och journalistik (MJ) 2014
• Subjects: Gender; Masculinity; Femininity; Café; Journalism; Identity; Portrayals
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-31489

Media has a big impact on our lives and is one of the main channels for people to recieve information. When recieved, the messages creates a meaning for the people that read, hear or see them. In other words, media could be seen as a source for people on how to perceive the world and it gives a certain picture of what is ”normal”. We chose to do this study to get a deeper knowledge of how men and women are being portrayed in a Swedish lifestyle magazine and what messagest that sends out to the readers. In this study we have examined how men and women are being portrayed in the Swedish magazine Café, both in photographs and in text. We have used qualitative, rhetorical and semiotic methods to detect the differences and similarities in the four articles examined. The theoretical framework in this study is mainly based on Laura Mulveys ”The Male Gaze”, Anja Hirdmans theory about homosociality and Anthony Giddens well-known theory about structuration. Also, we have used radical feminism and Judith Butlers theory ”The Heterosexual Matrix”. The main findings show clear differences connected to the typical normative ideas that has long existed for the male and female gender. In the articles examined in this study, men are being described as independent and strong with no need to lean on other people to be successfull. Women on the other hand, are being presented as sensitive, dependent and weak sexual objects. According to the articles, they have no capacity to succeed on their own and their role is merely to please and obey the men. The findings on how the genders are being portrayed, and that men are given the main attention and focus show us that Café doesn´t at all favor the developement for the equality between the two genders. That is an important issue and shows that more research needs to be done within the gender field.