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- Axelsson, Tobias, 1979-
(författare)
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När män möts som pappor : Fadrandets politik och praktik i det jämställda och pappavänliga Sverige
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis analyses how fathering is done and how fathers are constructed through the separate organising of men as fathers in meeting places for fathers on parental leave in Sweden. The study is located within the Swedish gender regime, characterised by its dual-earner/dual-carer model, progressive parenthood and daddy politics, and universally-oriented parenting support, making it a relatively gender-equal and father-friendly society.Theoretically and methodologically, the thesis draws on a feminist perspective. It uses ‘doing gender’ theory, and is informed by critical realism. The material is based on 25 observations at two fathering spaces, seven semi-structured interviews with fathers, and six policy documents on parenting support. Qualitative content analysis is used to analyse the material.The findings show: first, meeting places for fathers on parental leave can be understood as fathering spaces. Second, these fathering spaces are child-oriented settings and constitute somewhat of an exception within gender-neutral gender regimes. Third, fathering spaces function as transitional sites in which fathers manage different aspects of responsibility and relations to their own selves, to children, to mothers, and to other fathers. Fourth, three approaches to separate organising of men as fathers are identified: a) anti-separate; b) pro-separate; and c) gender paradoxical. The identified arguments for separate organising can be located along two parallel continua: one that stretches from individual to collective argumentation, and another that stretches from general to gender-specific argumentation.The thesis contributes to research on childcare and masculinities, and fathers’ experiences of parental leave, and to knowledge about separate organising of men as fathers. It also contributes to research and policy debates on daddy politics and parenting support by critically discussing fathering in terms of autonomy, dependence, and masculinity politics.
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| 2. |
- Bjørnholt, Margunn, 1958-
(författare)
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Modern men : A Norwegian 30-year longitudinal study of intergenerational transmission and social change
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The dissertation addresses men and change, intergenerational transmission, historical change and agency, employing as a case a longitudinal follow-up study over two generations of men, where the fathers participated in an experimental research project, the Work-Sharing Couples Project, which aimed to promote egalitarian work–family adaptations in Norway in the early 1970s. The original project was based on both spouses working part-time and shift parenting. The summary presents a multidimensional analysis of the work–family adaptations of the two generations of men: the untraditional adaptation of fathers in the 1970s; and the neo-traditional adaptations of sons in the 2000s. Their different work–family adaptations are discussed as situated agency, taking into account different aspects of time and space, personal biography, discursive and material structures of opportunity, and intergenerational dynamics at the family level as well as at social level.The five articles present the empirical material: Bjørnholt (2009a) presents the impact on the couple relation and the family of the the parents’ work–sharing arrangement, concluding that the work-sharing arrangement was perceived by the participants to have been beneficial for their couple relationship as well as for the family as a whole. Bjørnholt (2011) explores the motivations of the work-sharing men to act as agents of change towards gender equality, concluding that personal biography, an authoritative way of being and new masculinity ideals, notably a partner- oriented masculinity, were important. Bjørnholt (2010b) analyses the consequences of the work-sharing arrangement on the work-sharing men’s careers, concluding that there were few negative career effects. They were rather successful, and their house-father experiences tended to be valued by employers as management skills. Bjørnholt (2009b) concludes that a father–son design is insufficient in explaining intergenerational transmission and Bjørnholt (2010c) finds that the untraditional work–family arrangement had not been passed on to sons.
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| 3. |
- Eriksson, Cecilia [ Arensmeier ], 1974-
(författare)
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"Det borde vara att folket bestämmer" : en studie av ungdomars föreställningar om demokrati
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This study primarily investigates the conceptions of democracy held by young Swedes: What conceptions can be found? How are these conceptions similar to and different from each other? My main intention is to present nuanced pictures of different ways of viewing and of arguing for and against democracy. Some attention is also paid to possible differences between different youth groups, in terms of age, gender, and socioeconomic background. In addition, I will relate the investigation to research concerning school and the socialisation that is supposed to take place there. What concepts of democracy do Swedish schools seem to inculcate in students?Theoretical discussions of democracy serve as the framework of the study, and throughout the work democracy is regarded as an ambiguous concept. I have designed an analytical tool by depicting the discussions of democratic theory from three perspectives. The first concerns what democracy is and how the rule of the people should be designed. The second deals with the justifications for democracy, and why it is or is not to be preferred. The third perspective focuses on some crucial matters in discussions of democracy.The empirical material analyzed consists of ten focus group interviews with students in two age categories: 14–15 and 18–19 years old. The groups were composed so that the members would include both genders and a range of socio-economic backgrounds. The main idea of focus group interviews is to take advantage of group-interaction dynamics. Opinions are often formed in interaction with other people, and since consideration and reflection are central concerns of this thesis, focus group interviews are thus very suitable.The findings indicate that there is a dominant understanding of democracy. The young people interviewed emphasize that democracy means that everybody has a right to participate in decision making, that, for example, universal suffrage and freedom of speech are necessary features and that democracy in practice connotes an elite/electoral democracy (at the national level) with politicians as the real power holders. Although some features of Sweden’s existing democracy are widely criticized, democracy as a fundamental concept is celebrated. The main justification for this support is that democracy includes everybody. A view of everybody’s equal value is implicit. The critical matters highlighted concern human nature in relation to democratic requirements, how to handle extremist political movements, and the limited possibilities and unequal opportunities for people to participate in the existing democracy. Within this overall picture, somewhat different conceptions can also be detected.Two themes are particularly prominent in the discussions. Without overtly mentioning the word, the young people interviewed strongly emphasize the concept of equality. One line of discussion concerns the participants’ own experiences of being subordinate to adults, another the concept that equality presupposes equal opportunities to influence society. Democracy is also considered to be a human matter. Notably,when speaking of equality and freedom, the interviewees rarely mention these words directly. Mention of political institutions is also lacking from the discussions.Some of the findings can be regarded as reflecting the conceptions of democracy manifested in and passed on by schools. The study may also provide some guidance concerning how to approach social and political issues in the school.
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| 4. |
- Strid, Sofia, 1976-
(författare)
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Gendered interests in the European union : the European women's lobby and the organisation and representation of women's interests
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Gendered Interests and the European Union. The European Women’s Lobby and the Organisation and Representation of Women's Interests. On a general level this thesis concerns the changed and changing institutional conditions for gender equality in Europe and the organisation and institutionalisation of women’s social and political interests at the EU level. I ask in what ways political structures and authorities enable and/or obstruct women to generate, sustain and control their presence in politics as women. I explore how the EU institutions structure and provide opportunities and constraints for women to mobilise and organise to act as an authorised party vis-a-vis and within the EU political system. How does it come that women, as a collective, are not only recognised as a politically relevant group but also legitimised to act and be present as women in an organised relationship with the EU system’s main authorities? The presence comes in the form of the European Women’s Lobby (EWL), an EU level and EU wide non-governmental umbrella organisation which represents some 4000 women’s organisations on multiple levels of the EU. The EWL is not the first example of women organising on the EU level, but it is the first of its kind. The EWL was initiated by women from within the European Commission and is funded mainly via a grant from the Commission. The EWL’s objectives include the endorsement of equality between women and men and to ensure that measures to promote gender equality and women’s rights are taken into account and mainstreamed in all EU policy. Using material gathered through interviews, observations and official documentation I study the structure of the European Women’s Lobby; the participation of the EWL in EU politics; the relation between the EWL and the EU institutions; the relation between the EWL’s member organisations; and the forms the representation of women’s organised social and political interests at EU level can take. I argue that in the specific political system of the EU, organised interests in civil society and the EWL perform the functions of input, and participate in output and feedback. Organised interests function as intermediaries between the national and European levels. Organised interests strive to gain influence; the Commission, as a political authority, strives to gain legitimacy of its policy-making through the input and output of representative organised interests. As a consequence of what I argue is a corporatist policymaking style of the Commission the EWL has become increasingly institutionalised. The trade off is that while the EWL has enjoyed the Commission’s support and funding to constitute an established EU level platform from which women can formulate, mobilise and pursue their interests, the EWL has must organise and take control over the interests aggregated from its member organisations and over the form of the member organisations. The very structure of the EWL can be seen as part of the price the EWL has to pay to be granted somewhat of a representative monopoly in terms of opportunities to influence EU policy-making through the various channels of consultation. In this context, I argue that the representativeness of organised interests is key. There is no electoral basis legitimising the policy-making of the Commission, instead, this basis is constituted by organised interests. Paradoxically, this holds the potential for increasing the legitimacy of the Commission, something which increasing transparency has failed to do. It is no exaggeration to claim that the EWL offers a remarkable EU level platform for women to act and pursue their interests as women. By studying the actual impact of EU level policy-making and politics on various ways, this thesis argues that the very existence of the EWL can be understood as being in the interest of women.
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