This article explores young people's attitudes toward pornographic material. How do young people in general relate to and view pornography? Are there any clear gender differences? On the basis of empirical results from an extensive Swedish survey study, we discuss and analyze how gender differences are articulated. We are specifically interested in what kinds of attitudes young men and young women develop. A common conception of gender and the consumption of pornography is that men and boys are generally the consumers, whereas women dislike pornography. Results from the present study partly support these claims. However, we argue that it is important to analyze differences within the categories “men” and “women.” Here, we find that many young men are actually hold negative attitudes toward pornography, whereas some young women are positively disposed toward and enjoy pornography. These findings are discussed within the framework of gender theory and theories of masculinity.
The concept of homosociality describes and defines social bonds between persons of the same sex. It is, for example, frequently used in studies on men and masculinities, there defined as a mechanism and social dynamic that explains the maintenance of hegemonic masculinity. However, this common and somewhat overexploited use of the concept to refer to how men, through their relations to other men, uphold and maintain patriarchy tends to simplify and reduce homosociality to an almost descriptive term -one used to point at how men tend to bond, build closed teams, and defend their privileges and positions. The purpose of the present article is to investigate, explore, and discuss the concept of homosociality. We will introduce a distinction between vertical/hierarchical and horizontal homosociality. Hierarchical homosociality is similar to and has previously been described as a means of strengthening power and of creating close bonds between men and between women to maintain and defend hegemony. Horizontal homosociality, however, is used to point toward more inclusive relations between, for example, men that are based on emotional closeness, intimacy, and a nonprofitable form of friendship. Relating this distinction to the concept of and discussion on hegemonic masculinity, we will reconstruct and develop a more dynamic view on homosociality.
Studies exploring young fatherhood have mainly looked at low-income and unemployed young men. The literature is thus focused on fathering at the margins of society and mechanisms of exclusion. This discourse of young, marginal, excluded and often fragile fatherhood is also strongly connected to discourses on young parenthood in general. There is, for example, an ongoing and parallel discussion in many countries on young teen mothers and social exclusion. In general, the discourse on young parenthood has focused to a greater extent on the mother's situation. In this article, we explore young fatherhood. In Sweden a new phenomenon has emerged: young fathers creating blogs and presenting themselves on the Internet. The images of young fatherhood constructed in these blogs are often positive and framed within a discourse of the caring father. Using a narrative approach, the article investigates how these young fathers present their self on the Internet. The results indicate the presence of a caring, present and reflexive young father.
The present article focuses on how the so-called War on terror discourse has merged into the educational system and brought about a securitization of education. As a part of efforts to prevent young people from becoming radicalized into terrorism, the educational system is expected to be able to detect individuals 'at risk' and deploy methods to prevent radicalization from happening. Through the critical discourse analysis of a collection of educational practices, sampled by the European Union working group Radicalisation Awareness Network, we have been able to generate knowledge about how the War on terror discourse tends to individualize and decontextualize tensions in society that may ultimately cause terrorism. With this individualized and decontextualized approach to preventing radicalization, it appears more important to control students rather than to develop their ability to analyse complex conflicts in society.
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