THE GOVERNMENTAL DISCOURSE TOWARD HOMOSEXUALS IN SWEDEN. A critical discourse analysis of the changing discourse between the years 1935 and 2007

Abstract

This Master’s Thesis aims to examine how the governmental discourse of the attitudes toward homosexuals has changed in Sweden since 1935 up until modern day. To do this, selected quotes for deeper analysis based on a larger textual analysis of nine Government Commissioned Reports (SOUs) between 1935 and 2007 are used, consisting of approximately 1000 pages. The method used is a Critical Discourse Analysis; the findings are explained using Discursive Institutionalism-theory and compared to observations of what discursive changes to expect with other international research. The findings show that the Swedish Government has been an active agent in reproducing negative attitudes toward homosexuals in the past, but during the last decades, the Swedish Government instead has worked to transform earlier power-relations, in an effort to equate homosexuals with the heterosexual majority. The findings also show that the main driver in changing attitudes in society has been the visibility, representation, and knowledge distribution of homosexuality. The Thesis concludes with a discussion on how this research is relevant to the field, and suggestions for future research.