”Läser science fiction utan att skämmas” : Om kvinnors läsning av science fiction

• Main Author: von Knorring, Ulrika
• Format: Others
• Language: Swedish
• Published: Högskolan i Borås, Institutionen Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap / Bibliotekshögskolan 2010
• Subjects: science fiction; identitet; läsning; genus; kvinnor; kvalitativ intervju; populärlitteratur; Social Sciences; Samhällsvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-19875

The purpose of this Master’s thesis is to investigate the female reader of science fiction literature, a genre by tradition dominated by men. Through qualitative interviews with seven female science fiction readers, the relation between the reading and the readers’ lives, as well as their concepts of the science fiction genre and the community of science fiction readers, was examined. The main theoretical framework used for the analysis was Yvonne Hirdman’s gender theory, Judith Butler’s concept of identity and Louise M. Rosenblatt’s transaction theory. Science fiction literature offers the female readers an opportunity to consider ethical and political issues, but it also gives them entertainment and experiences beyond the ordinary. Even though science fiction generally is described as progressive, the female readers often find it stereotyped in its gender representations. Being a woman reading science fiction means being an outsider in the science fiction community, as well as to women in general. The choice to read science fiction is therefore highly conscious, reflecting the respondents’ identities and their views of themselves as independent, open-minded and intellectual individuals.