The Feminist Spring? : A Narrative Analysis of the Media Discourse of the Swedish party Feminist Initiative

Abstract: This thesis investigates the media discourse of the Swedish party Feminist Initiative in conjunction with the election to the European Parliament, and the general national election, in May and September 2014. Through the methods of narrative analysis and critical discourse analysis, it identifies the dominating media approaches and attitudes towards the party, and analyses what norms and structures generates these approaches. Through a theoretical orientation of gender studies, populism as political style and the notion of power, it maps the narratives and discusses the construction of the narratives. Furthermore, it compares the media approaches to the different elections and investigates possible reasons for variations in the narratives. Finally this thesis investigates the practical outcome of the discourse, whether the media discourse on Feminist Initiative influenced the general political landscape in Sweden and if so, how? The result of the analyzes gave three narratives in conjunction with the election to the European Parliament, and two narratives of the national general election. The narratives were characterized by simplifications and exaggerations and followed a populist discourse and responded to a patriarchal structure. Furthermore, the analyzes of the narratives showed that media tends to follow already existing narratives rather than adjusting the news coverage to the object it aims to portray. Through a contextualization of the narratives, I conclude that the media discourse on Feminist Initiative did create a political environment more supportive of feminism. That the feminist agenda became more prioritized through the popularization but simultaneously entered the Swedish political landscape in terms of action.