The Dependent, the Victim and the Unqualified - A critical discourse analysis of media's construction of immigrant women in Sweden

Abstract: The aim of the thesis is to contribute to an increased understanding on how immigrant women are being constructed in Swedish media in relation to labour. It is also to gain a greater understanding of the different kinds of expressions of ‘Swedish values’ and ‘othering’ that immigrant women are associated with in editorial pages in Swedish newspapers. Fairclough's critical discourse analysis is used to answer the research questions of the study. 27 editorial texts, published between 2016 - 2018, regarding immigrant women in relation to labour is analyzed. The theoretical framework used in the thesis consists of the framing theory, the concept of stereotypes and othering, and femonationalism. The result shows that ‘Swedish values’ and especially ‘Swedish gender equality’ is utilized to position the immigrant woman as the opposite of the “Swedish woman”. In addition to the overall prevailing discourses of ‘Swedish values’ and especially ‘Swedish gender equality’, the media's image of the immigrant women entailed three sub discourses; the Dependent, the Victim and the Unqualified.