Media and communication

How the AIDS epidemic changed Norway

According to historians, the Norwegian authorities reacted differently to the AIDS epidemic than other Western countries.

Whalers dressed up as women and slept snugly together

At the same time, life on the whaling vessels was both boring and extremely dangerous, according to one researcher.

“I don't post porn”: Norwegian master's thesis about OnlyFans

The competition on the popular site was fierce. In the beginning, the women made a decent profit from their content, but then the income dwindled, writes Astrid Rokstad in the masters blog.

#MeToo has changed how the media portrays rape

Sexual violence happens in every country, yet journalists have often depicted it as some kind of sensation. “I wanted to find out if this changed as a consequence of the MeToo movement,” says journalist Thea Storøy Elnan.

Critical colleagues may prevent researchers from stepping into the public eye

Researchers are particularly worried about criticism from colleagues and superiors working in the same field, according to sociologist Marte Mangset. In a new book, she has studied factors that may prevent researchers from expressing themselves in the media.

Game of Thrones tampers with traditional gender roles

The Science fiction genre is able to move the boundaries for how we see the world, according to Ingvil Hellstrand.

Intelligent robots may strengthen gender norms

Machines and technology increasingly fill more and more human functions. According to researchers, society’s gender roles affect the development of robots and artificial intelligence, but technology may also shape ideas about gender.

Returned girl soldiers in Congo are stigmatised

Congolese girl soldiers are labelled violent and sexual, also by international media and aid organisations. This hampers the girls’ reintegration, according to researcher Milfrid Tonheim.

Iranian women become political players through Facebook

By mourning women as martyrs in Iran, they become recognised as political players, says Gilda Seddighi. She has studied Facebook pages dedicated to dead or incarcerated Iranians.

Design may alter gender stereotypes

Subconscious attitudes towards women and men affect design. According to researcher Nina Lysbakken, designers need to be aware of their own power to shape ideas about gender.

Eternal witch-hunt for the fat body

“The fat body carries a secret that has to be revealed at all costs; it is a living symptom that something has ‘gone wrong’,” says Camilla Bruun Eriksen. She has studied the representation of fat bodies in popular culture.

Gender matters in war reporting

Being a journalist in war zones and armed conflicts is becoming increasingly dangerous. Most of the journalists killed in the field are men, but the concern is about the security of their female colleagues.

Football on high heels

When the men’s national team loses a match they are called “sissies”, and women who are good at football “play like men”. Both men and women are the losers when gender stereotypes are used in sports journalism, according to Professor Gerd von der Lippe.

Martyrs on Facebook

Can a woman be a genuine martyr? Is it a compliment to say to a woman that she is “equal to a thousand men”? Feminist activists in Iran are waging an ideological war on Facebook.

Media images of women are getting worse

The way in which women are represented in the media is getting worse every day, according to professor of Communication and Media Studies Liesbet van Zoonen. However, the representation of the Norwegian female politicians Siv Jensen and Erna Solberg, may be the exception from the general rule. 

News Magazine

Our news magazine is an independent online newspaper and a member of the Norwegian Specialised Press Association Fagpressen.