The image of Sweden : an intersectional study of societal orientation for newly arrived immigrants

In this study we have examined the image of Sweden and its perceptions of reality in relation to newly arrived immigrants. In order to do so, we used a book named “Om Sverige” and information from the projects “Va Med!” and “Va Med-UNG!”. The material is used in the societal orientation for newly arrived immigrants in order to help them establish themselves in Swedish society. With the help of intersectionality, categorisation and stereotyping we have performed a discursive analysis studying a selected few topics: children, gender, ethnicity, and traditions and norms. Questions that were to be answered in this essay were what image and realities the books want to mediate, if there are any risks of categorisation and stereotyping in the books, and how the book can be understood through an intersectional point of view. The results of our study were that, although it described the injustices still present in Swedish society, the material mainly mediated an image and reality of Sweden as equal and progressive in many areas. In our final discussion, we suggest further research concerning the immigrants’ perceptions of descriptions in the material used in the societal orientation