To transmit gender : A rhetorical study of gender constructions in the Swedish Employment Service's recruitment material regarding male- and female dominated professions

This rhetorical study aims to investigate how gender constructions are produced and reproduced through linguistic and symbolic expressions. Thus, there has been interest in analyzing recruitment films from the state authority – The Swedish Employment Service – primarily regarding male- and female dominated professions to gain knowledge of how they work to maintain or challenge perceptions of gender and gender equality in the labor market. In order to examine this, I have used Kenneth Burke's theory of identification, Judith Butler's theory of gender and performativity together with Mats Landqvist's terms, social categorizations and intersectional perspective. I found that gender is constructed differently depending on whether it is male- or female constructed. In addition, the analysis shows that women are associated with values ​​such as health, care and looks while men are represented with attributes as tough, muscular and elderly. The comparison between the artifacts showed that all recruitment films create identification bases that appeal to young people and usually to both genders regardless of occupation. The overall purpose of the essay and what I hope to convey is knowledge of how gender-dominated professions differ and work to change the view of gender