”What’s the difference between men and women?” : En studie av genusporträttering i TV-serien The Walking Dead

This study aims to find out how gender roles are portrayed in the series The Walking Dead. Using a quantitative content analysis where every episode of The Walking Dead was analyzed the study shows gender role portrayal in the everyday activities done by the characters. A qualitative study based on a semiotic analysis was also executed where focus lies on analyzing the characters attributes and their trait of character. The result shows that the series maintains a stereotypical representation of men and women. The men take on the typical “manly” work and the women do the majority of the domestic work. The killing of zombier and humans are mostly done by the men in the series. Their trait of character also shows a stereotypical gender role representation where the men are portrayed as tough, fighters, protectors and providers. The women on the other hand are more weak, sensitive and dependent.