Vad vill bilder? : En queerteoretisk studie om tre bildberättelser inom svensk fotografi

In What do pictures want? A queer theoretical study of three image narratives in Swedish photography, the works' motifs of human bodies and body parts are used as analytical tools to examine representation in the historiography of Swedish photography. This visual field of interaction to look at, and be looked at describes a social existence that simultaneously shapes reality. The purpose of the study is to analyze photographs of human bodies from a queer and image theoretical perspective. To achieve the purpose of the study, three image narratives taken between 1955-2004 by three Swedish photographers, namely Christer Strömholm, Esse-Li Esselius and Stina Brockman, are examined. In this triangular meeting, new aspects become visible that in turn question binary sexuality as a norm. The study's analysis discusses the agency of the images, and how the non-binary bodies of the subjects relate to identity norms in historiography. The work analyses function as a collection of images of the agents of the 27 motifs, where each photograph creates its own story. The study's results formulate a proposal to strengthen knowledge productions by examining the agency of images, to create the category of queer photography for its effects on increased awareness in the historiography of photography. The knowledge of the subjects' bodies as a research method has resulted in the study's most important research contribution. The concluding discussion contributes with insight into how two perspectives normatively influence the social space to make the results of this study invisible. The understanding of obscuring calls for activism for LGBTQIA+ and people's freedom, rights and equal value.