En kropp som blöder : En studie av menstruation i fem svenska samtidsromaner

Sammanfattning: In this paper, I study depictions of menstruation in five Swedish, contemporary novels: Bara ha roligt (2018) by Maria Maunsbach, Nora eller Brinn Oslo brinn (2018) by Johanna Frid, Om vi bara kunde byta kroppar med varandra (2018) by Johanna Nilsson, Nej, det är en snöklump (2002) by Sara Villius, and Linas kvällsbok (2003) by Emma Hamberg. Menstruation has been a discussed topic in Swedish media for the past few years. This indicates that menstruation is losing some of its cultural stigma, and my objective is to further diversify the discussion of menstruation in the public sphere. To do this I chose five contemporary novels, all published during the 2000’s, and posed the question: how is menstruation depicted in these novels? How can they be understood against the background of the theories of Elizabeth Grosz, Iris Marion Young and Sandra Bartky? By doing a thematic reading and examining these novels from a feminist perspective I intend to diversify the discussion regarding menstruation in literature. In my analysis I show how depicitions of menstruation are multi-faceted and show a range of different experiences, but with the common theme of control permeating all the menstrual storylines and telling stories of how these menstruating persons internalize a patriarchal gaze and therefore exercise different types of self-surveillance due to the menstruating body being perceived as dangerous and terrifying in its fluidity and uncontrollable state.