Browsing by Subject "leimautumisteoria"

The main objective of this master's thesis is to study the knowledge held, understanding and attitudes of Finnish 9th-graders with regards to sexual minorities. As this thesis' central topic gained substance, it became obvious that being different had to be studied and understood through definitions based around the concept of deviancy. This required a more detailed study of the phenomena closely associated with deviancy, for example the labelling theory. In order to give emphasis to the visibility of deviancy in the society, deviancy was approached through the norms of society, the concept of normality, and society's general understanding of what is deviant The theoretical part of the study consists of three main sections, in which both one dimensional, and the three component model of attitudes are defined; the development of deviancy within society is examined, and the concept of homosexuality is discussed within the framework of essentialism and social constructionism. The study group consisted of Finnish 9th-graders from seven different comprehensive schools. In total, 309 students took part in the study, 155 of them being boys and 154 girls. A questionnaire, which was specifically written for this thesis, was used to impartially obtain the information. By using a questionnaire, it was possible to gather information from a larger sample group, and also to use quantitative methods of analysis Analysis of the results; Today's youth is very aware of the existence of sexual variety, and its attitudes towards sexual minorities are remarkably positive. Pubescent females had a more positive attitude to sexual minorities than pubescent males. When measuring heteronormativity, the equal social rights of sexual minorities and stereotypical attitudes and beliefs, there was a remarkable statistical difference between male and female answers almost in all sections of the study.