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"I väntans lyckliga tider" : svenskt gravidmode och gestaltningen av den gravida kroppen i mönster-reklam 1940–1990

Söderblom, Rut LU (2026) HISK37 20261
History
Abstract
"In Happy Expectation" : Swedish Maternity Fashion and the Depiction of the Pregnant Body in Pattern Advertising 1940–1990. This essay examines how the widespread Swedish home sewing industry contributed to the social regulation of the pregnant body between 1940 and 1990 through maternity fashion advertising. Using pattern magazines published by Kooperativa Förbundet and Holm & Nyblom/Åhlén & Åkerlund/Bonnier, it analyses changes in Swedish pregnancy fashion and visual and textual representations of pregnancy over time. It combines discourse analysis with semiotic analysis to trace these developments. The study fills a research gap by examining maternity fashion and the visual culture of pregnancy in Sweden. It draws on Jennifer Musial’s... (More)
"In Happy Expectation" : Swedish Maternity Fashion and the Depiction of the Pregnant Body in Pattern Advertising 1940–1990. This essay examines how the widespread Swedish home sewing industry contributed to the social regulation of the pregnant body between 1940 and 1990 through maternity fashion advertising. Using pattern magazines published by Kooperativa Förbundet and Holm & Nyblom/Åhlén & Åkerlund/Bonnier, it analyses changes in Swedish pregnancy fashion and visual and textual representations of pregnancy over time. It combines discourse analysis with semiotic analysis to trace these developments. The study fills a research gap by examining maternity fashion and the visual culture of pregnancy in Sweden. It draws on Jennifer Musial’s argument that the pregnant body is constructed as culturally transgressive because it visibly signifies female sexuality.

The findings reveal a shift from ideals of concealment and minimisation of the pregnant form in the 1940s and 1950s to increasing acceptance of the pregnant body from the 1960s onward, reflecting changing attitudes toward female sexuality. This shift also involved a move from photographs and drawings where pregnancy was not visibly depicted to those where the pregnant body – that is, the pregnant belly – was clearly visible. (Less)
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author
Söderblom, Rut LU
supervisor
organization
course
HISK37 20261
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Hemsömnad, mönster, mönstermagasin, 1900-talets mode, gravidmode, graviditet, moderskap, familj, kvinnlig sexualitet, den sexuella frigörelsen, matronisering, infantilisering, kvinnor, Sverige
language
Swedish
id
9241365
date added to LUP
2026-06-18 14:00:33
date last changed
2026-06-18 14:00:33
@misc{9241365,
  abstract     = {{"In Happy Expectation" : Swedish Maternity Fashion and the Depiction of the Pregnant Body in Pattern Advertising 1940–1990. This essay examines how the widespread Swedish home sewing industry contributed to the social regulation of the pregnant body between 1940 and 1990 through maternity fashion advertising. Using pattern magazines published by Kooperativa Förbundet and Holm & Nyblom/Åhlén & Åkerlund/Bonnier, it analyses changes in Swedish pregnancy fashion and visual and textual representations of pregnancy over time. It combines discourse analysis with semiotic analysis to trace these developments. The study fills a research gap by examining maternity fashion and the visual culture of pregnancy in Sweden. It draws on Jennifer Musial’s argument that the pregnant body is constructed as culturally transgressive because it visibly signifies female sexuality.

The findings reveal a shift from ideals of concealment and minimisation of the pregnant form in the 1940s and 1950s to increasing acceptance of the pregnant body from the 1960s onward, reflecting changing attitudes toward female sexuality. This shift also involved a move from photographs and drawings where pregnancy was not visibly depicted to those where the pregnant body – that is, the pregnant belly – was clearly visible.}},
  author       = {{Söderblom, Rut}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{"I väntans lyckliga tider" : svenskt gravidmode och gestaltningen av den gravida kroppen i mönster-reklam 1940–1990}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}