Off Record: Analys av könade maktrelationer inom teaterhögskolans organisationskultur

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how gendered power structure’s function within the organisational culture of the Swedish Theatre Academy and how these structures are then reflected and recreated within the professional world of theatre. Known risk factors that have shown to normalise sexual harassment in the theatre industry have been investigated in this study, using the experiences of former Female theatre students as the primary case study. The following risk factors are discussed; celebration of art as the highest value, eroticism in the work process, competition for work, charismatic leadership and culture of silence. The main theoretical frameworks applied to the study are critical perspectives on power and sex/gender; theoretical ideas from Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Laura Mulvey and Iris Marion Young are brought together in order to frame how power relations can be gendered and systematised. Furthermore, the theoretical framework uses sociological perspectives on how organisational culture is structured, using Edgar Scheins model of The Three Concepts of Culture to demonstrate this. The study is based on six qualitative, semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The analysis uses an inductive approach where theoretical perspectives and empirical material is combined. The conclusion of this study argues that the aforementioned risk factors are pervasive within the organisational culture of the Swedish Theatre Academy, where they reproduce each other, and therefore uphold gendered power relations which undermines and subordinates Female students.