Studies of film, TV and literature
In some studies we examine film and TV, as well as life writing, that is autobiographically based novels and memoirs.
An analysis of Amanda Kernell's film Charter (2020) discusses definitions of the "lone mother" in the context of a custody dispute and the threat of losing ones children. A study of the lone mother Katja in the television show Bonusfamiljen focuses on how this character balances being single, motherhood and the cooperation with the child's father.
Within Swedish life writing several books by male writers and journalists have been published in the past 20 or so years, who write their mothers' life stories. These books tell stories of being a lone mother from a lifelong perspective, and as such they offer a counter-weight to the many stories focusing on becoming a lone mother during a specific part of life. One example is Peter Handberg's Den vita fläcken (2015), that is analysed in an article on writing about the lone mother's life from a son's perspective.
Illustration: Linnea Blixt