Sandra Magnusson1 & Marie Larneby2
1 Liljeskolan Middle School, Trelleborg; 2 Malmö University
The school subject Physical Education and Health (PEH) is responsible for discussing how gender norms and body ideals are expressed in different movement cultures. The body is central in PEH and images of bodies play an important role in shaping students’ understanding of bodily expectations. The aim of this study is to explore how images in PEH textbooks for grades 7 to 9 display gender and body ideals and problematize how norms and ideals are conceptualized, reproduced, and challenged through these images.
This study uses a qualitative visual research method to examine how images are presented in two Swedish PEH textbooks for grades 7 to 9. A total of 324 images were examined, of which 158 showed bodies. With support from Connell’s gender theory and Berge’s analytical questions, the images were coded based on body ideals, gender representations, activity, and context. The recurring visual patterns were then identified and explored further through analysis of the images and the accompanying captions.
The study reveals a balanced representation of men and women in the images. Despite this apparent equality, stereotypical gender and body norms are made visible. Males are often associated with typical masculinity traits such as strength, muscularity, and physical performance, whereas females are linked to feminine characteristics such as health, emotional vulnerability, and bodily control. In images addressing body ideals, being fit and slim is interpreted as the normative ideal; however, some images challenge these norms by focusing on movement, joy, and gender-neutral activities. By highlighting a variety of images that maintain, reproduce and challenge norms, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of how teaching materials participate in shaping gender and the body within PEH.
Click to access this peer review article in Scandinavian Sport Studies Forum, Vol. 17, 2026
SANDRA MAGNUSSON is a subject teacher in Physical Education and Health for grades 7–9. She was trained at Malmö University and currently works at Liljeskolan in Trelleborg. Her professional interests include PE teaching practices, assessment in Physical Education and Health, and issues related to gender and visual representations in movement cultures.
MARIE LARNEBY is an Associate Professor of Sport Sciences at Malmö University and teaches at the Physical Education Teacher Education. Her research interests include norms, gender and power relations in the school subject Physical Education and in leisure sport and physical activity. A parallel research interest is environmental sustainability issues in sports and Physical Education, specifically in snow sports.
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