This qualitative literature study intends to study and explore the perception, portrayal andconstruction of narratives surrounding immigrant associations in three major dailynewspapers in Sweden during the 1980s. The study depicts perceptions of ethnicity, identityand the different ways immigrant associations were represented and attitudes surroundingthese.The underlying empirical data consists of 36 articles extracted from three daily newspapersfrom 1980 until 1990. The material was categorized according to the depictions of ethnicity,identity and what is referred to as association life, in the articles. To this empirical data Iapply a theoretical framework consisting of Thomas Hylland Eriksens identity theories,Benedict Anderson's theory of imagined communities and to some extent apply aqueerphenomenological perspective derived from Sara Ahmed. Using an abductive approachthis study moves between empirical data and theory to gain clarity and understanding of thesubject. The study shows that there was a sweeping narrative surrounding the immigrantassociations during the 1980’s depicting them as others, culturally. They are positioned by themedia as a part of a homogenous group of immigrants thus characterizing them as same andpartly responsible for the problems of immigrants in Sweden.1