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Women in Political Media

Women in Political Media. Miranda Herzog. Since women gained the right to vote and run for office in America, Congress has had only one session with no women in office. Despite this fact, only about 17.8% of the current session is female.

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Women in Political Media

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  1. Women in Political Media Miranda Herzog

  2. Since women gained the right to vote and run for office in America, Congress has had only one session with no women in office. • Despite this fact, only about 17.8% of the current session is female. In the House of Representatives, 52 Democrats and 25 Republicans are female: 17.6%. In the Senate, 12 Democrats and 5 Republicans are female: 17%.

  3. “It is evident that women at all levels of political office face discrimination and sexual stereotypes that undermine their potential as candidates.” (Jencik) • Several factors contribute: • Lack of funds • Sexism from voters • Sexism from media • Of these, the media plays the largest role. • In the modern information age, female political candidates face discrimination from the media which hampers their campaign efforts.

  4. In modern America, information on political candidates has become more and more accessible, particularly due to three sources: • The increase of internet users • 24-hours news networks (Fox, CNN, MSNBC) • Late-night political comedy shows Jon Stewart, voted the most trusted newsman in America (2009) From www.google.com/publicdata http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/files/2011/02/FNC_Logo-300dpi.jpg http://www.personal.psu.edu/alf5260/blogs/passion_blog/jon_stewart_narrowweb__300x44521.jpg

  5. As we have already seen in Ducat’s “The Wimp Factor,” male politicians need to maintain an image of masculinity to appeal to voters. • George H.W. Bush, for example, was often criticized as being too “wimpy” or feminine: • His political advisors carefully rebranded him as paternal while simultaneously emasculating his opponent, Dukakis. • This strategy helped Bush win the election. • Female candidates, however, have more to worry about in terms of media coverage. Ducat, “The Wimp Factor”

  6. According to Kim Kahn, the media affects campaigns in four main ways: • “First, the media controls the amount of information and the kind of information that people see. • “Second, the media can cause changes in public opinion about the candidate. • “Third, the media sets an agenda in which they determine what issues people will view as most important by focusing on specific issues, while ignoring others. • “Fourth, the media is involved in what Kahn refers to as 'priming' by influencing what people think when viewing a candidate.” (Jencik)

  7. On average, male candidates receive more coverage than female candidates. • In a study by Kahn, the average article length for a female candidate was 10 paragraphs to a male candidate’s 13. (Jencik) • Lower coverage amounts affect how well-known a candidate is among voters, which impacts support. • This graph shows the search volume and news reference volume for the terms “Barack Obama” and “Hillary Clinton” throughout 2008. Note how Obama received more searches and more coverage for the entire election year. (Data from www.google.com/trends) Amount of Information

  8. Women candidates often receive coverage that plays off of sex stereotypes. • They are portrayed as weak on financial and international issues, as well as national security. • In addition, women who act masculine have their masculine characteristics over-emphasized, making them appear tough and domineering. Public Opinion http://images.ucomics.com/comics/csstc/2007/csstc071217.jpg

  9. Female candidates often need to balance between masculine and feminine in order to be electable. • All political candidates need to come across as assertive, independent leaders. • However, assertion, independence, and leadership are all seen as masculine traits, so female candidates need to emphasize these even more than males. • Women also need to hold on to their femininity: they must seem emotional and trustworthy. • Female candidates who appear too feminine, though, are seen as weak and unfit to lead. • On the other hand, candidates who seem too masculine become unappealingly aggressive. • This dichotomy can be seen by comparing Hillary Clinton and John Boehner.

  10. Hillary Clinton started tearing up at an event before the New Hampshire primary in 2008. • Following this, some people said that the moment was a welcome break from Clinton’s normal, tough, hard-hitting persona; i.e. she had been too masculine before and was now less so. • On the other hand, she received criticism from some saying that her crying was a sign of weakness; i.e. she was too feminine. • “There will no doubt be comparisons to the teary press conference former Colorado representative Pat Schroeder held to announce that she wouldn't run for president, thus confirming that anyone who needed to carry Kleenex in her purse was unfit for the highest office in the land.” (Breslau)

  11. John Boehner, the current Speaker of the House, has been caught crying on camera several times, including during this 60 Minutes interview. • While Clinton received criticism for her crying, including questions as to whether she was too weak to be president, Boehner has only been the butt of a few jokes. • “‘For men, it is a sign of compassion. For women, it's a sign of weakness. It's the double standard that worries me,’ said Democratic strategist and ABC News consultant Donna Brazile.” (Goldman)

  12. When women are being discussed, media coverage often focuses on a few things which it does not for men: • Novelty of the female candidate • Appearance, clothes, hairstyle, etc. • When Elizabeth Dole ran for President, “38 percent of the articles mentioned clothing, style, or "female" behaviors.” (Heith) • Personality traits, rather than issues • “The media judge female candidates as long shots, so they do not include them in their coverage. When the media do discuss female candidates, it is usually negative coverage. The media will highlight the qualities a candidate lacks, emphasize personality traits or concentrate only on ‘female issues.’” (Aubin et al) Media Agenda

  13. For Hillary Clinton, coverage of this nature has included her love of pantsuits and her “cankles.” • For Sarah Palin, however, this coverage focuses on her attractive features and good fashion sense. • The danger of this coverage is how it distracts from the actual issues and reduces female candidates to female sex objects. • Media coverage of female candidates often includes discussion of their appearance, which is almost never an issue with male candidates. http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Politics/Images/sarah-palin-rally.jpeg http://liferecaptured.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/hillary-clinton-cankles.jpg

  14. In this clip, Tina Fey (as Sarah Palin) and Amy Poehler (as Hillary Clinton) discuss the role sexism in the media has on their campaigns. • While Sarah Palin has received mostly positive comments about her appearance, Hillary Clinton has received more negative comments. • Clinton’s aggressive image also comes into play here. • “I scratched and clawed through mud and barbed wire, and you just glided in on a dog sled wearing your pageant sash and your Tina Fey glasses!”

  15. Because the media gives less coverage to female candidates, they get less exposure among voters. • In addition, when the media do allow women airtime, much of this coverage is negative or focuses on appearance, personality, or other things that have nothing to do with the actual issues of the election. • This combination is detrimental to female candidates. “Priming”

  16. The media focuses on the femaleness of women running for office. • The way the media treats female candidates encourages sexism against them. • “Early on, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley rocked the political world by losing the special election to fill the Senate seat of the late Edward Kennedy…. Among the earliest signs of serious trouble for Coakley were the sexist remarks popping up. Teamsters were vowing, ‘I'm not voting for that broad,’ according to a labor leader. At a GOP rally, one man reportedly shouted, ‘Shove a curling iron up her butt!’” (McPike) • Ultimately, the portrayal of female candidates in modern media is detrimental to their overall chances for voter approval and election.

  17. Works Cited Aubin, Jessica, Michelle Haak, and Andrew Mangini. “Media coverage of women candidates.” White House Studies 5.4 (2005): 523+. Academic OneFile. Web. 12 Dec. 2011. Breslau, Karen. “Hillary Tears Up.” The Daily Beast. thedailybeast.com, 6 Jan 2008. Web. 12 Dec 2011. Goldman, Russell. “John Boehner Cries. Again. A Lot.” ABCNews. abcnews.com, 13 Dec 2010. Web. 12 Dec 2011. Heith, Diane J. “Footwear, lipstick, and an Orthodox Sabbath: Media coverage of nontraditional candidates. (Scholarship).” White House Studies 1.3 (2001): 335+. Academic OneFile. Web. 12 Dec. 2011. Jencik, Alicia. “Experiences of female presidential candidates.” White House Studies 5.4 (2005): 539+. Academic OneFile. Web. 12 Dec. 2011. McPike, Erin. “Women's Political Prospects Still Lackluster.” National Journal (2010). Academic OneFile. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.

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