Hillary Clinton in the News : Gender and Authenticity in American Politics

The charge of inauthenticity has trailed Hillary Clinton from the moment she entered the national spotlight and stood in front of television cameras. Hillary Clinton in the News: Gender and Authenticity in American Politics shows how the U.S. news media created their own news frames of Clinton's political authenticity and image-making, from her participation in Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign through her own 2008 presidential bid. Using theories of nationalism, feminism, and authenticity, Parry-Giles tracks the evolving ways the major networks and cable news programs framed Clinton's image as she assumed roles ranging from surrogate campaigner, legislative advocate, and financial investor to international emissary, scorned wife, and political candidate. This study magnifies how the coverage that preceded Clinton's entry into electoral politics was grounded in her earliest presence in the national spotlight, and in long-standing nationalistic beliefs about the boundaries of authentic womanhood and first lady comportment. Once Clinton dared to cross those gender boundaries and vie for office in her own right, the news exuded a rhetoric of sexual violence. These portrayals served as a warning to other women who dared to enter the political arena and violate the protocols of authentic womanhood. | Cover Title Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: Hillary Clinton in the News: The Historical Context Chapter 1. Hillary Clinton as Campaign Surrogate: U.S. Presidential Campaigns—1992 and 1996 Chapter 2. Hillary Clinton as Legislative Activist and Legal Defendant: Health Care Reform and the Whitewater Investigations—1993–1995 Chapter 3. Hillary Clinton as International Emissary and Scorned Wife: Diplomatic Travel and the Clinton-Lewinski Scandal—1995–1999 Chapter 4. Hillary Clinton as Political Candidate: U.S. Senate Campaign—1999–2001 Conclusion: Hillary Clinton in the News: Lessons Learned Notes Bibliography Index | Marie Hochmuth Nichols Award, Public Address Division, National Communication Association (NCA), 2015. — National Communication Association (NCA) | Shawn J. Parry-Giles is a professor of communication and director of the Center for Political Communication and Civic Leadership at the University of Maryland and the coauthor of The Prime-Time Presidency: The West Wing and U.S. Nationalism. "The charge of inauthenticity has dogged Hillary Clinton from the moment she entered the national spotlight. Shawn J. Parry-Giles examines questions about the authenticity and political image-making of the the former first lady-turned-senator-turned presidential candidate and the media's representation of her as one of "the most loved and hated presidential wives in American history." Parry-Giles tracks Clinton as she assumed an array of roles from surrogate campaigner, legislative advocate, and financial investor to international emissary, scorned wife, and political candidate. After the 1992 campaign, the health care debate, and the Whitewater controversy, a familiar news framing developed, which disparaged Clinton for her outspoken, overly visible political presence. In this backlash, news frames stressed her transgressions in overstepping the boundaries of authentic womanhood and first lady comportment. During the Lewinsky scandal, the victimhood frame furthered her characterization as a scorned woman admonished to the private sphere as wife and mother. Parry-Giles' longitudinal study magnifies how the coverage that preceded Clinton's entry into electoral politics was grounded in her earliest presence in the national spotlight. Most disturbingly, once Clinton vied for office in her right, the news exuded a rhetoric of sexual violence, motivated by portrayals of her as an inauthentic political woman acting outside the confines of her gender. While Clinton's defiance was awe-inspiring and precedent setting, the magnitude of the disciplining and harsh rhetoric that she faced served as a warning to other women who dared to enter the political arena and violate the protocols of authentic womanhood"-- Provided by publisher The charge of inauthenticity has trailed Hillary Clinton from the moment she entered the national spotlight and stood in front of television cameras. This book shows how the U.S. media created their own news frames of Clinton's political authenticity and image-making, from her participation in Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign through her own 2008 presidential bid. Using theories of nationalism, feminism, and authenticity, the book tracks the evolving ways the major networks and cable news programs framed Clinton's image as she assumed roles ranging from surrogate campaigner, legislative advocate, and financial investor to international emissary, scorned wife, and political candidate. This study magnifies how the coverage that preceded Clinton's entry into electoral politics was grounded in her earliest presence in the national spotlight, and in long-standing nationalistic beliefs about the boundaries of authentic womanhood and first lady comportment. Once Clinton dared to cross those gender boundaries and vie for office in her own right, the news exuded a rhetoric of sexual violence. These portrayals served as a warning to other women who dared to enter the political arena and violate the protocols of authentic womanhood. The charge of inauthenticity has trailed Hillary Clinton from the moment she entered the national spotlight and stood in front of television cameras. This title shows how the US news media created their own news frames of Clinton's political authenticity and image-making, from her participation in Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign through her own 2008 presidential bid How the media helped construct political gender norms and critiqued Hillary Clinton for violating them