Women, Media, and Elections : Representation and Marginalization in British Politics

In the century since women were first eligible to stand and vote in British general elections, they have relied on news media to help them gain information about politics, and to represent their political perspectives in the public realm. This book advances our understanding of the gendered mediation of women in politics by providing a systematic analysis of electoral coverage which charts how women candidates, voters, politicians’ spouses, and party leaders have been portrayed in newspapers from 1918-2017. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative analysis, the book presents a fascinating picture of continuities and changes in the position of women in British politics. It also highlights, for the first time, a number of important similarities and differences in the mediation of women depending on what role they play in politics, showing that gendered mediation is a complex phenomenon. The book adds substantially to our knowledge of how gendered and sexist news coverage has developed and fluctuated overtime, and crucially the book also argues that gender is and indispensable factor in understanding broader changes in election news coverage over time. Front Cover Women, Media, and Elections: Representation and Marginalization in British Politics Copyright information Table of contents List of Figures Acknowledgments 1 Women in Political News: Representation and Marginalization Political and mediated representation Political and mediated marginalization Gendering election studies Process news or meta-coverage Presidentialization/personalization Negativity Notes on the book’s methodology and approach Key questions Sampling and data Inter-coder reliability Overview of the book 2 The Candidates: Making the House (of Commons) Their Home? Women, media, politics Quantity and types of coverage Issue stereotyping Tone of the coverage Personalization Appearance Family life Changes and continuities over time Marginal voices Issue focus Evaluative coverage Personalization Gendered representatives Representing women Negotiating sexism Personalization Conclusion 3 The Voter: Housewives and Mothers Mediating women voters Changes and continuities over time Women’s voices Issue coverage Personalization Reporting women voters The women’s vote Women’s values and motivations Women’s issues? Home economics: 1918–79 Health and welfare: 1983–2017 Equality Women’s voices Conclusion 4 The Spouses and Relatives: From ‘Ideal Election Wife’ to ‘Just Another Political Wife’ Power relations Politicians’ wives in the media Changes and continuities over time Relatives on the campaign trail Public, private, or both? Political activists: 1918–45 Supportive wives: 1950–83 Lady Macbeth? 1987–2010 ‘Today’s wife must smile nicely. Today’s wife must not rock the boat’: 2010–151 Personal lives, political interpretations Visual appeal: ‘looks every inch a budding Prime Minister’s wife’2 Conclusion 5 The Leaders: ‘Iron Ladies’ and ‘Dangerous’ Women Women, leadership, and media Changes and continuities over time Evaluative coverage Leaders’ voices Personalization Party leaders in the news Gendered leadership: representing women Double binds Women and emotions (the womb/brain double bind) Best woman for the job: competence/femininity Personalization Leadership traits Private lives Appearance Conclusion 6 Lessons from a Century of Reporting on Women in Elections Women in election news: similarities and differences Presence and voices Women’s issues? Inescapable womanhood Undermining women Personalization Gendering election studies Campaign agenda setting Process news versus policy Presidentialization/personalization Negativity References Primary sources Secondary sources Index Back Cover Index In the century since women were first eligible to stand and vote in British general elections, they have relied on news media to represent their political perspectives in the public realm. This book provides a systematic analysis of electoral coverage by charting how women candidates, voters, politicians' spouses, and party leaders have been portrayed in newspapers since 1918. The result is a fascinating account of both continuity and change in the position of women in British politics. The book demonstrates that for women to be effectively represented in the political domain, they must also be effectively represented in the public discussion of politics that takes place in the media. Providing a systematic analysis of electoral coverage in newspapers since 1918, this book demonstrates that for women to be effectively represented in the political domain, they must also be effectively represented in the public discussion of politics that takes place in the media.