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This book, one of the first to focus exclusively on the experiences of Republican congresswomen, uncovers some of the gendered implications of congressional polarization. Looking beyond legislative behavior, Gendering the GOP: Intraparty Politics and Republican Women’s Representation in Congress reveals changes over time in the way Republican congresswomen (1) claim to represent women and (2) work together to advance their own interests within the party. Through extensive interviews with women members of Congress and in-depth analyses of House floor speeches, the book details how women have both navigated and shaped existing gender dynamics within the House GOP conference. It demonstrates that Republican women in Congress are not merely gender-blind partisans. Rather, it complicates traditional understandings of the relationship between descriptive and substantive representation, showing how polarization and party competition have incentivized Republican women to organize around their partisan-gender identity—distinguishing themselves from both Democratic women and Republican men. Doing so has increased their visibility as party messengers, while simultaneously limiting their legislative power in the institution. This book shines light on the ongoing challenges Republican women face, the intricate gender dynamics they must learn to navigate in their party, and potential opportunities for change.

Chapter 6 concludes the book with an overview of the way Republican women’s congressional representation has evolved over time. The chapter ends with several potential implications and provides a theoretical foundation for future studies of women’s representation in the modern GOP. In particular, it highlights a multidimensional paradox for Republican women’s representation in Congress as well as the potentially transformative power of a partisan-gender identity. The book makes the case throughout that gendering scholarly analyses of intraparty politics and focusing on Republican women’s representational behavior are important endeavors in order to fully understand the evolving dynamics of women’s congressional representation.

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