A spine of steel and a heart of gold: newspaper coverage of the first female Speaker of the House

‘Nice girls don't carry knives': Constructions of ambition in media coverage of Australia's first female prime minister

“…Conversely, Sheeler (2010) documents the ways in which gubernatorial candidate (and eventual Governor of Michigan) Jennifer Granholm's attractiveness and femininity was used to portray her as less knowledgeable and competent than her male counterparts. The need to create androgenized (rather than ‘balanced’) portraits of female politicians can be seen in the epithets used by their supporters; for example US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with a ‘heart of gold but a spine of steel’ (Dabbous & Ladley, 2010, p. 181), and Hong Kong official Lily Yam, known as the ‘Iron Butterfly’ (Lee, 2004, p. 212). In these descriptions, these women's possession of (apparently politically necessary) toughness and resolve are softened through the incorporation of communal/feminine elements.…”

The spectacle of politics: Wendy Davis, abortion, and pink shoes in the Texas ‘fillybuster’

“…Female politicians are held to a different set of standards and expectations in the public sphere, linked to long-held assumptions about women's proper place in society and their capabilities as leaders. Unlike men, women have a much tougher time being taken seriously -see, for instance, the penchant for calling female political figures by their first names or nicknames -and have to overcome several barriers to be deemed competent despite their gender, let alone close to equal to men in politics (Carlin & Winfrey, 2009;Dabbous & Ladley, 2010;Falk, 2008;Jamieson, 1995;Trimble, 2014). To tout Davis as a celebrity diminishes her credibility and adds to her challenges of being perceived as a capable politician.…”

“…Cirksena & Cuklanz, 1992;Falk, 2008). While this may seem an archaic construction, it is still seen in aspects of U.S. culture, including news coverage of female politicians (Carlin & Winfrey, 2009;Dabbous & Ladley, 2010;Meeks, 2012;piper-Aiken, 2003). Female politicians' femaleness -including their adherence to feminine characteristics and dress, familial relations and motherhood status -are highlighted in news media accounts (Harp et al, 2010(Harp et al, , 2013Heldman et al, 2005;Jamieson, 1995;ross, 2009).…”

Examining factors affecting the failure of Khofifah Indar Parawansa in East Java gubernatorial elections

“…Several studies have been conducted on women in politics and media with varied approaches and methods of investigation, including the portrayal of female politicians in the media (van Acker 2003, Ibroscheva & Raicheva-Stover 2009, Dabbous & Ladley 2010, Garcia-Blanco & Wahl-Jorgensen 2012, Lachover 2012, Verge & Pastor 2018, the visibility of women in the media (O'Brien 2014, O'Neil et al 2016, Ette 2017, and the use of the media as a campaign strategy for female candidates (Wahyudi 2012, Fountaine 2017, McGregor et al 2017. This research used a qualitative approach in studying media, namely frame analysis, referring to Dabbous & Ladley (2010), Adcock (2010), and Garcia-Blanco & Wahl-Jorgensen (2012).…”