Conceptual and methodological challenges in the study of symbolic representation – an introduction

Meier, Petra; Verge, Tània

doi:10.1080/21565503.2017.1332653

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Acoustic or discursive symbols are not specifically analyzed in this paper. However, we do employ a symbolic representation approach when it comes to examining the degree to which representatives become "symbols" that can generate emotional ties and psychological reactions on citizens (Celis et al, 2008;Childs, 2004;Kenny and Verge, 2016;Krook, 2009;Meier and Verge, 2017;Verge et al, 2020).…”

Section: Prr Parties and Social Mediamentioning

confidence: 99%

Radical right parties and anti-feminist speech on Instagram: Vox and the 2019 Spanish general election

2020

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Radical right-wing parties often use the attack on feminism as a central argument in their political discourse. The Spanish political party Vox, born in 2013, is a good example of this phenomenon. This paper analyzes Vox’s Instagram posts for the party’s two last electoral campaigns previous to the two successive general elections held in Spain in 2019. After the collection, selection and quantification of these data, we carried out a qualitative analysis of the semantic networks created through the utilization of images, videos, texts, interactions, hashtags and emojis. Our findings identify five fundamental arguments: classic gender nationalism, anti-Muslim gender nationalism, delegitimization and ridicule of feminism, discrediting the concept of gender, and the idea that Vox is, in fact, the party that most advocates for women. An outstanding discursive strategy used throughout the sample is that of contrast and association. Signifiers with a strong positive signified and broad social acceptance (euphoric terms) are associated with this party and its political positions. In contrast, negatively charged signifiers and hate-instigating terms (dysphoric) are associated with feminism and the so-called “gender ideology.”

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Section: Prr Parties and Social Mediamentioning

confidence: 99%

Radical right parties and anti-feminist speech on Instagram: Vox and the 2019 Spanish general election

2020

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“…Tate (2003), for example, discusses "symbolic legislation" in the context of African American MCs (creating a national holiday in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., naming federal buildings after notable civil rights activists, etc.). For an overview of the variety of ways the concept of symbolic representation has been treated in the literature-and the challenges associated with the concept-see Meier and Verge (2017).…”

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confidence: 99%

Public Perceptions of Women’s Inclusion and Feelings of Political Efficacy

Stauffer

2021

Am Polit Sci Rev

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Theoretical work argues that citizens gain important symbolic benefits when they are represented by gender-inclusive institutions. Despite the centrality of this claim in the literature, empirical evidence is mixed. In this article, I argue that these mixed findings are—in part—because many Americans hold beliefs about women’s inclusion that are out of step with reality. Leveraging variation in survey respondents’ beliefs about women’s representation, I examine how these perceptions influence attitudes toward Congress and state legislatures. In both cases, I find that believing women are included is associated with higher levels of external efficacy among both men and women. Using panel data, I then show that when citizens’ underestimations (overestimations) are corrected, their levels of efficacy increase (decrease), shedding further light on this relationship. The findings presented in this research add new theoretical insights into when, and how, Americans consider descriptive representation when evaluating the institutions that represent them.

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