Selling them Short? Differences in News Coverage of Female and Male Candidate Qualifications

Abstract

We draw on research from gender stereotypes and mass communication to develop and test an innovative theoretical framework of implicit and explicit gender framing. This framework delineates how and when coverage in newspapers will report on female candidates differently than male candidates. Implicit gender frames subtly draw on masculine stereotypes to reinforce patriarchal power structures through their coverage of political candidates. Explicit gender frames are the overtly sexist “hair, hemlines, and husband” coverage women receive more frequently relative to men. We argue that the print news media will be more likely to rely on implicit gender frames to elucidate differences between women and men running for political office. Using an exhaustive content analysis of Senate campaign news coverage, we find important differences in the coverage of women and men running against one another. We also find the use of explicit gender frames to be especially common in all-female races. These differences in coverage, especially in all-women contests, can perpetuate stereotypic beliefs that women lack the qualifications needed for political office among voters, and stymie women’s progress toward parity in representation.

Mad, sad, but mostly glad: how men and women in politics communicate using emotions in images

“…While candidates can control what images are posted on their social media feeds, they have significantly less control over what happens to those images after posting. The presence of women as candidates also shapes how the media covers races and politics (Dunaway et al 2013, Bauer and Taylor 2022, including increasing the probability that the media will focus on traits (like emotional control) over issues. In newspaper photographs, women are more likely featured with happy expressions (Rodgers, Kenix and Thorson 2007).…”

“…In occupations with emotional work, workers (especially women) must express more positive emotional engagement (Ahmed 2010, Jackson 2019) and avoid negative emotional engagement. Research of women as leaders echo these expectations: Brescoll (2016) and Bauer and Taylor (2022) argues that gender emotional stereotypes lead to a double-bind for how women in leadership roles present themselves visually to the public. On one hand, women need to avoid representing emotions like anger that are associated with masculinity as may remind voters that these women are, in essence, women (Bauer 2019).…”

Outside of the Old Boys Club? Gender Differences in Outside Groups’ Advertising Support for U.S. Senate Candidates

“…Second, though women's media coverage is becoming more balanced (Banwart et al, 2003;Bystrom et al, 2004), gendered challenges remain. Coverage of female candidates continues to draw disproportionate attention to women's appearances (Andrich et al, 2023;Bystrom et al, 2004;Carlin and Winfrey, 2023;van der Pas and Aaldering, 2020), their viability or "electability" (Gibbons, 2022;van der Pas and Aaldering, 2020), likability or warmth (Carlin and Winfrey, 2023;Cassese et al, 2021;Godble et al, 2019), the "novelty" of women in office (Bauer, 2020;Bauer and Taylor, 2023;Gibbons, 2022;O'Regan and Stambough, 2011), and/or women's personal lives (Banwart et al, 2003;Bauer, 2020;Bauer and Taylor, 2023;Gibbons, 2022;van der Pas and Aaldering, 2020). Some trait coverage continues to come at the expense of issues coverage (Dunaway et al, 2013).…”