Running as a woman (or man): a review of research on political communicators and gender stereotypes
Autor/in:
Winfrey, Kelly L.; Schnoebelen, James M.
Quelle: Review of Communication Research, 7 (2019) , S 109-138
Inhalt: Women gained the right to vote nearly 100 years ago, but it was not until 1980 that political scholars and practitioners began paying much attention to the role of women in elections. Twelve years later it was the so-called "Year of the Woman" in 1992 that sparked increased scholarly attention on women as political communicators. A record number of women, 117, ran for the U.S. Congress in 1992, but the number of women running and serving has been slow to increases since that time. One reason may be the unique challenges gender poses for female political communicators. Over three decades of research has proven gender stereotypes and expectations play a key role in how women (and men) communicate with voters. This review of research summarizes major findings and changes in gender and political communication research over the past three decades. Our focus is on communication by candidates and how gender shapes that communication. In all, 133 scholarly sources were reviewed; these sources included scholarly journals from related disciplines as well as books using quantitative, qualitative, and rhetorical methods. Our analysis demonstrates that gender stereotypes are still prevalent in American political campaigns, and women candidates must work to overcome the belief that they are not masculine enough to be political leaders. Additionally this review reveals two common strategies candidates use to negotiate gender stereotypes: feminine style and gender adaptiveness. We conclude that more research is needed to better understand how candidates navigate gender stereotypes in the 21st century, particularly in political debates and online communication.
Schlagwörter:gender studies; Politik; suffrage; political communication; communication research; Präsidentschaftswahl; Kampagne; politische Kommunikation; Wahlrecht; Wahl; campaign; gender; Stereotyp; Kommunikationsforschung; election; Gender; Kandidatur; stereotype; woman; Geschlechterforschung; politics; presidential election; candidacy; femininer Stil
SSOAR Kategorie:Kommunikationssoziologie, Sprachsoziologie, Soziolinguistik, Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung
Quelle: Media and Communication, 7 (2019) 1, S 1-3
Inhalt: This editorial delivers an introduction to the Media and Communication thematic issue on "Communicating on/with Minorities" around the world. This thematic issue presents a multidisciplinary look at the field of communicating on and with different members of minority groups who, based on gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or a background in migration, experience relative disadvantage and marginalization compared to the dominant social group. The contributors to this thematic issue present a variety of professional contexts (i.e., portrayals in journalistic content, in fiction and non-fiction audiovisual content, on social media platforms and in health care). Taken together, the contributions examine various theoretical angles, thereby adopting new research directions through the use of quantitative, qualitative or mixed methodologies.
SSOAR Kategorie:interpersonelle Kommunikation, soziale Probleme, Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, Allgemeine Soziologie, Makrosoziologie, spezielle Theorien und Schulen, Entwicklung und Geschichte der Soziologie
Representation of women in the news: balancing between career and family life
Autor/in:
Vandenberghe, Hanne
Quelle: Media and Communication, 7 (2019) 1, S 4-12
Inhalt: An in-depth literature review showed that women, despite their increasingly prominent roles worldwide, continue to be persistently underrepresented and stereotyped in news media. This study aimed to investigate the extent to which the representation of women changed over time in two Dutch-speaking Belgian newspapers De Standaard and Het Laatste Nieuws. An automated quantitative content analysis revealed that there is no increase of the number of women in the newspapers between 2005 and 2015. On the contrary, women are significantly less represented over time in the popular newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws. A qualitative analysis on two cases about women stepping into a leadership position -in 2012 (Catherine De Bolle as head of the Federal police) and in 2014 (Dominique Leroy as CEO of a Belgian telecom company)- showed that the press emphasised their femininity, their being a role model for other women, their being part of a family and having certain looks. Moreover, these women are clearly portrayed as "the best candidate" pointing at the selection procedures and their capabilities to perform professionally. Probably, this strong emphasis is a way of justifying that these women are not selected because of positive discrimination. Further analysis of cases of both men and women stepping into top positions across countries and media platforms is recommended.
Inhalt: In this article, we draw a parallel between equality of opportunity in educational transitions and equality of opportunity in academic careers. In both cases, many methodological problems can be ameliorated by the use of longitudinal rather than cross-sectional data. We illustrate this point by using Finnish full-population register data to follow the educational and academic careers of the 1964-1966 birth cohorts from birth to the present day. We show how the Finnish professoriate is highly selected both in terms of parental background and in terms of gender. Individuals of different backgrounds differ greatly in the likelihood of completing different educational and academic transitions, but much less in the age at which they make these transitions. By contrast, women’s academic careers differ from those of men both in terms of timing and in terms of rates, with women’s PhDs and full professorships seemingly delayed compared to those of men. We additionally show with the help of a 2015 cross-section of Finnish professors how such differences are easily overlooked in cross-sectional data.
Schlagwörter:Bildung; academic (female); gender; Akademikerin; education; Chancengleichheit; Hochschulbildung; academy; Gender; equality of rights; Akademie; Karriere; Finland; woman; Gleichberechtigung; Akademiker; equal opportunity; Finnland; career; university level of education; academic
SSOAR Kategorie:Wissenschaftssoziologie, Wissenschaftsforschung, Technikforschung, Techniksoziologie, Berufsforschung, Berufssoziologie, Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung
Representation of women in the news: balancing between career and family life
Autor/in:
Vandenberghe, Hanne
Quelle: Media and Communication, 7 (2019) 1, S 4-12
Inhalt: An in-depth literature review showed that women, despite their increasingly prominent roles worldwide, continue to be persistently underrepresented and stereotyped in news media. This study aimed to investigate the extent to which the representation of women changed over time in two Dutch-speaking Belgian newspapers De Standaard and Het Laatste Nieuws. An automated quantitative content analysis revealed that there is no increase of the number of women in the newspapers between 2005 and 2015. On the contrary, women are significantly less represented over time in the popular newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws. A qualitative analysis on two cases about women stepping into a leadership position -in 2012 (Catherine De Bolle as head of the Federal police) and in 2014 (Dominique Leroy as CEO of a Belgian telecom company)- showed that the press emphasised their femininity, their being a role model for other women, their being part of a family and having certain looks. Moreover, these women are clearly portrayed as "the best candidate" pointing at the selection procedures and their capabilities to perform professionally. Probably, this strong emphasis is a way of justifying that these women are not selected because of positive discrimination. Further analysis of cases of both men and women stepping into top positions across countries and media platforms is recommended.
Faith-based organisations as welfare providers in Brazil: the conflict over gender in cases of domestic violence
Autor/in:
Beecheno, Kim
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 7 (2019) 2, S 14-23
Inhalt: What does the growth of faith-based organisations (FBOs) in social welfare mean for women’s rights and gender equality, especially within advocacy services for women experiencing domestic violence? Through empirical research within a Catholic-based organisation providing welfare services to abused women in São Paulo, Brazil, this article argues that FBOs can negatively impact the provision of women's rights when conservative and patriarchal views towards gender and women’s roles in society are maintained. A heavily matrifocal perspective, where women’s identity and subjectivity are mediated through their normative roles as wives, mothers and carers of the family, appears to offer little possibility of change for abused women, who are encouraged to forgive violent husbands and question their own behaviour. Mediation between couples is promoted, undermining women's rights upheld through Brazil's domestic violence law (Lei Maria da Penha no 11.340). Furthermore, the focus of family preservation, supported by a patriarchal state, means that violence against women (VAW) appears to be subordinated to a focus on family violence and violence against children. In this case, faith-based involvement in social welfare rejects the feminist analysis of VAW as a gender-based problem, viewing it as a personal issue rather than a collective or political issue, making women responsible for the violence in their lives.
Inhalt: Healthcare has long been a gendered enterprise, with women taking responsibility for maintaining health and engaging with service providers. Universal healthcare provision notwithstanding, women nonetheless undertake a range of healthcare work, on their own account and on behalf of others, which remains largely invisible. As part of a multi-method comparative European study that looked at access to healthcare in diverse neighbourhoods from the point of view of people's own health priorities, the concept of "healthcare bricolage" describes the process of mobilizing resources and overcoming constraints to meet particular health needs. Bricolage mediates between different kinds of resources to meet particular challenges and describing these processes makes visible that work which has been unseen, over-looked and naturalised, as part of a gendered caring role. Drawing on 160 semi-structured interviews and a survey with 1,755 residents of highly diverse neighbourhoods in Germany, UK, Sweden and Portugal, this article illustrates the gendered nature of healthcare bricolage. The complex variations of women's bricolage within and beyond the public healthcare system show how gendered caring roles intersect with migration status and social class in the context of particular healthcare systems.
Women's Safety and Public Spaces: Lessons from the Sabarmati Riverfront, India
Autor/in:
Mahadevia, Darshini; Lathia, Saumya
Quelle: Urban Planning, 4 (2019) 2, S 154-168
Inhalt: The Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 11, as well as the New Urban Agenda, emphasize gender equity and safe, resilient, and inclusive cities. The ‘safe cities’ idea for women includes their equal right to the city and public places within it, which includes their right to be mobile in the city at any time of the day, as well as their right to loiter in public spaces without any threats of harassment or sexual violence. These issues have gained importance in urban planning and design in contemporary India. This article is an assessment of how safe Ahmedabad city’s largest public space, the Sabarmati Riverfront, is for women. Ahmedabad, a city in western India, has long carried an image of a safe city for women. The Sabarmati Riverfront is over 22 km in length, 11 km on both sides of the river. This assessment is made through mapping of space use disaggregated by sex and age at four different time points throughout the day and of 100 women’s accounts of the experience of harassment on using the space. The article concludes with specific recommendations on proposed activities and space design along the riverfront to make these spaces safe for women throughout the day.
Schlagwörter:Indien; India; Gender; gender; woman; öffentlicher Raum; public space; Sicherheit; security; sexuelle Belästigung; sexual harassment; riverfront
SSOAR Kategorie:Raumplanung und Regionalforschung, Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung
Making structural change with relational power: a gender analysis of faith-based community organizing
Autor/in:
Garlington, Sarah B.; Durham Bossaller, Margaret R.; Shadik, Jennifer A.; Shaw, Kerri A.
Quelle: Social Inclusion, 7 (2019) 2, S 24-32
Inhalt: This article presents research on faith-based community organizing in the US to examine how congregation members engage in structural change efforts related to marginalized populations. Examining the case of one organizing model, justice ministry, congregations focus on power defined through relationships, cultivated in informal spaces, and communicated through personal narrative (traditionally private, feminine spheres), and change is enacted by creating tension in public (traditionally masculine) spaces with decision-makers. A growing body of literature presents nuanced gender analyses of policy advocacy, social movements, and community change efforts both in terms of strategic models of action and revisiting our understanding of historical movements. We ask questions about how the expectations and work are constrained or facilitated by cultural expectations of gender roles and power dynamics. Examining the organizing model of justice ministry through a gender lens helps to understand how an emphasis on relational power (traditionally gendered as feminine) facilitates and strengthens the use of a range of tools, including publicly challenging authority (more frequently gendered as masculine). While the private/public, feminine/masculine dichotomy has severe limitations and risks oversimplification, the utility remains in helping name and challenge real power differentials based on gender.
Schlagwörter:Organisationen; organizations; Religion; religion; USA; United States of America; gender; Leistung; achievement; Analyse; analysis; Macht; power; Justiz; judiciary; Ministerium; ministry; faith-based community organizing; gender; justice ministry; power analysis; relational power; religion
SSOAR Kategorie:Religionssoziologie, Organisationssoziologie, Militärsoziologie, Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung
Die Separierung der Geschlechter: ihre Relevanz für Interaktionen zwischen Geflüchteten und ehrenamtlich für sie Engagierten
Titelübersetzung:Separation of the sexes: a key to understanding interaction between refugees and volunteers
Autor/in:
Zwengel, Almut
Quelle: GENDER - Zeitschrift für Geschlecht, Kultur und Gesellschaft, 11 (2019) 1, S 140-155
Inhalt: Interaktionen zwischen männlichen Geflüchteten und alteingesessenen Frauen werden seit den sexuellen Übergriffen in der Silvesternacht 2015 in Köln als problematisch gefasst. Hier wird ein Zugang zur geschlechterübergreifenden Interaktion gewählt, der von positiven Alltagskontakten ausgeht, nämlich der Interaktion zwischen Geflüchteten und ehrenamtlich für sie Engagierten. Leitfadengestützte Interviews mit 26 ehrenamtlich Engagierten werden in Anlehnung an die Grounded Theory analysiert. Die aus dieser Analyse heraus entwickelte Kernkategorie "Separierung der Geschlechter" verweist vor allem auf herkunftskulturelle Zuschreibungen und/oder Sozialisation, aber auch auf weiblich dominierte Unterstützungsnetzwerke und auf geschlechtertrennende Angebote für Geflüchtete. Diese Separierung der Geschlechter führt zu Unsicherheiten bei geschlechterübergreifenden Interaktionen, insbesondere beim Umgang mit Nähe und Distanz. Das Ansetzen von kultureller Differenz wird in der Literatur skeptisch betrachtet. Kritisiert werden ein homogenisierender, statischer und deterministischer Kulturbegriff sowie die Reproduktion und Verstärkung von Vorurteilen und Stereotypen. Dennoch, in der Rekonstruktion von Interaktionen durch die befragten Engagierten spielt kulturelle Differenz eine entscheidende Rolle.
