Internet Autobiographies: Female Politicians' Representations of Gender
Linking Environment, Democracy and Gender
ISBN: 978-1-78190-337-7, eISBN: 978-1-78190-338-4
Publication date: 10 December 2012
Abstract
We examine the extent to which female politicians highlight their status as women by identifying with women as a group and using female roles and experiences to describe themselves. Based on a qualitative content analysis of female members’ congressional web pages, we find that sex-group identification and gender roles are selectively used in discussions of their personal lives, their paths to Congress, and their experiences within Congress. Variation among the female politicians suggests they are responding to a range of normative gender beliefs among the electorate. There is also evidence that some of the women use online forms of communication to change the discourse about women in politics.
Citation
Kunovich, S. and Wall, A. (2012), "Internet Autobiographies: Female Politicians' Representations of Gender", Wejnert, B. (Ed.) Linking Environment, Democracy and Gender (Research in Political Sociology, Vol. 20), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 49-72. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0895-9935(2012)0000020006
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited