Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Trump, Clinton, and the gendering of newspaper discourse about the 2016 US presidential election debates

Siow, Orlanda LU ; Harmer, Emily and Savigny, Heather (2021) In Women's Studies in Communication 44(1). p.81-101
Abstract
Electoral politics remains a much-gendered sphere, dominated by men political actors and masculine behaviors. Media coverage of politics has often reinforced gendered norms. This article uses qualitative thematic analysis of three U.S. newspapers’ coverage of the 2016 presidential debates between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to explore how the mediated construction of political leaders is gendered. We identify four clear themes in news coverage: performing masculine leadership, debate as violence, emotionality, and transgression. Our findings suggest that media coverage repeatedly framed political debate in masculinist terms, framed the debate using violent rhetoric, focused on the emotional performances of the candidates, and... (More)
Electoral politics remains a much-gendered sphere, dominated by men political actors and masculine behaviors. Media coverage of politics has often reinforced gendered norms. This article uses qualitative thematic analysis of three U.S. newspapers’ coverage of the 2016 presidential debates between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to explore how the mediated construction of political leaders is gendered. We identify four clear themes in news coverage: performing masculine leadership, debate as violence, emotionality, and transgression. Our findings suggest that media coverage repeatedly framed political debate in masculinist terms, framed the debate using violent rhetoric, focused on the emotional performances of the candidates, and positioned the candidates as insiders or outsiders depending on gender and political experience. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
gender, politics, communication
in
Women's Studies in Communication
volume
44
issue
1
pages
20 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85085001278
ISSN
0749-1409
DOI
10.1080/07491409.2020.1752341
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
de9dfc50-d3a9-4497-ba6c-f8882d87df44
date added to LUP
2023-10-31 16:05:19
date last changed
2023-12-18 04:03:20
@article{de9dfc50-d3a9-4497-ba6c-f8882d87df44,
  abstract     = {{Electoral politics remains a much-gendered sphere, dominated by men political actors and masculine behaviors. Media coverage of politics has often reinforced gendered norms. This article uses qualitative thematic analysis of three U.S. newspapers’ coverage of the 2016 presidential debates between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to explore how the mediated construction of political leaders is gendered. We identify four clear themes in news coverage: performing masculine leadership, debate as violence, emotionality, and transgression. Our findings suggest that media coverage repeatedly framed political debate in masculinist terms, framed the debate using violent rhetoric, focused on the emotional performances of the candidates, and positioned the candidates as insiders or outsiders depending on gender and political experience.}},
  author       = {{Siow, Orlanda and Harmer, Emily and Savigny, Heather}},
  issn         = {{0749-1409}},
  keywords     = {{gender; politics; communication}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{81--101}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Women's Studies in Communication}},
  title        = {{Trump, Clinton, and the gendering of newspaper discourse about the 2016 US presidential election debates}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07491409.2020.1752341}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/07491409.2020.1752341}},
  volume       = {{44}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}