He Runs, She Runs: Why Gender Stereotypes Do Not Harm Women Candidates - Softcover

Brooks, Deborah Jordan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0691153426 ISBN 13: 9780691153421

Verlag: Princeton University Press, 2013

Inhaltsangabe

While there are far more women in public office today than in previous eras, women are still vastly underrepresented in this area relative to men. Conventional wisdom suggests that a key reason is because female candidates start out at a disadvantage with the public, compared to male candidates, and then face higher standards for their behavior and qualifications as they campaign. He Runs, She Runs is the first comprehensive study of these dynamics and demonstrates that the conventional wisdom is wrong.


With rich contextual background and a wealth of findings, Deborah Jordan Brooks examines whether various behaviors--such as crying, acting tough, displays of anger, or knowledge gaffes--by male and female political candidates are regarded differently by the public. Refuting the idea of double standards in campaigns, Brooks's overall analysis indicates that female candidates do not get penalized disproportionately for various behaviors, nor do they face any double bind regarding femininity and toughness. Brooks also reveals that before campaigning begins, women do not start out at a disadvantage due to gender stereotypes. In fact, Brooks shows that people only make gendered assumptions about candidates who are new to politics, and those stereotypes benefit, rather than hurt, women candidates.


Proving that it is no more challenging for female political candidates today to win over the public than it is for their male counterparts, He Runs, She Runs makes clear that we need to look beyond public attitudes to understand why more women are not in office.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Deborah Jordan Brooks is associate professor of government at Dartmouth College. Previously, she was a senior research director at the Gallup Organization.

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"This fascinating book debunks the most commonly offered explanation for why progress toward gender parity in elected representation has stalled. Surprisingly, Brooks finds that male and female politicians are subject to similar expectations from voters, suggesting that our widespread belief in a double standard is an impediment to encouraging more women to run for office. Good news seldom makes headlines, but Brooks' findings need to be widely disseminated."--Diana Mutz, University of Pennsylvania

"This is one of the most important books about gender and politics written in the last twenty-five years. It challenges what we know and is sure to influence how we think about gender. He Runs, She Runs is required reading for anyone interested in the role of women in the workings of democracy."--James Druckman, Northwestern University

"He Runs, She Runs is a provocative analysis of gender stereotypes in U.S. campaigns. With original experimental data, Brooks sheds light on when stereotypes do and don't matter. This engaging book provides important insights into gender and candidacy, and is a valuable contribution to the field."--Kira Sanbonmatsu, Rutgers University

"It seems almost a given that women face a range of disadvantages as political candidates. In this book, Brooks does a masterful job setting up the conventional wisdom before showing that the conventional wisdom is wrong. Accessible, timely, and important, He Runs, She Runs takes on a question that will interest a wide range of people--scholars and political observers alike."--Marc J. Hetherington, Vanderbilt University

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HE RUNS, SHE RUNS

Why Gender Stereotypes Do Not Harm Women Candidates

By Deborah Jordan Brooks

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS

Copyright © 2013 Princeton University Press
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-691-15342-1

Contents

Tables.....................................................................
ix
Acknowledgments............................................................
xi
Chapter 1 Introduction....................................................
1
Chapter 2 Theoretical Foundations.........................................
15
Chapter 3 How to Study Gender Stereotype Usage and Double Standards in 
Campaigns..................................................................
39
Chapter 4 Descriptive Candidate Gender Stereotypes and the Role of 
Candidate Experience.......................................................
59
Chapter 5 Tears and Anger on the Campaign Trail...........................
82
Chapter 6 Unbinding the Double Bind.......................................
110
Chapter 7 Knowledge Gaffes................................................
132
Chapter 8 Reassessing the Parity Problem..................................
143
Chapter 9 A Bright Future for Women in Politics...........................
163
Appendix 1 Text of Newspaper Treatments...................................
177
Appendix 2 Questionnaire..................................................
185
Appendix 3 How the Public Responds to Each Behavior.......................
188
Appendix 4 How the Public Responds to Candidate Experience................
191
Appendix 5 Results for Candidate Experience * Candidate Gender............
192
Appendix 6 Results for Candidate Gender (Control Group only)..............
194
Appendix 7 Results for Crying * Candidate Gender..........................
195
Appendix 8 Results for Anger * Candidate Gender...........................
196
Appendix 9 Results for Toughness * Candidate Gender.......................
197
Appendix 10 Results for Lack of Empathy * Candidate Gender................
198
Appendix 11 Results for Knowledge Gaffe * Candidate Gender................
199
References.................................................................
201
Index......................................................................
217

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

"I'm no lady; I'm a member of Congress,and I shall proceed accordingly."

—MARY THERESA NORTON,U.S. HOUSE MEMBER FROM 1925–1951

When Hillary Clinton ran in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries,she seemed to have trouble connecting effectively with the public. Aftermonths of a campaign that emphasized her toughness and experience, sheunderperformed in the polls relative to her biggest competitors. Whilesome observers argued that her strong emphasis on experience causedvoters to think she was "trying too hard to be 'the smartest girl in theroom,'" others maintained that the focus she had adopted was dictatedby the politics of gender: although a male candidate like Barack Obamacould be seen as credible without much past experience, a woman candidatewould not be. And while Clinton's chief strategist emphasized thatshe had to establish herself as a tough "father" figure for the country andnot as the "first mama," she was frequently criticized for being angry,aggressive, and unfeminine and was called an "ice-queen" for her apparentlack of empathy. As a journalist put it, "she presented herself as aperson of strength and conviction, only to be rejected as cold-hearted andunfeminine—as a 'nutcracker.'"

When Clinton's campaign then sought to soften her image through moreintimate gatherings, more compassion-oriented discussions, and more personallyemotive moments to increase her "likeability," that approach seemedto backfire as well. Her campaign started a Web site "TheHillaryIKnow.com"that presented videotaped testimonials by friends and supporters tohighlight Hillary's caring and compassionate side. As the New Hampshireprimaries approached, Clinton's campaign featured stories of mothers ofsick children in a series of emotional ads that were designed to portray herin a more caring light. Clinton's effort to, as one media analyst described it,"run away from [her] tough, kind of bitchy image" ran into difficulties: nolonger too unemotional, she was now pegged by some as being "weak" anda "cry baby." As one journalist put it, "when she did show emotion by cryingon the hustings, she was branded weak, or accused of playing cynicallyto the cameras."

While Clinton attracted a devoted set of core supporters, she also hadhigh unfavorable ratings. With conflicting advice ricocheting from punditsand consultants about how to present herself, she tried a variety ofdifferent approaches for connecting with primary voters. In the end, ofcourse, more Democrats voted for Barack Obama, and she lost the Democraticnomination for president.

Hillary's loss was not the last chance for a woman to appear on a nationalticket in 2008. When Sarah Palin was announced as the vice presidentialcandidate on the McCain ticket for the general election, commentatorszeroed in on her low levels of previous experience. Knowledgegaffes in her infamous Charles Gibson and Katie Couric interviews didnot help Palin's case on the credentials front, and some argued that thescrutiny of her experience was exacerbated because she was a woman.

While campaigning, Palin proclaimed herself to be a "pit bull withlipstick" and tried to claim both toughness and compassion. Palin attemptedto manage the balance between toughness and compassion inpart by surrounding herself with her young family and discussing issuessuch as disability rights while talking tough about issues and her opponents.Like Clinton, Palin attracted a strong cohort of devoted followerswhile suffering very high unfavorable ratings; in other words, she, too,was a polarizing figure.

Many analysts chalked up the electoral failings of Clinton and Palin togood old-fashioned sexism. With headlines such as "How Sexism KilledHillary's Dream," "This Smacks of Double Standards; Women Kept inPlace," and "The 'Bitch' and the 'Ditz': How the Year of the Woman Reinforcedthe Two Most Pernicious Sexist Stereotypes and Actually Set WomenBack," commentators frequently reflected the conventional wisdom aboutwomen in politics: their credentials and campaign behavior are subjected todouble standards that make it harder for them to win political office.

For many, the experience of Clinton and Palin clearly confirmed that thecountry is still not ready to elect a woman president. Others were morecautious in their assessments. For example, Anne Kornblut, journalist andauthor of Notes from the Cracked Ceiling: Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, andWhat It Will Take for a Woman to Win, sought to answer whether thecountry is ready to elect the first woman president by looking back overwhat she described as "a battlefield littered with gender-related detritus,with charges of sexism, the phrases 'she-devil' and 'pit bull with...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Princeton University Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2013
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0691153426
• ISBN 13: 9780691153421
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 221
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Buchbär; info@buchbaer.de; ; Weberstr. 67; Osnabrück; 49084; Deutschland