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Chapter 6. Julia Gillard

A murderous rage
  • Roslyn Appleby
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Discourse, Politics and Women as Global Leaders
This chapter is in the book Discourse, Politics and Women as Global Leaders

Abstract

This chapter charts the political career of Julia Gillard, Australia’s first female Prime Minister (2010–2013), and argues that three intertwined discourses of gender shaped how she was perceived and represented in the political domain and in the media. First, Gillard was faced with challenges such as the “double bind,” by which female leaders are expected to demonstrate qualities stereotypically associated with masculinity, and at the same time to display qualities stereotypically associated with femininity. Second, Gillard faced sexist abuse in politics and media which labelled her an “unintelligible being.” Third, in acts of “strategic essentialism,” Gillard condemned the misogyny she endured, repositioning herself as a coherent political force and marking the re-emergence of feminism in Australian politics.

Abstract

This chapter charts the political career of Julia Gillard, Australia’s first female Prime Minister (2010–2013), and argues that three intertwined discourses of gender shaped how she was perceived and represented in the political domain and in the media. First, Gillard was faced with challenges such as the “double bind,” by which female leaders are expected to demonstrate qualities stereotypically associated with masculinity, and at the same time to display qualities stereotypically associated with femininity. Second, Gillard faced sexist abuse in politics and media which labelled her an “unintelligible being.” Third, in acts of “strategic essentialism,” Gillard condemned the misogyny she endured, repositioning herself as a coherent political force and marking the re-emergence of feminism in Australian politics.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Discourse, politics and women 1
  4. Part I. Discursive features of leadership
  5. Chapter 1. “Why can’t a woman be more like a man?” 21
  6. Chapter 2. Breaking the glass & keeping the ceiling 43
  7. Chapter 3. Under fire 67
  8. Part II. Discourse, media and power
  9. Chapter 4. Twitter as political discourse 93
  10. Chapter 5. Gender and political discourse in Tunisia 121
  11. Chapter 6. Julia Gillard 149
  12. Chapter 7. Women in politics and the media 169
  13. Part III. Leadership, identity and the public
  14. Chapter 8. “Thank you for heckling me” 195
  15. Chapter 9. Governors debating 217
  16. Chapter 10. Discourses of female leaders in postcolonial Hong Kong 251
  17. Part IV. Styling the leader
  18. Chapter 11. Governing in the gendered structure of power 275
  19. Chapter 12. The ball is in the women’s court 293
  20. Chapter 13. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf 315
  21. Conclusion 345
  22. About the authors 353
  23. Index 359
https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.63.07app

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Discourse, politics and women 1
  4. Part I. Discursive features of leadership
  5. Chapter 1. “Why can’t a woman be more like a man?” 21
  6. Chapter 2. Breaking the glass & keeping the ceiling 43
  7. Chapter 3. Under fire 67
  8. Part II. Discourse, media and power
  9. Chapter 4. Twitter as political discourse 93
  10. Chapter 5. Gender and political discourse in Tunisia 121
  11. Chapter 6. Julia Gillard 149
  12. Chapter 7. Women in politics and the media 169
  13. Part III. Leadership, identity and the public
  14. Chapter 8. “Thank you for heckling me” 195
  15. Chapter 9. Governors debating 217
  16. Chapter 10. Discourses of female leaders in postcolonial Hong Kong 251
  17. Part IV. Styling the leader
  18. Chapter 11. Governing in the gendered structure of power 275
  19. Chapter 12. The ball is in the women’s court 293
  20. Chapter 13. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf 315
  21. Conclusion 345
  22. About the authors 353
  23. Index 359
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