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Chapter 11. Governing in the gendered structure of power

The media discourse on Angela Merkel and her power-driven leadership style
  • Margreth Lünenborg and Tanja Maier
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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

The article discusses the relation of gender and power in journalistic coverage of leading politicians. Looking in detail at the German chancellor Angela Merkel, a qualitative textual analysis of printed news media as well as glossies shows how politics are still designed as a male field while its constitutive outside is the female. Nevertheless a female actor becomes successful in it. The analysis shows that the almost normal presence of women in powerful political positions requires new modes of media analysis. The dichotomist distinction between male and female actors and a specific focus on forms of women’s stereotyping does not lead to sufficient results. This analysis offers opportunities for deconstructing the gendered system of politics.

Abstract

The article discusses the relation of gender and power in journalistic coverage of leading politicians. Looking in detail at the German chancellor Angela Merkel, a qualitative textual analysis of printed news media as well as glossies shows how politics are still designed as a male field while its constitutive outside is the female. Nevertheless a female actor becomes successful in it. The analysis shows that the almost normal presence of women in powerful political positions requires new modes of media analysis. The dichotomist distinction between male and female actors and a specific focus on forms of women’s stereotyping does not lead to sufficient results. This analysis offers opportunities for deconstructing the gendered system of 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.63.12lun

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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