Gendered Mediation

Despite decades of women’s participation in politics and the increasing number of LGBTQ individuals who are seeking and winning political office, the gender identities of Canadian politicians continue to attract media and public attention and shape the way these individuals are perceived and evaluated.

Gendered Mediation takes an original, intersectional approach to these issues by building upon the gendered mediation thesis to argue that political communication and reporting reinforces impressions of politics as a masculine domain that privileges men and treats women as outsiders. Organized into three sections, the book investigates politicians’ gendered strategies for shaping their own and others’ public images, the gendered characteristics of media coverage of politicians, and voter reactions to these self-presentations and media depictions.

By examining how sexuality, race, age, and class intersect with gender to produce differing political identities and responses, the contributors make new theoretical and empirical interventions into research on gender and political communication. Their findings have profound implications for democracy not only in Canada but for democratic political systems elsewhere.

Angelia Wagner is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Political Science at the University of Alberta, specializing in Canadian politics, gender and politics, political candidacy, and political communication. Her research explores the role of gender, race, and sexuality in shaping Canadians’ perceptions of political candidacy. She is also the project manager of an international research project exploring the career pathways of women premiers in Australia and Canada.

Joanna Everitt is a professor of political science at the University of New Brunswick Saint John. Her research focuses on Canadian politics, gender differences in public opinion, and the impacts of media coverage of male and female party leaders on leadership evaluations, identity politics, and voting behaviour in Canadian elections. She is the co-editor of The Blueprint: Conservative Parties and Their Impact on Canadian Politics and the co-author of Dominance and Decline: Making Sense of Recent Canadian Elections.

Mireille Lalancette, professor of political communication, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières:
Gendered Mediation rigorously debunks myths while offering fresh opinions on the mediation of gender identity in Canadian politics and political coverage. It should be essential reading for politicians, scholars, and journalists.