Women, Media, and Elections: Representation and Marginalization in British Politics

The author examines how female candidates, voters, and party leaders, as well as politicians' spouses, have been portrayed in newspapers in the UK since 1918 to 2017. She shows how political representation and mediated representations are connected, how women have been politically marginalized in institutions and the media, and how they need to be adequately represented in the news media to be effectively represented in the political domain. She considers whether there are differences between the representation of different groups of women and how their portrayal changes over time, looking at the policy areas women are most associated with, whether women are subjected to evaluative coverage in the media, whether coverage of women is personalized by referring to their physical appearance and family roles, and whether women are given a voice in political coverage. Annotation ©2021 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
In the century since women were first eligible to stand and vote in British general elections, they have relied on news media to represent their political perspectives in the public realm. This book provides a systematic analysis of electoral coverage by charting how women candidates, voters, politicians' spouses, and party leaders have been portrayed in newspapers since 1918. The result is a fascinating account of both continuity and change in the position of women in British politics. The book demonstrates that for women to be effectively represented in the political domain, they must also be effectively represented in the public discussion of politics that takes place in the media.
Providing a systematic analysis of electoral coverage in newspapers since 1918, this book demonstrates that for women to be effectively represented in the political domain, they must also be effectively represented in the public discussion of politics that takes place in the media.