Module 9 - WST 103 HIEMSTRA PDF

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WST 103 HIEMSTRA ...

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1. Conroy - Briefly describe Conroy’s methodology for understanding how candidates were gendered. (25-75 words) a. Conroy sampled newspaper articles and labelled different words as either gendered to be female or male. i. Male: risk taker, commander, fighter ii. Female: emotional, cautious b. Negative connotation to feminine words gives the idea that women aren’t suited for power and politics 2. Conroy - What do the results reveal about how the U.S. sees masculinity and femininity in relation to power and the office of the presidency? (50-100 words) a. The chart shows that most male candidates were regarded with either masculine or gender neutral terms, with some men referred to with feminine terms but never more towards that end of that spectrum. This shows the blatant masculinization of politics and the use of “feminine” words to degrade or discredit candidates. The fact that the winning candidates in the chart were more “masculine” proves the media's and public’s bias against femininity in politics. 3. Vedantam - Give a quick explanation of the double bind. (25-75 words) Then: how does the “Double Bind” relate to the concept of separate spheres? (the private and public gendered spheres described in module 6) (50-100 words) a. Women in power have to choose between being liked and being taken seriously. You are either cold and thus more “masculine” and respected, or you are overemotional, hysterical, and incompetent. b. The political sphere is highly masculinized: the alpha male who dominates in conversation and is aggressive is referred to as com[etent and a fit leader, while the other sphere of femininity is separated from politics because they are considered weak, small, incompetent, and inferior. This is similar to the double bind because women in politics have to essentially abandon their femininity to adopt a more “masculine” approach where they must be cold and aggressive to be taken seriously. If a woman shows emotion, she is hysterical; if a man shows emotion, he is passionate. 4. Hutchinson - Consider the CNN editorial “Harris’ toughest debate opponent wasn’t Pence but a stereotype”: a. Identify the role of the double-bind in perceptions of Kamala Harris (25-75 words) She had to continuously “curb her tongue” to not seem like an angry black woman as society stereotypes black women to be. Pence spoke over her, interrupted her, and spoke lies, but at the end of the day if Harris behaved the same way, she would receive much more backlash because of her gender. b. How do race and gender intersect to form this double-bind? (25-75 words) Again building on the angry black woman stereotype against her: intersectionality comes into play for this - if she was a white woman her “hysteria” and behavior would be blamed on her gender while as a black woman, it is both blamed on her gender and her race. 5. Parker and Five Thiry Eight - Consider both the editorial in the Chicago Tribune, and the Five Thirty Eight video: a. Who is rumored to possibly become the first woman elected to the presidency? (5-10 words) Republican former SC Senator Nikki Haley b. Why might the first female president be a Republican? (25-75 words)

Female candidates are generally presumed to be more liberal than their male counterparts, and a female republican can be seen as a form of “compromise”. Democrats also are reluctant to elect a female candidate because they do not believe that their neighbors will vote for them, which creates this self-defeatist attitude that weeds out promising female democratic candidates. c.  Imagine the Republican Party decides to run a woman in the next national election, and the Democrats run a white man. How might a person’s political and gender identities interact in the decision-making process of selecting which candidate to support? How might the media make assumptions about who groups of people will support? (50-150 words) A person’s political identity - whether it be conservartive or liberal - will be clashed with their gender identity. On one end of the spectrum, those that traditionally vote conservative may be reluctant to vote for a female republican candidate that appears to be “liberal” because she is a woman. On the other end of the spectrum ,liberal democratic voters may be reluctant to vote for yet another old white man but may also be hesitant to vote for the female, yet conservative, candidate. 6. Which piece did you pick for your “PICK ONE”? Briefly summarize its main point(s) (25-75 words) I chose “Diagnosed by GIF” because the ableist attitudes really struck me as disturbing. This reminded me of using more “feminine” words to degrade a candidate and “masculine” words to empower the other. Physical “sickness” (nothing was diagnosed by actual medical professionals, rather the candidates were judged by the way they walked or even breathed) in this context truly has nothing to do with the candidates’ policies and capabilities to lead. The “symptoms” described can easily be disheartening to those with disabilities and alludes to the horrible idea that someone who may have a disability impeding their walking or physical presence may be unfit to be a leader....