Gender and the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primaries: The Case of Hillary Rodham Clinton
| Thesis title in Czech: | Gender a demokratické primárky v roce 2008: Studie kampaně Hillary Clintonové |
|---|---|
| Thesis title in English: | Gender and the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primaries: The Case of Hillary Rodham Clinton |
| Academic year of topic announcement: | 2010/2011 |
| Thesis type: | diploma thesis |
| Thesis language: | angličtina |
| Department: | Department of North American Studies (23-KAS) |
| Supervisor: | Mgr. Jana Sehnálková, Ph.D. |
| Author: | hidden - assigned by the advisor |
| Date of registration: | 03.03.2011 |
| Date of assignment: | 03.03.2011 |
| Date and time of defence: | 14.09.2011 10:30 |
| Date of electronic submission: | 05.08.2011 |
| Date of proceeded defence: | 14.09.2011 |
| Opponents: | prof. PhDr. Svatava Raková, CSc. |
| References |
| Baltz, Dan, and Haynes Johnson. The Battle for America, 2008: The Story of an Extraordinary Election. New York: Viking, 2009.
Carroll, Susan J., and Richard L. Fox. Gender and Elections: Shaping the Future of American Politics, Second Edition. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Carroll, Susan J.. Reflections on Gender and Hillary Clinton's Presidential Campaign: The Good, the Bad and the Misogynic. Politics & Gender , Volume 5 , Issue 01 , Mar 2009 : 1-20. Clinton, Hillary Rodham. Living History. London: Headline, 2004. Dolan, Julie Anne, Melissa M. Deckman, and Michele L. Swers. Women in Politics: Paths to Power and Political Influence. Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007. Falk, Erika. Women for President: Media Bias in Nine Campaigns. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2010. Gerth, Jeff, and Don Van Natta Jr. Hillary Clinton: Her Way. London: John Murray, 2008. Givham, Robin. ?Hillary Clinton?s Tentative Dip Into Neckline Territory.? The Washington Post, July 20, 2007, accessed September 26, 2010, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/19/AR2007071902668.html. Goldenberg, Susan. Is American Ready to Send Hillary Clinton to the Whitehouse?. London: Guardian Newspaper Ltd, 2007. Gutgold, Nichola D.. Almost Madam President: Why Hillary Clinton "Won" in 2008 (Lexington Studies in Political Communication). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2009. Healy, Patrick. ?For Clintons, Delicate Dance of Married and Public Lives.? New York Times, May 23, 2006, accessed September 26, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/23/nyregion/23clintons.html. Healy, Patrick. ?Laughing Matter in Clinton Campaign.? New York Times, September 8, 2007,accessed September 26, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/28/us/politics/28web-healy.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print Heilemann, John, and Mark Halperin. Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime. New York: Harper, 2010. Johnson, Allan G.. The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1997. Kimmel, Michael. The Gendered Society. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Kornblut, Anne E.. Notes from the Cracked Ceiling: Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and What It Will Take for a Woman to Win. New York: Cown Publishing Group, 2009. Lawrence, Regina G, and Melody Rose. Hillary Clinton's Race for the White House: Gender Politics and the Media on the Campaign Trail. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers Inc, 2009. Morris, Roger. Partners in Power: The Clintons and Their America. New York: Holt, 1996. The Hillary Clinton Memos, The Atlantic.com, August 11, 2008, http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/08/the-hillary-clinton-memos/6951/. Warner, Judith. Hillary Clinton: The Inside Story. New York: Signet Books, c1993. |
| Preliminary scope of work |
| Introduction:
I will describe my premise, methods used and provide a larger context for the problem. Available sources will be analyzed. Chapter I: Prospects for the First Woman President: Mixed Signals Before the 2008 Democratic Primaries I will focus on gender-specific challenges and stereotypes that American women running for high political offices have to overcome. I will describe the general situation of women in American politics before the 2008 presidential primaries and show that even though from the outside the prospects for Hillary Rodham Clinton might have appeared as positive, the contrary was in fact true. Chapter II: How to Run a Front-runner? Compared to all female presidential candidates before her, Hillary Clinton was in a fundamentally different situation: she was a front-runner and from the onset of her campaign, her nomination seemed almost inevitable. At the same time, she was the first serious female presidential candidate running for a major party. In this part, I will focus on Clinton?s campaign strategy, paying special attention to the problem of gender. The crucial dilemma of the campaign in this respect was how to run a front-runner and a woman, how to balance toughness and femininity. I will also explore Clinton?s support among women belonging to various demographic groups and attempt to explain reasons for their voting preferences. Chapter III: Hillary Clinton?s Path to a Polarizing Figure and Why Does it Matter After almost two decades on the national scene, at the time of her candidacy, Clinton was a well-know candidate but also a highly polarizing figure. How did the gender stereotypes work against her? How did Americans respond in polls when asked whether they would vote for a woman president? How did the public perceive the fact that as a former first lady, she sought an office of the president? How was her and Bill?s unusual partnership perceived in light of her candidacy? Was he a boost to her campaign or the very contrary? Chapter IV: Media and Sexism in Clinton?s Campaign The role of media in the campaign was in many ways decisive. I will show how media covered Clinton?s campaign, what frames they used in their coverage and compare it to the way other (male) candidates, especially Barack Obama, were treated. I will explore specific gender-related issues to which media paid attention in Clinton?s campaign, such as her laughter called ?cackle? in The New York Times or The Washington Post scandal about her cleavage. Besides my own analysis of several famous instance of media sexism in the campaign, I will assemble a large body of findings as presented in various studies which prove a great degree of sexism and sexist coverage of Clinton in the campaign and during the Democratic primaries. It is important to point out that sexist comments were often done on a symbolic level through subtle, symbolic remarks and hints that are often culture specific and not easily discerned by a non-native speaker of English. Conclusion I will summarize how gender influenced Hillary Clinton?s campaign. Based on a large body of symbolic representations showing sexism in the campaign, I will claim that in Hillary Clinton?s case, gender functioned as a highly discriminating factor and it was one of the significant factors that negatively influenced her chances of winning the Democratic presidential nomination. |
| Preliminary scope of work in English |
| Introduction:
I will describe my premise, methods used and provide a larger context for the problem. Available sources will be analyzed. Chapter I: Prospects for the First Woman President: Mixed Signals Before the 2008 Democratic Primaries I will focus on gender-specific challenges and stereotypes that American women running for high political offices have to overcome. I will describe the general situation of women in American politics before the 2008 presidential primaries and show that even though from the outside the prospects for Hillary Rodham Clinton might have appeared as positive, the contrary was in fact true. Chapter II: How to Run a Front-runner? Compared to all female presidential candidates before her, Hillary Clinton was in a fundamentally different situation: she was a front-runner and from the onset of her campaign, her nomination seemed almost inevitable. At the same time, she was the first serious female presidential candidate running for a major party. In this part, I will focus on Clinton?s campaign strategy, paying special attention to the problem of gender. The crucial dilemma of the campaign in this respect was how to run a front-runner and a woman, how to balance toughness and femininity. I will also explore Clinton?s support among women belonging to various demographic groups and attempt to explain reasons for their voting preferences. Chapter III: Hillary Clinton?s Path to a Polarizing Figure and Why Does it Matter After almost two decades on the national scene, at the time of her candidacy, Clinton was a well-know candidate but also a highly polarizing figure. How did the gender stereotypes work against her? How did Americans respond in polls when asked whether they would vote for a woman president? How did the public perceive the fact that as a former first lady, she sought an office of the president? How was her and Bill?s unusual partnership perceived in light of her candidacy? Was he a boost to her campaign or the very contrary? Chapter IV: Media and Sexism in Clinton?s Campaign The role of media in the campaign was in many ways decisive. I will show how media covered Clinton?s campaign, what frames they used in their coverage and compare it to the way other (male) candidates, especially Barack Obama, were treated. I will explore specific gender-related issues to which media paid attention in Clinton?s campaign, such as her laughter called ?cackle? in The New York Times or The Washington Post scandal about her cleavage. Besides my own analysis of several famous instance of media sexism in the campaign, I will assemble a large body of findings as presented in various studies which prove a great degree of sexism and sexist coverage of Clinton in the campaign and during the Democratic primaries. It is important to point out that sexist comments were often done on a symbolic level through subtle, symbolic remarks and hints that are often culture specific and not easily discerned by a non-native speaker of English. Conclusion I will summarize how gender influenced Hillary Clinton?s campaign. Based on a large body of symbolic representations showing sexism in the campaign, I will claim that in Hillary Clinton?s case, gender functioned as a highly discriminating factor and it was one of the significant factors that negatively influenced her chances of winning the Democratic presidential nomination. |