Women politicians--Press coverage

This thesis examines how the media depicted First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton when she stepped outside of the traditional feminine roles of wife and/or mother and into the traditionally masculine/public world with her bid to run for the office of United States Senator from New York. It critically examines the cover, cover story images, and textual representations in Newsweek, Time, and New York magazines by means of a feminist semiotic and rhetorical analysis to discern potential meanings. The research concludes that the media circumscribe limited roles for First Ladies. First Ladies continue to be shown as victim, object, and/or appendage of a more powerful male, even when they consider political office. Therefore, it is argued that the media have a profound role in defining political women through the perpetuation of hegemonic constructions of femininity.

This essay examines rhetoric regarding Katherine Harris and Hillary Clinton published in three national newspapers during a critical point in each woman's political career. By using the methods of content analysis and feminist rhetorical critique, it was found that national newspapers construct an image of political women as power-hungry "bitches" with poor taste in fashion who are accustomed to getting what they want and will stop at nothing to do so. Thus, it appears that patriarchal biases continue to shape the foundation of political reporters. Given that most Americans gather their knowledge of politics through the media, this thesis argues that the messages in these newspapers may have an effect on the public's opinions of the qualifications for women in the political arena.