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03, 2006
FT interview with the rising star of the French Socialist party
FT interview with the rising star of the French Socialist party
Hi, I am quite interested in this piece of article, which reflects the "conventional approach" to interview female politicians. I don't know how bright Segolene Royal is (as my understanding about French politics is...), but my impression of this article is that it focus on why she doesn't get married though she has already have four children. Moreover, her dressing style...I am wondering is this kind of media representation of female politicians are the same around the world?
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/40acf40a-9390-11da-a978-0000779e2340.html
Posted by Gillian at 3, 2006 02:28
Comments
Hi, the Superwoman angle - ie. a woman who holds the fort in politics or the corporate world or in any profession for the matter, and who manages to raise a bundle of children who are all scholars and still makes tea for her husband in the morning - is always popular. Like it or not, Family is still very tied up with Women and I suppose media representation in this case reflects how people think.
Posted by: shermaine at 4, 2006 06:40
Hi, I remember this very interesting review of Australian papers covering a popular female politician. Unfortunately I neither remember her name nor the year apart from the fact that this was sometime in the mid-90s. If I can dig up a copy that I'm certain I have in my papers somewhere, I'll definitely share with you. But the point of that review was exactly what is happening in the case of the French politician. In the case of women politicians particularly the focus is more on what they wear than what they said, or have done. Even women journalists would do the same thing. We are socialised this way. I really think that only training, and the implementation of policies that mainstream gender will change media representations. Thanks, Ann
Posted by: Ann at 7, 2006 01:55
Gillian, are there any relevant readings that you've come across in your course, which you'd recommend?
Posted by: Alicia at 8, 2006 11:35
I am now reading the book "Gender, Politics and Communication" (2000) edited by Annabelle Sreberny and Liesbet van Zoonen.
One article was written by Karen Ross and Annabelle Sreberny, "Women in the House: Media Representation of British Politicians". It might be quite relevant to this topic.
Posted by: Gillian at 9, 2006 03:26
Dear Ann, I find interesting that the request for "implementation of policies that mainstream gender" comes from a journalist (even though IPS has been working for a long time on gender issues, so it is not a surprise at all).
I have been working both in mainstream commercial media (certainly "non progressive" outlets) and within alternative/progressive projects but rarely I find journalists calling for policies.. which are sometimes seen as "intrusions" in fair reporting. Not surprisingly, in my experience women and men were on the same line. More or less what I was told was this:
How does gender mainstreaming policies link up with fair reporting? If I have a "special eye for women" and their stories, although that is done with the best intention, doesn't it crash with "fairness"? I turn the questions to all of you... I do not have yet a convincing answer. Hope I was clear enough... Stefania
Posted by: Stefania at 9, 2006 05:39