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The Changing Norms of Gendered News Coverage: Hillary Clinton in the New York Times, 1969–2016

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 October 2018

Diana Zulli
Diana Zulli*
Affiliation:
Purdue University
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Abstract

Research on female politicians suggests that women face a double bind. Female politicians must embrace their femininity but not be too feminine, and they must demonstrate masculinity without deviating from gender norms. Hillary Clinton has often struggled with this balance, which has resulted in conflicting and inconsistent portrayals of her in the news. To examine the extent of this coverage, this study provides a longitudinal analysis of Clinton's personal and professional media coverage in the New York Times. A content analysis of news coverage of Clinton from 1969 to 2016 shows that she has largely not been bound to gender labels, gender traits, or mentions of physical appearance. In addition, Clinton was not overly discussed as a novelty or norm challenger. These findings contradict previous literature, demonstrating a potential trend away from using gender as a descriptor for or limitation to female politicians.

Keywords

Hillary Clintongender issuesgender traitsgender rolesNew York Times
Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 15 , Special Issue 3: Special Symposium on Michelle Obama , September 2019 , pp. 599 - 621
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2018 

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