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Part of
Discourse, Politics and Women as Global Leaders
Edited by John Wilson and Diana Boxer
[Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture 63] 2015
► pp. 91–120

Chapter 4. Twitter as political discourse

The case of Sarah Palin

| The University of Alabama

This study considers how the first female Republican vice-presidential candidate in American politics, Sarah Palin, draws on stereotypes of gendered language in crafting her persona within the limitations of the Twitter platform of 140 characters. Her use of a more informal and vernacular style associated her symbolically not only with a populist message but also with the covert prestige linked to working class male speech. Palin, brought from relative obscurity as governor of Alaska, embodied a compelling combination of beauty-pageant appearance and traditional female roles of wife and mother with a brash and informal speaking style more usually associated with men. This study examines how her distinctive spoken style and political stance are translated into written tweets.

Keywords: discourse analysis, gender roles, gendered language, informality, populism, social media, spoken language, style, Twitter, U.S. politics, vernacular, written language
Published online: 30 October 2015
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.63.05dav
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