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Article published In:
The Mediated Communication of Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Politics
Edited by Angela Smith and Michael Higgins
[Journal of Language and Politics 19:1] 2020
► pp. 30–47

A stairheid rammy

Female politicians and gendered discourses in the Scottish press

| Robert Gordon University
This article explores the mediated representation of gender in the Scottish public sphere during the independence referendum in 2014. In particular, it focuses on a media sample drawn from the Scottish press that centres on two key political figures, Johann Lamont and Nicola Sturgeon, who took part in a televised debate during the campaign. Using critical discourse analysis, it looks at how language is used to construct overlapping discourses of gender in a specific cultural and national context. Findings show representations pivot on expectations that female politicians should embody a specific feminised style; and when gender norms appear to be violated, this is represented in negatively gendered terms. Though there is evidence of contestation of male-dominated politics, discourses still reify traditional gender norms and situate women as outsiders to the political sphere. This study shows how specific discursive frames can contribute to a cross-cultural practice of gendering women in politics.
Keywords: gender, female politicians, Scottish politics, Scottish press, critical discourse analysis
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Women, media and politics
  • 3.Scottish women, media and politics
  • 4.Method
  • 5.“A stairheid rammy”
  • 6.“Like dentists’ drills on Dexedrine”
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 10 February 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.20004.mck
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