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Ms. Prime Minister offers both solace and words of caution for women politicians. After closely analyzing the media coverage of former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell; two former Prime Ministers of New Zealand, Jenny Shipley and Helen Clark; and Australia’s 27
th Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, Linda Trimble concludes that reporting both reinforces
and contests unfair gender norms. News about female leaders gives undue attention to their gender identities, bodies and family lives. Yet equivalent men are also treated to evaluations of their gendered personas. And, as Trimble finds, some media accounts expose sexism and authenticate women's performances of leadership.
Ms. Prime Minister provides important insight into the news frameworks that work to deny or confer political legitimacy. It concludes with advice designed to inform the gender strategies of women who aspire to political leadership roles and the reporting techniques of the journalists who cover them.
List of contents
1. Gender, Media and Leadership
2. Ascension Stories
3. First Women and the X Factor
4. First Men and the Family Strategy
5. Body Politics
6. Love and War
7. Speech and Shame
8. Dealing (with) the Gender Card
About the author
Linda Trimble is a professor in the Department of Political Science, University of Alberta. She is the co-editor of two collections on women and political representation in Canada as well as a volume on the changing nature of Canadian politics in the twenty-first century.
Summary
Ms. Prime Minister analyzes media portrayals of the four female prime ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, arguing that these women’s legitimacy as political actors was sometimes affirmed, but as often questioned, by the news coverage they received.
