A stairheid rammy : female politicians and gendered discourses in the Scottish press

McKay, Fiona (2020) A stairheid rammy : female politicians and gendered discourses in the Scottish press. Journal of Language and Politics, 19 (1). pp. 30-47. ISSN 1569-2159 (https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.20004.mck)

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Abstract

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.

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