Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly · 2018 · 28 citations · 30 references
Gendered PerceptionProfessional NewsPublic OpinionPolitical PolarizationPolitical BehaviorCommunicationMedia StudiesJournalismElection CampaignSocial SciencesVisual ContentMedia ActivismSocial MediaGender IdentityGender StudiesGender QualitiesSocial Medium NewsPolitical CommunicationContent AnalysisGendered ContextTrump SubredditsGender StereotypeSocial Medium VisualizationVisual WarPolitical CampaignsPolitical AttitudesMass CommunicationArtsPolitical Science
U.S. political party genderization (Republicans as masculine; Democrats as feminine) is well-documented in research. To determine if Hillary Clinton may have disrupted these patterns as the first female major-party presidential nominee, Reddit posts during the 2016 election campaign were analyzed. Most studies focus on professional news or candidate self-presentations concocted by image handlers. We departed from this tradition, focusing on (a) gender qualities that Redditors assign to candidates on this platform and (b) statistical tracking of these patterns over time. The results provide insight into how the electorate presented the two candidates and Donald Trump’s largely unexpected victory.
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