Politics Flashcards
Political Science as Power Studies
Raphael used this term to replace Political Studies because it is more about who is in power. Political science has been concerned with the “universal subject”: a white European, middle to upper class male who have created policies that pertain to them, typically exclude everyone but them, they are in power.
Barriers for Women in Politics
Gender Stereotypes & Socialization, Pink Collar Ghettos, Gendered Division of Labour, Decision Making within Political Parties, Electoral Systems
Male & Female Traits and Political Issues
Male = Defense issues, International Organizations, Economy, Nuclear Arms Control, Treaties, Taxes, Energy, Oil. Knowledgeable, Hardworking, Untrustworthy, Strong, Ambitious, Strong Leader, Objective, Consistent, Competitive, Aggressive, Insensitive, Independent, Ambitious
Women = Welfare, Education, Child Care, Parental Leave, Employment/Jobs, Women’s Rights, Gay Rights, Health. Honest, Gentle, unintelligent, Weak, Weak Leader, attractive, passive, emotional, uninformed, compassionate, non-competitive, dependent.
Politics as Resistance
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Creativity as Politics
idk
Result of Kittilson & Firkin’s analysis
[1] women candidates receive less prominent attention
[2] women are represented as unlikely to succeed
[3] candidates’ family backgrounds are highlighted for women in ways that are distinct from how men’s families are represented
[4] the tone of coverage is influenced by whether or not a newspaper is reporting on a man candidate or a woman candidate
–> they do find that gender, and specifically gender stereotypes continue to influence what issues get covered and what traits are associated with candidates.
Pink Collar Ghetto
Politicians tend to enter politics from business or law whereas women tend to enter from teaching, nursing, social work “Pink Collar Ghetto” – careers that are more stereotypically feminine is careers we don’t see as leading to politics
Electoral Systems
Proportional representation systems result in a more equal distribution of seats relative to votes, multi member ridings (can choose more than one person per riding) increases likelihood of women being elected
Gender Division of Labour
“Double Day” - Gender divisions of labour, the woman has a job and takes care of the domestic work while the men can pursue a career, “The higher the fewer” or Glass Ceiling, the higher you go/rank the fewer women there are
Decision Making
When women are represented in low numbers, they are merely symbolic: no influence (Critical mass hypothesis) 30% is the current number. However if you have a culture opposed to women’s equality it doesn’t matter the quota number there will still be obstacles, Lots of times when women are chosen as party leaders its because the party has lost popularity in the polls or has been significantly weakened, also become elected in ridings they can’t win in “sacrificial lambs” – Left parties due a better job in electing women in winnable ridings
Gender Stereotypes & Socialization
Similar to whats seen in Women’s traits & issues, Can we assume that all women share the same interests and expect them to represent these interests, are they even going to be able to?
Media as barriers
the media tends to focus on women’s appearance rather than men’s, focus on a woman’s appearance trivializes her and doesn’t take her seriously. Tend to associate masculinity with strong leadership and femininity with weakness
Do Higher #s of Women in office translate to more gender-neutral coverage/representation
No, if culture is opposed to women’s equality it doesn’t matter the number it won’t be equal.
