Distinct Identities: Minority Women in U.S. Politics by Nadia E. Brown & Sarah Allen Gershon

Author:Nadia E. Brown & Sarah Allen Gershon [Brown, Nadia E. & Gershon, Sarah Allen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Women in Politics, Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781317338840
Google: 8Wn7CwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 29955104
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-04-14T00:00:00+00:00

Latent Foregrounding: Character

During the 2012 election, several African American female candidates seem to have been subject to framing that includes many of the tropes of the stereotype of the “angry Black woman,” in particular, the “emasculating anger” identified by Harris-Perry as a key feature of contemporary myths about Black women informed by long lived stereotypes. The frame includes adjectives such as “outspoken” to describe Corrine Brown or speech verbs such as “screaming” in coverage of Gwen Moore (D-WI 4th District), as well as more substantial negative characterizations. In the case of Donna Edwards (D-MD 4th District), the frame was clearly linked with her status as other. While one Washington Post article cited Edwards framing herself as “straightforward,” it also described her as taking an “aggressive stand,” stating that she “did not hold back.” The author interprets this as the behavior of an individual “accustomed to being on the outside looking in,” and voice was given to criticism that Edwards is “not in touch” and “has alienated many colleagues and should do more to repair relationships.” Similarly, criticisms of Gloria Bromell Tinubu’s campaign by her local newspaper were highly personalized. An endorsement of her opponent argued that her “façade” was “stripped away” and instead the “true personality” that was alleged to have emerged in the context of a “stressful election season” was “not pretty.” Behavior viewed as “belligerent” by the publication outweighed the benefits of her “economist background” and the editors elected instead to support a competitor they believed to possess a “calmer temperament” and “willingness to compromise.” Thus an acrimonious contest between two candidates was represented as the “real” nature of a woman who apparently lacked rationality despite her expertise. Anger and rationality were also posited as opposites in other contexts. For example, the Reverend Al Sharpton was cited praising Marcia Fudge (D-OH 11th District), stating:

She’s a fighter, but she’s also rational…. Sometimes you get people that are so fiery, they are not strategic. She has the passion and the fire in the belly, but she has the maturity in her mind to get things done.

Interestingly, the statement suggests that the “fighter” element of her public persona is apparently in need of qualification, despite her role. Furthermore, visible anger is deemed not righteous, but a red flag of immaturity. It is worth noting also that these criticisms and characterizations are not confined to the sometimes more extreme sentiments expressed in Letters to the Editor, but regularly appear in news copy and editorial, as with the examples here. Thus they are firmly present within mainstream media platforms rather than relegated to the fringes.

Character references were by no means universally negative. However, explicitly positive representations also show substantial correspondence with the counter-frame of the “Strong Black woman.” Candidates are praised for “tenacity,” described as “capable and energetic,” and cited representing themselves as “a hard-charger” or “secure enough in who I am and what I stand for.” Harris-Perry (2011: 185) points out the ways in which this characterization can be a double-edged sword:

What begins as empowering self-definition can quickly become a prison….

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