 |
Family Legacy: How Male and Female Candidates Present Their Families of Origin to Their Communities
| |
| | Unformatted Document Text:
Abstract
In this paper, I utilize content analysis to assess how candidates to the Congress and for
governor convey information to potential constituents about their families of origin on their websites, and how those portrayals may differ by gender, as well as office sought, party, and seat status. I hypothesize that women will be less likely than men to emphasize their families of origin, given the historical dependence of daughters, and find that women, in fact, are less likely than men to mention their families of origin and their roles as “daughters,” though differences are not dramatic. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to refer to their family of origin roles of “daughter” and “son,” and women in the most competitive races, those for open seats, are less likely than similarly situated men to emphasize their roles as daughters or sons, as well as being less likely than women running either as challengers or incumbents to do so. Qualitatively, candidates of both genders and parties use references to their families of origin strategically, to take credit for achievement of the American dream and emphasize American ideology of working class experience and values, immigrant experience, public service, political upbringing, and issues. Few qualitative differences by gender emerged, yet those that did are telling, in that women are more likely than men to use references to their families of origin to connect to military experience, and men were twice as likely as women to use their families of origin to indicate personal integrity, both of which are considered weaknesses of their respective genders. I argue that candidates can shape the narratives of their families of origin in any number of ways, but they tailor their messages strategically.
2
|
| | Authors: Sacco, Jennifer. |
|
| |
|
|
Abstract
In this paper, I utilize content analysis to assess how candidates to the Congress and for
governor convey information to potential constituents about their families of origin on their
websites, and how those portrayals may differ by gender, as well as office sought, party, and seat
status. I hypothesize that women will be less likely than men to emphasize their families of
origin, given the historical dependence of daughters, and find that women, in fact, are less likely
than men to mention their families of origin and their roles as “daughters,” though differences
are not dramatic. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to refer to their family of origin
roles of “daughter” and “son,” and women in the most competitive races, those for open seats,
are less likely than similarly situated men to emphasize their roles as daughters or sons, as well
as being less likely than women running either as challengers or incumbents to do so.
Qualitatively, candidates of both genders and parties use references to their families of origin
strategically, to take credit for achievement of the American dream and emphasize American
ideology of working class experience and values, immigrant experience, public service, political
upbringing, and issues. Few qualitative differences by gender emerged, yet those that did are
telling, in that women are more likely than men to use references to their families of origin to
connect to military experience, and men were twice as likely as women to use their families of
origin to indicate personal integrity, both of which are considered weaknesses of their respective
genders. I argue that candidates can shape the narratives of their families of origin in any
number of ways, but they tailor their messages strategically.
2
|
|
 Convention | | All Academic Convention can solve the abstract management needs for any association's annual meeting. | | Submission - Custom fields, multiple submission types, tracks, audio visual, multiple upload formats, automatic conversion to pdf. | | Review - Peer Review, Bulk reviewer assignment, bulk emails, ranking, z-score statistics, and multiple worksheets! | | Reports - Many standard and custom reports generated while you wait. Print programs with participant indexes, event grids, and more! | | Scheduling - Flexible and convenient grid scheduling within rooms and buildings. Conflict checking and advanced filtering. | | Communication - Bulk email tools to help your administrators send reminders and responses. Use form letters, a message center, and much more! | | Management - Search tools, duplicate people management, editing tools, submission transfers, many tools to manage a variety of conference management headaches! | | Click here for more information. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
