Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: National and international legal developments prompted the British Labour government to draft the Gender Recognition Bill, a bill to make provision for and in connection to change of gender. The Bill passed both Houses in 2004 with an overwhelming majority. This paper examines the concepts of gender that emerged during the second reading of the Bill in the House of Lords and the House of Commons, respectively, and the concept of gender that underlies the Gender Recognition Act with regard to their implications for bi-genderedness as a normative gender regime.
Despite the fact that the Gender Recognition Act departs significantly from any previous laws in Europe that regulate gender transitions, it nevertheless reproduces a concept of normative bi-genderedness. While biology-based assumptions that were voiced in Parliament remain trapped in the logic of bi-genderedness, too, adherents of a gender logic that forgo inquiries into the causality of gender or gender dysphoria implicitly question the operations of a naturalised bi-gendered regime.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Continuing with the experimental approach developed in our previous work, we examine candidate choice among candidates running with stereotypically feminine or masculine issues that reinforce or crosscut that candidate?s gender.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The gender-linked language effect demonstrates that men and women differ in their language use which results in different evaluative outcomes for communicators. Individuals using prototypical male language are judged to be more dynamic than individuals using prototypical female language, whereas individuals using prototypical female language are judged to be more aesthetically pleasing and socio-intellectual than individuals using prototypical male language. Despite the consistent support for the construct, there is no clear theoretical account of the gender-linked language use differences that determine, in large part, the gender-linked language effect. As such, this research offers an initial step towards a theoretical account of gender-linked language use. Utilizing self-categorization theory, the current research examines the effects of sex, chronic gender identity accessibility (i.e., gender schematicity), and gender identity salience on gender-linked language use. Sex, gender schematicity, and gender identity salience were expected to have effects on gender-linked language use independently and interactively. However, results confirmed interactive effects only. Specifically, men and women use prototypical gender-linked language only when they are gender schematic and have a salient gender identity. When gender identity is not salient individuals use language prototypical of the opposite gender group. The results are discussed regarding previous research on gender-linked language use, the nature of gender identity salience with regards to the ostensibly conflictual gender-as-culture and dominance hypotheses, and the need to examine gender-linked language under a variety of contextual factors.

Publication Type: Paper (prepared oral presentation)
Abstract: How does a candidate’s gender affect voters? Prior research on the effects of gender (e.g., Shapiro 1982; Huddy and Terklidsen 1993) fails to take into consideration campaign rhetoric that strategically attempts to persuade and prime voters. Yet, advances in technology give candidates new opportunities for approaches to marketing themselves in political campaigns. In particular, gender takes on a different role in the modern campaign because candidates make use of their gender strategically by employing the following types of rhetoric: issues commonly stereotyped as areas where a male or female candidate is competent, personality characteristics typical of men or women, and endorsements from women’s or men’s groups. In this way, candidates use strategies congruent with their own gender identity to reinforce voters’ expectations or candidates use strategies incongruent with their gender identity to bend gender stereotypes. I have found evidence of the use of these techniques in both candidate websites and direct mail (Schneider 2007).
A theory of campaign strategy predicts that candidates do best by emphasizing issues consistent with pre-existing stereotypes (Petrocik 1996). However, stereotyping theories from psychology are inconclusive as to how voters’ stereotypes will change as a female candidate pursues rhetoric incongruent with her gender (Brewer 1988; Fiske and Neuberg 1990; Kunda and Thagard 1996). Thus, to answer the question of how gender-based strategies influence voters, I conduct an original experiment using a fictional female candidate. Participates saw and evaluated my candidate’s website, which varied according to her party and gender-based rhetoric. The experiment allows me to examine how strategies affect voter evaluations and trait perceptions. My results suggest that candidate rhetoric which reinforces current stereotypes is particularly persuasive to voters. Inconsistent rhetoric is less persuasive and sometimes damaging to the areas where female candidates traditionally succeed. This study is one of the first to offer a detailed look at gender-based strategies in a new technology era. As more women who defy traditional stereotypes run for office, gender may become a more ambiguous cue than in the past; thus, this research will lead to a better understanding of how gender impacts elections.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: That war is profoundly gendered has long been recognized by feminist international relations scholars. In particular, many scholars argue that sexual violence against women is a constitutive aspect of war. What is less recognized is that the post-war period is equally gendered. What happens to women victims of war violence? What role does righting gender inequities play in post-war reconstruction? Can truth telling bring gender relations to the fore as a concern for longterm sustainable peace? If women are targeted with gender-specific violence during war, can new governments hold those responsible for violence accountable at war?s end? If not, what does this say about the government?s commitment to the rule of law and human rights, an oft-stated goal for establishing a truth commission? While the gendered dimension of violent conflict has received much theoretical attention, what has not been adequately theorized is how truth-seeking exercises in the aftermath of conflict should respond to this fact. The difficulties of foregrounding gender in truth telling is illustrated by examining the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (SATRC). This paper argues that the SATRC was not terribly successful at uncovering the truth about women? s experiences under apartheid. It offers several explanations for why this was the case, including the definition of human rights violations which governed the work of the commission, including the primacy given to civil and political over economic and social rights violations; the adoption of a gender-neutral approach to truth gathering; and the criteria used for qualifying for amnesty which resulted in the fact that no men applied for amnesty for sexual violence. The paper then explores some consequences of the failure to uncover the truth about sexual violence, including its impact on the government?s reparations policy, and continued ?peacetime? violence perpetrated against women in South Africa.