Italian Female Ministers: A Test for the Celebrity Politics?
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Abstract
The so-called celebrity politics is a well-known general and
global phenomenon, common to most Western democracies.
The celebrity politicians have become leading actors in tabloids,
gossip magazines and entertainment TV programs. The paper
aims at investigating the impact of those developments on women
politicians and attempts at evaluating if they are advantaged
or disadvantaged by the increasing celebritization of politics. By
referring to the case of the Italian female ministers and through a
content analysis of the most read Italian gossip magazine, the
paper tests the hypotheses that female ministers receive more
coverage than their male colleagues and that this coverage gives
more space to trivial details, like appearance and attire. The
paper argues that the celebrity politics may give women more
visibility, but offers also some occasions for activating the most
common and unfair gender stereotypes. Therefore, in the case
of male politicians, the coverage of gossip magazines can simply
“humanize” their image by showing them in more private settings
and allowing them to express their feelings and emotions.
In the case of women, the same kind of coverage could reinforce
an already biased treatment due to the fact that they usually
receive more media coverage mentioning family life, dress and
appearance than male politicians.
Keywords
female politicians, gender stereotypes, celebrity politics, gossip magazines, Italian politics.Downloads
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