Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Presidents--United States--Election--2008; Politics and government; Women--Political activity; United States--Politics and government--2001-2009; United States; Clinton, Hillary Rodham; Academic theses; 2001-2009;
Abstract
Hillary Clinton announced her intentions to form a presidential exploratory committee on January 20, 2007. The campaign that followed this announcement was complicated by the many existing images created by Hillary Clinton's many years in the public eye. Throughout these many years, Hillary Clinton struggled to establish voter identification, and was frequently the subject of public criticism, rendering many existing images negative. Furthermore, she served in a variety of roles: governor's wife, first lady, senator, and most recently presidential candidate. Because of the conflicting data resulting from Hillary Clinton's negative publicity and her many roles, her presidential campaign faced a unique challenge when constructing a persona. In response to this challenge, the campaign presented a fighter persona, which worked to reorganize specific past data that portrayed Hillary Clinton as aggressive and not traditionally feminine. Hillary Clinton's fighter persona not only illuminates the way in which image complicates persona construction in political campaigns, but also demonstrates that gender expectations in politics remain stable. In particular, moments of gender tension the campaign reveal the way in which gender limits agency in persona construction, and evokes traditional stereotypes of women. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign provides scholars insight as to the unique experience facing female political candidates running for a masculinzed [sic] presidency.
Year of Submission
2008
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of Communication Studies
First Advisor
Catherine Palczewski
Second Advisor
John Fritch
Third Advisor
Victoria Pruin DeFrancisco
Date Original
2008
Object Description
1 PDF file (120 leaves)
Copyright
©2008 Rebecca Diane Buel
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Buel, Rebecca Diane, "Give ‘Em Hill: The Fighter Persona in Hillary Clinton’s 2008 Presidential Campaign" (2008). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2235.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2235
Comments
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