Abstract
This analysis examines gendered scripts used by U.S. Senate candidates Joni Ernst and Alison Lundergan Grimes in their political ads during the 2014 midterm election. Adapting Gibson and Heyse's (2010) approach to examining gendered scripts, this article found that both Ernst and Grimes relied on masculine scripts that undermined the feminine appeals they used and reinforced hegemonic ideology. While employing a similar mix of gendered scripts that included emasculating their opponents, the candidates differed in their electoral success. Ernst's political ads remained ideologically consistent with the Republican Party's ideals and she won her race by nine points. In contrast, Grimes's ads featured ideologically inconsistent positions with the Democratic Party's ideals and she lost by more than 15 points. Additionally, the article demonstrates that the context of the 2014 midterm election represented a repudiation of President Barack Obama, which further promoted masculine scripts to cater to conservative audiences. 'Implications are drawn concerning politicians' use of a faux feminine performance that supports hegemonic ideology at the denigration of feminine ideals.
Journal Title
Iowa Journal of Communication
Volume
50
Issue
2
First Page
95
Last Page
119
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Smith, J. Scott
(2018)
""Let's Make 'em Squeal" and "Mitch, That's Not How You Hold a Gun": Allison Lundergrun Grimes and Joni Ernst's Faux Feminine Performance in 2014 Senate Ads,"
Iowa Journal of Communication: Vol. 50:
No.
2, Article 3.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ijc/vol50/iss2/3
Copyright
©2018 Iowa Communication Association
