Courtney Boger
How did we get here?
Comm Theory Final
December 10, 2008
“Speaking about Obama's Homeland Security Secretary pick, Arizona Governor Janet
Napolitano, Rendell said, ‘Janet's perfect for that job. Because for that job, you have to have no
life. Janet has no family, perfect. She can devote, literally, 19-20 hours a day to it.’” 1
As of last week, overt sexism still exists in our country. Although Rendell claimed his
comments were not intended to be sexist, that is how they seem. 2 Many believed that we are
past overt sexism and now must fight against discreet forms of sexism. However, Governor
Rendell’s remarks just reaffirm that allow women and minorities have made huge strides
overcoming oppression, there is still a lot of work to be done. Nevertheless, I do think that it is
important to reflect on those strides we have made. More importantly, it is crucial for us to
understand why and how we have made strides.
Now that Obama is transitioning into the Office of the President of the United States, and
appointing several women to top positions, many women are taking the time for reflection. One
blogger on the website Feministing.org wrote on the blog recently talking about how Obama is
using his new role to help other minority groups. Courtney (2008) stated, “Not only does it
indicate that President Elect Obama will use his ‘first’ to create lots of others, but it is really
1
Shea, D. (2008, December 3). Open mic remark. CNN. Retrieved December 10, 2008 from
CNN.com.
2
Shea, D. (2008, December 3). Open mic remark. CNN. Retrieved December 10, 2008 from
CNN.com.
exciting that it’s happening specifically with regards to security – an issue so often masculinized
in popular and political culture.” 3
I originally chose to use Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory, but decided against it
since it focused solely on television, and excluded other forms of media. By using Agenda
Setting Theory I can elaborate on other forms of media like books, such as television shows on
major networks, such as “24” and “Commander in Chief”. Additionally, I originally wanted to
focus on both minorities as a whole, but found that the length of the paper did not allow for me
to do so. Instead, I narrowed the topic down to women in public leadership positions, which is
of greater interest to me.
One theory that will be used is Feminist Standpoint Theory. This theory is a critical
theory that focuses on shedding light on what oppresses women: power. This notion of
oppressive power can be seen and experienced in the form of class, gender, race, education, etc.
Feminist Standpoint Theory sheds light on the forms of oppression and provides women, the
oppressed, with a voice to call attention to it. Although Feminist Standpoint Theory originally
focused on white women, it now includes women of color and other minorities. 4 The “most
important aspects of standpoint theory”, provided by Nancy Hartsock, are:
1. “Material life (class position in Marxism) structures and set limits on understandings of social
relationships.”, 2. “If material life is structured in fundamentally opposing ways for two groups,
the understanding of one will represent an inversion of the other.”, 3. “The vision of the ruling
group structures the material relations in which all persons are forced to participate.”, 4. “In
consequence, the vision available to an oppressed group must be struggled for and represents an
achievement.”, 5. “As an engaged vision, the potential understanding of the oppressed, the
3
Courtney (2008). Obama announces gender-balanced security team. Feministing.com:
Feministing.com weblog. Retrieved December 10, 2008, from
http://www.feministing.com/archives/012422.html
4
Miller, C. (2005). Communication theories: Perspectives, processes, and contexts. 2nd Ed.
Boston: McGraw Hill, 304-306.
adoption of a standpoint, makes visible the inhumanity of relations among human beings and
increases the opportunities for liberation of oppressed groups.” 5
I particularly like the Feminist Standpoint Theory because of its critical component. In any
situation where there is an oppressed group or individual and an oppressor it is important to look
at the factors that allow for that situation to continue. In the case of minority candidates, it will
be beneficial to pull from concepts of Feminist Standpoint Theory and focus on class, education,
race and gender, and the white patriarchal ideologies that make these factors a topic to be
critiqued.
The other theory that will be used is Rogers and Dearing’s Agenda Setting Theory. The
definition provided for agenda setting is “the process whereby the news media lead the public in
assigning relative importance to various public issues.” 6 The three components of Agenda
Setting Theory are media agenda, public agenda, and policy agenda. Media agenda influences
public agenda and policy agenda by deciding which topics receive attention. Public agenda is
determined what the public deems important or interesting. Policy makers and those that
influence the policy makers determine policy agenda. 7
I originally chose to use Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory, but decided against it since it
focused solely on television, and excluded other forms of media. By using Agenda Setting
Theory I can elaborate on other forms of media like books, such as television shows on major
networks, such as “24” and “Commander in Chief”. Additionally, I originally wanted to focus
on both minorities as a whole, but found that the length of the paper did not allow for me to do
5
Miller, C. (2005). Communication theories: Perspectives, processes, and contexts. 2nd Ed.
Boston: McGraw Hill, 305.
6
Miller, C. (2005). Communication theories: Perspectives, processes, and contexts. 2nd Ed.
Boston: McGraw Hill, 271.
7
Miller, C. (2005). Communication theories: Perspectives, processes, and contexts. 2nd Ed.
Boston: McGraw Hill, 270-271.
so. Instead, I narrowed the topic down to women in public leadership positions, which is of
greater interest to me.
Although Agenda Setting Theory has led to a great deal of research on mass
communication, Agenda Setting Theory has its weaknesses. One critique of Agenda Setting
Theory is that it is deemed too simplistic. By using Agenda Setting Theory, which is a postpositivist theory, along side of Feminist Standpoint Theory, which is a critical theory, a new
level of complexity can be useful in explaining the increased amount of minorities in positions of
public leadership. Agenda Setting Theory focuses on the media, the public and the policy
makers, and how they influence each other. However, when thinking about Agenda Setting and
its components, I found myself asking the familiar question of , “Which came first? The chicken
or the egg?”. In the case of Agenda Setting Theory, which of the agendas starts the chain
reaction? I found myself unable to answer this question.
This is where Feminist Standpoint Theory can be useful. Feminist Standpoint Theory can
show us how to be critical of the factors that influence agendas in Agenda Setting Theory. I
have also found it easier to think of the three components of Agenda Setting Theory, media
agenda, public agenda and policy agenda, on the micro-level. These three components influence
each other. Feminist Standpoint Theory would be considered the macro-level since we are
looking at outside factors that influence the micro-level. So, I argue that these two theories used
together can provide a deeper understanding of the complexity of hegemonies and oppression,
which can enlighten us with new ways to overcome those institutions.
Relating back to the discussion of women in public leadership positions, one main topic
of discussion is the under-representation of women in strong leadership positions. Wood (2005)
argued that women are mostly portrayed in the media as very feminine and childlike. However,
Wood did mention how female characters in movies are breaking this mold. 8 A few shows that
she cited are “The Practice”, “Law & Order”, “The West Wing”, “ER”, and “Chicago Hope”. 9
Another show that needs to be mentioned is “Commander in Chief”, that starred Geena Davis as
the Vice President that became the President of the United States after the original President
passed away. Personally, I was ecstatic. This only reaffirmed by thoughts on Senator Clinton
becoming one of the main Democratic contenders in the 2008 Presidential Election.
Unfortunately the viewing audience was not as enthusiastic as I was to see a woman in a
typically masculine position of power. The show ended after one season. 10
Nevertheless, as Wood argued, we are making strides and breaking down stereotypes that
the media reinforces. I would argue that “Commander in Chief” may not have been considered
as a pilot show a decade or more ago. Yet, all of these shows and character roles within the
shows are examples of how an idea outside of the hegemonic ideologies can infiltrate on the
micro-level. By slowly introducing these shows and their characters to the viewing audience, I
would argue that we slowly change the public agenda, which influences the media agenda and
the policy agenda. Similar to my opinions of Shesource.org, that you will read next, I would
argue that stereotypes about women as leaders could be contributed to the slow leak of shows
with strong female character in leadership roles over time, which could make the people behind
the shows and the characters on the show less threatening.
8
Wood, J. (2005). Gendered lives: Communication, gender, and communication. 6th Ed.
Australia: Thomson Wadsworth, 236.
9
Wood, J. (2005). Gendered lives: Communication, gender, and communication. 6th Ed.
Australia: Thomson Wadsworth, 238.
10
Healy, G. (2008). The pop culture presidency. CATO Institute. Retrieved December 10, 2008
from http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9402
Additionally, Winfield (1997) argued that, “ The public and the American media have not
been able to come to terms with a woman who is openly multifaceted: a supportive wife, a
mother, a formidable corporate lawyer and a politician as well as a traditional first lady.” 11 It
has been 11 years since Winfield’s comment, but once again, “Commander in Chief” provides us
with an example of how women are breaking into new roles on and off screen.
In regards to my idea of institutions or individuals feeling threatened, this does have
some credence. Edelman (1995), when referring to the symbolic woman in art, claimed,
“[She] is threatening, fascinating, and romanticized. That perspective helps explain why gender
is crucial in assessing women in politics. The meaning just listed creates strong multivalence
about women, so that women in politics can play to some of them; and chauvinists can also gain
advantage from some of the disturbing or threatening ones.” 12
According to Edelman, women in art are typically shown to be more skilled than men, to live
longer, and are more ideal than men. He then goes on to discuss how these beliefs about women
in art came to held. Edelman argued that these beliefs were “learned” and “conditioned” because
of their representations within art, literature, cartoons, and television. He once again mentioned
how threatening these beliefs about women were to men. Taking a critical look at the reasons
why men felt threatened by these depictions of women lead back to the main concept of Feminist
Standpoint Theory: power. This notion that these symbolic women are threatening could
encourage those patriarchal hegemonies to influence the micro-level: the media agenda, the
policy agenda, and the public agenda.
11
13
Winfield, B. H. (1997). The making of an image: Hillary Rodham Clinton and American
journalists. Political Communication. 14, 251.
12
Edelman, M. (1995). From art to politic: How artistic creations shape political conceptions.
Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 46.
13
A side thought: This idea of women being threatening was discussed in a book that I read last
year, “When God Was a Woman” by Merlin Stone. Stone discussed how for 30,000 years
If we are looking at women in public leadership positions, it would also benefit us to look
at the discussion that have been generated once possibly threatening women are in a position of
power. Rubenstein (2008), claimed, “It is rare to find an article about Hillary that does not take
note of her appearance.” 14 Additionally, she also explained that since Hillary does not wear
outfits that accentuate any feature of her body, she is written off as “ordinary”. 15 So, instead of
the media focusing on Hillary’s qualifications for the White House of the Senate seat or
discussing her characteristics that make her a strong leader, the media focuses on her outfits.
Why is it important to portray women in strong public leadership roles?
Wood argued that women are typically portrayed as a sex object, a mother, a child, or an
iron maiden, which are typically associated with weak and feminine. Men, in contrast, are
shown as a sturdy oak, fighter, and breadwinner, which are typically masculine and strong
characteristics. 16 Typically, women are not portrayed as strong leaders; therefore they are not
portrayed as potentially good candidates for leaders in masculine positions of power, especially
the role of President of the United States. However, women can be successfully elected to
masculine positions of power if they themselves are “capable of being strong, determined, and
decisive”. 17 In addition to being misrepresented, women in politics are also underrepresented. 18
before the three main religions of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity existed, societies worshiped
female deities. This idea of threat is extremely interesting.
14
Rubenstein, D. (2008). This is not a president: Sense, nonsense, and the American political
imaginary. New York: New York University Press, 128.
15
Rubenstein, D. (2008). This is not a president: Sense, nonsense, and the American political
imaginary. New York: New York University Press, 118.
16
Wood, J. (2005). Gendered lives: Communication, gender, and communication. 6th Ed.
Australia: Thomson Wadsworth, 209-213.
17
Sykes, P. L. (2008). Gender in the 2008 Presidential election: Two types of time collide.
Political Science and Politics, 41, 761.
18
Swers, M. (2001). Understanding the policy impact of electing women: Evidence from
research on Congress and State legislatures. Political Science and Politics. 34, 217.
Another example that we can look at is the website Shesource.org. Shesource.org was
created because, “Despite their growing ranks as CEOs, owners of small businesses, and
members of corporate boards, businesswomen continue to be underrepresented in the news
media s leading voices of authority on critical issues in the private sector.” 19 Major news
organizations, such as The New York Times, CNN, and CBS, use the database of female
authority figures provided by Shesource.org for information on issues concerning the economy,
policies, peacekeeping efforts, and other national and international issues. 20 Using both Feminist
Standpoint Theory and Agenda Setting Theory can help us gain a better understanding behind
Shesource.org.
The goal of Shesource.org is similar to Hartsock’s idea of “power over” and “power to”.
She argued that by denying competition of power, which is the “power over”, empowerment of
women, or the concept of “power to” has the opportunity to thrive. “The rejection of the
competitive and zero-sum notion of power is important, it is argued, if women want to demand
empowerment for themselves, without thereby denying it to others.”
21
This is exactly what
Shesource.org did by offering use of their database without charge to news organizations that
deemed their credibility vital to their survival. Since Shesource.org did not attempt to take
power away from the patriarchal hegemonies, I would argue that they did not feel threatened. In
this case, Shesource.org was the macro, and was able to influence the micro.
19
Shesource.org. (2008). Retrieved December 10, 2008, from
http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org/enterprisingwomen/shesource/
20
Shesource.org. (2008). Retrieved December 10, 2008, from
http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org/enterprisingwomen/shesource/
21
Squires, J. (1999). Gender in political theory. Cambridge: Polity Press, 40.
Although the Feminist Standpoint Theory and Agenda Setting Theory can contribute to
traditional forms of media, including newspapers, magazines, radio, television, movies, cartoons,
etc., I find myself questioning whether these two theories, used separately or together, would be
helpful in explaining stereotypes of women portrayed on online media, such as YouTube, or blog
sites, such as the Feministing blog. Blogs and vlogs, which are video blogs, have been gaining
popularity. Pantic (2006) argued that blogs and vlogs are becoming a “viable alternative to
centralized networks”. 22
Feminist Standpoint Theory is not helpful because it relies on power and oppression.
Now, so many people have access to the internet to access these sites and contribute to them.
Most everyone has access to put their opinions and thoughts, whether in the form of words or
videos, on the internet for anyone to see or read. I correlate access with power, and most of our
society has power. Also, with blogs and vlogs, the “centralized networks” are actually losing
power since they can no longer completely control the viewing audiences.
Also, I Agenda Setting Theory would not apply to the online world since everyone has
access. No one can completely control all of the information on the internet. If someone reads a
blog or newspaper article online that they disagree with, there are dozens of other sights to go to
in order to receive information. Even if one made the argument that the public agenda controlled
the internet, it can be argued that there are always individuals that have different opinions than
those held by the majority of the public. If they have access to the internet, they can write about
their ideas.
22
Pantic, D. (2006). Anybody can be TV: How P2P home video will challenge the network
news. In J. Dean, J. W. Anderson, & G. Lovink. (Eds.). Reformatting politics: Information
technology and global civil society. New York: Routledge, 64.
Although Agenda Setting Theory and Feminist Standpoint Theory have their weaknesses,
they are stronger when used together. This strength lies in the ability to help explain the agendas
on the micro level, media, policy, and public, and on the macro level, which could be anyone or
any institution that lies outside of the micro level. As discussed in this paper, these two theories
are especially helpful when looking at how far women have come in tearing down oppressive
barriers and at how it was done. This is especially important for women as a social class and for
all women in public leadership positions.
Although Senator Clinton lost the primary elections, we still have a lot to look forward
to. Although race has become a big part of Feminist Standpoint Theory recently, I didn’t feel
that I could efficiently cover the topic of minorities as public leaders. Nevertheless, Obama’s
defeat over Senator McCain in the Presidential election this year has already been promising for
women. President elect Obama has already chosen Senator Clinton for Secretary of State,
Governor Napolitano as the Homeland Security Secretary, and Susan Rice as the Ambassador to
the United Nations; all of these positions have been typically held by men until recently. 23 I’m
very curious to see how the media portrays Obama’s presidency as well as the women he has
appointed into cabinet positions. Also, I’m curious to see how new emerging forms of media,
such as vlogs, will influence stereotypes, power, and influence in general on the micro and macro
levels.
23
Henry, E., Hornick, E, Keck, K., & McIntyre, J. (2008, December 1). Obama rolls out national
security team. CNNPolitics.com. Retrieved December 10, 2008 from
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/01/transition.wrap/index.html?iref=newssearch
Works Cited
Courtney (2008). Obama announces gender-balanced security team. Feministing.com:
Feministing.com weblog. Retrieved December 10, 2008, from
http://www.feministing.com/archives/012422.html
Edelman, M. (1995). From art to politic: How artistic creations shape political conceptions.
Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Healy, G. (2008). The pop culture presidency. CATO Institute. Retrieved December 10, 2008
from http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9402
Henry, E., Hornick, E, Keck, K., & McIntyre, J. (2008, December 1). Obama rolls out national
security team. CNNPolitics.com. Retrieved December 10, 2008 from
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/01/transition.wrap/index.html?iref=newssearch
Miller, C. (2005). Communication theories: Perspectives, processes, and contexts.
Pantic, D. (2006). Anybody can be TV: How P2P home video will challenge the network news.
In J. Dean, J. W. Anderson, & G. Lovink. (Eds.). Reformatting politics: Information
technology and global civil society. New York: Routledge, 64.
Rubenstein, D. (2008). This is not a president: Sense, nonsense, and the American political
imaginary. New York: New York University Press.
Shea, D. (2008, December 3). Open mic remark. CNN. Retrieved December 10, 2008 from
CNN.com.
Shesource.org. (2008). Retrieved December 10, 2008, from
http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org/enterprisingwomen/shesource/
Sykes, P. L. (2008). Gender in the 2008 Presidential election: Two types of time collide.
Political Science and Politics, 41, 761-764.
Squires, J. (1999). Gender in political theory. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Swers, M. (2001). Understanding the policy impact of electing women: Evidence from research
on Congress and State legislatures. Political Science and Politics. 34, 217-220.
Winfield, B. H. (1997). The making of an image: Hillary Rodham Clinton and American
journalists. Political Communication. 14, 241-253.
Wood, J. (2005). Gendered lives: Communication, gender, and communication. 6th Ed.
Australia: Thomson Wadsworth.