Gender and power -images of female politicians in Colombia : A critical discourse analysis

• Main Author: Särnhult, Victoria
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Stockholms universitet, Romanska och klassiska institutionen 2014
• Subjects: Gender; Media; Discourse; Colombia
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-113386

Colombia holds one of the most unequal sex ratios at government level in Latin America. The research therefore attempts to examine how the minority of women who have a seat in government are being reflected and reproduced in the media based on the representation of gender. In this qualitative study, the aim is to investigate, analyze and illustrate how women in high political office in Colombia are portrayed in Colombian newspapers. The study examines how gender affects the discourse of these female politicians. In the study a critical discourse analysis is used from a feminist perspective on material from Colombian newspapers, concerning four different female Colombian top politicians. The focus of the analysis is to examine how the image of these women are being produced and reproduced in the media and if the reproduction of the discourse of these women stand out or differ significantly because of their gender. The study contributes to gain a broader understanding and overview of what the situation of women in the political world in Colombia looks like, how it is shaped by the media and the social and cultural context, and finally how this affects women in politics.