Look at that face! Discerning Gendered Coverage of the 2016 Presidential Primaries

Hannah Cubberley

Abstract

Look at that face! Discerning Gendered Coverage of the 2016 Presidential Primariesexplores gender bias in media coverage of female candidates Republican Cary Fiorina and Democrat Hillary Clinton compared to their respective male opponents in the New York Times. The media influences voters’ candidate evaluations therefore it is important to recognize that the way media covers female candidates can contribute to normative social assumptions that women are socially incongruent with political office. While prior literature suggests that female candidates, Hillary Clinton and Carly Fiorina would receive disproportionate coverage than male opponents in the democratic and republican primaries, more recent studies have shown that gendered coverage has lost its potency in media. I ask: Was gender bias prevalent in the New York Times’press coverage of the 2016 Republican and Democratic presidential primaries?