18 Million Cracks in the Glass Ceiling Language, Gender and Power in Hillary R. Clinton’s Political Rhetoric

GIORDANO, MICHELA

2012-01-01

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Abstract

Historically, women have been largely excluded from the majority of political leadership roles. In the USA, despite centuries of progress made by equal rights advocates, philosophers, suffragists and feminists, women still remain manifestly underrepresented in top echelon public positions such as those of senator and governor and, in particular, that of President which still appears to be Beyond the reach of a woman. This study explores the intricate relationship between language, politics and gender through the analysis of the controversial and much-debated figure of Hillary R. Clinton. The investigation focuses both on Hillary R. Clinton as the subject of discourse, i.e. as producer of texts and speeches, and as the object of discourse, i.e. as the topic and target of mass media discourse Her viable bid for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 American presidential elections once again raised questions about biases, stereotypes, sexism and women’s discrimination both in the political arena and among the media.