Women and the White House: Gender, Popular Culture, and Presidential Politics

In this well-documented scholarly work, 13 essays explore the role gender plays in presidential politics, with topics including "Colbert Nation: Gender, Late-Night Television, and Candidate Humanization" and "Fact or Fiction: The Reality of Race and Gender in Reaching the White House." The book investigates how citizens observe and engage with female political leaders, how concepts of presidential leadership are gendered across different forms of media, and how popular culture influences women in politics. The authors find the campaigns of polarizing figures including Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and Michele Bachmann to both defy and embody gender stereotypes, and analyze how pop culture like the 1964 film Kisses for My President and ABC's short-lived 2005 drama Commander in Chief imagine female presidents. A provocative thread throughout is the potential for late night television to either humanize or demonize a candidate, notably Palin. This thought-provoking lineup makes for compelling reading, no matter what side of the political spectrum one is on. (Nov.)