Running as a Woman: Gender and Power in American Politics [Paperback]

Linda Witt (Author), Glenna Matthews (Author), Karen M. Paget (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0028740696 | ISBN-13: 978-0028740690

The authors show just how women politicians tapped into the vote for the 1992 elections and how they will shape their campaign strategies and political agendas around it in the future. Includes interviews with Geraldine Ferraro, Pat Schroeder, Nancy Kassebaum, and other major political figures. 15 photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A journalist, a political scientist and a historian at UC Berkeley, respectively, here offer a broad and anecdotal account that instructively analyzes the evolving history of women as political candidates. The earliest candidates, like Jeannette Rankin who in 1916 became the first woman member of Congress, invoked altruism as their motivation; only after the birth of feminism could women admit to ambition. Despite increases in numbers over the years, the comparative paucity of women politicians means that those who run are likely to be viewed through expectations born of feminine stereotypes. They must face questions about dress, motherhood and marriage that male politicans are never asked. Although women have recently begun to succeed in political fundraising, mobilizing the "women's vote" is more difficult and the authors offer only a few tentative suggestions. More perspicacious is their criticism of media coverage of women politicians and their analysis of how individual candidates "phrase" the gender issue. Nonetheless, the authors conclude that women, collectively and individually, are gradually accruing the power necessary to reframe the issues that affect them.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The authors combine the expertise of a prize-winning journalist, a political scientist , and a historian/instructor at the University of California, Berkeley, to look at the influences that helped elect significantly more women to national office in 1992. This is a smoothly woven narrative combining historical material on women's candidacies since the early 20th century, using information gathered during in-depth interviews with such contemporary female politicians as Geraldine Ferraro, Nancy Kassebaum, and Patricia Schroeder. The authors often make their points with anecdotal examples that keep the reader interested, and they address the obstacles women candidates find in their paths, from the difficulties of raising campaign funds to the challenges of keeping media attention focused on the issues instead of their hemlines and hairstyles. Recommended for academic, law, and public libraries with strong women's studies collections.
- Jill Ortner, Hamburg, N.Y.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 388 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (August 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028740696
• ISBN-13: 978-0028740690
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,925,931 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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