Women and Politics Essay -- Sarah Palin

Introduction (Literature Review) When females started entering the political scene in the United States in significant numbers in the latter parts of the 20th century, they were faced with a number of predicaments. One of these predicaments centered around the language they were to use in the political arena. As members of the â€Å"other† group, women were forced, in many ways, to adopt the speech patterns of their male counterparts. As Blankenship & Robson pointed out in their research, â€Å"Once women were allowed a modest entrà © [sic] onto the political playing field, they either had to speak the dominant language of power and prove themselves â€Å"tough enough† or remain forever the linguistic sissy† (354). Within the past couple of decades, however, the roles of women collectively in society and politics have changed drastically, prompting some to question whether feminine political discourse still exists – and if so, to what extent. Around the mid to late-1980s, literature on the topic of feminine discourse in politics first began to surface in abundance – possibly as a result of the Democratic Party’s nomination of Geraldine Ferraro as the first female vice presidential candidate on a major party ticket in 1984. Originally, feminine discourse was merely a speech pattern characterized by â€Å"its personal tone, references to personal experience, inductive reasoning, the use of anecdotes and examples as evidence, audience participation, and identification between the speaker and audience† (Campbell, 1989, p. 13). Since that time, however, it has evolved tremendously. In fact, Dow and Tonn (1993) asserted through their study of Texas governor Ann Richard’s speeches that this new feminine speech was an â€Å"alternative political philosophy’’ ... ... is incredibly new and full of ambiguity. As mentioned before, there is a great deal of knowledge that has yet to be uncovered on the topic of gender and political discourse – particularly with regards to female candidates at the national level. As the scope of politics in America continues to change, and as more female politicians become figures on the national stage, the importance of research of this nature. However, through this particular study at hand, I intend to highlight the commonalities in female politicians’ performance of their feminine identities through discourse in hopes of coming to a conclusion of what â€Å"feminine† political discourse looks like in this decade. In doing so, I hope to establish the groundwork for future discussion on the evolution of discourse used by female candidates seeking political offices, a topic that is rarely discussed. â€Æ'