Institution: Florida Atlantic University
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Christine Scodari
Degree: Master of Arts
Year: 2003
This thesis examines how
the media depicted First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton
when she stepped outside of the traditional feminine
roles of wife and/or mother and into the traditionally
masculine/public world with her bid to run for the office
of United States Senator from New York. It critically
examines the cover, cover story images, and textual
representations in Newsweek, Time, and New York magazines
by means of a feminist semiotic and rhetorical analysis
to discern potential meanings. The research concludes
that the media circumscribe limited roles for First
Ladies. First Ladies continue to be shown as victim,
object, and/or appendage of a more powerfulmale, even
when they consider political office. Therefore, it is
argued thatthe media have a profound role in defining
political women through the perpetuation of hegemonic
constructions of femininity.
Click
here to download thesis table of contents in PDF format.
Click
here to download thesis in PDF format. (13 MB)
