Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Gender Studies and Sexuality
Year: 2024
DOI:
[PDF]
Let Me be Your Woman! Exploring the Instrumentalization of Gender Discourses among Female Candidates in the 2022 French Presidential Election
Clara Etchenique
ABSTRACT:
If politics is the use of language to manipulate and achieve political goals, it appears reasonable to question the instrumentalization of gender discourse for political gains, as investigated by this paper. Applying Critical Multimodal Discourse Analysis (CMDA) to the declaration of principles of the four female candidates running for office during the 2022 French presidential elections, this research reveals that whether gender-blind or stereotypically gendered, the candidates’ gender discourse systematically serves a defined partisan political agenda. The significant disparities unveiled from their gender and self-proclaimed ‘feminist’ discourse are also found to mirror the larger ideological battle unfolding within the increasingly polarized French political landscape where the rise of right-wing populism (RWP) and the decay of mainstream parties compels many to radicalize their discourse.
keywords: Gender Discourse, Critical Multimodal Discourse Analysis, Intersectional Feminist Studies, Politics, Electoral Discourse