Date of Award
9-16-2010
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Rhetoric and Writing
First Advisor
Marcia Smith
Abstract
Political blogs played a significant role in the 2008 presidential election serving not only as news sources on the latest political coverage, but also as communities where people expressed political opinions, interacted with others who shared similar beliefs, as well as attempt to persuade and influence the audience members, often making calls to action. A rhetorical analysis, drawing from gendered mediation and frame theory, of 183 political blog posts revealed that gendered mediation was quite common on blog posts in the 2008 presidential election. Further, the mediation was often followed by gendered discourse that was much more blatant in content among audience members. The significance of this analysis is that gendered mediation on political blogs, as they become more widely used, could have an impact on individual and social constructs of female political candidates, perhaps even influencing the outcome of presidential elections.
Recommended Citation
Gardner, Lori Ann, "Gender Bias as Evidenced on Political Blogs in the 2008 Presidential Election" (2010). Theses and Dissertations. 213.
https://research.ualr.edu/etd/213
