Powerful women in powerless language: Media misrepresentation ofAfrican women in politics (the case of Liberia)

Jemima Asabea Anderson a,*, Grace Diabah b, Patience Afrakoma hMensa c

aDepartment of English, University of Ghana, Legon, P.O. Box LG 129, Legon, Ghanab Lancaster University/University of Ghana, Legon, Ghanac The Open University/University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana

1. Introduction

The image of Africa in the international media1 is a negative one: poverty, famine, crises, ethnic conflicts and wars areconsidered to be newsworthy about the continent. Similarly, African female political leaders are presented in a negative wayby the international media, calling into question the credibility of these women as leaders of their nations. Several studieshave however shown that this gender stereotyping or biased reporting does not only affect female political leaders in Africa(Kahn, 1996; Gidengil and Everitt, 2000; Lithgow, 2000; Everitt, 2005). There are reports originating from both developedand developing nations that confirm the covert and sometimes overt biases that female political leaders in these differentparts of the world suffer (Lithgow, 2000). Some of the studies have shown that such negative representations affect thevoting patterns in these nations. That is, negative or limited media coverage of female candidates is correlated with poorelectoral performance (Gidengil and Everitt, 2000). Although a few reports have claimed that instances of bias and negativerepresentation of female candidates have declined significantly in the media (especially those with a larger readership)because of more professional reporting and sensitivity about gender biases (Kahn, 1996; Smith, 1997), there are still

Journal of Pragmatics 43 (2011) 2509–2518

A R T I C L E I N F O

Article history:

Received 2 February 2011

Available online 2 April 2011

Keywords:

Gender stereotyping

Media

Politics

Female candidate

Male candidate

African media

International media

A B S T R A C T

Research findings have shown that the media construct politics in stereotypically

masculine terms (Kahn, 1996; Gidengil and Everitt, 2000; Lithgow, 2000; Everitt, 2005).

That is, the language used by the media to report the activities of female political leaders

tends to suggest that they are ‘trespassing’ on the traditionally ‘masculine’ world of

politics. Some studies, however, have claimed that instances of biases and negative

representation of female candidates have declined significantly in the media (especially

newspapers with larger readerships) because of more professional reporting and

sensitivity about gender biases (Kahn, 1996; Smith, 1997). The objective of this study

is to investigate the validity of such claims. We do so by examining the media

representation of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the first female president of an independent

African state. We compare the African media and the international media reports on Ellen

Johnson-Sirleaf and her major rival George Oppon Weah. The paper seeks to establish

whether there are any differences in the representation of these two candidates. It also

considers whether there are any differences between the way the international media and

the African media present the two candidates.

� 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

* Corresponding author.

E-mail address: janderson@ug.edu.gh (J.A. Anderson).1 The term ‘international media’ in this study refers to non-African media.

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Pragmatics

journa l homepage: www.e lsev ier .com/ locate /pragma

0378-2166/$ – see front matter � 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/j.pragma.2011.02.004

numerous instances of such biases. One is documented in this paper by comparing media reports of two presidentialcandidates: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and her opponent George Oppon Weah.

It is true that long before Johnson-Sirleaf’s election, women in different parts of the world had held the high position ofpresident or prime minister of their nations, and there are nowadays more and more women holding such positions. Forinstance, Maria Estela Martinez de Peron took over the presidency of Argentina to become that nation’s first womanpresident. Another prominent example is Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who also became the first woman to hold the highestposition in her country, Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), in 1960. She was followed by Indira Gandhi of India in 1966 and Golda Meirin Israel in 1969. Ten years later, Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Female politicalleaders who have emerged in other parts of the world are Corazon Aquino in the Philippines (1986), Benazir Bhutto inPakistan (1988 and 1993), Khaleda Zia in Bangladesh (1991), Kim Campbell in Canada (1993), Chandrika Kumaratunga in SriLanka (1994), and Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh (1996). Today there are women like Hillary Clinton, Segolene Royal andAngela Merkel who are actively involved in politics in their respective nations.

This is evidence in support of current theoretical understandings in gender and language research that gender is a socialconstruction and so are gendered practices (Holmes, 2005). This confirms that women are ‘‘increasingly crash[ing] throughthe glass ceiling and reach[ing] the highest levels in politics, government institutions and corporate organizations’’ (Holmes,2005:31). However, despite this fact, themedia still present female political leaders as ‘a novelty’. Politics is still constructedin many societies (e.g., African) in stereotypically masculine terms. This point questions the understanding of the claim that‘‘gender is no longer an issue’’ (Holmes, 2005:31) in politics.

The objective of this study, therefore, is to investigate how gender biases are reflected in news reports that emanate fromAfrica. So far, many of the studies that have been presented on this subject have been based on news reports emanating fromEurope, the United States, and Asia. Very little work has been done on news reports that are written by Africans or on Africanfemale leaders. Such work would therefore constitute an important contribution to the field, considering the fact that theideologies about gender roles in Africa vary significantly from ideologies about gender roles in Europe, America, and Asia.

This study is different frommany studies that have been conducted in this field as it attempts a cross-cultural comparisonof themedia reports that are generated in Africa and those that are generated in non-African countries. Our purpose is to seeif there are any similarities or differences in how the African and the international media present female and malepresidential candidates. Considering the differences in gender ideologies, it is expected that the study’s results might be ofimportance to media and gender theory formulation.

2. Literature review

Research findings from different parts of the world have drawn attention to gender biases in media coverage of politicalfigures. Most of these researches have concluded that female politicians are indeed discriminated against (Gidengil andEveritt, 1999, 2000, 2003; Sreberny-Mohammadi and Ross, 1996; Everitt, 2003, 2005). These biases come in the form of thelittle news space they receive (Kahn, 1996) and the critical and unfavourable presentation they get, which raises questionsabout their viability (Ross, 1995; Gingras, 1997; Tremblay and Belanger, 1997). Others focus on their personality traits instereotypically feminine terms (Ross, 1995; Robinson and Saint-Jean, 1991, 1995). Again, female political leaders areportrayed as mothers, daughters, or sex objects. As Sapiro (1993) points out, these traditional roles which women areassigned are usually not compatible with political leadership.

Freedman (1997) compares the British and French media representation of female political leaders. The findings of thisstudy confirm earlier findings that female political leaders are represented in terms that are not compatible with politicalpower. For instance, most of the stereotypical terms for political power use metaphors (e.g., fighting corruption) that evokeimages of warfare, confrontations, and general violence, which women are not expected to be associated with. If, for anyreason, female political leaders adopt some of these ‘masculine’ styles or play ‘rough’ in order to compete with the males,they are portrayed as contravening societal norms of behaviour for women; andwhen they play ‘soft’, they are considered as‘not fit’ for the job (see O’Grady, this issue). Therefore, by constructing politics with such ‘masculine’ images, reporters seemto suggest that ‘‘women do not really belong to the field of politics because they lack the requisite attributes to participate’’(Gidengil and Everitt, 1999:50).

In another study, Peake (1997), who studies media coverage of male and female political leaders in the United Kingdom,notes that while the media coverage of men tends to focus on their political record and experience, that of women focusesmore on their family relationships and appearance, drawing attention to the point that they are ‘female politicians’. Peake’sresults have been corroborated by studies of other parts of the world. Lithgow (2000), investigating media representation ofAsian female political leaders, reports that themedia in Asia also focus on the physical appearances, clothes, and hairstyles ofthe female leaders in Asia. She also observes that although Asia has produced more female presidents than any othercontinent in the world, this has not changed the way the media portrays female political leaders in that region. Her findingsalso show that while personal achievements and accomplishments of male candidates are cited as the reasons for theirelection, the accomplishments of female candidates are usually downplayed in these reports.

Gidengil and Everitt (2000) also assess howmediated speechwas used to represent political leaders in the 1993 Canadianelection. They reveal in their analysis that reporters offered interpretations of the speeches of the female politicians. That is,instead of allowing the messages to speak for themselves, as was in the case in the reports of the male candidates, reportersexplained and gave reasons why female leaders said one thing or the other. In discussing the mediation process, they noted

J.A. Anderson et al. / Journal of Pragmatics 43 (2011) 2509–25182510

that how the public perceives themessage depends critically on the choice of verbs. The least mediating verbs, ‘say’ and ‘tell’,were the most frequent ones, but were not used frequently in reporting the speeches of the female politicians. They,therefore, conclude that female politicians were not given fair coverage, a situation that hinders their chances of success.

Bystrom et al. (2001) investigated media coverage of male and female candidates running for governor in the UnitedStates of America. Their findings show that female politicians are usually examined on the basis of their maternal or maritalroles, instead of highlighting their academic attainment, professional background, or experience. In another study, Bystrom(2004) adds that other biases which mark the media presentation of female political leaders are shown in the reporters’presentation of issues (e.g., childcare and corruption) that are of concern to female political leaders.

In her discussion of how Canadian women are presented by reporters, Everitt (2005) argues that some of the commonthemes in media reports are personal characteristics (clothing, hairstyle) and relationships (wife of, daughter of, mother of,etc.). Thus, instead of concentrating on the achievements and ambitions of female politicians, media reportage tends tocentre on personal characteristics, relationships and traditional roles (which are linked to the home and family setting). Shefurther argues that other reporters tend to concentrate on the candidates’ sexuality, thereby presenting them as distractingforces in the sphere of politics. As she points out, these instances present women as less viable candidates than men.Recently, Katie Heimer of the National Organization of Women in the USA also pointed out that Senator Hillary Clinton stillsuffers from such biases from the media, writing:

‘‘Clinton is no stranger to this kind of treatment from the press. An opinion article in The Oklahoman referenced her‘frequent wearing of dark pants suits to conceal her bottom-heavy figure.’ Political cartoonist Nick Anderson created ananimated cartoon which ran on the Houston Chronicle website featuring a curvaceous Clinton being asked, in the wordsof a popular song, ‘What you gonna do with all that junk? All that junk inside your trunk?’ Without the accompanyingdrawing, one could have assumed that Anderson was referring to personal baggage, but the cartoon made clear that hewas also making a sly dig at her shape. When was the last time an opinion piece or cartoon commented on a malecandidate’s figure?’’ (National Organization for Women, 15 March 2007)

As Heimer points out, there are still columns in the international papers that dwell on the appearance or home decor of thesenator. Such reports, she goes on to say, tend to portray Hillary Clinton as a less serious candidate. The extract belowsupports this claim:

‘‘Adding insult to injury, The New York Times published a Maureen Dowd piece (titled ‘Mama Hugs Iowa’) on Jan. 31charging that as First Lady, Clinton showed off ‘a long parade of unflattering outfits and unnervingly changing hairdos.’ Sowe not only have to hear about what she’s wearing today, but what she wore (and how she styled her hair) in 1992. OnFeb. 9, Reuters news agency reported fashion designer Donatella Versace’s advice that ‘Hillary Clinton should tap into herfeminine side and wear dresses and skirts instead of trousers’.’’ (National Organization for Women, 15 March 2007)

There are a few studies that have suggested a decline in the gender biases in media coverage. These studies (Kahn, 1996;Norris, 1997; Smith, 1997; Everitt, 2003) attribute this decline to professionalism on the part of reporters for nationalnewspapers or large circulation regional newspapers, and the increased number of female politicians. They further arguethat the paperswith large readershipswould rather not concern themselveswith situations ‘‘where details about personal orfamily life receive more attention’’ (Everitt, 2003:91). The report from Heimer’s article does not support these findings.Heimer cites several instances from papers that have large readerships, like The New York Times and The Washington Post,which tend to dwell more on gender roles than on the ability of the female candidates. As discussed below, the data from ourfindings also show that there are still instances of gender biases in the international media, which present ‘gender’ as themost important characteristic of female political leaders.

3. Methodology

We examine the African and international media coverage of the Liberian elections which brought to power EllenJohnson-Sirleaf, the first female president elected in an independent African nation. The study looks at reports on the two keycandidates in this election: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and George OpponWeah. To enable us to select themedia sources, we tookinto consideration the reputation and popularity of the source institution, the depth of their coverage of the Liberianelections, as well as their online accessibility. We considered online news since back issues needed for the study could easilybe retrieved.

We selected our articles using the following keywords: Liberian elections, first female African President, Mrs JohnsonSirleaf, and Mr Oppon Weah. We used these keywords in isolation and in combination with one another. The search engineusedwas Google because itwas easy to access. The search generated 60 articles. After eliminating repeated articles and thosethat occurred before January 2005 and after October 2007, we were left with 23. The data were then categorised as follows:international media (BBC, CNN, The New York Times, TheWashington Post, ABC News, The New Zealand Herald, PBS News HourExtra, BNet) and African media (Daily Observer, The Daily Graphic, The Ghanaian Times, AllAfrica.com).

We then did a text analysis of the data collected. More specifically, we considered the references made relating to thecandidates’ personal and family information, clothing, and physical appearance.

J.A. Anderson et al. / Journal of Pragmatics 43 (2011) 2509–2518 2511

4. Discussion

4.1. Comparison of the female vs. male candidate

From the articles that were studied, we observed that the media made explicit mention of Johnson-Sirleaf’s appearance.The following extracts support this claim:

1. ‘‘Johnson-Sirleaf, wearing a creamand gold dress,was sworn in to cheers fromhundreds of foreigndignitaries andLiberians, including women wearing dresses emblazoned with her portrait.’’ (The New Zealand Herald, 17 January2006)

2. ‘‘She’s wearing handmade clothing from Liberia, a simple skirt and blouse, a lovely purple scarf circling her neck.Plain black boots. The slightest bit of make-up. She’s from a desperately poor country, and her retinue reflectsthat: a secretary, a security aide, someone to handle communications. The country has no budget for transitionexpenses, so she’s paying for much of the trip herself.’’ (The Washington Post, 16 December 2005)

3. ‘‘It’s not that Johnson-Sirleaf, stately in traditional dress, comes across as ungrateful. In her address to Congress,she thanked the United States for its help in brokering an end to Liberia’s vicious civil war and for sendingmoneyto get the country going again.’’ (The Washington Post, 20 March 2006)

In contrast, nothingwas said aboutWeah’s clothing in the 23 reports that we studied. Our findings support research that hasshown that themedia focus on the personal characteristics (appearance, clothing, and accessories) of female political leadersrather than on their achievements and abilities (Everitt, 2005; Bystrom et al., 2001). We note that, interestingly, very littlewas said about Johnson-Sirleaf’s clothing in the pre-election reports. The media started paying attention to her dress styleafter she had been elected president, when she had become newsworthy. For instance, an article from The Washington Post

(24 March 2006) describes her sense of style on an occasion during which she was delivering an important message to theleadership of America. The importance of clothing and accessories as non-verbal codes is confirmed by the writer as shecomments on her ‘‘royalty’’, ‘‘simplicity’’, ‘‘modesty’’, and ‘‘sense of national identity’’ through her clothing. Althoughmuch ofthe report appears to be ‘positive’, we argue that by focusing on her appearance, the reporter downplayed the seriousnessattached to the issues she was discussing, and the seriousness of the leader herself. The reporter also related genderedcomments when she describes Johnson-Sirleaf as being more like ‘‘the mother of the church’’, not especially ‘‘chic’’, using‘‘headwraps to increase her stature’’, etc., as in the extracts below:

4. ‘‘Those head wraps physically increase her stature. They set her apart. They define her as African. But with herdiscreet little pearl necklace – so very Western, middle-class, tasteful, familiar – she created as masterful acombination as if she’d worn traditional robes and a tailored blazer. With Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa meets the JuniorLeague with stylish ease and quiet dignity.’’ (The Washington Post, 24 March 2006)

5. ‘‘When Johnson-Sirleaf addressed the U.N. Security Council, she chose another dynamic pattern, this onedominated by a glorious shade of lapis blue. For a visit to Providence, R.I., she wore an ivory ensemble with amatching head scarf. This look was especially soothing as it called to mind the uniform of an old-fashioned‘mother of the church’.’’ (The Washington Post, 24 March 2006)

In another report, a BBC reporter turns attention to Johnson-Sirleaf’s clothing by deliberately addressing it:

6. ‘‘Being a great admirer of Johnson-Sirleaf’s dress sense, Veronique steered their conversation on to thepresident’s striking outfits.’’ (BBC, 1 June 2006)

The focus by the media on such trivialities makes female politicians them less appealing to the serious-minded reader orpolitician. From the examples, our observation is that female political leaders’ clothing is given primary importance whiletheir competence, educational background, and capabilities are secondary. It is interesting to note that nothingwas reportedabout Weah’s clothing and appearance in the pre-election, campaign, and post-election news reports. The reports in oursample talked more of his stardom and professional prowess as a footballer (examples 30–32).

Themedia’s focus on Johnson-Sirleaf’s appearance extended to her character as well. The nickname ‘Iron Lady’ contrastedher character with the socio-cultural expectations of a woman. This is supported by the extract in (7):

7. ‘‘One veteran of Liberia’s political scene said Johnson-Sirleaf’s nickname comes from her iron will anddetermination. ‘It would have been much easier for her to quit politics and sit at home like others have done butshe has never given up,’ he said.’’ (BBC, 23 November 2005)

In contrast to the toughness of the political role, Johnson-Sirleaf’s femininity is emphasized through reference to her maritalor maternal role. In many of the news reports, no mention is made of Weah’s paternal status (an article from BBC, 11

J.A. Anderson et al. / Journal of Pragmatics 43 (2011) 2509–25182512

November 2005, only indicates that his wife is from Jamaica), but importance is attached to Johnson-Sirleaf’s role as amother, grandmother, or widow:

8. ‘‘Born in 1938, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is a widowed mother-of-four.’’ (BBC, 3 October 2007)

9. ‘‘The 67-year-old grandmother, who was elected in a run-off vote in November, has promised to unite Liberia byending political corruption and rebuilding her country after civil war between 1989 and 2003 left some 200,000dead.’’ (CNN, 17 January 2006)

10. ‘‘But the 66-year-old grandmother is under no illusions about the ‘truly awesome’ challenge she faces to turn herimpoverished country around after a 14-year civil war that killed more than 200,000 people and has left tens ofthousands without jobs.’’ (Times online, 22 November 2005)

11. ‘‘During the election campaign, the diminutive grandmother figurewas often dwarfed by her party officials andbodyguards but over a political career spanning almost 30 years she has earned her steely nickname.’’ (BBC, 23November 2005)

12. ‘‘Her background is a veritable patchwork quilt of qualities and experience: economist, former Finance Minister,political detainee, International civil servant, peace activist, veteran politician, refugee, wife, mother, and last, butby no means the least, a grandmother. If anybody can do it, if any Liberian can resuscitate Liberia, she has all thequalifications for the job and she is in the world’s lenses from now on.’’ (The Ghanaian Times, 24 November 2005)

The references to the fact that Johnson-Sirleaf is ‘‘a grandmother’’ or ‘‘a widowed mother-of-four’’ support Everitt’s (2005)claim that most media reports on female politicians are linked to their personal relationships and traditional roles. Evenwhen Johnson-Sirleaf andWeah are presented in the same news text, there is a difference in the way the two candidates arepresented. The examples below show this contrast:

13. ‘‘Johnson-Sirleaf, a 67-year-old World Bank economist and grandmother, beat former International soccerchampion and millionaire George Weah, who once played for Italy’s AC Milan and Britain’s Chelsea soccerclubs.’’ (PBS News Hour Extra, 14 November 2005)

14. ‘‘The Harvard-educated economist and grandmother beat former football star GeorgeWeah in an election run-off.’’(BBC, 24 November 2005)

15. ‘‘The 67-year-old grandmotherwon 59% of the vote in November’s run-off election, beating Liberian football starGeorge Weah.’’ (BBC, 16 January 2006)

16. ‘‘Mrs. Johnson-Sirleaf, won the second round of presidential election on November 8, 2005, when she defeated ex-International football star, Mr. George Weah.’’ (Daily Graphic, 17 January 2006)

We argue that Johnson-Sirleaf’s political and educational achievements as ‘‘a 67-year-oldWorld Bank economist’’ are down-played when we are reminded that she is a ‘‘grandmother’’, which is inconsistent with a political role. This is in contrast toWeah’s achievements as an ‘‘international soccer champion’’ and a ‘‘millionaire’’: his age (which could have been equatedwith ‘inexperience’) or paternal role is not referred to. In otherwords, the reporters are reminding Johnson-Sirleaf (and otherfemale political leaders) about their family role and responsibilitieswhile participating in politics, evenwhen the connectionis intended to be positive:

17. ‘‘Ms Sirleaf is buoyed by a resume impressive for its scope and accomplishments at a timewhen Africanwomenwere considered best suited to tend to their homes, not their governments or their countries.’’ (ABC News, 17January 2006)

The implication is thatwhen awoman ‘abandons’ her duties as amother, grandmother, orwife and enters politics, she is seenasmoving into the ‘‘old boys’ club’’ andmust therefore be an ‘‘Iron Lady’’ or the ‘‘man’’ of the people before she can succeed inthis ‘‘club’’, as indicated below:

18. ‘‘Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf’s victory propels her into an old boys’ club unlike any other. From the Cape to Cairo, from Dares Salaam to Dakar, men have dominated African politics from the earliest days of the anti-colonial struggle.’’ (TheNew York Times, 12 November 2005)

19. ‘‘Indeed, when supporters ofMs. Johnson-Sirleaf, 66, a onetimeUnitedNations official and Liberianfinanceminister,marched through the broken streets of Monrovia in the final, frantic days of the campaign for Liberia’s presidency,they shouted and waved signs that read, ‘Ellen – she’s our man’.’’ (The New York Times, 12 November 2005)

J.A. Anderson et al. / Journal of Pragmatics 43 (2011) 2509–2518 2513

20. ‘‘And she has earned themoniker ‘Iron Lady’ for a steely-eyed determination that led her to reject a Senate seat afterfraudulent elections in 1985, a move that got her thrown into jail by military dictator Samuel Doe.’’ (ABC News, 17January 2006)

With every mention of her name, we are reminded directly or indirectly of the fact that Johnson-Sirleaf is a ‘woman’,‘mother’, or ‘grandmother’. Accordingly, each time the reporters draw our attention to her maternal role, she is concurrentlypositioned as ‘neglecting’ her family, as shown in Example 17. Such subject-positions invariably put pressure on conformityto socio-cultural norms about ‘acceptable’ behaviour. Thus, being aware of the socio-cultural implications for violating‘acceptable feminine’ behaviour (e.g., being referred to as ‘Iron Lady’), Johnson-Sirleaf is reported as making the followingpromises that re-affirm her gender:

21. ‘‘The Iron Lady says shewon’t rule Liberiawith an iron fist, however. ‘‘In the past, I’ve been considered as onewith astrong will, as a firm disciplinarian. But now I’mmost concerned with being a mother to Liberia. I want to heal thedeep wounds of this nation,’’ she wrote in Newsweek.’’encyclopaedia.com, 16 December 2005)

22. ‘‘A former World Bank economist and veteran politician, Johnson-Sirleaf is nicknamed the Iron Lady but haspromised to show a new, softer side as president.’’ (Daily Graphic, 17 January 2006)

23. ‘‘Johnson-Sirleaf has said she wants to bring ‘motherly sensitivity and emotion to the presidency’.’’ (PBS NewsHour Extra, 14 November 2005)

This non-confrontational attitude of Johnson-Sirleaf’s may be interpreted as an alignment with a stereotypical ‘feminineidentity’ (Holmes, 1997), supporting Holmes’s point that there are gendered norms which participants are aware of ‘‘asrelevant background to interpreting what is going on’’ (2005:48). For instance, while commenting on workplace interaction,Holmes argues that:

‘‘while it is officially acceptable for women to ‘do power’ explicitly . . . there is an underlying pressure to counter orneutralize the effects of the authoritative and ‘masculine’ strategies entailed in doing so withmore ‘feminine’, supportiveand collegial or self-deprecating behaviours.’’ (Holmes, 2005:52)

In other words, the ‘‘Iron Lady’’ needs to ‘soften’ up or bring ‘‘motherly sensitivity’’ to conform to societal norms andexpectations for women.

Another feature is the way in which gender is made central to Johnson-Sirleaf’s position and in relation to the support ofvoters (examples 24–29), while economic attainments and football prowess (a gendered role that supports unmarked maleaccomplishment) are noted for Weah (examples 30–32).

24. ‘‘With 97 percent of the runoff vote counted on Friday, Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf achieved an insurmountable lead with59 percent, compared with Mr. Weah’s 41 percent, in a nation where women make up more than half theelectorate.’’ (The New York Times, 12 November 2005)

25. ‘‘But the women’s vote appears to have been stronger. There were slightly more women registered to vote inLiberia, and while there were no reliable surveys of voters leaving the polls, women appeared to be a strongpresence.’’ (The New York Times, 12 November 2005)

26. ‘‘Liberianwomen came out in throngs to vote for a 67-year-old grandmother running for president of the Africannation. And it paid off. At press time, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf had won almost 60 percent of the vote to become thefirst elected female head of state on the continent of Africa.’’ (BNet, 16 December 2005)

27. ‘‘Known in Liberia as the ‘Iron Lady’, Mrs. Johnson-Sirleaf drewmuch of her support fromwomen voters, and fromLiberia’s small, educated elite. She faces the twin challenges of trying to rebuild the country and of fosteringreconciliation.’’ (BBC, 3 October 2007)

28. ‘‘Her supporters say she has two advantages over the man she faced in the run-off – former football starGeorge Weah – she is better educated and is a woman.’’ (BBC, 23 November 2005)

29. ‘‘The President-elect, Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf, is a United States educated economist and former Finance Minister ofLiberia. Referred to as Liberia’s ‘Iron Lady’, Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf drew a larger proportion of her support fromwomen voters and a sizeable educated elite in the Presidential run-off.’’ (The Ghanaian Times, 16 January 2006)

30. ‘‘GeorgeWeah, 39, is widely acclaimed as Africa’s greatest ever footballer after being crownedWorld Player of theyear in 1995 but he seems to have failed in his bid to become Liberia’s head of state.’’ (BBC, 11 November 2005)

31. ‘‘He was counting on his status as the world’s most famous Liberian to win the polls, hoping he could be afigurehead for the country’s rival ethnic, political and armed groups to rally round.’’ (BBC, 11 November 2005)

J.A. Anderson et al. / Journal of Pragmatics 43 (2011) 2509–25182514

32. ‘‘His life story – from a Monrovia slum to International [football] celebrity – provides a rare beacon of hope andinspiration to Liberia’s many thousands of young people who see little future except for a life of poverty.’’ (BBC, 11November 2005)

As is evident in examples 24–29, much emphasis is placed on the point that Johnson-Sirleaf is ‘a woman’ rather than ‘anexperienced politician’ and her support base is female. That is, reporters imply that gender identification is the reason for hersuccess, not that people were necessarily convinced about her abilities to offer effective leadership. Even in cases wheregender identification is not themain issue, it is suggested that shewon because themen had failed the nation; her experienceand ability to offer effective leadership is not prioritised, as the examples 33 and 34 confirm:

33. ‘‘Many Liberians supported Johnson-Sirleaf because the men in power had nearly ruined the nation.’’ (BBC, 23November 2005)

34. ‘‘Women and some gender-sensitivemen in the city are also quick to blamemen forwrecking the country. ‘We needa woman to put things right,’ said one waitress.’’ (BBC, 23 November 2005)

Although it is acknowledged that Johnson-Sirleaf is a World Bank economist, United Nations official, former Liberian financeminister, and veteran politician, the reporters also downplay her achievements and abilities by using linguistic traces thatconstruct her as ‘powerless’. For instance, in example11, the reporter uses themetaphorical language ‘‘diminutive grandmotherfigure’’ and ‘‘dwarfed’’ to evoke images of ‘powerlessness’ and subordination. A ‘‘grandmother figure’’ could stand for ‘weakness’sincegrandmothers aremostlyperceivedasoldandphysicallyweak, emphasizedby ‘‘diminutive’’ and ‘‘dwarfed’’.Wearguethatthis presentation is biased and ideologically invested. A ‘powerful woman’ through language is therefore rendered ‘powerless’.

Similarly, the extracts suggest that Weah lost to Johnson-Sirleaf because his supporters were the ‘‘discontented’’ and‘‘demoralized youth’’, who make up only 40 percent of the electorate, an insufficient number to win, as indicated in theexamples below:

35. ‘‘Weah’s supporters who included many of the youth demoralized after the civil war took to the streets severaltimes in protest over the alleged poll fraud.’’ (Daily Graphic, 17 January 2006)

36. ‘‘Many of Liberia’s 100,000 ex-combatants from all sides backed Mr. Weah in the election.’’ (Daily Graphic, 17January 2006)

37. ‘‘Mr.Weah, whose basewas the young, discontented populationwho idolized him for his exploits on the soccer fieldand his rags-to-riches life story, was seen as a favorite because young voters make up 40 percent of the electorate.’’(The New York Times, 12 November 2005)

Johnson-Sirleaf’s ability to provide strong leadership is also directly or indirectly called into question whileWeah’s ability toprovide effective leadership is assumed. The extracts below lend support to this position:

38. ‘‘So, the argument goes, who better to rebuild Liberia’s shattered economy? ‘Only a man can be strong enough todeal with all the ex-combatants. Liberia just isn’t ready to have a woman leader yet,’ said a Liberian man. And shesays she is ready to start on what will be an enormous task.’’ (BBC, 23 November 2005; see printable version)

39. ‘‘When Ellen Johnson Sirleaf launched her campaign to become president of Liberia, conventional wisdomrated her chances as slim to none.’’ (AllAfrica.com, 11 December 2005)

40. ‘‘Among those who did not expect Sirleaf to triumph were U.S. officials who track African developments.’’(AllAfrica.com, 11 December 2005)

41. ‘‘According to government sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to giveon-the-record interviews, almost all U.S. intelligence and diplomatic reporting pointed to Weah as the near-certainwinner, an outcome thatwas privately favored by at least some of the policymakersmost closely involved.’’(AllAfrica.com, 11 December 2005)

42. ‘‘After her victory was certified, however, President George Bush telephoned his congratulations, and on a privatevisit to the United States this week Sirleaf is being courted by top administration officials and leadingmembers ofCongress.’’ (AllAfrica.com, 11 December 2005)

In example 38, for instance, the reporter’s use of the quotation in the box2, which appears as an answer to the precedingquestion, illustrates questions about Johnson-Sirleaf’s ability to provide effective leadership – simply because she is a

2 This example illustrates ‘manifest intertextuality’: ‘‘where specific other texts are overtly drawn upon within a text’’ (Fairclough, 1992:85).

J.A. Anderson et al. / Journal of Pragmatics 43 (2011) 2509–2518 2515

woman. It supports the point made by Everitt (2005:3): ‘‘it is as if women are not expected to be capable politicians, andtherefore must have some man in the background pulling their strings, telling them what to say or do’’. On the other hand,Weah’s competence is not queried because he is already amember of the ‘old boys’ club’. That is, gender is not foregroundedin any of the articles about Weah because it is socio-culturally acceptable for a man to be in politics. Accordingly, we arguethat the news reports on Johnson-Sirleaf and Weah represent, to a large extent, the beliefs, ideologies, and expectations ofthe reporters and the societies from which they operate or report on.

4.2. The African media vs. the international media

As indicated above, the media focused on Johnson-Sirleaf’s appearance and not on Weah’s. The data also show that theinternational media gave greater attention to Johnson-Sirleaf’s appearance than the Africanmedia, as shown in examples 1–6, which come from the international media. The lone piece referring to Johnson-Sirleaf’s dress in the African media (DailyObserver, 14 June 2006) was a reprint of the original article from The Washington Post (24 March 2006).

Both the international (examples 8–11) and the African (example 12) media drew attention to Johnson-Sirleaf’smarital and maternal roles while those of Weah were not focused on. Both media sources also make claims about votingpatterns along gender, age, and education lines, as shown in examples 24–29, 33 and 34, 37 (international media), and29, 35 and 36 (African media). Therefore, both media sources question Johnson-Sirleaf’s ability to offer effectiveleadership. However, we observe that the African media reporters make fewer and less explicit gender-biased referencesthan the international media. Although the report in example 17 claims that Johnson-Sirleaf’s resume is impressive, weargue that it portrays her as contradicting societal norms and expectations of an ‘African woman’. Besides, we do notagree that the time-span of Johnson-Sirleaf’s career was a time when ‘‘African women were considered best suited totend to their homes not their governments or their countries’’ – at least not with the current increase in the number ofwomen in politics. We find the observation that the African media reporters make fewer and less explicit gender-biasedreferences to Johnson-Sirleaf quite interesting, given their background knowledge of the African culture and the socio-cultural expectations of women.

5. Summary of findings

As illustrated in the numerous examples, there is polarity in the language that is used to describe Johnson-Sirleaf andWeah in themedia. The findings from this study show that news reporting is not as unbiased nor as objective as the reportersmight intend it to be. Sexism is still ingrained in media reports. The findings also indicate that news coverage of femalepolitical leaders is not a result of large readership and professionalism, as Kahn (1996), Norris (1997), Smith (1997) andEveritt (2003) claim. It is a matter of what the media reporters present to their audience.

News reporters may not consciously or intentionally set out to be biased in their reporting, but because people havecertain stereotypes or expectations of both men and women, these expectations get into reporting (see also Cotter, thisissue). We argue that female (African) political figures tend to be ‘misrepresented’ when language constructs them as‘trespassers’ when they venture into the traditionally ‘masculine’ world of politics. As we see from the case of Johnson-Sirleaf, there is unnecessary focus on physical appearance (e.g., clothes and hairstyle); no mention was made of Weah’sappearance in any of the texts. Reporters also focus on Johnson-Sirleaf’s maternal andmarital status but nomention is madeofWeah’s paternal status. Again, reportersmake ‘gender identification’, rather than her political experience and abilities, theunderlying factor to Johnson-Sirleaf’s victory. By doing this, her ability to provide strong leadership is called to question.

6. Conclusions

Many people, especially news editors, have argued thatwhat reporters do is to present their readerswith an impartial andwell-informed picture of what really happens on the ground. For instance, Andrew Neil (editor of the Sunday Times) arguedthat while the editorials or opinion pieces of a newspaper present the paper’s position on some topic, the news reportingitself is factual and unbiased (Fowler, 1991:1). Contrary to this view, Fowler (1991:10) argues that ‘‘because the institution ofnews reporting and presentation are socially, economically, and politically situated, all news is always reported from someparticular angle.’’ The findings from this study have shown that news reporting is not as unbiased and as objective as thereporters intend it to be, or as argued by Neil. Instead, as Fowler (1991) rightly notes, reporters have their own agenda andthey select and report news items to suit their agenda. Our data support our claim that in spite of the current changes to(hegemonic) gender relations, there are still deeply entrenched biases in the way politics is constructed by the media. Thesebiases cannot be simply overlooked, considering that the media plays a significant role in every society. They influence andshape the opinions of others in the society. We argue that such representations frustrate the efforts of these femalepoliticians and also sustain hegemonic gender relations.

References

Bystrom, Dianne G., 2004.Women as political sources and audience. In: Kaid, L.L. (Ed.), Handbook of Political Communication Research. Lawrence Erlbaum,Mahwah, NJ, pp. 435–459.

J.A. Anderson et al. / Journal of Pragmatics 43 (2011) 2509–25182516

Bystrom, Dianne G., Robertson, Terry A., Banwart, Mary C., 2001. Framing the fight: analysis of media coverage of female and male candidates in primaryraces for governor and U.S. senate in 2000. American Behavioral Scientist 44 (12), 1999–2013.

Everitt, Joanna, 2003. Media in the Maritimes: do female candidates face a bias? Atlantis 27 (2), 90–98.Everitt, Joanna, 2005. Gender, media and politics: a critical review essay. Political Communications 22, 387–396.Fairclough, Norman, 1992. Discourse and Social Change. Polity Press, Cambridge.Fowler, Roger, 1991. Language in the News: Discourse and Ideology in the Press. Routledge, London.Freedman, Jane, 1997. Femmes Politiques: Mythes et Symboles. L’Harmattan, Paris.Gidengil, Elisabeth, Everitt, Joanna, 1999. Metaphors and misrepresentation: gendered mediation in news coverage of the 1993 Canadian leaders debates.

Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics 4, 48–65.Gidengil, Elisabeth, Everitt, Joanna, 2000. Filtering the female: television news coverage of the 1993 Canadian leaders’ debates. Women and Politics 21 (4),

105–131.Gidengil, Elisabeth, Everitt, Joanna, 2003. Conventional coverage/unconventional politicians: gender and media coverage of Canadian leaders’ debates,

1993, 1997, 2000. Canadian Journal of Political Science 36 (3), 559–577.Gingras, Anne-Marie, 1997. Les metaphores dans le langue politique. Politique Et Societes 30, 159–171.Holmes, Janet, 1997. Women, language and identity. Journal of Sociolinguistics 1 (2), 195–223.Holmes, Janet, 2005. Power and discourse at work: is gender relevant? In: Lazar, M. (Ed.), Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis: Gender, Power and Ideology

in Discourse. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, pp. 31–60.Kahn, Kim F., 1996. The Political Consequences of Being a Woman: How Stereotypes Influence the Conduct and Consequences of Political Campaigns.

Columbia University Press, New York.Lithgow, Lynette, 2000. A question of relativity: The role of the newsmedia in shaping the view of women in Asian political dynasties. The Joan Shorenstein

Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy Working Paper Series, 13.Norris, Pippa, 1997. Women, Media and Politics. Oxford University Press, Oxford.Peake, Lucy, 1997. Press coverage of women candidates for the UK parliament. In: ECPR 25th Joint Session of Workshops. Universitat Bern, Switzerland.Robinson, Gertrude J., Saint-Jean, Armande, 1991. Women politicians and their media coverage: a generational analysis. In: Megyery, K. (Ed.), Women in

Canadian Politics: Toward Equity in Representation – vol. 6 Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Financing, Research Studies. DundurnPress, Toronto, pp. 127–169.

Robinson, Gertrude J., Saint-Jean, Armande, 1995. The portrayal of women politicians in themedia: political implications. In: Gingras, F. (Ed.), In Gender andPolitics in Contemporary Canada. Oxford University Press, Toronto, pp. 176–190.

Ross, Karen, 1995. Gender and party politics: how the press reported the labour leadership campaign. Media, Culture and Society 17, 499–509.Sapiro, Virginia, 1993. The political uses of symbolic women: an essay in honor of Murray Edelman. Political Communication 10 (April–June),

137–149.Smith, Kevin B., 1997. When all’s fair: signs of parity in media coverage of female candidates. Political Communication 14 (January–March), 71–82.Sreberny-Mohammadi, Annabelle, Ross, Karen, 1996. Women MPs and the media: representing the body politic. Parliamentary Affairs 49, 103–115.Tremblay,Manon, Belanger, Nathalie, 1997. Femmes chefs de partis politiques et caricatures editoriales: l’election federale Canadienne de 1993. Recherches

Feministes 10, 35–75.

Article sources

ABC News Online: Africa’s first elected female leader sworn in, http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200601/s1548669.htm, 17 January 2006 (accessed14.08.07).

AllAfrica.com: Liberia: Showered With Enthusiasm, Liberia’s President-Elect Receives High-Level Reception in Washington, http://allafrica.com/stories/200512110034.html, 11 December 2005 (accessed 10.09.07).

BBC: African first for Liberian leader, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4615764.stm, 16 January 2006 (accessed 13.09.07).BBC: Country profile: Liberia, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1043500.stm, updated 3 October 2007 (accessed 16.01.08).BBC: Country profile: Liberia, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1043500.stm, updated 18 January 2008 (accessed 04.03.08).BBC: Liberian leader ‘to boost women’, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4465992.stm, 24 November 2005 (accessed 08.08.07).BBC: Liberia’s leading lady, http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/focusonafrica/news/story/2006/06/060601_sirleaf_may06.shtml, 1 June 2006 (accessed

20.11.07).BBC: Profile: George Weah, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4403120.stm, 11 November 2005 (accessed 25.05.07).BBC: Profile: Liberia’s ‘Iron Lady’, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4395978.stm, 23 November 2005 (accessed 25.05.07).BNet: Liberia’s ‘Iron Lady’: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is Africa’s first elected female Head of State, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EPF/is_14_105/

ai_n15928091, 16 December 2005 (accessed 15.07.07).CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/01/16/liberia January 17, 2006 (accessed 20.04.07).Daily Observer: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, A Head Of State With A Head For Style, http://www.liberianobserver.com/news/categoryfront.php/id/84/Women_

Speak.htm, updated 14 June 2006 (accessed 20.04.07).Encyclopaedia.com: Liberia’s ‘Iron Lady’: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is Africa’s first elected female Head of State, http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/

1G1-139523034.html, 16 December 2005 (accessed 20.04.07).National Organization forWomen: Hillary Clinton and theMedia: From Intelligent and Fair to Appallingly Sexist and Pointless, http://www.now.org/issues/

media/070315hillary_media.html, 15 March 2007 (accessed 20.04.07).PBS News Hour Extra: Liberia Elects First Female President in Africa, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec05/liberia_11-14.html, 14

November 2005 (accessed 04.03.08).The Ghanaian Times: Liberia Makes History, http://www.newtimesonline.com/content/view/996/144/, 16 January 2006 (accessed 06.05.09).The Ghanaian Times: The World is Watching, http://www.newtimesonline.com/content/view/207/132/, 24 November 2005 (accessed 06.05.09).The New York Times: In First for Africa, Woman Wins Election as President of Liberia, http://www.genocidewatch.org/ LiberiaInFirstforAfricaWoman-

WinsElectionasPresidentofLiberiaNov05.htm, 12 November 2005 (accessed 06.05.09).The New Zealand Herald: Johnson-Sirleaf vows to end Liberia’s corruption and violence, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/location/story.cfm?l_id=1&objectid=

10364111, 17 January 2006 (accessed 15.08.07).The Washington Post: A New Leader’s True Colors: Johnson-Sirleaf, a Head of State With A Head for Style, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/

content/article/2006/03/23/AR2006032301887.html, 24 March 2006 (accessed 25.05.07).The Washington Post: For Liberia’s ‘Iron Lady,’ Toughness Part of Territory, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/15/

AR2005121502052_pf.html, 16 December 2005 (accessed 20.04.07).TheWashington Post: The Case for Caring Now, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/19/AR2006031901005.html, 20 March

2006; Accessed 25 May 2007.Times online: Iron Lady of Liberia ready to rule, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article592697.ece, 2 November 2005 (accessed

13.09.07).

Dr Jemima Asabea Anderson is a lecturer at the Department of English, University of Ghana. Over the years she has taught a number of courses in phonetics andphonology, language and communication, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis and pragmatics. Her research interests include investigations into various aspects of

J.A. Anderson et al. / Journal of Pragmatics 43 (2011) 2509–2518 2517

non-native varieties of English (world Englishes), description and codification of a Ghanaian English, pragmatics (especially the pragmatics of English in Ghana),sociolinguistics, and discourse Analysis.

Grace Diabah specialises in language and gender in Africa. She is currently finishing her PhD at the University of Lancaster. She is a lecturer at the University ofGhana and she has taught courses in phonetics and phonology, language in Africa, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, and gender and language in Africa.

Patience Afrakoma hMensa is currently finishing her PhD at the Open University in the UK. Her research interest is in the area of language and communication inAfrica. She is a lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon. She has taught courses in language and communication, language and advertising, and language in themedia.

J.A. Anderson et al. / Journal of Pragmatics 43 (2011) 2509–25182518