Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
Scodari, Christine
Abstract
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 powerful male, even when they consider political office. Therefore, it is argued that the media have a profound role in defining political women through the perpetuation of hegemonic constructions of femininity.
Extent
125 p.
Recommended Citation
Oxner, Amy Carol, "From presidential wife to leader in her own right? The media's representation of Hillary Rodham Clinton and the feminine ideal" (2003). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009. 552.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_5/552
Identifier
FADT13088
Comments
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2003.|Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters