Sex Scandals, Gender, and Power in Contemporary American Politics
Examining how gender impacts political sex scandals in the United States, this book explains how political sex scandals contribute to the mistrust of government and identifies why these events have serious consequences for our political system.

The increasing tabloidization of politics and focus on politicians involved in sex scandals is both problematic and important. When a major political sex scandal occurs, it occupies as much as 25 percent of all news coverage in the United States. Even if people may deny it, they enjoy "consuming" and talking about political sex scandals. Written by a former jourbanalist who has frequently explored the intersections of politics, sex, and gender in the United States, Sex Scandals, Gender, and Power in Contemporary American Politics investigates how political sex scandals contribute to the mistrust of government and why these events have great significance in our frenzied media environment.

The book makes use of comprehensive descriptive data (including statistics) to explain how political sex scandals are a representation of society's broader gender dynamics, conveying subtle messages about power and morality. It addresses the roles of men and women in political sex scandals over time, the increasing tabloidization of politics, and the often-overlooked consequences of sex scandals for the political system. Author Hinda Mandell also documents how scandals' multiple negative effects for the politicians themselves and for society include turbaning politics into a spectator sport, contributing to the mistrust of government, the questioning of politicians' competence and judgment as a group, and politicians' diminishing effectiveness in office.

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Sex Scandals, Gender, and Power in Contemporary American Politics
Examining how gender impacts political sex scandals in the United States, this book explains how political sex scandals contribute to the mistrust of government and identifies why these events have serious consequences for our political system.

The increasing tabloidization of politics and focus on politicians involved in sex scandals is both problematic and important. When a major political sex scandal occurs, it occupies as much as 25 percent of all news coverage in the United States. Even if people may deny it, they enjoy "consuming" and talking about political sex scandals. Written by a former jourbanalist who has frequently explored the intersections of politics, sex, and gender in the United States, Sex Scandals, Gender, and Power in Contemporary American Politics investigates how political sex scandals contribute to the mistrust of government and why these events have great significance in our frenzied media environment.

The book makes use of comprehensive descriptive data (including statistics) to explain how political sex scandals are a representation of society's broader gender dynamics, conveying subtle messages about power and morality. It addresses the roles of men and women in political sex scandals over time, the increasing tabloidization of politics, and the often-overlooked consequences of sex scandals for the political system. Author Hinda Mandell also documents how scandals' multiple negative effects for the politicians themselves and for society include turbaning politics into a spectator sport, contributing to the mistrust of government, the questioning of politicians' competence and judgment as a group, and politicians' diminishing effectiveness in office.

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Sex Scandals, Gender, and Power in Contemporary American Politics

Sex Scandals, Gender, and Power in Contemporary American Politics

Sex Scandals, Gender, and Power in Contemporary American Politics

Sex Scandals, Gender, and Power in Contemporary American Politics

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Overview

Examining how gender impacts political sex scandals in the United States, this book explains how political sex scandals contribute to the mistrust of government and identifies why these events have serious consequences for our political system.

The increasing tabloidization of politics and focus on politicians involved in sex scandals is both problematic and important. When a major political sex scandal occurs, it occupies as much as 25 percent of all news coverage in the United States. Even if people may deny it, they enjoy "consuming" and talking about political sex scandals. Written by a former jourbanalist who has frequently explored the intersections of politics, sex, and gender in the United States, Sex Scandals, Gender, and Power in Contemporary American Politics investigates how political sex scandals contribute to the mistrust of government and why these events have great significance in our frenzied media environment.

The book makes use of comprehensive descriptive data (including statistics) to explain how political sex scandals are a representation of society's broader gender dynamics, conveying subtle messages about power and morality. It addresses the roles of men and women in political sex scandals over time, the increasing tabloidization of politics, and the often-overlooked consequences of sex scandals for the political system. Author Hinda Mandell also documents how scandals' multiple negative effects for the politicians themselves and for society include turbaning politics into a spectator sport, contributing to the mistrust of government, the questioning of politicians' competence and judgment as a group, and politicians' diminishing effectiveness in office.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781440843273
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 04/17/2017
Series: Gender Matters in U.S. Politics
Edition description: New Edition
Pages: 264
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Hinda Mandell is assistant professor in the School of Communication at Rochester Institute of Technology, USA.

Table of Contents

Series Foreword ix

Acknowledgments xi

1 Political Sex Scandals: How and Why Gender Matters 1

2 A Brief History of Political Sex Scandals 17

3 What a Joke: Philandering Politicians Get the Cartoon Treatment 37

4 When Mistresses Become Media Starlets: The Ascension of the Political Sex-Scandal Celebrity 57

5 Political Wives, Scandal, and the Double Bind: Press Coverage through a Gendered Lens 77

6 Have I Got a Story for You: State Lawmakers Confront Scandal in the New York Assembly 99

7 "How Can People Be So Dumb and Still Be in Politics?" Public Response to Prominent Scandals 131

8 In Sickness and Scandal: Married Couples Navigate Scandal in the News 157

9 Concluding Thoughts: Scandal and Gender in the 21st Century 189

Appendix A Scandal-Defining Variables for Scandal Compilation 203

Appendix B Guiding Questions for Textual Analysis of Printed Text 205

Appendix C Interview Protocol for Married Couples 207

Notes 209

Index 241

What People are Saying About This

Joan L. Conners

"Mandell’s analysis of what she calls the scandal of 'political sextracurricular activities' is extensive, in both time period and methodologies (textual analysis, online surveys, two different sets of interviews). The thread of gender woven into this project makes it particularly distinctive as well as significant, as Mandell examines political wives, women engaged in scandalous behavior with politicians, and the rare female politician involved in her own sex scandal. This multidimensional analysis is an important contribution to the conversation about political sex scandals, the media attention they garner, and their many potential consequences."

Joshua Gamson

"Engaging and funny. Hinda Mandell weaves sex scandal stories into a twisted tapestry that shows us new dimensions of gender and power, new dimensions of political machination, and new dimensions of scandal as a political genre. At once juicy and erudite, this is the book to read on contemporary sex scandals."

Alison Dagnes

"Mandell takes the complicated topic of political scandal and adds important new analysis and insight about gender. Scandals receive a considerable amount of media attention because they are sensational and titillating, but Mandell digs deeper to investigate their larger consequences. Beautifully written and powerfully argued, this is an important addition to the literature on scandal."

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