Gender and Political Marketing in the United States and the 2016 Presidential Election: An Analysis of Why She Lost
by Minita Sanghvi (Author)

About the Author
Minita Sanghvi is Assistant Professor in the Management and Business Department at Skidmore College, USA, where she teaches marketing, gender and politics. Her work has been published in the Journal of Marketing Management and the Advances in Consumer Research.

About this book
This book focuses on the unique challenges women in politics face in the United States based on their gender. It also focuses on issues of intersectionality in political marketing, including race, age, weight, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. From a theoretical perspective, this book facilitates an investigation of the interplay of gender dynamics and power structures within political marketing. Focusing on women in the United States of both parties at various levels in politics, it examines both historical data and contemporary examples of female politicians and their campaigns. Using qualitative research methods and taking a feminist approach to data collection and analysis, this book features primary source interviews with 15 politicians, including a Governor, Senator, two Congresswomen, and several state and local legislators. It also incorporates interviews with 19 political consultants, PAC executives, aides, political party officials, and members of the media.

Table of contents
1 Gender in Political Marketing in the United States 1
    Purpose and Objectives 3
    Methodology 4
        Interviews 7
        Focus Groups 9
        Secondary Archival Data 10
        Data Analysis 11
    Structure of the Book 12
    Historical Analysis of Gender in Political Marketing 12
    References 17
2 Issues Facing Women in Politics in the United States 21
    Theoretical Perspectives in Political Marketing 22
        Political Branding 23
        Role of Gender in Political Marketing 25
    Challenges Female Politicians Face in Political Marketing 27
        Gender Performance 27
        Gender Bias 40
        Gender Hierarches and Power Dynamics 45
    Conclusion 52
    References 54
3 Gender and Intersectionality in Political Marketing 61
    Historical Analysis of Race and Gender During the Suffragist
    Movement 62
    Theoretical Understanding of Intersectionality 63
    Historical Analysis of Intersectionality in Political Marketing:
    An Extended Case Study of Shirley Chisholm’s Candidacy in 1972
    US Presidential Elections 65
    Intersectionality in Modern-Day Political Marketing 73
    Race and Gender 73
    Ageism 80
    Fattism 86
    Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression 90
    Conclusion 96
    References 96
4 Gender in the 2016 US Presidential Primaries 101
    Political Marketing: Democratic and Republican Primaries 101
        Sanghvi’s 4Cs of Political Marketing Mix 101
        Positioning 102
        2016 Democratic Primaries 104
    Political Marketing and the Democratic Primary Candidates 106
    Role of Gender in the Democratic Primaries 109
    Political Marketing and Republican Primaries 111
    Gender and the Republican Primary 113
    Democratic and Republican National Convention 118
    General Election 120
    Campaign Focus 121
    Campaign Controversies 122
    Campaign Logos 124
    Trump, Clinton, and the Media 126
    Political Marketing—Trump and Clinton 128
    Role of Gender and Political Marketing in the 2016 Election 133
        Old Boys’ Club 134
        Clinton’s Femininity 134
        Female Politicians as Threats 136
        Women as Moral Center 137
        Political Spouse 138
        First Names 138
        Gender and Age 140
        Gender Expectations 140
        Dishonest 141
        The Gender Card 142
    Trump/Clinton Gender 142
    Conclusion 144
    References 145
5 The Path Forward 159
    Practitioner Strategies for Female Politicians 164
    The Path Forward 166
    Reflections and Conclusion 169
    References 172
Index 175

Series: Gender and Politics
Length: 183 pages
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1st ed. 2019 edition (May 23, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1137601701
ISBN-13: 978-1137601704