Gender and the development of a political persona: The case of Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon

Abstract

Much recent research has focussed on the manner in which women political leaders are portrayed in media (Childs, 2008;Campus, 2013;O'Neill and Savigny, 2014). This article examines the press discourses around Scottish Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, beginning before her participation in the 2004 Scottish National Party (SNP) leadership contest, and continuing through to her appointment as Scottish First Minister in 2014. Starting prior to her deputy leadership, a variety of definitional strategies positioned Sturgeon as aggressive and shrewish. Subsequently, in keeping with the obligations of a more 'intimate' politics, we find a softening and domestication of Sturgeon's media image, alongside discourses of political competence and professionalism. Yet, the article shows how these shifts took place in a manner that continued to call upon established gendered discourses, often with newspapers using tactics of distancing. We suggest this illustrates the competing pulls of media logic, where the mediatisation of Sturgeon's image produces a marketable political persona, but accompanied by those residual gendered discourses long associated with the political press.

Los atributos personales como promesa de acción política: Cuando los imitadores les cobran la palabra a los políticos

“…David P. Marshall define una "persona" como "la extensión del yo producido públicamente a partir de nuestras representaciones en los medios y proyectado para la fabricación cotidiana de una identidad visible" (2016). Los estudios de Marshall se concentran en el mundo de las celebridades, pero la idea de que los personajes públicos usan su vida personal para fabricar máscaras que proyectan ante los demás, ha mostrado validez para entender a los políticos (Corner, 2000;Finlayson, 2002;Higgins & McKay, 2016;Langer, 2010). Sin embargo, esta perspectiva de investigación no explica la manera en que los imitadores se acercan a los políticos, a quienes no les importa si hay máscaras fabricadas o no.…”

Feminist institutionalism and women’s political leadership in devolution era Scotland

“…Sturgeon’s performance in this adversarial form of politics, antithetical to the supposedly consensual new politics of the Scottish Parliament, helped cement her status as an important political player. It is telling of continued gender contingencies in political leadership that Sturgeon suffered from the detriment of the ‘nippy sweetie’ label alongside wining the Herald newspaper’s Debater of the Year award in 2004 (Higgins and Mackay 2016 ). Subsequently, the SNP undertook a sustained media effort to soften her image.…”

“…Yet, Salmond’s notably confrontational style came alongside the perception he has a ‘man-of-the-people bonhomie’ (Torrance 2015 ). The intentional softening of Sturgeon’s public image involved presenting her as more feminine, with Torrance ( 2015 ) also commenting on her cultivated empathy and rapport with children and families (Higgins and McKay 2016 ). Meanwhile, Sturgeon herself has made a point of stating she pursues a consensual political style focussing on unity rather than division (Torrance 2015 ).…”

Constructing women’s “different voice”

“…As Higgins and McKay (2016) show in their longitudinal analysis of the Scottish press's coverage of Nicola Sturgeon's career from 2004, this polarization has a longer history. In Scotland it is apparent in the media's construction of two contrasting gendered personae for Sturgeon: one which emphasizes her combative or "abrasive" qualities (exemplified in the media's use of the nicknames "Gnasher", the name of a semi-feral dog in a children's comic, and "Nippy sweetie", meaning a sourtasting sweet), and another which presents her as a more conventional "everywoman" (exemplified in interviews dwelling on, for instance, her domestic arrangements and her weakness for buying shoes).…”