Presidential framing in the Christine Blasey Ford and Anita Hill cases

Abstract

Anita Hill's testimony against Clarence Thomas in 1991 called attention to widespread sexual abuse in the US. Testimony from Christine Blasey Ford against Thomas Kavanaugh 27 years later underscored the lack of progress in its eradication. Using the cascading network activation model, this study identifies the episodic and thematic framing of both cases in relation to top down influencers. A content analysis (N = 901) of US newspapers and TV networks showed episodic framing dominated coverage in both cases. Both Bush and Trump successfully emphasized their nominee as deserving of SCOTUS. Trump also significantly contributed to the negative framing of Blasey Ford. Thematically, Republican-led framing focused on American values and maintaining the rule of law, whereas Democratic-led framing concentrated on raising awareness to the systemic problem of sexual abuse and threat the nominee posed to progressive rights. News coverage included challenging both presidents, but only for a total of 15.9% for Trump and 10.7% for Bush. On the other hand, Hill was challenged in 40.5% and Blasey Ford in 73% of news coverage. In sum, even with strong opposition, the cascade model's success indicates that White House messaging continues to usurp social justice issues. Background"This was an extremely hard thing for me to do, but I felt I couldn't NOT do it." (Vesoulis, 2018). An estimated 20.4 million viewers along with millions more online heard the words of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford during the Senate hearing for SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) nominee Brett Kavanaugh (Reuters, 2018). Kavanaugh was a Republican nominee put forward by Donald Trump (Reuters, 2018). Blasey Ford went on to testify that when at a high school party, Kavanaugh and his friend locked her in a bedroom, pinned her down on a bed, assaulted her while covering her mouth to muffle her screams, and attempted to rape her (Vesoulis, 2018). Blasey Ford also stated that she managed to run out of the room before being raped, and that "Brett's assault on me drastically altered my life" (Vesoulis, 2018). Less than two weeks later, the US Senate confirmed Kavanaugh to SCOTUS (Daniel, Lee, & Simon, 2018).For many, the story was familiar. Nearly three decades earlier, 27 million people (Rucinski, 1993) listened to Anita Hill say in a Senate hearing for SCOTUS nominee Clarence Thomas, "It would have been more comfortable to remain silent . . . I felt that I had to tell the truth. I could not keep silent" ("Nomination of Judge Clarence Thomas," 1991). Thomas was a Republican nominee put forward by George H.W. Bush. Hill accused Thomas of sexually harassing her at work when he was in a managerial position at the Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC, Totenberg, 2018). The US Senate also confirmed Thomas to SCOTUS (Totenberg, 2018).This study examines the framing of news coverage in the Hill and Blasey Ford cases to identify the influencers, the wider implications of the framing, and to compare and contrast both cases.

The road to gender equality: Persisting obstacles for American women in the workforce.

“…Throughout history, women have had to fight for equality, freedoms, and rights (Adamek, 1994; Akoja & Anjorin, 2020; Barry, 2013; Berg, 1989; Berlant, 1993; Bhattacharyya, 2018; Blumell & Mulupi, 2020; Brown, 2003; Carlin & Winfrey, 2009; Colby, 2013; Daniels, 1996; Deitch, 1993; Dolan, 2001; Foster, 2008; Fuchsman, 2017; Gantt-Shafer et al, 2019; Ginsburg, 1973; Hardouin et al, 2020; Hargis, 1955; Hebert, 2018; Houghton, 1999; Hsia, 1978; Jacoby, 1975; Kenneally, 1967; Kimble & Olson, 2006; Kitch, 2018; Lathers, 2009; Lewis, 2011; Linehan, 2017; Lunardini & Knock, 1980; Maloney, 1996; Marshall, 1986; Masel-Walters, 1976; McCammon & Brockman, 2019; McCammon & Campbell, 2001; O’Malley, 2020; Porter, 2014; Richards, 2007; Rosenthal & Peters, 2008; Rupp, 1996; Siebler, 2010; Siegle, 1985; Simon, 2002; Sorock, 2010; Sullivan, 2006; Thompson, 2002; Towns, 1966; Tyner & Ogle, 2007; Wade & Fiorentino, 2017; Wayne, 2020). As shown in Table 1 (Milligan, 2017), there are a variety of historical events, movements, and milestones that have affected and impacted women’s rights…”