Spinning, spooning and the seductions of flirtatious masculinity in contemporary politics

Abstract

Abstract

Fatherhood, UK political culture and the new politics

“…It is interesting that newer, less formalised media (such as Twitter) are used to provide such spaces and that they are teeming with the material of the fantasies and anxieties I discuss in this article. 4 Against this background of disenchantment and cynicism about the integrity of the political system, a sense of nostalgia has also emerged for an age when politicians were somehow more authentic and 'real', and the maverick appeal of some UK politicians -past and present -from Winston Churchill to Boris Johnson can be seen in this light (Yates, 2010). The nostalgic wish for continuity with a mythical past combined with a desire for a certain future are condensed within the sign of the 'good father', who can safeguard the narcissistic fantasy of past entitlements and inheritance at both personal and national levels of experience.…”

“…The development of 'personality politics' is linked to the emergence of what Richard Sennett (1977) has called 'secular charisma'. As I argue elsewhere (Yates, 2010), the latent oedipal aggression or 'envy or ressentiment' of voters towards politicians is displaced by focusing on their image and personality, rather than on 'substantive political issues and policies' (p. 287). These strategies coalesce around the image of the politician as father and David Cameron provides a good example of this turn.…”

“…New Labour's emphasis on what I elsewhere call the 'flirtatious' mechanisms of spin and PR, provided a model for the newly re-branded UK Conservative Party in which David Cameron was represented as embodying the new 'caring' brand of a party once labelled as 'nasty' (Yates, 2010). Images of 'hands-on fatherhood' (Rayner, 2010) as connoting a 'safe pair of hands' have been deployed by both parties as a way of winning over floating voters.…”

“…2 It is also linked to the growing personalization of politicians and to the celebritization of politics more generally within postmodern party politics (Corner and Pels, 2003;Yates, 2010). There is now a vast body of scholarly research on the topic of 'political communication' and its influence in shaping voter preference and our engagement with politics (see, for example, Negrine, 2008;Sanders, 2009).…”

“…There is now a vast body of scholarly research on the topic of 'political communication' and its influence in shaping voter preference and our engagement with politics (see, for example, Negrine, 2008;Sanders, 2009). Yet following recent research in the field of cultural and political studies, the term 'political culture' is preferred here to that of 'political communication', as the meaning of the latter is too narrow and functional to encompass the many areas within popular culture and the media where political engagement now takes place (Corner and Pels, 2003;Couldry, 2010;Yates, 2010). From radio phone-ins to soap opera and comedy satires, the notion of what constitutes politics now extends beyond the traditional communication channels of political engagement to the mediatized spaces of popular culture (Couldry et al, 2007, p. 6).…”