The Intersection of Candidate Gender and Ethnicity: How Voters Respond to Campaign Messages from Latinas

Abstract

Despite the recent surge of women of color in elected political office in the U.S., the representation of Latinas is strikingly low. Past research offers unclear conclusions as to whether Latina political candidates face biases due to the intersection of their identities as women and as ethnic minorities, and how Latinas can navigate such biases. In this study, we identify how Latinas draw on their intersectional identities as both women and ethnic minorities to develop strategic campaign messages and how voters respond to such messages. Through an analysis of campaign advertising data and an original survey experiment, we show that Latina candidates do not face an automatic disadvantage based in gender and ethnic biases, but they can benefit from the intersection of these two identities, especially among female minority voters. These results are consequential because they offer insights into how to improve the descriptive and substantive representation of marginalized groups in the U.S.

Gendered Self-Promotion: Differences in How Voters Evaluate Women and Men Who Highlight Their Legislative Accomplishments

“…The intersection of race and gender may lead voters to respond differently to women of color who engage in self-promotion (Brown 2014; Cargile 2023; Santia and Bauer 2023). Women of color, especially Black women, are often seen as lacking the professional qualifications needed for political office, and this is due to the racist-sexist stereotypes that exist about Black women (i.e., the angry black woman stereotype) (Harris-Perry 2013; Bateson 2020; Carey and Lizotte 2019).…”

The representation of phenotypic diversity in audiovisual advertising in Spain: professional perspectives and implications for the cultural dynamics of inclusion

“…Several studies have addressed the connections between phenotype, race, ethnicity and social consumption through the lens of advertising (see Banks, 2020, for a comprehensive literature review on this matter). International studies also point to a strong intersectional link between phenotypes and the representation of gender, social class and social or ethnic minorities at different levels by: (a) highlighting the underrepresentation of women and certain ethnic groups in advertising (Taylor et al, 2019); (b) promoting stereotyped images of sexualized female bodies, thus rendering visible the performative character of gendered identities (Beccaria et al, 2018); (c) underlining the agency of minoritized groups that purposely use their intersectional ethnic and gendered identities to develop specific messages concerning political or sociocultural issues (Santia and Bauer, 2022); and (d) evaluating those groups' reactions to specific advertising campaigns (El Hazzouri and Hamilton, 2019). Allan and Coltrane (1996: 185) argue that the most ubiquitous and stereotypical models reproduced in the collective imagination come from television advertisements, which are "preeminent among current purveyors of popular cultural imaginary".…”

Does Policy Lead to Progress? An Investigation into the Relationship between Women-Friendly Policies and Women's Descriptive Representation

“…Traditional gender stereotypes of female characteristics clash with traits often associated with leaders, creating an additional barrier that women have to overcome to get elected to office. Leaders have typically been associated with qualities like competence, which overlap with gender stereotypes that are associated with men (Bauer and Santia, 2022). But these leadership qualities, such as competence, contradict gender stereotypes of traits associated with women, such as compassion, keeping them from becoming associated with leadership qualities as easily as men are (Bauer and Santia, 2022).…”