Metaphor and Gender in British Parliamentary Debates

Abstract

One of the major changes in the composition of the House of Commons during the current period of New Labour dominance in the British Parliament has been a rapid increase in the number of women Members of Parliament (MPs) with over 100 women becoming MPs in 1997; this has arisen out of the Labour Party policy of requiring equal numbers of male and female candidates for elected positions within the party. One question this raises is whether the expansion of the number of women in British politics has had any impact on rhetorical style, particularly, as far as this chapter is concerned, on the nature and purpose of the metaphors used in Commons debates. When Tony Blair and John Prescott resigned from their roles as prime minister and deputy prime minister on 10 May 2007, the new prime minister, Gordon Brown, required a deputy leader. There were six candidates, two women and four men, who were voted for by the Labour Party; this chapter examines metaphor use in parliamentary debates by four of these candidates over the previous five years, comparing them also with two more experienced female politicians, to address the following research questions: 1. Do female and male MPs employ metaphors with similar frequency? 2. Are there similarities or differences in the metaphors used by female and male MPs? 3. Are the rhetorical purposes for which metaphors are used by female MPs similar to, or different from, those of male MPs? This chapter will illustrate how metaphors are employed in British parliamentary debates by male and female MPs. In addition, their rhetorical purposes will be analysed according to a model that incorporates an Aristotelian view of rhetoric.