Abstract
ABSTRACTThis study investigated the ways in which ‘Mama Grizzlies’ – female Tea Party politicians – in the US strategically made use of socially dominant constructions of both masculinity and femininity in their campaigns during the 2010 US mid-term elections. By analysing news media interviews, television debates and campaign advertisements, this study found that these ‘Mama Grizzlies’ are female and contemporary versions of Ronald Reagan, an icon of conservatism in US politics. Hegemonic masculinity proved to be a useful device for Mama Grizzlies to attack their opponents as indecisive. Masculinity, as displayed by Mama Grizzlies, corresponds to a type of ‘female masculinity’ by which these female candidates tried to portray themselves as strong and tough. At the same time, by constructing an empathetic persona and utilizing a feminine style of presentation, these candidates employed a gender strategy of hybrid masculinity: a blending of muscle and compassion. Mama Grizzlies’ gendered rhetoric also contravened some of the basic tenants of feminism, such as gender equality.
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