Negotiating Gendered Discourses: Michelle Bachelet and Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner

(Hardback)

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It has been argued that the first presidential campaign of Michelle Bachelet in Chile and Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner in Argentina used a rhetoric of newness. Some political observers have said that as the first women to successfully run for the highest office in these countries, they were presented as the new faces of democracy. These observers argued that gender was not a determining factor in their electoral success, but the focus on this first women frame did generate heavily gendered criticisms of these two candidates. Negotiating Gendered Discourses addresses these views by asking how the gender factor is negotiated when women from the Southern Cone of Latin America run for high political office. In particular, Jane L. Christie examines how Bachelet and Fernndez positioned themselves in relation to the numerous women-led social movements, and in doing so, reveals points of intersection between these contemporary political discourses and existing sources of female authority when negotiating complicated ideological debates about human rights, the economy, and womens rights.

Reviews

This book contributes to the ongoing discussion of womens representation in executive politics. Through the use of feminist CDA, the author aptly shows how gendered frames, expectations, a countrys political history and a politicians own history all are factors in how women presidents see themselves and how they want to be seen by the political elite and general population. * International Feminist Journal of Politics *
Jane Christie's provocative study examines a pivotal point in a period of political change in South America. It highlights the strategic appropriation of resonant discourses around the maternal body and the continuation of life; the family and the strengthening of community; the ethics of care; and the functions prescribed to female political leaders that have inhibited their full engagement in a rights-based feminist agenda. This is an exciting contribution to the growing discussion of female political leaders in Latin America and is sure to stimulate debate. -- Raylene Ramsay, University of Auckland
Negotiating Gendered Discourses provides convincing evidence of the ways Cristina Fernndez and Michelle Bachelet skillfully negotiated culturally specific gender-coding as they became the first elected women presidents of Argentina and Chile. Most fascinating is the studys juxtaposition of these two leaders framing of economic policies designed for the majority of citizens: women. Christies feminist discourse analysis of women and political power has larger implications for understanding womens leadership during crisis, and provides insight into strategies used by other world leaders to soften their image, such as those of Angela Merkel in negotiating the refugee crisis in Europe. -- Kathryn Lehman, The University of Auckland

Author Bio

Jane L. Christie is a visiting academic with Politics and International Relations, the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her research interests center on Latin America, with a special focus on Latin American women in politics and social movements. In addition to her Latin American studies background, Janes foundational academic background in language acquisition, linguistics, and translation studies has prepared the way for a multi-disciplinary approach to research. The majority of her other publications place a special focus on language behavior at the intersection of indigenous and European cultures.