Representation of women in power

BBC PM trousers story

Newspaper headlines about rows within political parties are nothing new – but this one seems to have been sparked by a pair of leather trousers. Here’s how it all unfolded.

It’s just over a fortnight since Theresa May gave an “at home” interview to the Sunday Times, telling the paper about her childhood and explaining how Brexit keeps her awake at night. But it was her choice of trousers – which cost a reported £995 – that provoked most discussion.
“I don’t have leather trousers. I don’t think I’ve ever spent that much on anything apart from my wedding dress,” former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan told The Times, adding that the trousers had been “noticed and discussed” in Tory circles.

She added: “My barometer is always: ‘How am I going to explain this in Loughborough market?”‘

It was at this point that the story really took off, with another Conservative backbench MP, Nadine Dorries, taking Mrs Morgan to task.

“I think it shows Nicky Morgan’s comments were sexist, because she never criticised David Cameron’s extremely expensive suits,” she told the Daily Mail.

Mrs Morgan then found herself “disinvited” to a meeting at Downing Street to discuss Brexit, The Guardian reported.

Asked during a visit to Bahrain about the suggestion the price tag of the trousers made her “out of touch”, the PM spoke of “the importance of a country that works for everyone”, saying she had travelled around the country and “met people in a whole variety of circumstances”.

……..

‘Tedious’ and ‘impertinent’

Former chancellor Ken Clarke has not been impressed, telling the Sunday Politics it was “tedious” that stories about what women politicians were wearing featured in the newspapers.

“I feel sorry for women in politics,” he said. “I’m glad to say men in politics don’t have great news stories about what they are wearing.

“In my case, apart from my suede shoes, I’m probably very lucky because I’m not a very snappy dresser.

“Nicky and Theresa, I hope, will have some serious political discussions. If they want to have an argument about what they are wearing I think all their closest friends would advise them to keep that private.”

Representation

Representation

How is someone or some place in a mass media text portrayed? It’s impossible to portray every aspect of an individual in a single frame, or even in an entire film, so certain features of their personality and appearance get highlighted, and are often enhanced, when it comes to making the representation that the audience will see. When representing a person, media texts often focus on their:

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Race/Ethnicity
  • Financial Status
  • Job
  • Culture/nationality

Signs and symbols are used as a kind of visual shorthand.  When media students decode these signs we make assumptions about who the character is.  For instance, when constructing characters for a TV or movie scene the producers might give an old man white hair and a walking stick, or provide a wealthy lawyer with a three piece suit to wear and a briefcase to carry. Whilst not all old men need a walking stick and not all lawyers carry briefcases, these are easy and quick ways of telling us something about the character.

Who? What? Why? Where?

When you’re analysing representation, think about the following questions:

  • Who or what is being represented? Who is the target audience for this representation?
  • What are they doing? Is their activity presented as typical, or atypical? Are they conventional or unusual?
  • Why are they there at all? What purpose do they serve? What are they telling us by their presence?
  • Where are they? How are they framed? Are they represented as natural or artificial? What surrounds them? What is in the foreground and what is in the background?

Are they the:

  • hero
  • heroine
  • side kick
  • baddy?

How do you know?

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