Media Representation of Female Political Candidates in the United States: The Cases of Kamala Harris and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Abstract

In the past few years, U.S. politics have been at the forefront of many international newspapers. With the election of Donald Trump as president in 2016 to the one of Joe Biden in 2020, American politics have remained a widely discussed topic, even in other countries. However, when looking at the list of people who have been representing the country politically, it is noticeable that the great majority of them have been men. Although, over the past few decades, more women have been elected to political offices, most of these positions, especially the major ones, remain occupied by male politicians. As the media play such a big role in elections by informing the public on political candidates and their campaigns, it is important to look at the news coverage that female candidates receive, in comparison to one received by their male counterparts.