ABSTRACT
Gender, even today, is a relevant aspect of differentiation in media representations of political leadership in Germany. This chapter reflects upon change and persistence of gendered media images of female political leadership as well as of political masculinity. The empirical basis is a study about media representations of female social democratic top candidates at the state-level in Germany, as well as reflections on the metaphor of the political mother and on gendered images of the general election at the federal level in 2017. In the media’s perspective, femininity remains the second gender in the political field. But women have come to be competent players instead of exotic outsiders. Traits of motherly care, traditionally attributed to them, have shifted from a criterion for exclusion from the political field to an aspect of feminine political capabilities. Masculinity still is the norm, yet it is not unspoken anymore. Political masculinity has become a visible and debatable gender. These findings are being discussed with respect to two theoretical concepts. They show change as well as persistence of gender knowledge in the political field. And they give evidence for a change in relation between the political public and the private spheres.
