ABSTRACT
This volume examines the unique contributions of women of color to American politics. While Sanbonmatsu (2015) finds that women of color often circumvent conventional routes to formal political power, this chapter examines women’s informal political power by looking at media portrayals of first ladies. Are they portrayed as happy homemakers or as key stakeholders in their husband’s administrations? With the ascent of Michelle Obama to the highest unelected political office in the United States, we now have the opportunity to gain insight on whether race constrains or expands the influence of the first lady. Using comparative content analysis, I explore election year coverage of Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, and Hillary Clinton to examine the similarities and differences in their coverage. I find that coverage of Michelle Obama does draw attention to her race and that Mrs. Obama was more likely to be portrayed as a role model. Both Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama were more likely to be portrayed as angry. However, their anger was framed differently. Michelle Obama was occasionally portrayed as an angry Black woman, while Hillary Clinton was significantly more likely to be portrayed as an angry feminist.
