Angelia Wagner - Böcker

Despite decades of women's participation in politics and the increasing number of LGBTQ individuals who are seeking and winning political office, the gender identities of Canadian politicians continue to attract media and public attention and shape the way these individuals are perceived and evaluated. Gendered Mediation takes an original, intersectional approach to these issues by building upon the gendered mediation thesis to argue that political communication and reporting reinforces impressions of politics as a masculine domain that privileges men and treats women as outsiders. Organized into three sections, the book investigates politicians' gendered strategies for shaping their own and others' public images, the gendered characteristics of media coverage of politicians, and voter reactions to these self-presentations and media depictions. By examining how sexuality, race, age, and class intersect with gender to produce differing political identities and responses, the contributors make new theoretical and empirical interventions into research on gender and political communication. Their findings have profound implications for democracy not only in Canada but for democratic political systems elsewhere.

The Candidacy Calculation examines how perceptions of barriers to candidacy in Canada differ by social, economic, and political backgrounds. Through semi-structured interviews with 101 individuals from diverse social backgrounds, geographical locations, and political ideologies, this book uncovers both new and previously overlooked challenges such as online harassment and social media scandals, while also offering a deeper understanding of traditional barriers like financial constraints, work-life balance, employment issues, partisanship, and family responsibilities. The findings demonstrate that individual considerations regarding candidacy are much more complex than previously thought.Drawing on an intersectional approach, the book analyses how factors such as gender, race/ethnicity, sexuality, age, and other social attributes intersect to create unique barriers to political careers, thereby presenting a nuanced view of the candidate emergence process in Canada. By rigorously testing the role of political ambition in fostering diversity in political representation, The Candidacy Calculation compares the experiences of women and men, various social groups, and individuals who have become candidates with those who have not. The book aims to assist policymakers and activists in identifying solutions to overcome barriers and enhance opportunities for increasing candidacy among under-represented groups in politics.