The Changing Face of Representation : The Gender of U. S. Senators and Constituent Communications

As The Number Of Women In The U.s. Senate Grows, So Does The Number Of Citizens Represented By Women Senators. At The Same Time, Gender Remains A Key Factor In Senators' Communications To Constituents As Well As In News Media Portrayals Of Senators. Focusing On 32 Males And Female Senators During The 2006 Congressional Election Year, Kim L. Fridkin And Patrick J. Kenney Examine In Detail Senators' Official Websites, Several Thousand Press Releases And Local News Stories, And Surveys Of 18,000 Citizens To Discern Constituents' Attitudes About Their Senators. The Authors Conclude That Gender Role Expectations And Stereotypes Do Indeed Constrain Representational And Campaign Messages And Influence News Coverage Of Both Candidates And Elected Senators. Further, While Citizens Appear To Be Less Influenced By Entrenched Stereotypes, They Pay More Attention To Female Senators' Messages And Become More Knowledgeable About Them, In Comparison To Male Senators. -- From Back Cover. Senator's Gender And Representational Messages -- Measuring The Content And Impact Of Representational Messages -- The Websites Of Senators And Presentation Of Self -- How The Senator's Gender Influences The Content Of Press Releases -- Coverage Of Senators In The Local Press -- Citizens' Understanding Of Their U.s. Senators -- The Impact Of The Senator's Gender During Reelection Campaigns -- The Changing Face Of The U.s. Senate And Representational Messages. Kim L. Fridkin And Patrick J. Kenney. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.