Skip to main content
Log in

Gender and the development of a political persona: The case of Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon

  • Original Article
  • Published:
British Politics Aims and scope

Abstract

Much recent research has focussed on the manner in which women political leaders are portrayed in media. This article examines the press discourses around Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, beginning before her participation in the 2004 Scottish National Party leadership contest, after which she was appointed deputy leader, and continuing through to her appointment as First Minister in 2014. Starting before her deputy leadership, a variety of definitional strategies positioned Sturgeon as aggressive and shrewish. Subsequently, in keeping with the obligations of a more ‘intimate’ politics, we find a softening and domestication of Sturgeon’s media image, alongside discourses of political competence and professionalism. Yet, the article shows how these shifts took place in a manner that continued to call upon established gendered discourses, often with newspapers using tactics of distancing. We suggest this illustrates the competing pulls of media logic, where the mediatisation of Sturgeon’s image produces a marketable political persona, but accompanied by those residual gendered discourses long associated with the political press.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Altheide, D.L. (2004) Media logic and political communication. Political Communication 21(3): 293–296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, E. (2004) Independent women lead from the front. Scotland on Sunday 27 June.

  • Bem, S.L. (1981) Bem Sex-Role Inventory: Professional Manual. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowditch, G. (2014a) Move over, Alex – It’s my turn to take the wheel. The Sunday Times 28 September.

  • Bowditch, G. (2014b) The warm up act set to take over top billing. The Sunday Times 21 September.

  • Bradshaw, P. (2015) Not funny, not nice: The Krankie gibe against Nicola Sturgeon goes too far. The Guardian 22 April.

  • Brown, M.E. and Gardetto, D.C. (2000) Representing Hillary Rodham Clinton: Gender, meaning, and news media. In: A. Sreberny and E.A. van Zoonen (eds.) Gender, Politics and Communication. New York: Hampton Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, T. (1999) Tom Brown’s campaign diary; Freddy Back in shadows. Daily Record 19 April.

  • Busby, R. (2009) Marketing the Populist Politician: The Demotic Democrat. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Butler, J. (2006) Gender Trouble, new edition. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campus, D. (2013) Women Political Leaders and the Media. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Childs, S. (2004) Women Representing Women: New Labour’s Women MPs. London: Frank Cass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Childs, S. (2008) Women and British Party Politics: Descriptive, Substantive and Symbolic Representation. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Childs, S. and Murray, R. (2014) Feminising political parties. In: R. Campbell and S. Childs (eds.) Deeds and Words: Gendering Politics After Joni Lovenduski. Colchester, UK: ECPR.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corner, J. (2000) Mediated persona and political culture: Dimensions of structure and process. European Journal of Cultural Studies 3(3): 386–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Currie, B. (2004) Profile: Nicola Sturgeon shrugs off that nippy sweetie tag. Evening Times 25 June.

  • Daily Record. (2009a) Boyle painting. 3 June.

  • Daily Record. (2009b) Nicola Sturgeon … S &MP. 16 February.

  • Daily Record. (2009c) Record view: Altered image. 16 February.

  • Deacon, D., Downey, J., Stanyer, J. and Wring, D. (2015) News media performance in the 2015 general election campaign. In: D. Jackson and E. Thorsen (eds.) UK Election Analysis 2015: Media, Voters and the Campaign. Bournemouth, UK: Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community.

    Google Scholar 

  • Devine, C. (2004) Party girl; the SNP is Nicola Sturgeon’s life. The Herald 13 November.

  • Dinwoodie, R. (2008) Deputy First Minister takes centre stage; Nicola Sturgeon wins top award … and is debater of the year as well. The Herald 14 November.

  • Elmelund-Præstekær, C., Hopmann, D.N. and Nørgaard, A.S. (2011) Does mediatization change MP – Media interaction and MP attitudes toward the media? Evidence from a longitudinal study of Danish MPs. International Journal of Press/Politics 16(3): 382–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evening Times. (2004) About-turn inevitable for Alex’s protege. 15 July.

  • Fairclough, N. (1995) Media Discourse. London: Arnold.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fairclough, N. and Wodak, R. (1997) Critical discourse analysis. In: T.A. van Dijk (ed.) Discourse as Social Interaction. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fraser, D. (2002) Behind every great man is a great woman. The Sunday Herald 22 September.

  • Garcia-Blanco, I. and Wahl-Jorgensen, K. (2012) The discursive construction of women politicians in the European press. Feminist Media Studies 12(3): 422–441.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gidengil, E. and Everitt, J. (2003) Talking tough: Gender and reported speech in campaign news coverage. Political Communication 20(3): 209–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gill, L. (1987) Journalese: The inside story. English Today 3(3): 24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, T. (2004) Curran is first woman to win the top award; parents of boy shot in Turkey recognised for their anti-gun campaign. The Herald 12 November.

  • Hall, J. (2010) Women as leaders in broadcast TV news and print journalism. In: K. O’Connor (ed.) Gender and Women’s Leadership: A Reference Handbook, Vol. 2. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Han, E. and Ki, E. (2010) Developing a measure of celebrity reputation. Public Relations Review 36(2): 199–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanna, L. (2004) Sturgeon vows tough fight for SNP top job; women square up for battle. Scottish Mirror 25 June.

  • The Herald. (2014a) It is Sturgeon’s gallusness, not her gender, that matters. 17 October.

  • The Herald. (2014b) Sturgeon begins new job on a high. 20 November.

  • Higgins, M. (2006) Substantiating a political public sphere in the Scottish press. Journalism 7(1): 25–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, M. (2015) Scottish nationalism in the 2015 UK general election. In: D. Jackson and E. Thorsen (eds.) UK Election Analysis 2015: Media, Voters and the Campaign. Bournemouth, UK: Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, A. (2000) The future belongs to them. Scotland on Sunday 2 January.

  • Hvenegård-Lassen, K. (2013) Disturbing femininity. Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research 5(1): 153–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jamieson, K.H. (1995) Beyond the Double Bind: Women and Leadership. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, P. (2004) Irreconcilable differences? Habermas and feminism. In: D. Freundlieb, W. Hudson and J. Rundel (eds.) Critical Theory After Habermas. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kroon Lundell, Å. and Ekström, M. (2008) The complex visual gendering of women in the press. Journalism Studies 9(6): 891–910.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lakoff, G. and Johnson, M. (1980) Metaphors We Live By. Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langer, A.I. (2007) A historical exploration of the personalisation of politics in the print media: The British Prime Ministers (1945–1999). Parliamentary Affairs 60(3): 371–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loke, J., Harp, D. and Bachmann, I. (2011) Mothering and governing: How news articulated gender roles in the cases of Governors Jane Swift and Sarah Palin. Journalism Studies 12(2): 205–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lovenduski, J. (2005) Feminizing Politics. Cambridge, UK: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luckhurst, T. (2004) Can a woman be man enough for Scottish politics? Scottish Daily Mail 28 June.

  • Mabry, M. (2008) Twice as Good: Condoleezza Rice and Her Path to Power. New York: Modern Times.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mackay, F. and Kenny, M. (2007) Women’s representation in the 2007 Scottish Parliament: Temporary setback or return to the norm? Scottish Affairs 60(1): 80–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacLeod, J. (2014) Crowning Sturgeon could be the start of the SNP’s problems. Scottish Daily Mail 23 September.

  • Marshall, P.D. (1997) Celebrity and Power. Minneapolis, MN: Minnesota University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAlpine, K. (2009) The Chief Whip … and in great Nic; Sturgeon shown as sexbomb in oil painting. Scottish Sun 16 February.

  • McFadyen, S. (2005) Talking sex, shopping and shoes with Nicola … the real brains of the SNP. Scottish Mirror 5 April.

  • Norris, P. (ed.) (1997) Women leaders worldwide: A splash of color in the photo-op. In: Women, Media, and Politics. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Neill, D. and Savigny, H. (2014) Female politicians in the British press: The exception to the ‘masculine’ norm? Journalism Education 3(1): 6–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Platt, S. (2005) Scotcha. Scottish Sun 19 April.

  • Prentice, D.A. and Carranza, E. (2002) What women and men should be, shouldn’t be, are allowed to be, and don’t have to be: The contents of prescriptive gender stereotypes. Psychology of Women Quarterly 26(4): 269–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richards, B. (2007) Emotional Governance: Politics, Media and Terror. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ross, K. (2002) Women’s place in ‘male’space: Gender and effect in parliamentary contexts. Parliamentary Affairs 55(1): 189–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ross, K. and Comrie, M. (2012) The rules of the (leadership) game: Gender, politics and news. Journalism 13(8): 969–984.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ross, K., Evans, E., Harrison, L., Shears, M. and Wadia, K. (2013) The gender of news and news of gender: A study of sex, politics, and press coverage of the 2010 British general election. The International Journal of Press/Politics 18(1): 3–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ross, K. and Sreberny-Mohammadi, A. (1997) Playing house: Gender, politics and the news media in Britain. Media, Culture & Society 19(1): 101–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ross, K. and Sreberny, A. (eds.) (2000) Women in the house: Media representation of British politicians. In: Gender, Politics and Communication. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scotland on Sunday. (1999) Holywood lives: Nicola Sturgeon. 3 October.

  • Scottish Daily Express. (2005) Hickey. 6 May.

  • Settle, M. (2015) Poll shows Sturgeon is now the most popular politician across Britain. The Herald 29 April.

  • Smith, A. (2008) ‘New man’ or ‘son of the manse’? Gordon Brown as a reluctant celebrity father. British Politics 3(4): 556–575.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, A. and Higgins, M. (2013) The Language of Journalism: A Multi-Genre Perspective. New York: Bloomsbury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sreberny-Mohammadi, A. and Ross, K. (1996) Women MPs and the media: Representing the body politic. Parliamentary Affairs 49(1): 103–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stanyer, J. (2007) Modern Political Communications. Cambridge, UK: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanyer, J. (2013) Intimate Politics. Cambridge, UK: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stenvoll, D. (2008) Slippery slopes in political discourse. In: T. Carver and J. Pikalo (eds.) Political Language and Metaphor. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Street, J. (2003) The celebrity politician: Political style and popular culture. In: J. Corner and D. Pels (eds.) Media and the Restyling of Politics. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Street, J. (2011) Mass Media, Politics and Democracy, 2nd edn. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Streicher, L.H. (1967) On a theory of political caricature. Comparative Studies in Society and History 9(4): 427–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, A. (2007) Women, Power and Politics. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strömbäck, J. and Esser, F. (eds.) (2014) Mediatization of politics: Towards a theoretical framework. In: Mediatization of Politics. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strömbäck, J. and van Aelst, P. (2013) Why political parties adapt to the media: Exploring the fourth dimension of mediatisation. International Communication Gazette 75(4): 341–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Scotsman. (2000) Shuggie the security man’s day. 20 January.

  • The Scotsman. (2010) Artistic licence … and a new take on leaders’ wives. 6 March.

  • The Sunday Herald. (2004) Back from cliff edge. 27 June.

  • The Sunday Times. (2004) Nationalist’s Gnasher moves up in the world. 12 September.

  • Taylor, A. (2014) Life on a tidal wave of wine? That’s entertainment of the sort which Burns would no doubt have enjoyed. Sunday Herald 26 January.

  • van Zoonen, L. (2005) Entertaining the Citizen. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • West, C., Lazar, M.M. and Sorjonen, C. (1997) Gender in discourse. In: T.A. van Dijk (ed.) Discourse as Social Interaction. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler, M. (2013) Celebrity Politics. Cambridge, UK: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wodak, R. (2009) The Discourse of Politics in Action: Politics as Usual. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to David Baines, Mari K. Niemi and Angela Smith for their feedback on earlier drafts, as well as for the input of Karin Wahl-Jorgensen and the generous and insightful comments of the anonymous reviewers.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael Higgins.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Higgins, M., McKay, F. Gender and the development of a political persona: The case of Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Br Polit 11, 283–300 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1057/bp.2015.44

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/bp.2015.44

Keywords

Navigation