Gender Construction in the Media during the 12th Lok Sabha Election

Abstract

This study analyses the coverage of three newspapers viz. , The Hindu, The Hindustan Times and The Pioneer, on the question of women's political participation (including reservation and party tickets) and women's issues/perspectives/concerns during the 12~ ' Lok Sabha election held in January-February, 1998. The study further explores the processes of gender construction in political communication by examining the coverage of two women politicians - Jayalalitha and Sushma Swaraj. The findings indicate that the issue of political participation did not emerge significantly on the media agenda during this period. Also, women did not appear as an important constituency or an interest group that can influence the electoral process. Their issues/perspectives/concerns were hardly addressed. Lastly, a drastic difference in the treatment meted out to two women politicians suggests how the media functions within our cultural and gendered contexts.