Making Gender Divisive: ‘Post-Feminism’, Sexism and Media Representations of Julia Gillard

Making Gender Divisive: ‘Post-Feminism’, Sexism and Media Representations of Julia Gillard

The sexism inherent in media representations of Australia’s first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has been well acknowledged. These discourses implied that women’s bodies were out of place in leadership roles, making Gillard’s attempts to address gender-related issues appear politically manipulative. As the media played a role in making gender divisive, it is important to consider the role of the media and the significance of media products-including newspaper, online sources, television programs and social media-in the perpetuation of sexist political representations. However, new understandings of this phenomenon can be drawn from thinking about the media paradigm, and its ‘post-feminist’vision of society, into which such representations were circulated. Within this ‘post-feminist’paradigm, the media questioned Gillard’s apparent failure to fundamentally change Australian politics at the same time as perpetuating a focus on gender, rather than policy, as the characterising element of her leadership.