Is feminism an asset or a burden? Media coverage of an Israeli feminist woman politician

ABSTRACT

In the context of the current high visibility of feminist discourse, this study focuses on the media coverage of Merav Michaeli, a female Israeli politician who led a feminist campaign during the 2021 parliamentary elections. Based on a quantitative and interpretative analysis of Michaeli’s media coverage in the 2021 election, the study examines whether and how feminist ideas have become media values in political coverage. The quantitative analysis suggests that issues of feminism featured prominently in the coverage and, moreover, that the overall positive sentiment of the coverage was evident mostly in items on feminist issues. The interpretive analysis indicates that Michaeli’s newsworthiness derived from her being the only female party leader: this itself became a feminist issue. Additionally, Michaeli’s newsworthiness was based on her being a known feminist, and her feminist campaign was represented as a political asset. The media represented her as a strong female political player, showing her feminism as a main component of her political strength. However, her media representation also straddled the line between masculinity and femininity by portraying her as strong but pleasant, demonstrating the double bind that many female politicians find themselves in.

KEYWORDS:

• Election campaign
• feminism
• gendered mediation
• media coverage
• women politicians

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Hebrew is a highly gendered language, in which almost all animate and inanimate subjects are either masculine or feminine. Mixed-gender groups of people of objects are referred to in the masculine form (Malka Muchnik 2014).

2. Michaeli’s feminist campaign within 2021 elections included, for example, a zipper system to establish a gender equity.

3. In the Israeli elections that followed in November 2022, the Labor party headed by Michaeli gained only four seats.

4. See full list of media outlets in Appendix 1.

5. Ofira and Berkowitz, February 19, 2021.

6. Hamateh, March 13, 2021.

7. Ruth Elbaz, Ha’aretz, January 1, 2021. https://www.haaretz.co.il/opinions/2021-01-20/ty-article-opinion/.premium/0000017f-f48e-d044-adff-f7ff94930000

8. Ehud Olmert, Ma’ariv Weekly, February 2, 2021. https://www.maariv.co.il/journalists/Article-820006

9. Limor Livnat, Ynet, January 20, 2021. https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/ByGliDS100

10. Ruth Elbaz, Ha’aretz, January 1, 2021. https://www.haaretz.co.il/opinions/2021-01-20/ty-article-opinion/.premium/0000017f-f48e-d044-adff-f7ff94930000

11. Yuval Karni, Yedioth Acharonot, January 25, 2021.

12. Uvda, March 25, 2021

13. Ronny Kuban, March 4, 2021.

14. Uvda, Mar. 25, 2021.

15. Yuval Karni, Yedioth Acharonot, January 25, 2021.

16. Attila Somfalvi, Ynet, February 10, 2021. https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-5885060,00.html

17. Ma Bo’er, March 24, 2021.

18. Limor Livnat, Ynet, January 20, 2021. https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/ByGliDS100

19. Yoman Zohora’im, March 24, 2021.

20. Ruth Elbaz, Ha’aretz, January 1, 2021. https://www.haaretz.co.il/opinions/2021-01-20/ty-article-opinion/.premium/0000017f-f48e-d044-adff-f7ff94930000

21. Jonathan Liss, Ha’aretz, March 12, 2021. https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/elections/2021-03-12/ty-article/.premium/0000017f-e9af-df2c-a1ff-ffff27f90000

22. Ha’mateh, March 13, 2021.

23. Ehud Olmert, Ma’ariv Weekly, February 2, 2021. https://www.maariv.co.il/journalists/Article-820006

24. Jonathan Liss, Ha’aretz, March 12, 2021. https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/elections/2021-03-12/ty-article/.premium/0000017f-e9af-df2c-a1ff-ffff27f90000

25. Ma’ariv Weekly, March 5, 2021.

26. ErevErev, March 21, 2021.

27. Shirit Avitan Cohen, Ma’ariv, March 12, 2021.

28. Ha’mateh, March 13, 2021.

29. Ma Bo’er, March 24, 2021.

30. Kalman Liberman, March 8, 2021.

31. Special Newscast, March 24, 2021.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Einat Lachover

Einat Lachover is an associate professor at Sapir Academic College. Her work is dedicated to critical analysis of the encounters between gender and a broad range of media forms and contexts.

Sofia Haytin

Sofia Haytin is a PhD student at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California.