Hårdkokta ägg i handväskan & lågklackade skor. En medial textanalys av svenska nyhetstidningars gestaltning av Sveriges första kvinnliga statsminister Magdalena Andersson utifrån könsstereotyper

Abstract

This research study analyzes how Sweden´s first female prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, is portrayed in Sweden´s biggest newspapers. The study aims to expand existing research on women's success in politics, which is still otherwise dominated by men. Previous studies have shown that media makes unfavorable reporting of female politicians compared to their male counterparts. The unfavorable reporting tends to focus on women´s personal life and their appearance instead of their actions in politics. The puzzle this study address is how the media narrative looked like for Sweden´s first female prime minister, a country that otherwise is highlighted as a pioneer in the field of gender equality. However, based on previous research there are expectations that media continue to follow gender stereotypes. This research study uses a qualitative text analysis of 105 news articles from four Swedish newspapers, during the week after Andersson´s introduction as prime minister. The theory applied is framing theory, which is the most used theory when analyzing media and political communication. The results show that Andersson is portrayed as a calm and qualified prime minister. The news portrayal is overall positive and describes Andersson based on her action in politics instead of her personal life. She is overall described from typical male gender stereotypes, instead of typical gender stereotypes related to her gender. The results therefore show tendencies that go against previous research, but this goes in line with Sweden´s advancement in terms of gender equality.