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Full text release has been delayed at the author's request until July 01, 2026

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If She Were President: Fictional Representations of Female U.S. Presidents in Film, Television, and Literature in the Twentieth Century

Kollman, Kathleen Taylor
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1586964467931721

Abstract Details

2020, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, American Culture Studies.
This study looks at twentieth-century representations of fictional female U.S. presidents in film, television, and literature. Examining how these portrayals either reinforce or subvert existing ideas about gender may give some insight into why the U.S. has not had a female president yet, as well as how each wave of feminism may have its own corresponding backlash. This project employs a textual analysis method and uses a feminist methodology. After analyzing the primary texts under consideration, it becomes clear that the majority of twentieth-century fictional representations of female U.S. presidents reify hegemonic gender roles and do not portray the presidents as being fully capable and worthy of respect. It is only toward the middle of the 1990s and later that any real change is seen in these characters. The media framing of real-life women running for president is somewhat in line with how female presidents are portrayed in fictional texts. These women are not depicted as being fully capable to serve the office of the U.S. presidency, and it takes quite a few decades before content creators are willing to deviate from this norm. This study has broader implications, too, insofar as the U.S. presidency is symbolic of systems of power more generally, and thus the texts herein can offer insight into how women are received in many positions of political and economic leadership.
Kimberly Coates, PhD (Advisor)
Emily Pence Brown, PhD (Other)
Cynthia Baron, PhD (Committee Member)
Andrew Schocket, PhD (Committee Member)
180 p.
American History; American Literature; American Studies; Film Studies; Gender; Gender Studies; History; Literature; Mass Media; Performing Arts; Political Science; Womens Studies
presidents; fictional presidents; fictional presidents of the twentieth century; fictional female presidents; female presidents; female presidential candidates; women in politics; fictional women in politics; US film and television; American literature

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Kollman, K. T. (2020). If She Were President: Fictional Representations of Female U.S. Presidents in Film, Television, and Literature in the Twentieth Century [Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1586964467931721

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Kollman, Kathleen. If She Were President: Fictional Representations of Female U.S. Presidents in Film, Television, and Literature in the Twentieth Century. 2020. Bowling Green State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1586964467931721.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Kollman, Kathleen. "If She Were President: Fictional Representations of Female U.S. Presidents in Film, Television, and Literature in the Twentieth Century." Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1586964467931721

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2020, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.