Ricerc@Sapienza

We present the principal findings of a research program, developed across the previous eight years, focused on politics and gender issues in Italy. The theoretical perspective is that of social representations (SRs) that disputes the transparency of language, affirming its capacity to mask power and ideological relations. We assume that gender is not a stable and immutable construct within each individual, but rather a performative construct related to fluid and mutable aspects built in the interactions between social actors. The Italian political landscape, in constant evolution, permitted the investigation of gendered dynamics in attitudes of ordinary citizens, in political communication related both to the press about women and men politicians, and enacted by deputies in their parliamentary speeches. The investigative aim of these different studies has been to underline the interdependent relationship between social context, language, media, representations, and the political system. We present results centred on social representations of ordinary citizens towards men and women involved in high political offices, on political communication in the Italian press from 1979 to the last decade, and on parliamentary speeches made by men and women deputies from 1976 to 2009. In our research we used triangulation models of theory – such as the multiple references to the SRs and to constructs of gender roles, stereotypes/counter-stereotypes, ambivalent sexism, linguistic sexism, the linguistic category model, agency – triangulation of data – both lexical and numerical – and the triangulation of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Before the presentation of the principal findings, we illustrated the international literature concerning the psycho-social constructs used in our research. Through these studies we have shown the role of gender biases in the representations of common people and in the language of both the press and politicians. These biases often converge on the crystallization of a gender gap favourable to the politically committed man, but in some cases, overcome gender differences. In the latter instance we have illustrated how language may also be the medium through which to counter stereotypes and prejudices against women politicians and stimulate representations favourable to a greater feminine presence in politics.