Representing Women: Sex, Gender, and Legislative Behavior in Arizona and California
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.12 (744 Votes) |
| Asin | : | B007K56NM2 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 352 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-09-07 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Women in public office are often assumed to "make a difference" for women, as women—in other words, to represent their female constituents better than do their male counterparts. Moreover, the stories she presents strongly suggest that rather than assuming that who our representatives are determines what they will do in office, we must acknowledge the possibility that the influence of gender on legislative behavior can be weakened, distorted, or accentuated by powerful forces within the social and political contexts of elective office.. But is sex really an accurate predictor of a legislator's political choices and actions? In this book, Beth Reingold compares the representational activities and attitudes of male and female members of the Arizona and California state legislatures to illuminate the broader implications of the election and integration of women into public office. In the process, she challenges many of the assumptions that underlie popular expectations of women and men in politics.Using in-depth interviews, survey responses, and legislative records, Reingold actually uncovers more similarities between female and male politicians than differences
Great resource in examining gender effectiveness in politics Playing off the double entendre in the title of her book, Beth Reingold examines the representative nature, action, and effectiveness of women legislators. "Are women in public office simply women who represent, or are they also women who represent women? And what about the men in public office-do they represent women? Do they represent women to the same extent their female counterparts do"(2)? Reingold researches legislative records, conducts extensive personal interview
A careful and important study that should be read by students and scholars of women and politics.Political Science QuarterlyReingold•s book offers a fresh look at the literature on women with regard to elections, representation, policy making, and power.ChoiceRepresenting Women offers a valuable and interesting case study of gender and representation. Virginia Sapiro, University of Wisconsin-Madison