An Overview

In 2008, Republican Presidential nominee John McCain selected Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as his Vice Presidential running mate. When Sarah Palin was chosen as the nominee, the general American public had limited knowledge of this female politician. For example, scholars Dannagal G. Young and Sarah Esralew cite that the Wikipedia profile on Sarah Palin had been viewed more than 1.1 million times within 36 hours (Young and Esralew 11). Stereotypes were a means for the media to help schematize this relatively unknown political figure from Alaska (Young and Esralew 11). The 2008 Presidential election prompted my interest in the following topics: What role does sexism play in media coverage of female politicians? Are female politicians the subject of an objectifying gaze? Are female politicians really “breaking the glass ceiling” when women in the media are consistently objectified? How are female politicians stereotyped during their political campaigns?

For my project, I analyzed archival data of commentors on YouTube videos that focused on Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin during the 2008 Presidential election. The YouTube videos focused on Sarah Palin’s physical appearance, looks, and clothing. I analyzed seven videos uploaded during the September to October 2008 time-frame, leading up to the presidential election. The YouTube videos chosen are user-created montages, Saturday Night Live episode clips, and national news clips. I coded for “hypersexualization” and “iron maiden” portrayals of Sarah Palin. The “hypersexualization” portrayal presents Palin in terms of her sexuality and physical appearance; the “iron maiden” portrayal presents Palin as “too masculine” for a woman (Diana B. Carlin & Kelly L. Winfrey 328). My hypothesis is that there will be a greater percentage of “hypersexualization” comments of Palin than “iron maiden” comments.