Describing Female Politicians
reading
What percentage of politicians in your country are women? Do you think female
politicians are looked on differently by the public and media? If so, in what ways?
Discuss these questions:
What do you think is meant when describing someone as
‘self-contained’ and what word could you use that makes
the trait sound more positive?
‘Bloody difficult’ has been used repeatedly to describe
the UK’s prime minister. How would the same quality in a
male politician more likely be described?
What does the word ‘feisty’ mean and do you think it is
used more to describe male or female politicians?
Margaret Thatcher was described as ‘headstrong’. What would be a more positivesounding simile?
What fact about female politicians’ personal lives is often mentioned, but rarely
commented on when talking about male politicians?
What would be a more positive way of saying ‘sassy’ and ‘bossy’?
What do we rarely draw attention to in male politicians, but often describe when
talking about female politicians?
B
Read the first part of the article and check your ideas.
The Times
August 2016
Democratic
presidential
nominee, you’re likely to see
a lot of adjectives being used
a lot more. It’s fairly well
documented that we in the
media use slightly different
language for men than we do
for women.
‘pensive’ or ‘reserved’.
‘Bloody difficult’
The phrase recently repeated
off-camera on a microphone
by Ken Clarke has been
used repeatedly to describe
Theresa May over the years.
You’re far more likely to find
Here’s a rundown of some it used in conjunction with
words you may see used a her than male politicians such
little more in subheadlines, as Cameron, Johnson, Hunt or
Words the media
Gove, who would more likely
intros and tweets.
uses to describe
be described as strong-willed.
‘Self-contained’
female politicians
Used recently to describe ‘Feisty’
that we’d never use
Theresa May in contrast to Bar one use in the Spectator
for men
David Cameron, the odds are to describe David Cameron,
With Theresa May as the UK’s if you were describing a man, this word is almost exclusively
second female prime minister you’d use a word that plays used by mainstream media to
and Hillary Clinton as the the trait to an advantage, say describe female politicians,
1/3
Describing Female Politicians
implying a show of strength
should be diminished as playful,
rather than be considered a
force.
‘Headstrong’
David Cameron, in his tribute
to Margaret Thatcher, read
aloud words from ICI after
rejecting her job application:
‘This woman is headstrong,
obstinate and dangerously
self-opinionated.’ Mr Speaker,
even her closest friends
reading
would agree she could be all
those things, but the point is
this: she used that conviction
and resolve in the service of
her country and we are the
better for it. Good similes are
“determined” or “assured”.
‘pushy’, or ‘emotional’. They
all fall into roughly the same
camp of diminishment and
are used far more to describe
women than they are to
describe men. How about
‘commanding’ or ‘passionate’?
‘Mother’
When was the last time you
read that a male politician is a
father to X number of children
in a news article? The ability
of politicians to procreate
has no bearing on their job
and shouldn’t be a factor.
We never read ‘working dad’
David Cameron, so why do
we find ‘working mom’ or
‘mother to…’ when reading
about female politicians?
‘Bossy’
Do you mean authoritative?
We
think
you
mean
authoritative.
‘Glamorous’
We can’t resist describing
female politicians’ physical
appearances
while
we
rarely mention their male
counterparts’ looks. They
may have bought a new suit,
it might be a bit loud, but
there is no need to describe
it unless you are going to do
‘Sassy’
Much the same as ‘feisty’, or the same for the men.
b
Does the media behave in the same way in your country?
V
Think of a female and male politician from your country that you like and make a list of
five adjectives to describe them. Then do the same for two politicians that you do not
like. Do the adjectives you use differ for the female and male politicians?
Y Look at these adjectives mentioned in the article and explain what they mean. Then
choose politicians from your country that the adjectives apply to.
self-containedpensivereservedbloody difficult
strong-willedfeistyheadstrongobstinate
self-opinionateddeterminedassuredsassy
pushyemotionalcommandingpassionate
bossyauthoritativeglamorous
Which of the adjectives do you think are the most admirable and necessary in a
politician?
2/3
Describing Female Politicians
E
reading
Look at this extract from the article:
The Times
August 2016
...if you were describing a man, you’d use a word that plays the trait to an advantage...
=
This is an example of the past continuous subjunctive being used in the if-clause of a
sentence in the second conditional to express an unreal action in the present.
V
Write sentences using the past continuous subjunctive based on these prompts:
e.g. We planned to have lunch outside, but it is raining.
> If it wasn’t raining, we would have lunch outside.
1 We chose a room with uniquely beautiful views of the city.
2 I would like to ask Tom what his opinion is, but he is away.
3 I’m not going to the beach because it is not sunny.
4 We hoped to go windsurfing, but there is not enough wind.
5 The children’s shouting really makes me stressed.
V
Write sentences of your own using the past continuous subjunctive.
e.g. If I weren’t working such long hours, I’d spend more time on my hobbies.
If they were voting again, many Brexiteers would vote to
remain in the EU.
?
What have we done
3/3
Describing Female Politicians
Teacher’s notes 1
V
student pages 3
reading
week of 12.09.16
intermediate+ (B1+)
Write sentences using the past continuous subjunctive based on these prompts:
1 If we were staying in another room, we wouldn’t have such great views of the city.
2 If Tom were sitting here, I would ask him his opinion.
3 If the sun were shining, I would go to the beach.
4 We would be able to go windsurfing if the wind were blowing.
5 If the children weren’t shouting all the time, I wouldn’t feel so stressed.