“A Lady of Many Firsts”: Press Coverage of the Political Career of Mississippi's Evelyn Gandy, 1948-83

Abstract

For three decades, Mississippi politician Evelyn Gandy was perhaps the most recognized figure in the state. Beginning in 1948, she served in various elected positions, including state assistant attorney general, state treasurer, and commissioner of public welfare. She was elected lieutenant governor in 1976, the first woman to hold the office, before making two unsuccessful gubernatorial bids. Three press frames emerge from the news coverage of Gandy's career: a “first” frame, which presents women's political contributions as an anomaly; frames emphasizing stereotypical gender roles; and an “iron magnolia” frame, an attempt by the news media to acknowledge her growing political assertiveness while overemphasizing stereotypical feminine characteristics. These three frames are problematic, given the news media's power to reinforce gender roles in narrow and limiting ways.

Notes

1 “State's Noted Women Is Topic,” Madison County (MS) Journal, October 20, 1977. Gandy (Edythe Evelyn) Collection (hereafter abbreviated as “Gandy Papers”), box 26, scrapbook 1, McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS.xs

2 “State's Dollars, Dimes in Hands of Young Lady for Next 4 Years,” Greater Jackson (MS) Advertiser-TV News, September 1959, 16. Gandy Papers, box 1, scrapbook 1.

3 Dan Davis, “Friends Recall Gandy as a ‘Steel Magnolia,’” Hattiesburg (MS) American, December 25, 2007, 10A. Gandy Papers, vertical file, scrapbook 1.

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid.

6 “State's Noted Women Is Topic.”

7 Diana B. Carlin and Kelly L. Winfrey, “Have You Come a Long Way, Baby? Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and Sexism in 2008 Campaign Coverage,” Communication Studies 60, no. 4 (September–October 2009): 328–29.

8 No press clippings from her time as state representative (1948–52) were found in the Gandy Papers (probably because Gandy did not start cataloging her career until the late 1950s), so any articles analyzed from her tenure as representative were located in digital archives or library microfilm.

9 As an example, Yasmine Dabbous and Amy Ladley note, “Many scholars see the lack of equitable coverage—both in quantity and quality—as one of the principal barriers to elected office.” See Dabbous and Ladley, “A Spine of Steel and a Heart of Gold: Newspaper Coverage of the First Female Speaker of the House,” Journal of Gender Studies 19, no. 2 (June 2010): 181.

10 Robert M. Entman, “Framing Bias: Media in the Distribution of Power,” Journal of Communication 57, no. 1 (March 2007): 165.

11 Ibid., 164.

12 Ibid.

13 Entman, “Framing Bias,” 164; Karrin Vasby Anderson, “‘Rhymes with Blunt’: Pornification and US Political Culture,” Rhetoric & Public Affairs 14, no. 2 (2011): 329–30.

14 Entman, “How the Media Affect What People Think: An Information Processing Approach,” Journal of Politics 51, no. 2 (May 1989): 350.

15 Entman, “Framing Bias,” 164.

16 Ibid.

17 Carlin and Winfrey, “Have You Come a Long Way, Baby?,” 328.

18 Ibid.

19 Dabbous and Ladley, “A Spine of Steel and a Heart of Gold,” 189.

20 Ibid.

21 Ibid., 190.

22 Carlin and Winfrey, “Have You Come a Long Way, Baby?,” 327–28.

23 Ibid., 330.

24 Ibid., 331–32.

25 Anderson, “Rhymes with Blunt,” 337.

26 Ibid., 340.

27 Ibid., 327.

28 Ibid.

29 Ibid.

30 “Assistant Attorney General to Be Woman for First Time,” Memphis (TN) Commercial Appeal, January 2, 1959. Gandy Papers, box 1, scrapbook 1.

31 “Miss Evelyn Gandy: Commissioner of Insurance,” no date, 2. Gandy Papers, box 17, scrapbook 1.

32 “Lady of State Politics Maintains Graciousness within New Image,” Greenwood (MS) Commonwealth, August 3, 1983. Gandy Papers, box 42, scrapbook 1.

33 “State's Dollars, Dimes in Hands of Young Lady for Next Four Years,” 16.

34 “Elected State Treasurer,” National Business Woman, March 1960, 22. box 2, scrapbook 1.

35 Nacos, “The Portrayal of Female Terrorists in the Media,” 437.

36 Ibid.

37 Paul Pittman, “Update: She Was the First,” Tylertown (MS) Times, September 2, 1976. Gandy Papers, box 22, scrapbook 1.

38 Jack Elliott, “Gandy Undergoes Image Lift, Hires Media Specialist for Campaign,” Jackson (MS) Clarion Ledger, April 24, 1983. Gandy Papers, box 40, scrapbook 1.

39 Paul Pittman, “Evelyn Gandy for Governor?” Pascagoula (MS) Mississippi Press, November 4, 1977. Gandy Papers, box 27, scrapbook 1.

40 Wilson F. Minor, “Eyes on Mississippi: Gandy Unspoken Issue in Senate Race,” Jackson (MS) Reporter, May 4, 1978. Gandy Papers, box 30, scrapbook 1.

41 Lanier Frush Holt, “Hillary and Barack: Will Atypical Candidates Lead to Atypical Coverage,” Howard Journal of Communications 23, no. 3 (2012): 273, 281–82.

42 Cal Turner, “Up One Side … Down the Other: That Girl Was Her,” Jackson (MS) State Times, February 9, 1960. Gandy Papers, box 2, scrapbook 1.

43 Adrienne Caughfield, “Fighting the Cold War at Southern Methodist University,” Journal of Southern History 58, no. 3 (August 2015): 649.

44 Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique (New York: W.W. Norton, 1963), 3.

45 Joanne Meyerowitz, “Beyond the Feminine Mystique: A Reassessment of Postwar Mass Culture, 1946–1958,” Journal of American History 79, no. 4 (August 1993): 1468.

46 Ibid.

47 Turner, “Up One Side … Down the Other: That Girl Was Her.”

48 Charles M. Hills, “Affairs of State,” Jackson (MS) Clarion-Ledger, May 19, 1959. Gandy Papers, box 1, scrapbook 1.

49 Carlin and Winfrey, “Have You Come a Long Way, Baby?,” 328.

50 “Finch Is Finished,” Jackson (MS) Daily News, June 30, 1978, 14A. Gandy Papers, box 30, scrapbook 1.

51 James McLean, “Rep. Gandy Backs Fight to Revise State's Shameful Adoption Laws,” Hattiesburg (MS) American, January 9, 1950, 8.

52 “Miss Gandy Takes Welfare Office Post,” Mobile (AL) Register, May 19, 1963. Gandy Papers, box 4, scrapbook 1.

53 Quida Drinkwater, “Gandy Boasts ‘Firsts,’” Greenville (MS) Delta Democrat Times, no date. Gandy Papers, box 18, scrapbook 1.

54 “Miss Gandy Takes Welfare Office Post.”

55 Phil Mullen, “Pisgah Folks Enjoy PTA Banquet, Miss Gandy Gives Inspiring Talk,” Madison County (MS) Herald, no date. Gandy Papers, box 3, scrapbook 1.

56 “Woman Treasurer Prepares to Take on Man-sized Job,” Jackson (MS) Clarion-Ledger, September 22, 1959. Gandy Papers, box 1, scrapbook 1.

57 Mullen, “Pisgah Folks Enjoy PTA Banquet, Miss Gandy Gives Inspiring Talk.”

58 Those exceptions, particularly near the end of Gandy's career, circa 1978–83, were perhaps an indication that the use of “lady” was falling out of favor with the changing times. They include Norma Fields, “Fewer Women Seeking High Office Posts,” Tupelo (MS) Northeast Daily Journal, May 2, 1978. Gandy Papers, box 30, scrapbook 1; Bill Crawford, “Talking Politics: Gandy's Political Move,” Sardis (MS) Southern Reporter, December 28, 1978. Gandy Papers, box 33, scrapbook 1; “Behind the Scene: Gandy Doing Her Own Thing,” Jackson (MS) Reporter, January 4, 1979. Gandy Papers, box 38, scrapbook 1; James Young, “Gandy to Quit Health Position,” Memphis Commercial Appeal, February 11, 1983. Gandy Papers, box 40, scrapbook 1; Tim Kalich, “Candidate Evelyn Gandy Wants to Bring Adults Back to School,” Greenwood (MS) Commonwealth, May 19, 1983, 1. Gandy Papers, box 39, scrapbook 1.

59 Barbara E. Moely and Kimberley Kreicker, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Women and Men: A Study of the Connotations of Words Indicating Gender,” Psychology of Women Quarterly 8, no. 4 (Summer 1984): 349.

60 Margaret Ripley Wolfe, “The Southern Lady: Long Suffering Counterpart of the Good Ole’ Boy,” Journal of Popular Culture 11, no. 1 (March 1977): 18.

61 Ibid., 19.

62 Ibid., 25.

63 Madora Hall Sharp, “Meet the Commissioner,” no newspaper title or date. Gandy Papers, box 12, scrapbook 1.

64 Wilson F. Minor, “Eyes on Mississippi: Gandy on the Spot over Ousting Burgin,” Jackson (MS) Capitol Reporter, 3 August 1978. Gandy Papers, box 31, scrapbook 1.

65 James Young, “‘The Lady’ of Jackson and Her Smile,” Memphis (TN) Commercial Appeal, September 10, 1978. Gandy Papers, box 32, scrapbook 1. For other references to this title, see Wayne Weidie, “The Fighter and the Lady with Experience End Battle Tuesday,” Jackson (MS) Clarion-Ledger, August 21, 1983. Gandy Papers, box 43, scrapbook 1; Gary E. Maitland, “It's Valor against the Lady,” Corinth (MS) Daily Corinthian, August 22, 1983. Gandy Papers, box 43, scrapbook 1; and Orley Hood, “On Bloody Tuesday, the Lady Falters,” Jackson (MS) Daily News, August 24, 1983. Gandy Papers, box 43, scrapbook 1.

66 Davis, “Friends Recall Gandy as a ‘Steel Magnolia,’” 10A.

67 Lea Crager, “Tuck: Gandy Blazed Trail for Both Men, Women,” Hattiesburg, (MS) American, June 12, 2002, 1A. Gandy Papers, vertical file, scrapbook 1.

68 Bill Minor, “You Can't Pass the Mantle in Mississippi,” Jackson (MS) Capitol Reporter, November 23, 1978. Gandy Papers, box 32, scrapbook 1.

69 Ibid.

70 “Gandy's Ghost: She Hasn't Put ’63 Racial Remarks to Rest,” Jackson (MS) Clarion-Ledger, July 14, 1983. Gandy Papers, box 41, scrapbook 1.

71 Minor, “You Can't Pass the Mantle in Mississippi.”

72 “Gandy Claims She's No Racist,” McComb (MS) Enterprise Journal, July 15, 1983. Gandy Papers, box 41, scrapbook 1.

73 “Gandy Becoming More Aggressive,” Laurel (MS) Leader, 6 February 1978. Gandy Papers, box 28, scrapbook 1.

74 Bill Minor, “The Old Guard Eyes Miss Evelyn,” McComb (MS) Enterprise Journal, October 22, 1978. Gandy Papers, box 32, scrapbook 1.

75 See Bill Minor, “Gandy Gets Tough; Bounces Bill Burgin,” Mississippi State (MS) Reflector, September 29, 1979. Gandy Papers, box 32, scrapbook 1; and Adam Lynch, “Mississippi Loses Political Pioneer,” Jackson (MS) Free Press, January 2, 2008, http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2008/jan/02/mississippi-loses-political-pioneer/.

76 Norma Fields, “Gandy Shows Spunk on 16th Section Bill,” Tupelo (MS) Northeast Daily Journal, January 31, 1978. Gandy Papers, box 28, scrapbook 1.

77 See Lesa Hatley Major and Renita Coleman, “The Intersection of Race and Gender in Election Coverage: What Happens When the Candidates Don't Fit the Stereotypes?” The Howard Journal of Communications 19, no. 4 (October 2008): 318.

78 Of the number of full-time journalists who covered the Mississippi state capitol during Gandy's tenure there, all but two were men. The women of the Mississippi state political press corps included Norma Fields, correspondent of the Tupelo (MS) Northeast Daily Journal, the first woman journalist to cover the state capitol, and Ellen Fentress, who covered state politics in the early 1980s for the Biloxi/Gulfport (MS) South Mississippi Sun and Jackson (MS) Capitol Reporter.

79 “Burma Shave Revisited,” Biloxi/Gulfport (MS) South Mississippi Sun, June 18, 1979. Gandy Papers, box 37, scrapbook 1.

80 Dan Davis, “Evelyn Gandy Takes Forceful Steps toward Governorship,” Aberdeen (MS) Examiner, May 19, 1983. Gandy Papers, box 39, scrapbook 1.

81 Bill Minor, “‘Miss Evelyn’ Makes Her Move,” Jackson (MS) Capitol Reporter, September 28, 1978. Gandy Papers, box 32, scrapbook 1.

82 Gandy lost the 1979 Democratic primary to law school classmate and future governor, William Winter.

83 Bill Minor, “Second Primary: Tuesday's Voting Will Pit the Iron Magnolia against the Populist in the Pin-stripe Suit,” Jackson (MS) Clarion-Ledger, August 21, 1983. Gandy Papers, box 43, scrapbook 1.

84 See Carlin and Winfrey, “Have You Come a Long Way, Baby?,” 337–38.

85 Jack Elliott, “Evelyn Gandy's Just Itching to Show Off Her New Running Shoes,” Jackson (MS) Daily News, March 6, 1983. Gandy Papers, box 40, scrapbook 1.

86 “Gandy Has Straw Woman to Attack,” Biloxi-Gulfport (MS) South Mississippi Sun, May 19, 1983. Gandy Papers, box 39, scrapbook 1.

87 “Lady of State Politics Maintains Graciousness within New Image.”

88 “Dirty Tricks,” Waynesboro (MS) Wayne County News, July 28, 1983. Gandy Papers, box 40, scrapbook 1.

89 Orley Hood, “On Bloody Tuesday, the Lady Falters.”

90 Ibid.

91 Davis, “Friends Recall Gandy as a ‘Steel Magnolia,’” 10A.

92 See Demetrica Smith, “Gandy Remembered for Selflessness,” Hattiesburg (MS) American, December 29, 2007, 6A. Gandy Papers, vertical file, scrapbook 1.

93 Janice Hume, Obituaries in American Culture (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2000), 12.

94 Ibid., 14–15.

95 Ibid., 12–13.

96 Ibid., 19.

97 The discussion over this issue has been well documented of late. See Mark Abadi, “Hillary Clinton Just Dismissed Criticism That She Doesn't Smile Enough as Sexist,” Business Insider, March 21, 2016, http://www.businessinsider.com/clinton-comments-about-smiling-sexist-2016-3; Amita Kelly, “Male Commentators Tell a Winning Clinton to Smile,” NPR, March 16, 2016, http://www.npr.org/2016/03/16/470627330/amid-big-wins-tuesday-clinton-told-to-smile-during-her-speech.

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Pete Smith

Pete Smith is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at Mississippi State University, 200 McComas Hall, Mississippi State, MS 39762, [email protected].