Female gender stereotyping and President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s political communication on Twitter: a blessing for female political leaders?

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the Twitter communication of Tanzania’s first female President Samia Suluhu Hassan. Informed largely by African feminism, this study explores the relationship between Samia’s political discourse and gender perspectives on her Twitter account within the frame of Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis. Specifically, this study looked at the construction of her identity and leadership attributes as the country’s first female leader and found that her identity, ‘Mama Samia’, signals respect that evokes the African conception of a respected mother. Indeed, even though gender-constructed feminine roles as mother take precedence, gradually her stature as a national leader is eroding these stereotype labels a handful of hostile sexist comments notwithstanding. In effect, the president’s leadership attributes as constructed in her Twitter discourse are more feminine than masculine. Yet, it is these same feminine attributes of nurturance, wisdom, humility, humanity, collaborative-ness, calmness and politeness that present more of an advantage than a disadvantage in her leadership. Overall, netizens have been accommodative of these feminine attributes, which they find to be effective in addressing pressing national issues in the economy, political and social sectors.

KEYWORDS:

• Political communication
• gender identity
• leadership attributes
• Tanzania

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Eva Solomon

Eva Solomon lectures at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC) of the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Her research and publication interests are in the area of gender and the media; media, development and social change; social media and intercultural communications. Eva holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication from Makerere University in Uganda, Master degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Tampere University in Finland and a PhD in Media and Communication Studies from Freie Universitat Berlin in Germany.