Turning Points and Turnover among Female Journalists: Communicating Resistance and Repression

Abstract

This study uses feminist standpoint theory to obtain and analyze the discourse of women journalists who quit newspapers. Many of the women expressed regrets over their unmet ambitions at newspapers and their lost identities as journalists. While their communication included regret and marginalization, resistance was also seen, as the women discursively continue to describe themselves as journalists, continue to pursue freelance journalism work, and as they express worth and meaning in the new roles they have assumed. Even so, these coping strategies leave the dominant masculine identity at male dominated newspapers intact.

Keywords:

• women journalists
• turnover
• standpoint theory
• identity
• regret
• discourse