Abstract
News coverage of the 2004 presidential election was replete with
references to masculinity. Yet, gender transformation occurs
continually and this research assumes that presidential duties are
becoming easier for women access, in part due to changes in framing.
Drawing upon Koenig’s classic rendition of seven chief functions of
the presidency, I set gender expectations for each function and
examine those expectations by focusing on the word “tough” in news
coverage of the 2004 election and in coverage of “woman” and
presidency” from 1983-2005. Through content analysis of these
articles, I examine both the functions and a reconfigured “four
presidencies” for gendering. I find gender transformations underway
in presidential functions, with head of state and executive functions
poised to transgender, moral values already available, and
commander-in-chief remaining most masculinized. A woman seems
fully credible for the “domestic presidency,” and more positive signs
exist for a “foreign presidency” than expected
Convention