Visual Information and Candidate Evaluations: The Influence of Feminine and Masculine Images on Support for Female Candidates

• Date: 01 June 2018
• Author: Nichole M. Bauer,Colleen Carpinella
• Published date: 01 June 2018
• DOI: 10.1177/1065912917738579
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912917738579

Political Research Quarterly

2018, Vol. 71(2) 395 –407

© 2017 University of Utah

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DOI: 10.1177/1065912917738579

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Article

Hillary Clinton strategically emphasized her status as the

first female nominee for the presidency by handing out

actual “gender cards” to supporters, mobilizing networks

of female supporters, and frequently appearing in a white

business suit—invoking the white attire worn by early

twentieth-century suffragettes. These visual representa-

tions of Clinton connect to broader stereotypes about

women, which, for many voters, do not reflect desirable

qualities in political leaders (Bauer 2015; Holman,

Merolla, and Zechmeister 2016). Pundits and scholars

alike debate the extent to which Clinton’s female-focused

campaign contributed to her electoral loss, and this debate

reflects a broader tension in the literature about whether

female candidates face bias among voters (Brooks 2013;

Ditonto 2017; Dolan 2014; Hayes and Lawless 2016; Mo

2015; Schneider and Bos 2014). We investigate how

visuals representing feminine or masculine stereotypes

affect how voters form impressions of female and male

political candidates.

Campaigns frequently use visuals to frame a candidate

as having compassion or strength (Dittmar 2015; Grabe

and Bucy 2009; Herrick 2016)—concepts that tie back to

feminine and masculine stereotypes. Visual information,

in the form of candidate appearance or nonverbal behav-

ior, affects how voters evaluate the fitness and ability of

female candidates (Carpinella et al. 2016; Carpinella and

Jonhnson 2013; Everitt, Best, and Gaudent 2016; Hehman

et al. 2014). Few studies investigate how visual informa-

tion, presented through campaign websites, fliers, or tele-

vision ads, affects how voters evaluate female candidates.

This is a critical omission. Visuals are primary informa-

tional channels for voter learning (Graber 1990; Paivio

1979; Shea and Burton 2001). Campaigns strategically

use visuals to shape the impressions voters form of politi-

cal candidates (Carpinella and Johnson 2016; Schill

2012), and much of the information voters receive about

candidates comes from visual mediums (Druckman,

Kifer, and Parkin 2009; Grabe and Bucy 2009; Sapiro

et al. 2011). Thus, visual information that aligns with

feminine or masculine stereotypes may affect the success

of female candidates.

738579PRQXXX10.1177/1065912917738579Political Research QuarterlyBauer and Carpinella

research-article2017

1Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA

2University of California, Los Angeles, USA

Corresponding Author:

Nichole M. Bauer, Political Science Department, Manship School of

Mass Communication, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge,

LA, USA.

Email: nbauer4@lsu.edu

Visual Information and Candidate

Evaluations: The Influence of Feminine

and Masculine Images on Support for

Female Candidates

Nichole M. Bauer1 and Colleen Carpinella2

Abstract

Existing research debates the extent to which feminine and masculine stereotypes affect voters’ impressions of

female candidates. Current approaches identify how descriptions of female candidates as having feminine or masculine

qualities lead voters to rely on stereotypes. We argue that extant scholarship overlooks a critical source of stereotypic

information about female candidates—the role of visual information. This manuscript explores the conditions under

which voters use feminine and masculine visuals to evaluate female candidates. Drawing on theories of information

processing and stereotype reliance, we develop a framework that explains when visual information will affect how

voters evaluate female and male candidates. We argue that visual information that is incongruent with stereotypes

about a candidate’s sex will affect candidate evaluations while visuals congruent with stereotypes about candidate

sex will not. We test these dynamics with an original survey experiment. We find that gender incongruent masculine

visuals negatively affect evaluations of a female candidate’s issue competencies and electoral viability.

Keywords

gender stereotypes, campaigns, gender bias, visual communication