Date of Award

Fall 2025

Language

English

Embargo Period

12-1-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Communication

Program

Communication

First Advisor

Piotr Szpunar

Committee Members

Alyssa Morey, Fan Yang, Masahiro Yamamoto

Keywords

political advertising, gender, videostyle, online political campaign video, self-representation, Taiwan

Subject Categories

Broadcast and Video Studies | Critical and Cultural Studies | Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication | Public Relations and Advertising | Social Influence and Political Communication | Social Media

Abstract

Despite the increasing visibility of female politicians in Taiwan, the resurgence of the #MeToo movement ahead of the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections underscores the enduring influence of patriarchal norms and gender stereotypes within Taiwanese society. Prior research in political communication has documented how gendered expectations shape voters’ perceptions of politicians’ appearances, behaviors, and perceived competence in addressing political issues. These expectations, in turn, inform how candidates strategically construct their public personas during electoral campaigns. This dissertation contributes to this body of scholarship by analyzing how Taiwanese political candidates perform gender through political advertising. Integrating the videostyle framework, gender schema theory, and gender performativity, the study examines both verbal and visual components—ranging from language and imagery to production techniques—as image-framing tools that construct candidate identities. Employing a mixed-methods design, the study extends the existing videostyle codebook to carry out a quantitative content analysis, while also conducting a qualitative content analysis to explore underexamined elements in political ad communication. Together, these methods offer a comprehensive understanding of how gender is strategically performed and represented in Taiwanese political discourse.

The analysis demonstrates the gendered labels attached to political issues, candidates’ personal traits, image-construction strategies, and production components are translated, reframed, and adapted within the Taiwanese context. Whereas prior research has primarily emphasized the challenges female politicians face in navigating through double binds and contradictory gendered expectations, some female candidates rearticulated traditional gendered scripts by embracing traditional gendered self-presentation and asserting political competence and authority simultaneously. Some strategically invoke the figure of the “powerful mother” to legitimize their leadership, while others foreground endorsements from authoritative figures to enhance credibility. Male candidates, while in different ways, also calibrate their public image in in nuanced ways. Even those presenting themselves as traditional leaders or protectors strategically highlight qualities of approachability and care, thereby softening dominant masculine portrayals and aligning with shifting gender norms in political communication. Theoretical, methodological, and practical contributions and limitations of the current dissertation are further discussed in this dissertation.

License

This work is licensed under the University at Albany Standard Author Agreement.

Download

Share

COinS