Leiden University Student Repository

Blaauw, Nieves (2021)

Doing it the AOC Way: Beyond the Status Quo: The AOC Campaign, Social Media, and its Significance for Women's Representation in U.S. Politics

Bachelor thesis | International Studies (BA)

Even though scholars have extensively researched the underrepresentation of women in U.S. politics, the focus has always been on the existing political system and the traditional campaign mechanisms. Drawing on the concepts counter-hegemony and counter-public and through conducting an Ethnographic Media Content Analysis, I research the possibilities of approaching politics in a different way, beyond the status quo. In doing so, I focus on the way in which Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is using social media platforms for political campaign purposes. Analyzing several performances of AOC in the media, I argue that, ultimately, AOC has created a counter-public in the media sphere, through which she serves the counter-hegemonic purpose of confronting the traditional ways of political campaigning. Subsequently, I examine the implications of AOC’s counter-public and discuss how it can be seen as an example for other women, that is, how her example of campaigning can contribute to increasing...Show moreEven though scholars have extensively researched the underrepresentation of women in U.S. politics, the focus has always been on the existing political system and the traditional campaign mechanisms. Drawing on the concepts counter-hegemony and counter-public and through conducting an Ethnographic Media Content Analysis, I research the possibilities of approaching politics in a different way, beyond the status quo. In doing so, I focus on the way in which Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is using social media platforms for political campaign purposes. Analyzing several performances of AOC in the media, I argue that, ultimately, AOC has created a counter-public in the media sphere, through which she serves the counter-hegemonic purpose of confronting the traditional ways of political campaigning. Subsequently, I examine the implications of AOC’s counter-public and discuss how it can be seen as an example for other women, that is, how her example of campaigning can contribute to increasing the representation of women in U.S. Politics when they shape their campaigns differently than the norm.Show less

American political system

AOC

counter-hegemony

counter-public

campaigning

social media

women and politics

Author

Blaauw, Nieves

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

North-America

Supervisors

Van Kessel, L.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en