“Eight Tory leadership candidates declare themselves feminists”: feminism and political campaigns

Abstract

This study examines the co-optation of feminism by politicians. Adopting a case study approach, we explore three contemporary leaders who declared themselves feminists during political campaigns: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. We analyse how these politicians communicated a feminist identity during and after electoral campaigns. Drawing from a thematic analysis of 503 international mainstream news articles, Instagram feeds, and selected Tweets we demonstrate how all three politicians reduce “feminism” to a neoliberal political theory that is neither radical nor revolutionary, but primarily focused on redistributive inequalities and ideals of getting women at the table. In this regard, we argue that the ambition to address “gender pay gaps” or achieve “gender-balanced cabinets” is inadequate in the project of gender emancipation. Using the concept of co-optation, we contribute to a critical interrogation of feminism in the mainstream media by providing insight into how self-identified male politicians engage with neoliberal, popular, and mainstream feminist rhetoric and action which provides them with both cultural and political capital. This draws attention to the context of political practice, the factors that shape such politicians’ behaviour in relation to hegemonic, neoliberal feminism, as well as the consequences of their actions on attaining gender justice.