Annie Lööf i svenska tidningsmedier – en diskursanalys

Abstract

This article examines the media portrayal of Annie Lööf, a young female who is currently the most popular party leader in Sweden. The aim of this study is to examine the Swedish print-media presentation of Lööf as a person and politician, thereby investigating which features are considered successful in Lööf’s political leadership. The material consists of 120 articles from four leading nationwide newspapers in Sweden. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, we found that the media portrayal of Lööf is constituted by prevailing discourses on traditional femi-ninity, but also by discourse on “hybrid femininity”. Thus, female politicians are most likely to succeed when embodying an acceptable balance between the traditional feminine and masculine. Furthermore, Lööf gained popularity when the image of her responded to the demands of normative motherhood. A conclusion is that coming out as (good) mothers is crucial for young females aspiring to popularity as political leaders.