Reprezentacija žena u politici u novim medijima u Srbiji

Abstract

The problem of the doctoral dissertation research is the media representation of women in politics in Serbia, and the subject of research is the representation of women in politics in Serbian new media during the election campaign for local, provincial, and parliamentary elections in June 2020. The goal is to determine the scope and manner in which women politicians are presented on different online portals, as well as the stereotypes that are used to portray them. The purpose of this paper is to see if new media imply new ways of representing women in politics in the media, or if they contribute to the maintenance of masculine discourses that are common in traditional media, thus serving as one of the tools for maintaining patriarchal culture. Using quantitative and qualitative content analysis, as well as a comparative method, the paper examines individual media texts, both verbal and visual, about the campaign for Serbia's parliamentary, provincial, and local elections in June 2020. The research confirms the basic hypothesis that women in politics in the new media in Serbia are marginalized. The main conclusion is that, while there have been some shifts in traditional media, there is still significant room for progress in the field of representation of both women in politics and women in general in new media. By utilizing all of the benefits of new media technologies, new media can become an agent for deconstructing gender stereotypes and thus promoting a more equal and just society. In addition to the education of journalists, that requires unconditional media direction towards public interest, as well as political will.