Women Political Leaders Are All Feminists, Aren’t They? Theresa May and Feminism

This chapter argues that there is a tendency among the media to automatically equate women leaders with gender issues and feminism, regardless of their political ideologies and policies. Upon winning the 2016 Conservative Leadership election, Theresa May became the latest woman in a position of power to have the feminist label uncritically applied to her. There is currently a lack of academic literature dissecting Theresa May’s politics specifically in relation to feminism. Instead, discourse regarding May’s relationship with feminism is dominated by journalists, activists, and campaigners. Indeed, feminist academia responses to the question of May’s feminism have been minimal, dismissive, and even derisive. This chapter focuses on exploring not only Theresa May’s views and discourse on feminism, but also her voting record and policy, as well as highlighting examples of how the media portrays Theresa May.

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-3...