The Feminisation of the British Politics - Essay Example

HAS BRITISH POLITICS BECOME MORE FEMINIZED SINCE 1997? Introduction The progressive increase in thepresentation of women in British politics has become considered an element of feminisation of politics. Women representation in political circles in Britain was relatively low prior to 1997, when the proportion of women members of parliament grew from 9.8% to 18.4%, making the largest increase in the British political history1. Since then, there has been a progressively slow increase in women representation, which has elicited a debate regarding the equalisation of women and men representation in public life. Despite the significant increase which was achieved in 1997, the subsequent elections have achieved minimal increase in the proportion of elected women. While the current parliament has the largest number of women MP’s in British history, the proportion is only 22.6%, which is just an increase of about 4% since 1997. This proportion indicates an increase of 1.3% in female representation per each election held after 1997. As many political systems across the world move towards equality in representation, Britain still lags way behind other countries like China, Italy, Germany and Argentina among many others. Feminisation of British politics has progressed with slow increase since the major achievement of 1997. The concept of feminisation of politics is based on the gender rather than the party and sex differences existing between men and women. The increased debate on the feminisation of politics is essentially based the perceptions of women’s political styles being less legitimate, than those of their male counterparts. The practice of politics is believed to be completely different between men and women. The fundamental discrepancies existing in the ways which individuals from different genders practice politics are utilised in the determination of feminisation of political systems. Feminised politics Feminism politics are characterised as based on co-operation, collaboration and honesty, qualities that depict them as gentle and kind politics. Masculine politics on the contrary, are presumed to be based on conflicts, hierarchy and sleaze. The characteristics of political systems and the politics have a significant effect on how the political environment within a country. The basic definition of feminisation of politics is based on the gender representation of individuals rather than the content of the political system. Consideration of the gender issues within the British system results in the politics being considered to be less feminine, because of the large number of men within the British parliament2. There is need when seeking to establish the feminisation of the British politics, to consider the gendered environment within which political operations are undertaken, when characterising the politics. While a considerable proportion of individuals disagree with the perception of women having different political styles, there are a significant number of persons who hold this perception. The proponents of feminised political styles describe the feminist approach as being less combative and aggressive. This is commonly supported with the notion of women members of parliament remaining preserved and not engaging in argumentative confrontations on the floor of the house3. Feminised politics are commonly approached from a personal perspective rather than economic components of political systems. The social factors which revolve around gender based discussions are commonly employed in depicting feminisation of politics. The conformational tone of public and political life is considered masculine, and the diminishing application of these confrontations become the basic elements depicting feminisation of politics. The presence of women in politics has long been debated as an approach which could be essential in the articulation of women issues in parliament. The presentation of women perspectives and issues in political circles is a fundamental implication of feminised politics. These can however be presented by male members of parliament, concerned with the element of equality within the society. Much of the feminisation debate, however is focused on increased representation of women in parliament as an element of feminisation of politics4. These beliefs are based on the presumption that increasing women representation will result in increased articulation of women issues in politics. Proponents of the feminised politics argue that such an increase will transform the political arena, naturally. The fundamental question raised in this presumption remains focused on the change which has been realised since the surge in the women members of parliament in Britain. Despite the increase in representation since 1997, there has been little notable transformation in the British politics which could be attributed to this change. The macho characteristics of masculine politics, which are confrontational and conflict based, continue to dominate British politics. The role of women in politics still remains unclear to the electorate; hence there are minimal numbers, among the women MPs, who have been elected. While observation of the particular female MPs might show a change in the political style, the general effects of this feminised style has not been clearly outlined. Women underrepresentation in political systems remains the fundamental focus of feminisation concept. Feminisation of politics becomes perceived as having an increased number of women within the political system5. Many societies have continuously struggled to correct the underrepresentation challenge unsuccessfully; hence the problem remains persistent among many political system. The continued failure to successfully increase the representation of women in politics has been rooted in social and institutional factors within the political systems6. Social factors are the most significant and familiar attributes that present obstacles to the feminisation of politics. Within the British political system, institutional cultures are characterized by masculinity, which becomes the biggest impediment to women representation. While increased representation cannot guarantee feminisation of politics, it remains the basic approach towards achieving political parity in representation between men and women. Feminisation of politics within many countries is also characterized by the positions which women hold within the political system. The British prime minister’s post has only been held by a single woman, and that occurred before 1997. Holding the highest political office in Britain presents an element of political feminisation within the society. The need to create a representation balance in Britain was necessitated by the existing discrepancies in numbers of male and female political representatives. The creation of a balance is the fundamental focus for advocating of feminisation of politics. This concept is commonly utilised in an effort to increase the number of female representatives within political systems. The main problems with advocating for the increase are the perception of the electorate regarding women politician. The electorate perceives them as weak hence they are not elected. Women who hold top positions are expected to have a significant impact in the feminisation of political systems. The British Empire has been headed by Queen Elizabeth II since 1952 and this has had relatively little impact on the feminisation of British politics. The presence of female persons in the high public offices ought to have influenced feminisation in British politics. Throughout this period however, female underrepresentation has continued to prevail despite the efforts being made to change the situations. While women might be influenced by such leaders to engage in politics, other social and institutional factors become impediments to successful political careers for women7. There is an increased negative perception of women among the British electorate, which is largely based on masculinity elements. Political feminisation does not only pertain to the representation of women within the political systems. Feminised political ideologies can be articulated through sympathetic male politicians. The presence of such figures, who defy the masculinity elements to sympathise with women, is a major element in the feminisation of politics across the globe. This approach, however, becomes subjected to increased negativity by the male chauvinist politicians, who perceive this as an element of political weakness. This was the case in 1997 when some male sympathisers preserved some electorate regions to be only for women. While this idea resulted in an increase in the number of female representatives in parliament, it did not last long as the court made such measures illegal. The female members elected through this approach were perceived with negativity by the male MPs, and commonly referred to “Blair Babes”8. The concept of feminised politics is centered on the issues which are raised within the political debates. Increased concerns about women issues becomes an element of feminisations which does not have to be articulated by female representatives. Communication and the use of language within the political context is an aspects which has been utilised in defining feminisation. The content of female speech is commonly depicted as consensual in politics. While the communication element might be considered as necessary in supporting the ideologies of feminisation, there lacks empirical approaches for ascertaining this assumption. While political styles of women have been depicted as non-adversarial, the use of combative language in the debate chambers has not been limited to men alone. The quantity of female representatives in the House of Commons is currently at 22% of all members of parliament. This is an indication of the continued struggle by women to gain increased representation in political circle. There has been little changes since the number reached 18.4% in 1997. Many women believe that the presence of women in politics brings an aspect of civility into the debating chambers. This is mainly the perception held by many other proponents of the feminisation concept. Despite the considerable changes which have been achieved, there has been no transformational changes towards the presumed civility associated with the presence of females in the debating chambers. This stereotypical notion has presented significant challenge, by splitting and reinforcing the belief that women are naturally suited for low-status political roles9. While this might be the case in British politics, it is also a common element in the global politics as there has been considerable low number of women who have been elected as heads of government across the world. Women are generally perceived as individuals who should be engaged in civilising the society, which makes it difficult to engage in confrontational politics. The social expectations become the key elements which define the practice of feminised politics10. The social settings expect women to portray feminine styles which are generally acceptable in the society, failure to which there is an imminent risk of being branded grotesque. This could be the key reason which drives female politicians towards behaving in the ways they do. This creates the increased emphasis of the consensual style being associated with feminism, even in political aspects. The social expectations increase the pressure of women politicians, making it extremely difficult for them to perform to their optimum. Conclusion Feminization of politics is an element that has been based on assumptions of biological gender differences existing between men and women. The equality debate in many institutional and social settings has formed a core element in the development of feminization concept11. Both genders have appeared to support and oppose feminization trends occurring within the British political system. The debate on this concept has however been based on the representation of women, which has experienced a slow growth since 1997. Consideration of the representation aspect of feminization indicates the existing limitations in enhancing the concept within British politics. While a significant representation increase was realized in 1997, the trend has been generally slow. The slow pace of feminization in British political systems could be associated with increased cultural values within the country, which are majorly based on masculinity. Male politicians, however can also be involved in the presentation of women perspectives and issues within parliament. While this could also be an articulation of feminization concept, these individuals commonly face the challenge of understanding these issues. The various aspects through which feminized politics have been described fail to produce any significant element which could be utilized in supporting the presence of feminization in British politics12. British politics, for the better part of it, have remained masculine. Parliament has been characterized by masculine political approaches, which are confrontational and conflict based. The existence of women in the assembly has not produced any significant effect towards transforming this approach of politics within the country. Bibliography Childs, Sarah. “A Feminised Style of Politics? Women MPs in the House of Commons.” The British Journal of Politics & International Relations 6.1 (2004): 3–19. ---. Women and British Party Politics.“ Descriptive, Substantive and Symbolic Representation.” London: Routledge: Taylor & Francis, 2008. Ford, Lynne. Women and Politics: The Pursuit of Equality. 3rd ed. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2011. Krook, Mona Lena, and Sarah Childs. Women, Gender, and Politics: A Reader. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Lovenduski, Joni. “Femenising British Politics.” Political Quarterly 83.4 (2012): 697–702. ---. Feminizing Politics. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2005. Mackay, Fiona. “Gender and Political Representation in the UK: The State of the ‘discipline.’” The British Journal of Politics & International Relations 6.1 (2004): 99–120. Rocheleau, Dianne, Barbara Thomas-Slayter, and Esther Wangari. Feminist Political Ecology: Global Issues and Local Experience. London: Routledge, 2013. Wright, Tony. British Politics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.  Read More