Women, Feminism, and Pop Politics

Karrin Vasby Anderson (PhD in Communication, Indiana University) is Professor of Communication Studies at Colorado State University and co-author of Woman President: Confronting Postfeminist Political Culture and Governing Codes: Gender, Metaphor, and Political Identity. She is the recipient of the National Communication Association’s James A. Winans–Herbert A. Wichelns Memorial Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Rhetoric and Public Address, the Michael Pfau Outstanding Article Award in Political Communication from the Political Communication Division of the National Communication Association, the Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics from the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, and the Feminist Scholarship Award from the Organization for Research on Women and Communication.

• Acknowledgments – Karrin Vasby Anderson: Introduction: Hillary Clinton From "Bitch" to "Badass" – Part I: Digital Politics and Embodied Feminism(s) – Katie L. Gibson: Reimagining Feminist Dissent: Memetic Celebration and "The Notorious R.B.G." – Belinda Stillion Southard: Smart and Authentic: "Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls" and Mediating Authentic Girls – Danielle M. Stern: #TransIsBeautiful: The Polymediated, Intersectional Feminism of Laverne Cox – Valerie R. Renegar/Lacy Lowrey/Kirsti Cole: Feminist Comedy’s Blond Badass: Amy Schumer and the Limits of White Feminism – Part II: Feminist Political Parody, Satire, and Infotainment – Mary Douglas Vavrus: "How Is This Still a Thing?" The Materialist Feminism of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver – Tasha N. Dubriwny: How to Be "Fierce as F*&!": Full Frontal’s Angry Feminist Satire – Alyssa Samek: Late Night’s Funny Feminists: The Women of The Daily Show, Satire, and Postfeminism – Erika Falk: Relying on or Repudiating Stereotypes: Saturday Night Live Parodies of Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton – Part III: Feminist Politicians in Prime Time – Michaela D.E. Meyer: The Good Wife’s Fatalistic Feminism: Televised Feminist Failures in Work/Life Balance, Romance, and Feminist Alliances – Allison M. Prasch: The Two Madam Secretaries: Elizabeth McCord, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Mimetic Representations of Twenty-First Century Feminism – Carrie M. Murawski/Tasha N. Dubriwny: The Badass and the President: Scandal’s Prime-Time Presidency – Kristina Horn Sheeler: Burlesquing the Veep: Veep’s Absurdist Rejection of Female Presidentiality – Karrin Vasby Anderson: "Yes We Can’t Not. Knope.": Parks and Recreation and the Promise of Comic Feminist Parody – Shawn J. Parry-Giles: Conclusion: Political Women and the Power Paradox: The Case of Hillary Clinton – Contributors – Index.

“This perfectly timed collection achieves something that has been sorely needed: it explores feminist politics in popular culture from multiple angles and in multiple media forms, from digital platforms and late-night comedy to television drama and sitcom. Framed by opening and closing essays that reflect on Hillary Clinton’s complex role as a feministsymbol, each of the chapters—by a dream team of feminist communication scholars—gives welcome attention to intersectionality and shows impressive theoretical range, clearly making the case that popular culture is a key battleground for public debate over the politics of gender, race, class, and sexuality. This book is essential for understanding the convergence of media, politics, and feminism in the twenty-first century.”—Bonnie J. Dow, Professor of Communication Studies, Vanderbilt University