Representation of lithuanian politicians in lifestyle magazines: expression of stereotypes

Representation of Lithuanian Politicians in Lifestyle Magazines: Expression of Stereotypes The object of the master's thesis “Representation of Lithuanian Politicians in Lifestyle Magazines: Expression of Stereotypes” is the 2019 publications about Lithuanian politicians in the most widely readable Lithuanian lifestyle magazines „Žmonės“ and „Savaitė“. The object of the research are both textual and visual material of publications. Research problem. Politicians are people who have power in their hands to participate in politics and make decisions that are important to the whole country. The public do not have direct contact with the representatives of the authorities, so it relies on the images of politicians created by media. Women’s make up a small proportion of public authorities representatives, so the question is: is this not influenced by long-standing gender stereotypes? The question also arises, why do some politicians gain people’s favor and others not? Maybe others play an important role here - leadership stereotypes, or, conversely, negative political stereotypes? Work objective. Based on a critical analysis of discourse, to find out how politicians are represented in lifestyle magazines, are stereotypes seen in their representations? Research tasks: 1. Investigate how lifestyle journalists are describing and portraying politicians. 2. After the research, to find out whether stereotypes are seen in the representations of politicians. If so, which of them? What are their significance in political, social or other discourses? The most important conclusions, recommendations, suggestions of the research: The study concludes that the politicians in publications are usually represented in a positive context, their achievements at work and in politics are highlighted, their strong character traits, devotion to family and Lithuanian people are described. Thus, it can be argued that politicians are usually described biasedly. In the representations are only positive information and no criticism. In such a case, the opinions of the readers are manipulated. The analysis of the images showed the same as the analysis of the texts. Politicians are stereotypically portrayed as smiling, happy, surrounded by family members or people who support them. Most of the photos chose an informal setting: home, nature, city. Politicians are depicted interacting with family members or engaging in favorite activities. It can be concluded that almost all the photos create an emotional relationship between the politician, reader and potential voter. This relationship shows the banal attitude of politicians towards the voter, trying to decide in advance for him. The study also highlighted certain gender stereotypes in representation of politicians. The results of the study showed that among most positive publications about politicians, only women politicians were criticized. They are criticized for not having a family, a good understanding of family issues and problems as a result. The same reflected in the photos. Women’s politicians stand out alone, while all politician men’s are surrounded by family members. Only women’s have been criticized for being indifferent, harsh, sceptical, and inconsistent. With regard to gender stereotypes, it has also been observed that men’s are twice as often described as hardworking, trustworthy, simple politicians. Gender inequality is noticeable in this regard, as these descriptions give the reader confidence about politicians. The influx of positive information about politicians can also be attributed to the 2019 elections for the President of the Republic of Lithuania and the European Parliament. The study showed that most publications about politicians are commissioned. Thus, these data provide insight into why politicians are most often represented in a positive context. The role of the media is also clear: magazine editors receive money for publishing biased information