When a woman runs for office, the public too often treats her gender as her primary defining characteristic. Coverage in the media discusses how many men she is running against, how many women have held the office before her, how she plans to balance the role with motherhood or family life, and other gender-specific points that distract from and diminish her individuality.
Recounting collects stories from the realm of elections and politics. Women share their stories, but their stories are not just about being women.
If you are interested in sharing a story, or you’d like to provide a contact or suggestion, please reach out. It is not necessary to fully formulate a story before getting in touch; even initial ideas are fine. This project is international and spans all types of elections and levels of politics. Everyone and everything are welcome.
Additional information
Anonymity is offered to anyone preferring it
The only personal information required for publishing a story is the country and relevant political office. While it would be nice to share a politician’s full name whenever possible, it is entirely fine to share a story with only her first name or a completely different pseudonym for heightened anonymity.
This is a voluntary project
There is no budget to commission or compensate stories, so participants sharing their experiences do so voluntarily and for its own sake.
Stories will be shared in online and printed formats
As the project develops and the Recounting collection builds, please check back for updates about where you can read these stories from women in politics.
Inspiration for this project comes from the Finkbeiner Test
The Finkbeiner Test was originally formulated by Christie Aschwanden as a tool for journalists to write about women in science without gender bias.
To pass the Finkbeiner Test, an article about a woman scientist must not mention:
- The fact that she is a woman
- Her husband’s job
- Her child-care arrangements
- How she nurtures her underlings
- How she was taken aback by the competitiveness in her field
- How she’s such a role model for other women
- How she’s the “first woman to…”
As a researcher of women in politics, learning about the Finkbeiner Test affected me deeply. Just as in science, stories about women candidates and politicians consistently and frustratingly fail multiple points from Aschwanden’s list.
The final point is especially valuable and worth consideration in the political environment. When it can be said that a woman is the first to run or win an election, it will be said – every time. Its mentioning is usually framed as a celebration of that woman’s achievement, presented with good, even feminist intentions.
Yet this presentation misconstrues what’s happening. Many intelligent, benevolent, capable women have long been excluded from running or discounted as serious candidates.
By characterizing a woman’s “first” as an individual accomplishment, it not only obfuscates the forces and prejudice that have kept other women out of politics before her, but also demeans those other women, enabling a version the story where they simply weren’t good enough, or else they too would have won.