Overview

This edited volume examines mass media portrayals of women leaders and other powerful women in popular culture. Contributors argue that increased media visibility and representation can lead to more widespread acceptance of women as societal leaders. The book employs an interdisciplinary, intersectional, and international approach to its coverage of these portrayals and their meanings for society and gender norms. Through a feminist lens, contributors examine these cultural representations within the context of gender, race, sexuality, and social class/economic status. Contributors write from varied disciplinary backgrounds, including journalism, media studies, communication, entertainment studies, sociology, psychology, anthropology, political science, information science, business, and education.

Full Product Details

Author:   Tracy Everbach ,  Gwendelyn S. Nisbett ,  Newly Paul ,  Lauren D. Furey
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Imprint:   Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN:  

9781666965063

ISBN 10:   1666965065
Pages:   312
Publication Date:   13 November 2025
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables Introduction: “You Can’t Be What You Can’t See”: A Case for Representation of Women Leaders in Popular Culture Tracy Everbach, Newly Paul, and Gwendelyn S. Nisbett PART I: Depictions of Women in Government, Industry, and Academia 1. She’s No “Lady President”: Exploring the Evolution of Women Presidents on Television Lauren D. Furey and Andrea E. Hall 2. Class, Race, and the Complications of Women’s Leadership in Superstore Holly Holladay 3. Academic Leadership and Women: The Chair and Intersectionalities of Women, Power, and the Academy Lora Helvie-Mason and Kelli Styron 4. “Maybe It’s Time for More Women to Be in Charge”: Breaking Stereotypes of Political Leadership in Parks and Recreation Aubree A. Herman, Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter, and Thomas R. Wagner 5. A Tale of Two Ginas: An Analysis of Media Representation of Afro-Latina Female Leadership in the TV series Suits and Pearson Mia Long Anderson and Creshema Murray 6. Unraveling Conventions: Women’s Leadership Insights from How to Get Away with Murder Marquita Smith, Erica Avent, and Vanessa Charlot PART II: Women’s Leadership Portrayals in Music, Movies, and Sports 7. ‘Do You Want Some Company?’: Musicians Brandi Carlile, Joni Mitchell, and Tanya Tucker and the Transformational Potential of Feminist-centered Reverse Mentoring Jacqueline Lambiase and Carolyn Bronstein 8. Glitter, Pink, and Politics: A Rhetorical Analysis of Taylor Swift’s Miss Americana’s Public Pedagogy and Feminist Consciousness Raising Emily Maly 9. Feminist and Queer Icon Uncensored? Exploring Audience Visual Performativity at Jolin Tsai’s Ugly Beauty World Tours on Social Media Kedi Zhou 10. Women Athletes Lead College Basketball to New Heights Tracy Everbach and Gwendelyn S. Nisbett 11. Transformative Leadership When Women “Talk”: Aspirational Images in Sarah Polley’s Women Talking Catherine Dobris and Rachel Davidson 12. The Plasticity of President Barbie: Colorblind Erasure and Misogynoir in Representational Diversity Michelle Laura Flood PART III: Sci-fi and Fantasy Representations of Women’s Leadership 13. The Servant Mammy: Reading Lovecraft Country’s Hippolyta Freeman Circumvents Through Servant Leadership Approach Aisha Powell, Nicole M. Westrick, and Deanna Hayden 14. The Moral Complexities of Female Leadership in Arrival Gina Marcello 15. The Woman King: Decolonizing the Stories of African Women’s Strength Through Popular Media Culture Felicity Sena Dogbatse and Ama Boatemaa Appiah-Kubi 16. The Intersectionality of Zhao Pan’er: Gender, Class, and Tradition in the Chinese Context Zhaoxi (Josie) Liu

Reviews

With Women’s Leadership in Popular Culture, Tracy Everbach, Gwendelyn S. Nisbett, and Newly Paul offer a resplendent assortment of perspectives on the way women leaders are, and have been, represented in media. This edited volume offers a truly intersectional collection of essays that examine depictions of women through the lenses of race, class, gender, orientation and more. Undergraduate students will enjoy its contemporary media examples that include popular music, TV shows, and sports, while researchers and graduate students will appreciate the deft incorporation of relevant theory. All readers will take heart, too, in the volume’s well-grounded research, which yes, covers the predominant stereotypes of the past, but also points to the ways representations of women leaders are, in some cases, changing for the better. * Mary Angela Bock, Professor of Journalism and Media, University of Texas at Austin, USA *

With Women’s Leadership in Popular Culture, Tracy Everbach, Gwendelyn S. Nisbett, and Newly Paul offer a resplendent assortment of perspectives on the way women leaders are, and have been, represented in media. This edited volume offers a truly intersectional collection of essays that examine depictions of women through the lenses of race, class, gender, orientation and more. Undergraduate students will enjoy its contemporary media examples that include popular music, TV shows, and sports, while researchers and graduate students will appreciate the deft incorporation of relevant theory. All readers will take heart, too, in the volume’s well-grounded research, which yes, covers the predominant stereotypes of the past, but also points to the ways representations of women leaders are, in some cases, changing for the better. * Mary Angela Bock, Professor of Journalism and Media, University of Texas at Austin, USA * An expansive and interdisciplinary anthology on the intersections of gender, labor, and power in the contemporary mediascape, from film and television to music and sports. * Stefania Marghitu, Assistant Professor of Journalism and Creative Media, The University of Alabama, USA *

Author Information

Tracy Everbach is Professor of Journalism in the Mayborn School of Journalism and an affiliated faculty member in Women and Gender Studies at the University of North Texas, USA. Gwendelyn S. Nisbett is Associate Professor of Public Relations in the Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of North Texas, USA. Newly Paul is Media and Politics Researcher and Associate Professor of Journalism in the Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of North Texas, USA.

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