Overview

"This book provides a much-needed analysis of the changing representation of gay politicians in UK newspapers. Focusing on the 1950s onwards, a time when the press became more personal and gay politicians/politicians involved in gay scandals came to the forefront of media attention, the text uses case studies and socio-political analysis to develop a frame of representation which shows how a move from intolerance to tolerance to partial recognition of homosexuality has impacted upon the acceptability of homosexuality in heterosexual public space, with this then affecting the representation of gay politicians in the press. What was private has now become public, pointing to the fact that gay politicians have mediated personas; their private lives, and sexualities, are lived in/presented through the media. The book reveals insights about representation and the construction of identity through its focus on sexuality, politicians and the media, with the changing line between the private and public an essential concept. Sensationalism and scandal are key issues in the text, with the press coverage of politicians caught up in gay scandals, as well as gay politicians, explored. The representation of gay politicians in the UK press has so far been underrepresented in media and political studies. Lack of discussion is strange, considering that gay politicians have been at the forefront of the medias attention over the last fifty years. ""Sex, Lies and Politics"" provides a much needed contribution to political, media and social history."

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9781845196042

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Reviews

Donna Smith has written an important and engaging original contribution to scholarship on the theory and practice of sexual politics. The concept she develops of a 'frame of representation' both advances her argument and provides other scholars in Politics, Social History, and Media Studies with an important conceptual tool to take forward. Her analysis of the shifting boundary between public and private in press coverage of gay politicians in the UK House of Commons in historical perspective, and the shift in normative judgments which has accompanied it, redresses the gap in academic study of this area. - Dr Raia Prokhovnik, Reader in Politics, Open University Press attitudes to sexuality and gay politicians have guided much recent political communications strategy; where others have flitted past, at last we have a sustained analysis. Donna Smiths book is rich with insight and possibility, and deserves a wide readership. - Dr Michael Higgins, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, University of Strathclyde ** July 2012 - Open University lecturer Donna Smith's new book, Sex, Lies and Politics, prompts BBC News to ask: how much has really changed since gay politicians were routinely outed by the tabloids?

Author Information

Donna Smith has extensive experience in social scientific and political research. She is an Associate Lecturer in Politics and Social Sciences at the Open University, where she also works in faculty management. She completed her Ph.D. at the Open University in 2009, after working in Westminster politics. Her BA (Hons) and MA were studied at the University of East Anglia.

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