Journal of Electoral Studies

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The Advantages and Disadvantages of Being a Female Candidate in Elections-An Exploration of the 1997 Taipei County Magistrate Election
Ching-Ching Chang
1999 / 05Volume 29, No.2

Abstract

This study applies schema theory to examine four research questions: (1) do voters evaluate candidates of different genders in gender schema consistent manner? (2) do voters' political knowledge moderate this process? (3) can female candidates employ political advertising to reduce voters' biased evaluation? and (4) will female candidates' attack on the opponents generate more negative evaluations? Results indicate that voters believe that Ms. Chou is more capable of dealing with female issues than male issues; whereas Mr. Hsieh is as capable of dealing female issues as he is of male issues. In addition, after voters being exposed to ads where Ms. Chou emphasizes her ability in handling male issues, voters' biased evaluations disappear. Finally, attacking ads hurt Ms. Chou more than other male candidates (Mr. Hsieh and Mr. Su). Suggestions for practitioners as well as imp1ications are discussed.

Keywords

Elections

Political advertising

Schema theory

female candidates